The fact that it was promoted primarily to good-looking “influencers” on social media increased its ick factor to the high-minded. It was all brand, no product.
Author: Douglas McLennan
The Over-The-Top Met Ball – Celebrating Civilization’s End Times
“This year’s Met Ball—held Monday night and inspired by a Costume Institute exhibition, Art of the In-Between, showcasing the career of avant-garde Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons—was something remarkable in the Annals of the Absurd, an explosion of frippery and shamelessness that recalled late-Weimar or mid-career Mad Hatter in its slavish devotion to peacockery in the face of complex, oftentimes brutal, reality.”
How Artists Are Using Art To Solve Real-World Problems
Aydika James is the art director of Secret Samurai Productions, a collective of artists that aims to solve real-world problems through art. She’s also a member of Maverick1000, a group of entrepreneurs who meet annually on Sir Richard Branson’s private Necker Island in the BVI.
Dallas School District Cuts Librarians
“School officials say it’s the result of drastic budget cuts as the district scrapes around to make up for a $60 million shortfall next year. The changes will save $2 million. No librarians will be laid off. Instead, they will be shuffled to fill vacant positions at other schools, leaving 11 campuses without librarians for the 2017-18 school year.”
Why Collectors Collect First-Edition Books
Collecting modern first editions or antiquarian books is a fun pursuit. It can be exciting and compulsive and, contrary to some critics, it is not a dreary bookish endeavour, followed only by the status-conscious rich. Anyone can collect first editions and, taking taste and pocket into account, the collector’s choice is limitless.
Online Sales Have Broken The Concert Ticket Business
“In the first 24 hours after tickets go on sale, an estimated 20 percent appear on secondary sites. This is often where tickets end up when scalpers and brokers use methods like creating bots to bypass captcha technology and scoop up a large number of tickets, or by creating numerous identities and buying tickets on prepaid credit cards that can be loaded up with cash at a local CVS or Rite Aid to take advantage of paperless ticketing. They make a profit by engaging in price gouging, selling the ticket for much higher than face value, and gaining an upper hand on the real fans.”
British Parliamentary Inquiry: UK Theatre Has An Affluence Problem
The report, published following the inquiry into Skills in the Theatre Industry, revealed that the number of performers, directors and writers from more affluent background and the underrepresentation of black, Asian and minority ethnic theatre workers continues to be a major concern for the industry.
Science Has Been Persuasive. But That Might Be Changing
If you look at public opinion polls, scientists are among the most trusted professions, certainly they are in the UK and probably in the US as well. But we’re getting to a stage where that’s at risk for a variety of reasons. Some of them are technical reasons and some of them are cultural reasons.
Gender Parity In Ballet? We’re A LONG Way Off
Throughout the last 50 years, the ballet world has frequently been seen as completely out of touch with the importance of diversity. The litany of men — geniuses, admittedly, in their own right — says nothing about the creative, choreographic power of women. This lack of equality not only reads as troubling but a bit safe. Why is it so difficult to see women taking the stage not just as fouetteing prima ballerinas, but as dance-makers as well?
This Year’s Tony Nominations Rewarded Risk-Taking
The “Hamilton” effect hasn’t transformed Broadway into a multicultural model kingdom, but there does seem to be more of a sense after Lin-Manuel Miranda’s improbable hip-hop juggernaut about Founding Father Alexander Hamilton that long shots with creative ingenuity and passionate conviction are worth the investment.