“French publishing house Gallimard has insisted it will go ahead with the publication of the 1,000-page collection of 1930s pamphlets by Céline, who called for the extermination of Jews. The publication date is not set but Gallimard has insisted its intention is to frame the texts ‘and put them back in their context as writings of a great violence, marked by the antisemitic hatred of the author’. … A furious row has raged in literary circles between those for and against publication.”
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Top Posts From AJBlogs 01.08.18
Is There Anything New In Costume Exhibits?
Yes, maybe. Vogue magazine recently wrote: “Couture Korea proves that in the often choked-up calendar of museum fashion exhibitions, there are still fascinating new subjects to explore that are fresh and full of feeling.” … read more
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts Published 2018-01-08
Britain, Rock ‘n’ Roll, and 1966
What was the real heart of the ’60s? That depends, of course, on what we really mean when we talk about that much-mythologized and contested decade. … read more
AJBlog: CultureCrash Published 2018-01-08
My Debt to Eugene Thaw, the Late Dealer, Collector, Connoisseur, Scholar, Donor, Mentor
I’ve never met an art dealer as brilliant and multifaceted as Eugene V. Thaw, who died Jan. 3 at the age of 90. Selling works of highest quality, from old masters to modern, he advised the … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2018-01-08
Big man, small screen
Seeking to rest my weary mind, I brought a short stack of Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe mystery novels with me to Upper Black Eddy, Pennsylvania, where Mrs. T and I retreated last week … read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2018-01-08
Recent Listening: A Porter, Porter And King Collaboration
Randy Porter Plays Cole Porter, special guest Nancy King (Heavywood)
If Randy Porter played more widely outside the US Pacific Northwest, he would likely be lauded as one of the leading contemporary … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2018-01-08
What Is The Role Of Artists In Public Debate?
Open discourse is becoming a radical act as technologies designed to create a new digital commons are daily molded into megaphones for the most powerful and regressive voices. If artists are to maintain a vital voice in public discourse they need to engage with important social narratives through open-ended dialogues and public engagement.
Is This The Definitive Bio Of Toscanini?
“His work as an interpreter was so original and so powerful that it has influenced musicians down to our own day: generations of conductors, including those who disagreed and disagree with his interpretations, have been the beneficiaries of his reforms in the opera house and concert hall, and his insistence that the performer’s job is to come as close as possible to revealing the composer’s intentions, rather than to use the music as a vehicle for self-expression, remains a basic principle for many of today’s outstanding performers.”
We Get The Self-Help Gurus To Suit Our Time (What We Can Learn)
“In our current era of non-stop technological innovation, fuzzy wishful thinking has yielded to the hard doctrine of personal optimization. Self-help gurus need not be charlatans peddling snake oil. Many are psychologists with impressive academic pedigrees and a commitment to scientific methodologies, or tech entrepreneurs with enviable records of success in life and business. What they’re selling is metrics. It’s no longer enough to imagine our way to a better state of body or mind. We must now chart our progress, count our steps, log our sleep rhythms, tweak our diets, record our negative thoughts—then analyze the data, recalibrate, and repeat.”
How To Do Arts Advocacy? Here Are A Couple Of Transformative Ideas
A few years ago we launched a simple, yet transformative project asking our nonprofit arts organizations to become polling places. This opened up their relationship with their local community and provides a way to have a non-transactional relationship with their neighbors. It also shows that we are community members who care about the local legislation and policies that affect our lives as individuals and as organizations that serve our neighbors. In many cases it also is an opportunity to expand the audience of who these organizations are reaching. The primary goal is to expand the definition of who the organization is and how do they fit into “more art everywhere”.
Museum Groups Condemn LaSalle University’s Plan To Sell Art
“College and university art museums have a long and rich history of collecting, curating, and educating in a financially and ethically responsible manner on par with the world’s most prestigious institutions,” the statement says. “A different governance structure does not exempt a university museum from acting ethically, nor permit them to ignore issues of public trust and use collections as disposable financial assets.”
Met Museum Defends Its New Admissions Policy
Many think the new $25 entrance fee – which is the same for several other city museums – is too expensive. Met President Daniel Weiss disagrees. “In every society and throughout history, excellence costs money,” he said. “If you’re willing to spend $25 to go to the MoMA or Guggenheim, or spend $15 to go to the movies, we don’t think asking $25 to come to the Met is an unreasonable request.”
Citing Rising Concerns About Free Expression, PEN Chapters In LA And NY Will Merge
The New York-based PEN America and California-based PEN Center USA told The Associated Press on Monday that they will be called PEN America. Suzanne Nossel, currently executive director of the New York chapter, will oversee the new entity along with an expanded board of trustees that will include members from both chapters. Nossel said in a statement that the decision came out of a “shared sense of urgency” about free expression in the U.S. and overseas.
Autism: Impairment Or Gift?
These debates point to an apparent paradox in our understanding of autism: is it a disorder to be diagnosed, or an experience to be celebrated? How can autism be something that must be ‘treated’ at one level, but also praised and socially accommodated at another?