There is a direct correlation between museum shows and spikes in interest at auction. “It confirmed in a reasonably analysed way that there is a relationship and, therefore, to support museums is not completely philanthropic—there is a commercial spin off.” – The Art Newspaper
Author: Douglas McLennan
Don’t Read? What It Means To Love Literature
It is no secret that in contemporary America there are many people who hardly read at all, and then another sizable group who, though they keep up with news, sports and the latest fads in self-care or technology, have little interest in serious fiction, poetry or literary commentary. It would be wrong to say such people hate literature, for one has to care about something to truly hate it. – The Point
Why Shouldn’t We Think Of Literary Characters As Real? (It’s A Sin)
The warning against treating characters as if they were real stands as a gatekeeper to the academic discipline of literary criticism. Students who can’t abide by the rule will get bad grades. The professor will sigh and conclude that they just don’t have what it takes to become decent literary critics. Yet the same students may love reading, really get into the novels we assign, and be both confused and depressed to learn that to discuss the problems of Elizabeth Bennet as if she were their friend is to fail in some fundamental way. – The Point
An Argument Against Fairness
The Left thinks of fairness as egalitarian “equal outcomes” distribution, and the Right thinks of fairness as meritocracy (i.e., the winner takes the spoils, the qualified take the reward). Frequently, these are incompatible notions of the good, and the tension between them may have never been more intense. But running orthogonal to the debate about fairness is this more obscure yet fundamental issue of favoritism. – Heterodox Academy
Peter Handke’s Nobel Prize Shows Why Aesthetics Alone Should Not Be The Criterion
The controversy has spurred long-standing debates about where stories come from, who is responsible for them and what it means as a writer to bear witness to truth — and also, which persons or institutions have the authority to do so. These events unfolded at a time of rising ethnonationalism across Europe. – The Conversation
Poetry Written By AI Is Getting Much Better (Stylistically)
GPT-2’s writing is grammatically correct. It all more or less sounds true to its source, if all you heard was the tone. But what those sequences mean, therein lies the rub. GPT-2’s poetry prizes style over substance. Which is understandable, because it doesn’t know what substance is. – LitHub
Why Do We Define Success As Growth? Success Might Actually Mean “De-Growing”
On this midsummer morning, 40 thinkers and activists have come together to challenge the core economic orthodoxy of our time: that growth is the most critical measure of human flourishing, an axiom that seems increasingly untenable in the age of accelerating climate change. The Hotel Belvédère du Rayon Vert symbolizes the very empire these adherents of “degrowth,” as the movement is known, wish to overthrow: consumption, wealth, inequality, travel, and cement, the whole modern industrial condition. – The New Republic
Why We Should End Tourism. But We Won’t
A 2018 study published in the journal Nature Climate Change announced tourism alone—that’s nonessential pleasure travel—is responsible for 8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. The traveling public is freaking out. It knows about flight shaming; it loves Greta Thunberg; and it’s ready to bid au revoir to Volvic, Dasani, and plastic straws. But it still wants to sit on a beach in Aruba. – The New Republic
Arts Council England Says It Will Invest In Arts In Every Village And Town. Feasible?
The strategy lists four principles guiding whether ACE will invest public money: “ambition and quality”, “inclusivity and relevance”, “dynamism”, and “environmental responsibility”. The ACE chief executive, Darren Henley, said he wanted to move away from having centres of excellence in a small number of places and instead bring “world-class art and culture to people’s doorsteps”. – The Guardian
Vancouver Symphony Appoints New Executive Director
Before joining the VSO, Angela Elster was senior vice-president of research and education at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, where she played a key role in opening the TELUS Centre for Performing Arts and Learning and founded the Learning Through the Arts program. At the VSO, she piloted the Day of Music celebration that welcomed over 14,000 people to 100 free performances, forged the Indigenous Council, and launched a new focus on health and wellness programming at the organization. – Georgia Straight