Month: September 2019

The Wall That Broke An Art Handler’s Back (And A Lot Of Other Dangers)

“The gallery wall that broke Michael Pajón’s body crashed into the art handler with the force of a grand piano. He remembers the precise moment when the movable partition collapsed upon him, puncturing his ribs and snapping his leg backward.” If you haven’t been reading Hyperallergic’s entire “The Danger Epidemic in Art Handling” series, consider starting with this one and working your way through. – Hyperallergic

Are Galleries Finally Welcoming People With Disabilities?

After a massive online protest of the Tate Modern in the recent weeks (“It’s an older work,” the museum first protested when met with the facts that one of its 2002 – so old, who knew people used wheelchairs 17 years ago, ahem – pieces didn’t have a ramp for wheelchair users) – it’s clear that places like the Wellcome Collection stand out from the crowd, and are pushing other galleries and museums to consider their accessibility as well. – The Guardian (UK)

Whale Songs Are Getting Deeper

Truly they are, and it’s probably because of humans. But in what way? “In a study last year that analyzed more than 1 million individual recordings of whale calls, scale shifts were found across species, and among populations that don’t necessarily interact with one another. Which is to say, whatever has triggered the change doesn’t seem to have a specific geographic origin.” – The Atlantic

Critic Writes Incredible Essay About Pop Singer; Pop Singer Hits Back On Twitter; What Happens Next Will Shock You

Or not. Ann Powers, NPR’s music critic, published this piece about the singer Lana Del Rey, and Del Rey tweeted some of her displeasure on Twitter, and then her stans – super fans – started to attack Powers. “The slap-back backfired — not only did Del Rey get called out, but her tweets drew people to a story that many might have missed — in part because it was so uncalled-for, but also because it revealed a fundamental misunderstanding of criticism.” – Los Angeles Times

Francisco Toledo, The Mexican Artist Who Just Died At 79, Embodied The Soul Of Oaxaca

Toledo’s art met social activism at every turn. For instance, “in December 2014, from his studio in Oaxaca, Mexico, he made a series of kites adorned with portraits of the ’43,’ or the 43 college students who were missing — disappeared allegedly by criminal and state forces in the neighboring state of Guerrero that year.” – The New York Times