“Throughout his 37-year career at the library — including two decades as the first chief librarian of the Wallach Division, which combined the library’s vast holdings in art, prints and photographs — Mr. Rainwater … oversaw a vast expansion of the [library’s] holdings in modern and contemporary prints, artist-made books and printed ephemera from the 1970s onward.” — New York Times
Blog
Osmo Vänskä To Leave Minnesota Orchestra In 2022
The Finnish conductor, now 65, will have been the orchestra’s music director for 19 seasons when his current contract expires. Over those years, he brought the orchestra to international renown and Grammy Awards, led groundbreaking tours to Cuba and South Africa, and stood with the musicians through the lockout of 2012-14. — The Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
Study: Spending More Time Outside Makes You Healthier
The study finds that people who live in leafier areas have lower levels of several stress-related biomarkers, including adrenaline. In addition, they have an enhanced ability to grow and repair blood vessels. – Pacific Standard
Museum Crowdfunds For Yayoi Kusama Infinity Room But Falls Short
The Art Gallery of Ontario raised $651,183, or about half the $1.3-million target it had set to buy the property. But we will still get to appreciate the artwork after the Toronto gallery decided to dip into existing funds.
The Bad News About Human Nature (As Observed By Decades Of Studies)
We would rather electrocute ourselves than spend time in our own thoughts. This was demonstrated in a controversial 2014 study in which 67 per cent of male participants and 25 per cent of female participants opted to give themselves unpleasant electric shocks rather than spend 15 minutes in peaceful contemplation. – Aeon
Climate Change Report On Heritage Sites: Goodbye Venice
The map reveals the degree of threat to one evocative name after another: the Amalfi coast, the Roman city of Arles, the Greek temples at Paestum south of Naples, the crusader city of Acre, the ancient shrine of Ephesus, even the Modernist architecture of Tel Aviv. – The Art Newspaper
US Supreme Court Tax Ruling Worries Art Dealers
The need to assess sales tax is now dictated by what is known as an “economic nexus”, meaning that if a vendor’s sales reach a certain threshold (which varies by state), then it has enough of an economic presence there to justify the need to pay taxes. What could prove most problematic for dealers is that many states define the nexus differently. – The Art Newspaper
Salonen’s Departure From London’s Philharmonia Raises Questions About Orchestra’s Future
The simultaneous departures at the end of 2020-21 of Salonen from the Philharmonia and Vladimir Jurowski from the London Philharmonic pose big questions for the Southbank Centre. Both conductors have kept their orchestras at the top of the league. Yet both the Philharmonia and the LPO will need to ensure that the Southbank possesses a long-term commitment to the work the orchestras want to do – whatever that now is. – The Guardian
Tumblr’s Porn Ban ‘Isn’t Just A Blunt Solution, It’s Counterproductive’
Comparing the platform’s decision to “hammering a nail with a skyscraper, only to have it slip through an open window,” April Glaser argues that “what banning ‘adult content’ will do, however, is eradicate one of the few mainstream, safe, and non-taboo places where people could participate in communities that openly congregate around sex and sexuality.” — Slate
UK Local Governments Are Cracking Down On Buskers – Will They Survive?
“Councils are allowing big companies to own semi-public spaces that look and feel like public spaces, but buskers would get removed from them very quickly. Part of the debate is what responsibilities councils have when selling land to ensure there are genuine public spaces.” – The Guardian