“[The city has] endure[d] crisis and chaos and economic collapse, and yet emerge[d] from the wreckage as one of the continent’s most vibrant and significant cultural capitals, more popular than ever as a tourist destination. (Last year Athens welcomed a record 5 million visitors, double the 2012 figure.) … In so many ways, Athens feels more alive, more culturally prolific, than ever, and it’s hard to understand how this could have happened in the midst of the worst economic catastrophe in the history of the European Union.”
Blog
It’s Official: Los Angeles Times And San Diego Union-Tribune Have A New Owner
“Biotech billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong … is spending $500 million to acquire the news organizations, along with Spanish-language Hoy and a handful of community newspapers, from Chicago-based Tronc.” Reporter Meg James gives background on both the new owner, a South Africa-born surgeon, and the newspapers’ troubles over the past few years.
At Least One Charles Rennie Mackintosh Site In Glasgow Is In Good Shape
Yes, the great architect’s Glasgow School of Art has been devastated by fire for the second time in four years, but there’s at least a bit of good news about his work. One of the Art Nouveau tea rooms he designed in Scotland’s largest city has been restored and reopened.
Could Kyiv Become The Next Berlin?
“Art flourishes in interesting times, they say, and a combination of political upheaval, cheap rents and plentiful space has created the conditions for the kind of vibrant underground music and art scene that took hold in Berlin in the 1990s.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 06.18.18
Propwatch: the blender in Julie
The talk around us was all about the dishwashers. ‘Look, there’s two of them,’ murmured the woman in front of us. ‘Three dishwashers,’ gasped a guy in the row behind. By the end, … read more
AJBlog: Performance Monkey Published 2018-06-18
Visconti’s Four-Hour Ludwig — A Momentous Wagnerian Film
The Film Society of Lincoln Center’s current Luchino Visconti retrospective climaxes with more than a week of screenings (June 16 and 22-28) featuring the restored, four-hour version of Ludwig (1973) — a rare opportunity to properly encounter a magnificent Wagnerian film. … read more
AJBlog: Unanswered Question Published 2018-06-16
Monday Surprise: Seeing Bix
For many aficionados of Bix Beiderbecke the surprise is not that there is so little film of the great cornetist, but that there is any. … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2018-06-18
Have We Turned To Comedy To Our Own Detriment?
He’s concerned, Ken Jennings is, about how something he loves — comedy — has transformed the way we live now. These days, he says, we collectively react to every stimulus through a lens of humor. In his view, the comedic “take” has become reflexive, unthinking and often, especially when abetted by social media, glib.
How Pixar’s “The Incredibles II” Smashed Box Office Records This Weekend
Disney–Pixar’s “Incredibles 2” shattered box office expectations with its $180 million domestic debut — the eighth-best opening weekend of all time in North America and the biggest ever launch for an animated film. Overseas, it picked up an additional $51.5 million for a global start of $231.5 million.
How Music Videos have Been Revived In The Post-MTV Era
Political edge isn’t a new addition to the art form by any means, but it’s difficult to imagine the recent deluge of videos exploring racial and sexual identity occurring in the MTV era. The phenomenon is in part the result of political trends like polarization and identity politics rising to the forefront of online conversation, and movements like Black Lives Matter and Me Too asserting the equality of marginalized groups. But it also owes a lot to the YouTube revolution and the freedom that video platforms grant artists.
European Museums Rush To Collect Artifacts In Real Time After Significant Events
Rapid-response collecting was pioneered by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. In 2014, it opened a gallery dedicated to objects acquired after they stirred public debate or looked likely to have historical impact. The museum says it hopes they provoke discussion about how objects are changing the way we live.
Study Shows Big Gender Disparity In American Books Coverage
The highly anticipated “VIDA Count,” released Monday, has The New Yorker, The Nation and The Atlantic among those devoting less than 40 percent of their book coverage to women in 2017. Only two of 15 publications analyzed in the main VIDA count gave women 50 percent or more — Poetry magazine and Granta. Those between 40 percent and 49 percent include The New York Times Book Review and the Paris Review, from which editor Lorin Stein resigned last December amid allegations of sexual harassment.