“Giving money to higher education amplifies a billionaire’s legacy. The money greases hiring decisions and shapes curriculums, and it can ricochet across the wider culture for decades, even after the billionaire himself has shuffled off this mortal coil.” – The New York Times
Author: Douglas McLennan
The Rebel Conductor With A New Vision For Classical Music
Musicians say that his uncompromising approach to music — he is famous for marathon rehearsals and recording sessions, and for late-night salons where guests recite poetry, play music and talk until all hours — has almost mystical effects. – The New York Times
Defining What A Museum Is: More Than Collecting, An Ideology?
After a week of debate in Kyoto, and pushback ahead of the International Council for Museums’s annual conference in the historic Japanese city, delegates voted overwhelmingly against a contentious new definition that its critics argue is “too ideological.” – artnet
Drought Reveals Ancient Long-Hidden “Spanish Stonehenge”
This past summer, an extreme drought in the Extremadura area of Spain that caused the Valdecañas Reservoir’s water levels to plummet has revealed a series of megalithic stones. – artnet
Why Is A Looted Mayan Sculpture Going Up For Auction?
“The sculpture was almost certainly stolen in the early 1960s from the ancient Maya site. It passed through the inventory of a prominent Los Angeles gallery on its way to Paris. Its illicit history is no secret, yet the sale in France is scheduled to proceed in broad daylight.” – Los Angeles Times
Toronto International Film Festival’s Stellar Record At Predicting Hits
Since 2000, movies that won the People’s Choice Award at TIFF earned in total more than $3-billion US worldwide, compared to films that won Cannes’ Palme d’Or, which made over $815-million, according to the movie industry database The Numbers. – CBC
50 Years Ago: Pittsburgh’s Big Bang Of Dance
What was happening here 50 years ago that sparked the creation of two of the city’s biggest and oldest forces in professional dance? – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
What Robert Frank’s Camera Saw: A Legacy
Frank’s images weren’t exclusively solemn, but a person could nonetheless get lost in them, trying to figure out what was going on. – The New Yorker
What About The Morals Of Raising Money?
Has the philanthropic sector gotten so distorted that even when evil is recognized, the need to meet financial objectives is too great? – NonProfit Quarterly
Larry Gagosian: “You Always Have To Be On The Side Of The Artist”
“For all the achievements, one gets the sense that Gagosian still enjoys the hustle. He’s certainly in no rush to retire. He’s still signing new artists, still staging exhibitions, still offering the kinds of insights that only a lifetime spent at the highest echelon of the art world can produce.” – GQ