“Can a collection of Persian antiquities held at a Chicago museum be used to pay damages to the American victims of a terrorist bombing in Jerusalem? That was the question argued at the US Supreme Court on 4 December, in a claim brought by Jenny Rubin and others against Iran. But the justices who questioned the lawyers involved in the case seemed skeptical about allowing the artefacts to be seized.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
How The Dance World Is Responding To Sexual Harassment Claims Against Peter Martins
“Immediate reactions were varied, though emotionally charged. Here are a few of the many responses”
Met Museum Rejects Petition To Remove ‘Sexually Suggestive’ Balthus Painting
The work, titled Thérèse Dreaming, depicts an adolescent girl seated in a position that reveals her underwear. “Given the current climate around sexual assault and allegations that become more public each day,” read the petition, “in showcasing this work for the masses without providing any type of clarification, the Met is, perhaps unintentionally, supporting voyeurism and the objectification of children.”
The Met Is Right, Says Philip Kennicott: Even If It’s Disturbing, That Balthus Painting Should Not Be Hidden
“Censoring Balthus, whose work is disturbing but not pornographic, makes no sense. Removing his work from view would not eliminate the desires he animates and it would probably lead to the loss of other work, which explored other horizons of the illicit. We would lose much of the imperfect progress we made away from shame and silence about desire.”
Four In 10 Brits Would Never Go To The Opera Because It’s Too Hard To Understand: Survey
“The survey, commissioned by [radio station] Classic FM, … explored reasons why people did not attend opera shows as well as general public opinion on the art form. …One in ten of the participants who had attended an opera performance in the past claimed that they ‘felt nervous, self-conscious and like they didn’t fit in’.”
Indianapolis Symphony Posts Record Ticket Sales
“The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra experienced its fifth straight year of record ticket sales during the 2016-17 season while meeting budget projections for the fourth time in five years.”
Turner Prize Goes To Oldest Winner, And First Woman Of Color, In Its History
“Lubaina Himid, an artist who makes theatrical, witty and challenging works that address colonial history, racism and institutional invisibility, … won for three exhibitions of her work in Bristol, Oxford and Nottingham.”
Venice Comes Up With A Solution To The Cruise Ship Problem (But Is It The Wrong One?)
“Currently, 500 to 600 ships – a yearly 1,000 to 1,200 entrances and exits – of up to 96,000 gross tonnes enter the lagoon from the Adriatic by the Lido opening to sail through Venice … But the Comitatone has rejected the solution favoured by environmental scientists and some politicians, which is to build a floating port outside the lagoon, from which passengers would be brought into town in smaller boats.”
French President Promises To Return African Art Taken During Colonial Era
Said Emanuel Macron last week in a speech given in Burkina Faso, “Africa’s patrimony must be celebrated in Paris but also in Dakar, Lagos, and Cotonou. This will be one of my priorities. In the next five years, I want the conditions to be created for the temporary or permanent restitution of African patrimony to Africa.”
Rock Superstar Johnny Hallyday, ‘The French Elvis Presley,’ Dead At 74
“Although he was little known outside the French-speaking world, Mr. Hallyday sold more than 100 million records, acted in more than 30 films and appeared on the cover of Paris Match dozens of times. His career endured so long that when he released an album in 2008 called Ça Ne Finira Jamais (‘It Will Never End’), the title sounded like a simple statement of fact.”