“There’s something unsettling about watching 1,000 robots execute a perfectly choreographed routine. … And yet, these machines – tiny $20 robots that take five minutes each to assemble, for a total of 83 hours – are actually completely banal. In fact, according to the researchers, their capabilities are pretty abysmal.” (video)
Author: Matthew Westphal
Head Of Korea’s Gwangju Biennale Resigns After Censoring Mural
“Earlier this month, a painting by the artist Hong Seong-dam was removed from an exhibition … following pressure by the Gwangju city government … The picture depicts the South Korean president Park Geun-hye being assailed by the families of children who died in the country’s MV Sewol ferry disaster last April.”
Another Russian Censorship Row, This Time Over Cultural Policy Paper
“A controversial document on Russian cultural policy, commissioned by President Vladimir Putin and backed by the culture minister Vladimir Medinsky, has drawn criticism – even within the Kremlin.” Its objective is to set cultural “norms” for all media; a leaked early draft included such phrases as “cultural projects that impose values that are alien to society” and “Russia is not Europe”.
Major Art Basel Sponsorship Deal Could Go Up In Smoke Under Proposed Law
“A powerful lobby has supported [Swiss] legislation that would prevent tobacco companies” – such as Oettinger Davidoff – “from sponsoring major events, such as Art Basel. A similar law is already in effect across the European Union, and Swiss interior minister Alain Berset is a a powerful backer of this new one.”
Margaret Atwood Would Totally Fit In At Comic-Con
“I designed some costume events for these doctors … The male doctor was a kidney surgeon, and he wanted the magic power to immediately implant kidneys in people, so his alter ego was named Kidney Boy, and the female doctor was Dr. Snit, and she had pain issues. And I gave them some little flying kidney helpers, because you have to have helpers. And Dr. Snit got a magic wand with a little halo of Tylenols.”
Met Opera: The Labor Crisis Is Over, The Spiritual Crisis Goes On
Justin Davidson: “Can an opera company indefinitely support thousands of practitioners of arcane crafts? Must a costly large-scale art form inevitably be a luxury product, or can technology help it reach a wider public than ever? Do the new rich even have any interest? More immediately, can the company put on good-enough shows to fill its yawning house?”
Australia Council For The Arts Transforms Funding Model
“Artists will no longer be forced into such square holes as music, theatre and literature under a radical overhaul of arts funding announced by the Australia Council for the Arts. More than 90 grants will be reduced to just five common categories next year,” and application procedures have been streamlined.
What Brought Justin Peck, Shepard Fairey, And Miami City Ballet Together? Graffiti
More specifically, it was a visit Peck – who’s making a piece for MCB to premiere next March – made to Wynwood Walls, an outdoor gallery featuring spray-painted murals in an old Miami warehouse district.
Met Opera Reaches Agreement With Stagehands’ Union, Drops Lockout Threat
“Once the deal was reached at 3:15 a.m. after a marathon bargaining session, the Met dropped its threat of a lockout and announced that its season would open on schedule on Sept. 22… But while there was a palpable sense of relief that the Met had pulled back from the brink of a serious crisis, challenges remained.”
“Artless In Every Sense” – Philly Museum Of Art’s Next Expansion Plan (Per Critic)
The “Core Project” is the first of three stages of the museum’s Frank Gehry-designed expansion. “[It] involves tearing out the existing auditorium, which sits directly beneath the Great Stair Hall, and replacing it with a space labeled the Forum.” Thomas Hine argues that the Forum, as planned, misses every opportunity it has – and it forgets “the whisper”.