Leonard Susskind argues that we don’t. He says that “dating back to the Ancient Greeks, what’s often been perceived as elegant simplicity was almost always a fiction or an approximation covering for a much messier reality.” – Aeon
Author: Douglas McLennan
How Can You Be A Street Artist When The Streets Are Restricted?
Street artists get their juice from the urban landscape. But performers don’t have crowds to perform for. And while street painters have plenty of urban canvas, there’s not many out to see it. – The New York Times
Tips For Taking Online Dance Classes
Online platforms are not equally useful, and the class options are dizzying, especially when the “I don’t want to humiliate myself” barrier is gone. (Who’s looking?!) – Dance Enthusiast
The White House Has Created A Medal Commemorating Trump’s “Heroes” Of The Virus War (Cue Parodies)
The coin shows an artist’s rendering of the coronavirus overlaid on a world map, and reads (with characteristically Trumpian capitalization), “World vs Virus: We Fought the Unseen Enemy. Everyday HEROES Suited Up. Everyday CITIZENS Did Their Part.” The other side features the presidential podium, where Trump until recently delivered his controversial daily press briefings. – Artnet
The Show Must Go On (But It Needs Help)
While much of the future is uncertain, one thing is clear: The industry will be gutted without major federal help. Arts nonprofits have already suffered $4.5 billion in losses as a result of the pandemic, and theaters alone are predicted to lose $500 million more by June, according to a new survey by Theatre Communications Group (TCG), a national service organization with over 700 member theaters. – Forbes
How Reopening Hollywood Might Look
The LA Times looks at what a new Hollywood might look like when it reopens. On the table: everything. How movies are shot, how they open in theatres (if they do), what movie theatres might look like. Everything. – Los Angeles Times
Words Fail: Have You Seen The Literary Magazine “Taco Bell Quarterly”?…
“We are the literary magazine for Taco Bell literature. I also say celebrating the Taco Bell arts and letters. We’re not a gimmick, we’re not a viral sensation. We are real fiction, real essays, real poetry, real art, inspired by Taco Bell.” – Vox
A New World Without Shopping Malls?
More than 50% of malls anchored by department stores could close permanently by the end of 2021. Of the roughly 1,000 malls still in operation throughout the U.S., 60% are anchored by department stores; of those, 19% are rented by J.C. Penney, 18% by Macy’s, and 20% by other stores including Lord & Taylor, Nordstrom, and Dillard’s. – Fast Company
Paris Plans To Keep Cars Out Of The City When It Reopens
The city’s mayor: “I say in all firmness that it is out of the question that we allow ourselves to be invaded by cars, and by pollution. It will make the health crisis worse. Pollution is already in itself a health crisis and a danger — and pollution joined up with coronavirus is a particularly dangerous cocktail. So it’s out of the question to think that arriving in the heart of the city by car is any sort of solution, when it could actually aggravate the situation.” – CityLab
How The NEA Is Responding To The COVID Crisis
With its relief funding, the NEA is switching tack from supporting individual art projects to ensuring that non-profit institutions and organisations are able to reopen. “We want to preserve as many jobs as possible—that’s number one,” says Mary Anne Carter, the chair of the NEA. “At some point the crisis will pass, and we want the nation’s art organisations to still be there to open their doors and welcome the community back in.” – The Art Newspaper