Author: ArtsJournal2

Barcelona, In The Middle Of A Second Wave, Re-Closes Movie Theatres

While Spain’s figurehead monarchs went to the movies in Madrid, the Catalan government shut down Barcelona theatres and other mass gatherings (though it’s awfully hard to shut down Barcelona street parties, looks like). “The mandated shutdown is fiercely contested by Barcelona area town halls, adding to a nationwide debate about just how safe it is to go to the cinema.” – Variety

The Blockbuster Movie Tenet May Yet Come Out This Summer, But Should It?

When you have to ask yourself, “Am I actually dying to see this movie?” it might be too early for the theatres to reopen. “Infections are still going up in many states, and there is no federal plan in place to halt that spread. Simple acts to contain the coronavirus, like wearing a mask or staying at home, have now become so hopelessly politicized that it’s all but impossible to imagine our country flattening the curve by Aug. 12.” – The New York Times

The Extremely Cold Case Of Hans Holbein’s Bones

London: “Emptied out by coronavirus during lockdown, the City was the perfect place for socially distanced, government-mandated walks. And beneath its streets are the bodies of innumerable plague victims. One in particular haunts me. Holbein died in London, almost certainly of plague, in 1543. The long shadow of bubonic plague permeates his art, in its danse macabre of corpses and skeletons. It seemed appropriate to seek out this master of pestilence in a time of pandemic.” – The Guardian (UK)

Susan Orlean Brightened The World By Getting Drunk, Missing Her Cat, And Tweeting

Despair about the state of the world, a little rosé, and voilà: “Orlean sent 27 entertaining, if typo-infused, tweets (read: “I do r e we. Know who is I my house”) that careen from the state of the world to the location of her cat, Leo, interspersed with frequent nods to her progressing drunkenness and her husband’s mounting concern for her well being. Taken together, the tweets feel oddly in tune with the tenor of the times — surreal, raw, a little unhinged.” – Los Angeles Times

Dystopian Fiction Can Help Us Live Through Dystopian Reality

You’d think living during a plague (The Stand, The Walking Dead, Domesday Book) and a time when unmarked federal agents are kidnapping people off the street (Little Brother, Hunger Games) might not be a good time to read dystopian fiction like Octavia Butler’s The Parable of the Sower. You’d be wrong. “What makes dystopian fiction different is that its creators are oddly optimists at heart, as we are. These works are not about prediction, but prevention. The stories warn of just how far things can go if action isn’t taken.” – Slate

Sorry, New York, You Can’t Have Museums Yet

Museums will not open on Monday, or anytime soon, says Governor Cuomo. “We’re not going to have any indoor activity in malls or cultural institutions. … We’ll continue to monitor that situation, and when the facts change, we will let you know.” The worry? Viral spread by tourists from the South and West of the U.S., where cases are increasing at a massive rate. – The New York Times

If You’re In A Low-Virus Area, Is It Safe To Sing Yet?

Uhm. British government regulations are that singers and musicians stand three meters apart, or (for singers) back-to-back, or side-by-side (in other words, not in rows on risers). “If the chorus at the Last Night of the Proms had to stand side-by-side then Rule Britannia would begin in the Royal Albert Hall and stretch all the way down to the Natural History Museum, almost half a kilometre away.” Also, again, it may not be safe at all. – BBC