Themes of surveillance, sexuality, gender inequality, and evading censors are certainly, sadly relevant in 2019. East German artists knew all about all of that, and “their subversive and often humorous paintings, performances, prints, collages and texts have lost none of their provocative power.” – The Economist
Author: ArtsJournal2
This Film Festival Goes Way Beyond Inspiration Porn
The only time you’ll see an actor with a disability in a Hollywood movie is when the actor isn’t disabled, and the movie is the kind of thing that disability activists call “inspo porn.” (Think Rain Man, The Upside, etc.) But at the Reelability Festival, “actors with a wide range of disabilities got to play an equally wide range of richly developed roles. … They were bolstered in this effort by something else notably unusual: A lot of those writing and directing and working on the films’ crews also were disabled people.” – Los Angeles Times
The Glorious Aesthetics Of A ‘Mundane’ Halloween
The tradition, which has been focused in Japan but spread out from there via the internet (of course), gets people wearing “costumes” like “just got out of bed and grabbed the first thing I saw to spray a roach with.” This is, perhaps, a great thing. “Philosophers interested in the ‘aesthetics of the everyday’ argue that the way we think about aesthetics is too focused on heightened ideas of beauty. In fact, they point out, repetitive tasks like chores, unremarkable objects like trash cans and diapers, and common interactions between family members and neighbors can all be considered to possess ‘aesthetics.'” – Slate
They’ve Maybe Found William Henry Harrison’s Sword
He wasn’t president for long (31 days, actually), but during that time, he sported his (then famous) sword from the (then famous) Battle of Tippecanoe. In 1979, it was stolen from the Connecticut Historical Society. The sword – or maybe a copy, the owner claims! – went up for auction and was promptly seized. But whose sword is it? – The New York Times
As ‘Nutcracker’ Season Cranks Up, Kansas City Ballet Says It’s Time To ‘Phase Out’ Racist Stereotypes
The Nutcracker, which is the source of much funding for ballet companies across the Western world and especially in the U.S., is a huge tradition – and one that, increasingly, audiences are finding disturbing. So ballet companies are making changes for this year’s and future productions. “On Friday, the Kansas City Ballet announced the company has signed on to a national campaign called Final Bow for Yellowface, a pledge to remove outdated caricatures.” – KCUR
The Art World’s Most Lucrative Prize Goes To Colombian Artist Doris Salcedo
The Nomura Award is in its inaugural year, and it gives $1 million to a living artist. Salcedo won “for her body of work produced over the last 25 years, which has focused on the human cost of the conflict between successive governments and rebel groups in Colombia” and has included melting weapons from 7,000 former fighters into tiles for an exhibition space in Bogotá. – The New York Times
An Old Text, Set To New Music
Catholic Scottish composer James MacMillan, whose version of the “Stabat Mater” – a meditation on Mary, the mother of Jesus, suffering during the Crucifixion – is at the Lincoln Center this week, “sees himself as part of a widespread search among composers for the sacred in contemporary music.” – The New York Times
Raising Successful Kids Comes At The Expense Of A Decent Society
In the U.S., at least, kindness and empathy are on a statistical decline. So what can parents do? Stop the focus on success, and focus on what we can do that’s decent and good. “The point is not to badger kids into kindness, or dangle carrots for caring, but to show that these qualities are noticed and valued.” – The Atlantic
There’s Always A Reason To Hate ‘Perfect’ Images Of Other People
It used to be magazines and the Photoshopping that went into making cover models and celebrities look even thinner and more “perfect” than they already are. But this time it’s regular people on Instagram. – The New York Times
The Oscars May Turn Into A Battle Of Two Genders
Will “boy films” or “girl films” dominate? And also, WTF, Hollywood? – The Guardian (UK)