The map reveals the degree of threat to one evocative name after another: the Amalfi coast, the Roman city of Arles, the Greek temples at Paestum south of Naples, the crusader city of Acre, the ancient shrine of Ephesus, even the Modernist architecture of Tel Aviv. – The Art Newspaper
Author: Douglas McLennan
US Supreme Court Tax Ruling Worries Art Dealers
The need to assess sales tax is now dictated by what is known as an “economic nexus”, meaning that if a vendor’s sales reach a certain threshold (which varies by state), then it has enough of an economic presence there to justify the need to pay taxes. What could prove most problematic for dealers is that many states define the nexus differently. – The Art Newspaper
Salonen’s Departure From London’s Philharmonia Raises Questions About Orchestra’s Future
The simultaneous departures at the end of 2020-21 of Salonen from the Philharmonia and Vladimir Jurowski from the London Philharmonic pose big questions for the Southbank Centre. Both conductors have kept their orchestras at the top of the league. Yet both the Philharmonia and the LPO will need to ensure that the Southbank possesses a long-term commitment to the work the orchestras want to do – whatever that now is. – The Guardian
UK Local Governments Are Cracking Down On Buskers – Will They Survive?
“Councils are allowing big companies to own semi-public spaces that look and feel like public spaces, but buskers would get removed from them very quickly. Part of the debate is what responsibilities councils have when selling land to ensure there are genuine public spaces.” – The Guardian
Study: Video Games Are Getting More Popular With Girls
Despite the growing popularity of gaming among girls, there remains a large gender divide in how many children claim it as their favourite activity: for boys it is second only to football, with 14% of four- to 12-year-olds and 21% of 13- to 18-year-olds saying it was their favourite activity, compared to 3% of girls. – The Guardian
C’Mon People – Your Behavior In The Theatre Is Dreadful!
Every night there is bad and thoughtless behavior conducted by people who may have spent hundreds of dollars on theater tickets yet seemingly have no idea how to behave in an actual theater. Why should you check that your phone is off, because, gee, that would be way too much trouble. Puleeze, that recorded announcement doesn’t refer to you! An hour later, that ringing sound: Oh, sorry everyone, is that me? Yes, it’s you! Look, you’re in public at the theater! Who knew! – The Daily Beast
Together, Salonen And San Francisco Symphony Could Change Everything
Joshua Kosman: “It’s really something of a coup. If that assessment sounds a little breathless, consider that it could not have been made about any other conductor the Symphony might have chosen. … If Salonen and the San Francisco Symphony can forge a partnership that addresses [their] challenges successfully, the repercussions could well be felt across the orchestral landscape, well beyond the confines of Davies Symphony Hall and the Bay Area.” – San Francisco Chronicle
Facebook’s Existential Crisis: What To Do When You’re Not “Making The World A Better Place?”
More than other tech companies, Facebook has insisted that its commercial success benefits the world. There are examples of the wealth from a tech business being used by its founder to support a grand project like space exploration, as Tesla’s Elon Musk or Amazon’s Jeff Bezos do. Alphabet harnesses the money from the Google search engine to support expensive, speculative “moon shot” engineering projects with the potential to change the world. Facebook’s point is more direct: The business goals of Facebook are simply good for the world. – Wired
We Live In A Replicable World. So What Is Up With Our Obsession With Originals?
The ubiquity of virtual images has indeed made encounters with original objects ever more coveted, feeding the stampede of visitors and our carbon footprint. Veneration of original works has fuelled astronomical prices for a few dozen artists, mostly Modern and contemporary. The explosion of cultural tourism has been exacerbated by a bull art market, the global growth of the middle class and museum selfies spreading Fomo (fear of missing out).
The UK Arts Economy Is Growing Much Faster Than The General Economy
New DCMS economic estimates show the cultural sector contributed £29.5bn in 2017 – a 7.2% increase on the £27.5bn it had generated the year before. Similar growth was seen for both the digital sector and the wider creative industries, with which the cultural sector has some overlap, which grew by 7.3% and 7.1% respectively. – Arts Professional