Apparently, we can’t stop being fascinated with the momentary feel that perpetual motion could happen, if only we spun perfectly. – Aeon
Month: September 2019
Loving Los Angeles Enough To Tell Its Present, And History, In Books
Nina Revoyr’s books “juxtapose the jambalaya of Los Angeles’s people, neighborhoods, cultures, and social classes into complicated stories that surprise at every turn, entertain, and then illuminate the ever-present beauty of the city.” – Los Angeles Review of Books
Hollywood Is Glum, But The Emmys Show Must Go On
A lot of new shows are constantly churning through the pipeline, Netflix and Amazon are awash in television bucks, and old sitcoms are doing nine-figure streaming deals because for some reason, the kids these days love Friends and Seinfeld. But behind the scenes? Authors and agents are suing each other, some agents fled town for the weekend, and even the parties were cancelled, y’all. Can Hollywood recover? – The New York Times
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Reaches Tentative Agreement, Could Perform Next Week
The union ratification vote is Monday, and the public won’t hear details of the proposed contract until then. But late Friday night, “a brief, joint statement by the BSO and the Musicians’ Association of Metropolitan Baltimore Local 40-543 said that if both the players’ union and the BSO’s board of directors vote to sign the contract ‘it would enable the Baltimore Symphony to open its concert season’ next weekend.” – Baltimore Sun
Think Museums Are Becoming More Inclusive? The Data Say No
“These findings challenge one of the most compelling narratives to have emerged within the art world in recent years: that of progressive change, with once-marginalized artists being granted more equitable representation within art institutions. Our research shows that, at least when it comes to gender parity, this story is a myth.” – artnet
Women’s Place In The Art World: What’s Changed In The Past Ten Years? (An Investigation)
“To examine the evolving representation of work by female artists in American museums and the global auction market over the past decade, we not only delved into data, but also conducted extensive interviews.” This seven-part package includes data visualization, methodology, examinations of museums and the marketplace, interview excerpts, case studies, and a look at the difficulties facing working mothers. – artnet
What, Actually, Is Cancel Culture?
“Like many phrases and ideas in 2019, this one has been appropriated, bastardized, and misused to the point of not only betraying its original definition and its usefulness in checking the actual repercussions of reactionary censorship, but in fact has become almost meaningless.” – The Daily Beast
What Makes A Dictator? An Outsized Personality
The road to dictatorship is depressingly predictable. Once power is stolen, the problem is to keep it. Anyone who might develop a separate power base must be struck down. Eradicate rivals, rule through force and fear. Trust no one, particularly family, friends and the army. Keep everyone on their toes with random executions, unpredictable policy changes and imaginative public tortures. – New Statesman
How The Internet Reframed What It Meant To Be A Desirable Human
“While the Internet was meant to allow you to reach out to any- and everyone without a hint of the cruel discriminations that blight our world, it turned into the opposite, a forum where individuals are less speaking to other people than preening and listening to themselves—turning themselves into desirable objects to be coveted by all. It became, that is, the perfect embodiment of consumer capitalism, where everything can be touted in the marketplace.” – New York Review of Books
Remembering Canadian Curator Bruce Ferguson
From the late 1980s onward, Bruce was recognized as an expert on cutting-edge Canadian art. He knew all the artists and got all the jobs—well, not quite—and was repeatedly invited to curate the Canadian contributions to the major biennials. – Canadian Art