Bonnie Lucas loves to take pretty things, cut them up, rip them apart, and then remake them into art. “The store-bought object is not meant to be cut up and dismantled. It’s highly valued in our culture. Especially by women. We take care of things, we wash things, we store them. Especially feminine and pretty things. A few people I know said, You really cut that doll up? My mother said that to me. She’s appalled that I did this, actually.” The New York Times
Author: ArtsJournal2
In Dealing With Deeply Problematic Statues, The U.S. Could Take Some Cues From India
Why consume museum resources to honor settler colonialism or racism? India and former satellite states of the Soviet Union offer a different path. “In these places, no effort is made to preserve old statues. They’re just left to fade away. In India, the colonial monuments are fundamentally neutered in public, left to erode in a long-neglected park. In, say, Estonia, Soviet monuments are dumped to the side and kept largely out of view.” – The Boston Globe
Washington Ballet Artistic Director Julie Kent Says She’s Recovering From Covid-19
The former American Ballet Theatre star didn’t elaborate, but “at least three ballet employees became sick after the Washington Ballet’s online gala June 18, according to several people.” The gala was mostly online, and ballet officials say they followed CDC guidelines in filming the preparation for the gala. In her Instagram post, Kent wrote, “I have joined hundreds of thousands of people around the world that took every precaution, and still contracted this virus. No matter how careful we all are, this can happen to anyone. There is no stigma.” – The Washington Post
Spokane Symphony Administrator Resigns After Racist Conspiracy Theory Tweets Are Exposed
Bethany Schoeff-Cotter is a classically trained oboist and married to the symphony’s general manager – and was the personnel manager for 11 years. In her tweets, she “referred to the Black Lives Matter movement as ‘a disease on this country’ and suggested the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis is a hoax designed to influence this year’s elections. Schoeff-Cotter also called those who wear masks to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus ‘idiots’ and accused Microsoft founder Bill Gates of a plot to force vaccines and microchips on the American public.” – The Spokane Spokesman-Review
Some Of Bollywood’s Biggest Stars Are Hospitalized With The Coronavirus
While some big stars have already died, Sunday shook the Bollywood world further. “Superstar Amitabh Bachchan was in a ‘stable’ condition in the isolation unit at Nanavati Hospital, the facility said in a statement, after he and his son Abhishek Bachchan were both admitted following positive tests late Saturday evening. And soon Abhiskek Bachchan’s wife, the heralded actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, also entered hospital. The couple’s daughter tested positive for Covid-19 too.” – CNN
Theatre Artists Of Color Don’t Want To Be Treated As Tokens Now Or Ever Again
The group “We See You, White American Theater” released a 29-page letter of demands that “would amount to a sweeping restructuring of the theater ecosystem in America.” Indeed, they say, it’s time for everything from ending contracts with the stagehands’ union until that union diversifies to the idea that BIPOC be “the majority of writers, directors and designers onstage for the foreseeable future.” – The New York Times
When You Can Actually Be What You Can’t See, But Then You Finally See Yourself Onscreen
Author Candice Carty-Williams (she of the hilarious, sexy, sad, and moving 2019 novel Queenie) says that Michaela Coel’s new series is the first (and perhaps only) screen depiction of what it truly means to be a writer in today’s world. – The Guardian (UK)
USC Will Remove John Wayne Exhibit
The actor, who attended USC on a football scholarship in the 1920s, said some intensely racist things in a 1971 interview. So why did an exhibit honoring him go up at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts … in 2012? In any case: “School officials first responded to the protests in December by expanding the exhibit to include Indigenous filmmakers as well as feminist and critical race theory” – but now it’s coming down entirely. – Variety
Art Galleries Are Opening Outposts In The Hamptons, Where Their Clients Are Ensconced
What virus? “Since the beginning of June, five major art galleries have opened here: Pace, Skarstedt, Van de Weghe, Michael Werner and Sotheby’s, all arms of New York art powerhouses. And more are on the way soon.” – The New York Times
Why Is UC San Francisco About To Destroy Artwork Depicting An African American Midwife Hero?
Well, you know, new medical research buildings. “University spokespeople claim that UC San Francisco is unable to cover the costs of removing and preserving the murals, estimated at $8 million. If the price of saving 10 frescoes is prohibitive, one wonders where the university will find the funds for its proposed 1.5 million-square-foot expansion project. Perhaps the university could start by dipping into its nearly $4-billion endowment.” – Los Angeles Times