The Austrian writer’s win in October has proved highly controversial, with politicians and writers lining up to condemn his denial of Serb atrocities during the war in the former Yugoslavia, as well as his presence at the funeral of war criminal Slobodan Miloševic. The Kosovan ambassador to the US, Vlora Çitaku, has called the choice of Handke “scandalous … a preposterous and shameful decision”. – The Guardian
Author: Douglas McLennan
A Crisis Of Truth?
It seems irresponsible or perverse to reject the idea that there is a Crisis of Truth. No time now for judicious reflection; what’s needed is a full-frontal attack on the Truth Deniers. But it’s good to be sure about the identity of the problem before setting out to solve it. Conceiving the problem as a Crisis of Truth, or even as a Crisis of Scientific Authority, is not, I think, the best starting point. There’s no reason for complacency, but there is reason to reassess which bits of our culture are in a critical state and, once they are securely identified, what therapies are in order. – Los Angeles Review of Books
That Art Basel $120K Banana – This Is Where We Are Now
Sebastien Smee: “What happened to “Comedian” after it became a media sensation sums up our collective disorder — a kind of media-based bulimia — exquisitely. First, at lunchtime on Saturday, David Datuna, a little-known and well-fed-looking performance artist wanting to become better known, showed up at the gallery, took the banana off the wall and, claiming to be a “hungry artist,” ate it.” – Washington Post
The Responsibility Of Intellectuals
Intellectuals, in order to be able “to speak the truth and expose lies” must understand how ideology works in the form of official institutions and everyday life. Ideological analysis is not simple and requires specific knowledge and skills. – 3 Quarks Daily
Ugly? What’s That?
Umberto Eco: “Are there universal ways in which people react to beauty? No, because beauty is detachment, absence of passion. Ugliness, by contrast, is passion.” – LitHub
Peter Marks: America’s Top Theatre This Year
“This year will be remembered as a transitional one for American theater, as a new generation of leaders settled in at some of the nation’s top nonprofits, including Washington’s Woolly Mammoth Theatre (Maria Goyanes taking over from Howard Shalwitz) and Shakespeare Theatre Company (Simon Godwin, succeeding Michael Kahn).” – Washington Post
Why Buying Music On Physical Media (CDs, Vinyl) Is Growing
Services like Spotify and Apple Music can’t just upload whatever music they’d like. Legal disputes, sample clearance issues — when permission can’t be obtained for the use of part of a song in a new song — and rights-holders withholding music can all get in the way of music being available on your streaming platform of choice. And that can make the music even more difficult and more expensive to get your hands on physically. – The Conversation
Serpentine Taps LA Art Star As Next Chief Exec
Bettina Korek, who currently runs the Californian outpost of the Frieze art fair, will start work in March and team up with the gallery’s artistic director Hans Ulrich Obrist in time for next year’s 50th anniversary. – London Evening Standard
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Demands Correction On Clint Eastwood Film
The Clint Eastwood film looks at the media circus that broke out around Jewell, a security guard who came under suspicion for orchestrating the Centennial Olympic Park bombing before being exonerated. Scruggs, an employee at the paper, broke the story that Jewell was under investigation by the FBI. The film shows Scruggs, portrayed by Olivia Wilde, sleeping with an FBI agent (Jon Hamm) to get the story. Scruggs died in 2001 at the age of 42. The paper has maintained that there is no evidence that Scruggs slept with anyone involved in the Jewell investigation. – Variety
The Seattle Symphony’s Miraculous Reinvention (And Now New Challenges)
Ten years ago the Seattle Symphony was badly broken. Miraculously, a new leadership team emerged, the orchestra chased reinvention and its fortunes soared. Now that leadership has departed and there are big questions about what’s next. – Post Alley