“The video shows Americans from various backgrounds and hailing from different parts of the country holding empty golden picture frames to the tune of “America the Beautiful.” The video is a reference to O’Grady’s iconic 1983 performance “Art Is…” in Harlem, New York. In the performance, 15 performers, dressed all in white, carried empty gold picture frames during the annual African American Day Parade, inviting members of the community to pose as the subject of the artwork.” – Hyperallergic
Author: Douglas McLennan
An Architecture Critic Considers The Four Seasons Total Landscaping Venue
Four Seasons Total Landscaping joins the slabs of forlorn border wall and the graffiti-encrusted bathroom in Lafayette Square as the real monuments of an administration intent on ugliness and pathetic façades. Maybe the choice of venue was a not-at-all understandable mix-up. – Curbed
In The Age Of On-Demand Printing, Book-Binding Is Suffering
Poor printing is usually the printer’s fault, a mistake that publishers will correct once they learn about it. When I’ve received books that were hard on the eyes, I’ve complained to booksellers, left comments on Amazon, returned the books, and notified publishers. Generally, publishers can pressure their contractors to deliver higher quality. – First Things
How Stories Featuring Differently-Abled Actors Are Changing
“The vast majority of characters with disabilities, whether they’re played by actors with disabilities or not, continue to represent the same outdated tropes.” – The Conversation
Research: How Coronavirus Changed TV Viewing Habits
Coronavirus fundamentally changed people’s reasons for watching TV. Whereas before it was often associated with distraction and unwinding, the people we spoke to were rife with anxiety and turned to TV to relieve the stress of COVID-19. Television provided a sanctuary during lockdown for those seeking familiar and “safe” content which offered an escape from the worrying realities of the pandemic. – The Conversation
What Is The Great Art That Will Come Out Of This Pandemic?
“What, I wonder, is the fate of so many of these projects and events, some of them topical and inordinately perishable? With arts groups across the country deprived of ticket revenue and focused myopically on survival, where goes the impetus for the sorts of ambitious dramas, operas and other productions that put a stamp on an era?” – Washington Post
Poet Souvankham Thammavongsa Wins 2020 Giller Prize
Born in the Lao refugee camp in Nong Khai, Thailand, and raised in Toronto, Thammavongsa has earned acclaim for her four poetry books and her writing has been featured in publications including Harper’s Magazine, the Paris Review and The Atlantic. – CBC
Movie Theatres Urge Lame Duck Congress To Pass COVID Relief
The Save Our Stages legislation, introduced by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), would allow Small Business Administration grants equaling 45% of a venue’s 2019 revenue or $12 million, whichever is less. Venue operators also would be eligible for a second grant equal to 50% of the first award. Save Our Stages was introduced as a $10-billion program to help venues such as live concert halls. It was later expanded to $15 billion in order to include movie theater operators. – Los Angeles Times
Video Of Alzheimer’s Patient Recalling “Swan Lake” Movement Goes Viral
The Spanish dancer, who reportedly died in 2019 after battling Alzheimer’s disease, has captivated social media since a video surfaced of Marta González, by then confined to a wheelchair, vividly recalling the upper-body choreography of Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” — her delicate ballet hands graceful as ever. – New York Post
Vatican Library Beefs Up Protection From Cyberattack
The library has faced an average of 100 threats a month since it started digitising its collection of historical treasures in 2012, according to Manlio Miceli, its chief information officer. – The Guardian