Though The Wall Street Journal‘s critic doesn’t seem to enjoy having Native American historians comment on Native American art, the labels speak for themselves. – Lee Rosenbaum
Blog
Lyn Kienholz, Tireless Advocate For The Artists Of Los Angeles, Has Died At 88
Kienholz, founder of the California/International Arts Foundation, fiercely advocated for the artists of Los Angeles, and she hosted dinner parties to connect them with “writers, politicians and tastemakers from all over the world.” She was one of the main sparks for the idea that became the L.A.-focused artist showcase Pacific Standard Time, and she never stopped advocating for the artists of Los Angeles to be written permanently into art history. – Los Angeles Times
A Key Biometric Privacy Law Survived Illinois’ Supreme Court
The 2008 law has been a problem for Facebook, Google – and Six Flags, which very much wanted to overturn the law when parents sued it for taking their 14-year-old’s fingerprints without their consent. The court: “Whatever expenses a business might incur to meet the law’s requirements … are likely to be insignificant compared to the substantial and irreversible harm that could result if biometric identifiers and information are not properly safeguarded.” – The Verge
Hot New Startup: ‘LinkedIn For Opera Artists’
Seriously. The Danish start-up is meant for artists to be able to take some control over their careers, no matter what their agents do. “Truelinked will feature digital profiles of artists that can be searched by companies and opera houses.” – The Stage (UK)
Florence Knoll Bassett, Who Designed American Offices Into Modernity, Has Died At 101
Knoll Bassett was “a pioneering designer and entrepreneur who created the modern look and feel of America’s postwar corporate office with sleek furniture, artistic textiles and an uncluttered, free-flowing workplace environment.” – The New York Times
Remind Us: How Did The Just OK Movie ‘Vice’ Get Eight Oscar Nods?
One theory: “These awards are more about what the academy hopes to communicate by endorsing a movie and less about the movie itself. The academy wants to say it hates tyrannical dictators, that it likes Amy Adams.” (But where does that leave If Beale Street Could Talk?) – HuffPost
In A Surprise Move, Penguin Random House Shutters Prestigious Imprint Spiegel And Grau
The imprint, founded by Cindy Spiegel and Julie Grau, had one of its most successful years in 2018, but even if it hadn’t, the imprint had a prestigious run of best-selling nonfiction. What gives? “Penguin Random House, which houses around 275 imprints worldwide and generates some $4 billion annually, has begun to look for ways to streamline its publishing lines.” – The New York Times
Michel Legrand, Oscar-Winning Composer, Has Died At 86
Legrand won three Oscars and created around 150 scores, including the legendary Jacques Demy Umbrellas of Cherbourg, “a landmark film in which all of the dialogue is sung and which is believed to mark the only instance in Oscar history in which a composer was nominated in all three music categories for the same film (best song, best original score, best musical adaptation).” – Variety
The Wages Of Onscreen Interracial Friendship
Has the U.S. learned nothing since Driving Miss Daisy? Well … the Academy likes Spike Lee a tad bit more now, 30 years later. – The New York Times
Ice Dancing Is Heavily Reliant On Heterosexual Narratives
Can an ice dance couple – both of whom are out, with one in a same-sex relationship – help break that trope? (See also the sibling Shibutanis, whom some commentators find uncomfortable for that very reason.) “When you have a team that doesn’t portray a romantic relationship for any reason, they’re forced to consider new ways to tell their story. That opens up new doors, new pathways.” – ESPN