“What if our partiality to particular artists is, consciously or unconsciously, calibrated to line up with the preferences of our peers — and/or to distinguish ourselves from people we’d rather not be associated with?”
Author: Douglas McLennan
A Big New Tate Modern – Is Bigger Really Better?
“The Tate vaunts these statistics with the pride with which the Kremlin used to announce an increase in tractor production. But, the footsore visitor might wonder, can there be too much of a good thing? And how good are the things in Tate Modern?”
Five Stories From Last Week’s AJ You Shouldn’t Miss (Meaning Of Art Edition)
Can computers help us better understand art? What the world thinks is creative. Why is it still okay to discriminate against stupid people? How gaming is taking over. And the “Rotten Tomatoes of Books” reveals a problem with how books are reviewed.
City Of Boston Unveils Big New Arts Initiatives
“In line with the recommendations of a newly minted master plan for the arts ecosphere, the measures include city-led efforts as well as partnerships with philanthropies, area museums and other outside groups. In some cases, specific dollar contributions are promised; in others, organizations are pledging in-kind donations in the form of facility space or professional expertise.”
Restructuring Of Three NY Museum Giants Reveal Funding Pressures
“The three museum’s plans, all announced within four weeks of each other, illustrate a growing problem in cultural fundraising today. While there seems to be ample money to finance expansions—a recent survey by The Art Newspaper found that US museums spent $5bn on building projects between 2007 and 2014—there is less money available to pay staff.”
Canadians Being Wrongfully Dinged For Piracy
“At the start of 2015, a new Canadian law came into effect called the notice-and-notice system. It requires that all internet service providers forward copyright infringement notices to customers suspected of downloading unauthorized content like movies and TV shows. The purpose of the notice system is to discourage piracy — not to get cash. But right away, some anti-piracy companies started sending letters to suspected pirates, asking them to pay a settlement fee — sometimes hundreds of dollars.”
Research: One In Three Are Bullied In School – And The Effects Last Much Later In Life
Years after being mistreated, people with adult post-bullying syndrome commonly struggle with trust and self-esteem, and develop psychiatric problems, Ellen Walser deLara’s research found. Some become people-pleasers, or rely on food, alcohol, or drugs to cope.
With Small UK Lit Enterprises Losing Funding, Writers Have To Do More Work To Get Noticed
“If you are an emerging writer now, there are more channels for you to get in front of the eyeballs of a publisher but you have to do a lot of the work yourself. There’s less work done by editors and publishers – they wait for writers to come to them with manuscripts that are fully formed.”
Dating App Data: Readers Find It Easier To Get Dates
“Out of all our matches, 21% had related reading tags in common. This is much stronger than the average of 15% for all other matches that similar matches with music, films, or TV,” says MyBae, adding that “users spent longer in general” on the profiles of people with reading tags.
Christo Really Can Walk On Water (And Here Are The Pictures)
200,000 floating cubes create a three-kilometre runway connecting the village of Sulzano to the small island of Monte Isola on Lake Iseo, Italy. Thousands come to walk on the saffron water walkway.