That’s how Tate Modern director Frances Morris describes the 1989 Paris show Magiciens de la Terre. As The Economist‘s anonymous-as-usual correspondent writes, “The exhibition was in some ways a flop. In others it was a harbinger, or catalyst, of the way the art world would change with globalisation in the next three decades.” Here’s why. – The Economist
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Engaging In A Creative Activity Really Does Make You Feel Better: Report
“Almost 50,000 people took part in the BBC Arts Great British Creativity Test. It suggested that being creative can help avoid stress, free up mind space and improve self-development, which helps build self-esteem. The findings also said there are emotional benefits from taking part in even a single session of creativity.” – BBC
Writing Now Pays So Badly That You Have To Marry Well Or Inherit Just To Afford To Do It: Report
“The full findings from the annual Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society report into author earnings … [reveal that,] while the average professional writer earns £10,000 a year, the mean earnings for a writer’s household were more than £81,000 a year, and median household earnings were at £50,000 per annum.” – The Guardian
Prehistoric Rock Art Discovered In India By Two Regular Guys
Over the past seven years, a pair of amateur archaeologists has discovered hundreds of large petroglyphs, estimated to be 10,000 to 40,000 years old, etched into rock in a rural area roughly halfway between Mumbai and Goa. – The New York Times
CBS Censors ‘The Good Fight’ Segment About China
The streaming series, a spinoff of the old broadcast series The Good Wife, is known for its satirical Schoolhouse Rock-style cartoons called Good Fight Shorts. Last week, in place of the Short, the audience saw 8½ seconds of a placard that said “CBS HAS CENSORED THIS CONTENT.” Many viewers figured it was satire. It wasn’t. Emily Nussbaum reports on what went down at CBS. – The New Yorker
Amazon Is Offering To Pay New York Times, BuzzFeed, New York Magazine To Expand Abroad
The online-shopping juggernaut is reportedly in talks with those three outlets (and possibly others) “about deals that would reward them for expanding their international presence, specifically in consumer-oriented shopping sites” such as NYT’s Wirecutter and New York Media’s Strategist. – Vox
Dave Chappelle Awarded 2019 Mark Twain Prize For American Humor
“Known for his incisive, off-kilter and sometimes controversial approach to joking about race, family and relationships, Chappelle has influenced a generation of younger comedians since becoming a national sensation with Chappelle’s Show, his early 2000s sketch comedy series on Comedy Central. His subsequent sudden retreat from the public eye added a layer of mystique, but Chappelle has been actively performing stand-up since 2013 and has since won two Grammys and two Emmys.” – The Washington Post
Lucerne Festival Bosses Axe Easter Festival And Piano Festival
While things will proceed as planned for the rest of this year, from 2020 onward, the Lucerne Festival will redirect focus and resources to its flagship late-summer event and its in-house orchestra (directed by Riccardo Chailly) and academy. Consequently, the satellite Lucerne Easter Festival and (late-autumn) Lucerne Piano Festival are being eliminated by the artistic director and board, who have determined that those events are “strategically of lesser importance” to the Festival’s brand. (in German; for Google Translate version, click here) – Neue Zürcher Zeitung (Zurich)
Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui At The Royal Ballet
“Despite running a ballet company — and his many commissions for ballet companies — Mr. Cherkaoui is still largely seen as a contemporary dance-maker … [and he] seem[s] half-amused, half-pained by the idea that he is seen as an outsider in the ballet world.” Reporter Roslyn Sulcas talks to the choreographer about his new work for London’s august ballet troupe, Medusa. – The New York Times
This Soprano Just Won Her Second $50,000 Award In A Month
“The Metropolitan Opera has named Lisette Oropesa the 2019 recipient of the Beverly Sills Artist Award, just one month after the young soprano was announced as this year’s Richard Tucker Award honoree. Both awards come with a $50,000 prize.” – Playbill