The average American household possesses more than 300,000 items. In the UK, one study found that children have on average 238 toys, but only play with 12 of them on a daily basis. We are addicted to accumulation. The minimalist lifestyle seems like a conscientious way of approaching the world now that we have realised that materialism, accelerating since the industrial revolution, is literally destroying the planet. Yet my gut reaction to Kondo and the Minimalists was that it all seemed a little too convenient: just sort through your house or listen to a podcast, and happiness, satisfaction and peace of mind could all be yours. – The Guardian
Author: Douglas McLennan
National Gallery Of Australia Closes Because Of Fires
The National Gallery of Australia in Canberra closed its doors today due to worsening air quality caused by the bushfires burning across the country. The gallery’s director, Nick Mitzevich, said the decision to close was taken to help protect public, staff and the gallery collection. – The Art Newspaper
Was “Cats” Really So Bad? Guardian Critics Take A Second Look
“One tweet claimed Cats was so bad it must have been made by the dog lobby. As a lifelong cat lover, I don’t regard this film as an insult to cats. Yes, the production is over-CGI’d, but there is Rebel Wilson’s earthiness and James Corden’s comedy; both succeed in playing it for laughs.” – The Guardian
What’s At Stake If Trump Destroys Cultural Sites
Does Trump know what would be lost? Probably not – but he’s hardly the only one. The fact that the country is rarely visited by western tourists is not due to a lack of attractions. With a civilisation dating back 5,000 years, and over 20 Unesco world heritage sites, Iran’s cultural heritage is rich and unique, especially its religious architecture, which displays a mastery of geometry, abstract design and pre-industrial engineering practically unparalleled in civilisation. This is is not just Iran’s cultural heritage, it is humanity’s. – The Guardian
Proposal To Cut EU Culture Spending Goes Against Plan To Double It
The European Parliament, which shares legislative and budgetary authority with the European Council, last year agreed a €400m increase already proposed by the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, and a doubling of Creative Europe funding to €2.8bn. – Arts Professional
A Chess Grandmaster Explains Concentration
“We ask too much of attention and not enough of concentration. The recent cultural emphasis on attention risks subsuming too many variables of human experience, as if they could ever be held constant. We have to pay attention with the body, the will, the place, the mood, the memory, the moment, the relationships, the affordances, not the least the smartphone. All these variables are implicated in our capacity to attend, but they have their own kinds of agency, too, and they play with each other in unpredictable ways.” – Aeon
Notre Dame’s Survival Far From Certain
“Today we can say there is maybe a 50% chance that it will be saved. There is also a 50% chance of the scaffolding falling on the three vaults, so as you can see the building is still very fragile.” – The Guardian
Computer Scientists Weigh In On Authenticity Of “Salvador Mundi” Painting
The new finding changes the way people look at the painting, from all sides. While some have argued that the oddity of the glass ball is evidence that the work is actually by a lesser painter, Leonardo scholar Martin Kemp has said that it was the orb itself that convinced him of the work’s authenticity. – Artnet
TS Eliot’s “Muse” Ordered Her Letters Released 50 Years After Her Death. But Eliot Prepared A Response!
Twenty-four hours after the release of Emily Hale’s letters, the TS Eliot Foundation published a statement from beyond the grave, written by the author of the letters himself in 1960 and expressly designed to accompany their unveiling. There is, indeed, a statement about the statement – “It has come to my ears that she [Hale] has added, or is preparing to add, some sort of commentary of her own”. There then follows what appears to be a piece of pre-emptive exculpation, complete with reference to Henry James’s exploration of unscrupulous literary wrangling, The Aspern Papers, and an account of the changes in Eliot’s feelings towards Hale over the decades. – The Guardian
We’re Still Trying To Replicate Some Of Nature’s Trickiest Colors
Pigments, the common type of coloring found in almost everything around us, create color by absorbing certain wavelengths of light, or colors, and reflecting others; when the reflected ones bounce to our eyes, we perceive them as colors. Structural colors, like the ones you can see on a soap bubble, work entirely differently. – Nautilus