Christopher Knight: “So the art market is a judge of quality, just like Mom and cousin Fred are, but hardly the best judge. There’s a simpler explanation as to why collectors and dealers aren’t the ones deciding who, finally, are the important artists. (Nor, for that matter, do curators, critics or the general public.) It’s because artists do.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Artificial Intelligence Computers Could Begin Taking Over For Lawyers
“Software tools are already important in the legal world, especially for big cases like company mergers, where algorithms help people comb through vast piles of documents. But the application of artificial intelligence to the law promises to go beyond document mining. It aims to let automated systems handle arguments where the logic is not clear.”
Theatre Industry Views Choreographers As ‘Intellectually Inferior’, Complains Choreographer
Javier de Frutos: “The enjoyment in finding a partner with whom we [choreographers] can have a dialogue ends very much the minute you cross the door to the outside world because in this hierarchy you [choreographers] are not equals. Theatres do not consider you equals and the payment is not equal.”
Disney Yanks Glammed-Up Brave Heroine Following Backlash
“After facing criticism for its redesign of Brave‘s Merida – including by Brenda Chapman, the former director of the film – Disney has apparently pulled the new look of the character from its princess website.”
Ai Weiwei Videotapes A Riot On Mother’s Day
The artist and his brother were walking to meet their mother at a restaurant when “they saw a commotion ahead of them. On the ground were overturned tables. There were people shouting and throwing chairs and waving sticks, Mr. Ai said. He got out his cell phone and began recording the scene.”
Young German Leftists March On Barbie’s Dream House
Says one group leader: “It would be a huge danger for capitalism if working men and women were united, so one of the best ways to divide and conquer the workers is by enabling men to over-sexualize women and by preoccupying women with sexualizing themselves. This is why we need to oppose Barbie.”
Would You Want To Be Friends With Humbert Humbert? On Literary Characters’ Likeability
“[Inspired by Claire Messud’s recent outburst,] we surveyed a group of novelists – Donald Antrim, Margaret Atwood, Jonathan Franzen, Rivka Galchen, and Tessa Hadley – asking them how often the question of likeability has been posed about their characters … and why this persists as a criteria for so many readers.”
Amazon Sees Its First-Ever Strike, In Germany
“Employees at two huge distribution warehouses, in Bad Hersfeld and Leipzig, launched the one-day strike, the giant services sector union Ver.di said. Ver.di is demanding that Amazon’s 9,000 workers in Germany be paid according to a wage deal in place for the retail and mail-order industries.”
Attendance At Broadway Touring Shows Down Again
“Attendance at touring Broadway shows nationwide dropped for the second straight season, according to a newly released report from the Broadway League. … The attendance for touring shows is the lowest since the 2003-04 season. In the last 10 years, attendance peaked at 15.9 million in 2009-10.”
Mayan Pyramid Demolished For Road Gravel
“A construction company has essentially destroyed one of Belize’s largest Mayan pyramids with backhoes and bulldozers to extract crushed rock for a road-building project, authorities announced on Monday.”