It’s just too, too weird. “To someone living exclusively online, many of Freud’s “primitive beliefs” would be literal truths. The dead live on in their videos and social media feeds. Thanks to targeted advertising, a pair of boots we put in our cart months ago stalks us at every turn. The notion that a single utterance can turn a random citizen into an influencer might have sounded to Freud like magical thinking. We see it happen every day.” – The New York Times
Author: ArtsJournal2
UK Theatres And Other Cultural Venues Plead For Better Guidelines, More Money
Opening with socially distanced audiences on August 1st? Not likely, say theatres. “For most theatres it will not be economically viable to reopen with 30%-40% audience required under social distancing. … We now need to progress as quickly as possible to an announcement on the all-important stage five. Without this, most theatres cannot reopen viably.” – The Guardian (UK)
Is It Appropriation When A Black American Dancer Falls For Irish Dance?
Morgan Bullock’s TikTok videos went viral, and then came the backlash. The dancer diplomatically says, “I think people use the term appropriation without understanding what it means.” Plus, she’s Riverdance approved. – BBC
Usually, We’d Have Settled On Our Summer Music, But Not In This Year Of Chaos
It’s hard to settle on a bop when there’s no one to bop with and no place to dance to that bop. “This level of turnover has not been seen since 1990, the year before Nielsen SoundScan revolutionized sales tracking, and may reflect a few structural factors.” – The Atlantic
Sometimes Artists, Writers, And Intellectuals Support Dictators
What’s that about? “Are these enablers true believers or just cynical opportunists? Do they believe the lies they tell and the conspiracies they invent or are they simply greedy for wealth and power? The answers … are frankly equivocal.” – The New York Times
Perhaps It’s The Perfect Time For A Sculpture That Depicts ‘Everywoman’
There aren’t many in England, even in the capital city – and it took two years to raise the funds for this one. “Price’s latest statue will be one of very few in Britain of black female subjects. Those in London already include a prominent one of Crimean war nurse Mary Seacole outside St Thomas’s hospital and one of a woman and child in Stockwell Gardens, south London.” – The Observer (UK)
Is Netflix’s Top Ten List Even Real?
Last week, Netflix suddenly decided to “reveal” its Top 10 movies of all time. Hm. “The catch was that Netflix provided the ranking and the numbers itself, meaning there was no way to verify any of it, so the whole list was only slightly more informative than when Netflix insists that something is popular without providing any numbers at all (as it did in 2018 with Bright, a movie that didn’t even appear on the list despite how successful Netflix said it was). Interesting? Yes. Informative? Eh.” – AV Club
Finishing Your MFA During A Pandemic And Epic Protests The Year After Your College Closes For Good
The graduating MFA class of 2020 at the Oregon College of Art and Craft has, to put it mildly, been through some things. But they may be the only graduating MFA class in the country to have had a thesis show this year. – Oregon ArtsWatch
How’s The Met’s Quest For Paying Subscribers Going?
Sure, people might pay $20 for a concert – but will they do what’s even better, what the Met would like them to do? “The recitals are intended to stimulate donations. ‘Fund-raising ebbs and flows according to activities and events,’ Peter Gelb, the company’s general manager, said.” – The New York Times
Disney Has Joined The Facebook Ad Boycott
At least partially – the biggest ad buyer this year on the social media giant has decided to pull its Disney Plus and Hulu ads, probably, along with hundreds of other advertisers, over concerns about how the platform handles hate speech. – Variety