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Our Perceptions Of The World Around Us Feel Real. They’re Not

For most people most of the time, our perception certainly feels real. But the notion that our senses capture an objective external reality can be dispelled by considering something as fundamental as colour, which can be culturally influenced and, even within a single culture, leave the population split between seeing the same picture of a dress as black-and-blue or white-and-gold. – Aeon

‘Translationese’ — What Japan’s Most Important Modern Novelists Have In Common

Haruki Murakami famously wrote his first novel in English and then translated it into his mother tongue himself, resulting in a plainspoken, “neutral” (his word) style far removed from standard literary Japanese. Several critics referred to that style as “translationese.” Masatsugu Ono (both a translator and a novelist himself) makes the case that Murakami, Kenzaburo Oe, Yoko Tawada, Minae Mizumura all write in other languages and translate foreign literature into Japanese, and that this is what has made their work so distinctive. – The Paris Review

The presence of the absence

I don’t know how I’ve managed to survive the simultaneous losses of my beloved spouse and the art form to which I have devoted more than a decade and a half of my life. But I’m still here, and if Hilary’s death and the closing of America’s theaters didn’t kill me, then I figure I’m in it for the long haul. I hope you are, too. – Terry Teachout

People Either Adore Or Despise The Rothko Chapel — Could Its Restoration Change The Haters’ Minds?

“The space, which features fourteen dark paintings by Rothko, is famous for being dim and moody. It’s a sensory deprivation chamber that also functions as a theological deprivation chamber.” For its “devotees,” it’s “a space that seems sacred for a post-religious world” and can induce truly spiritual experiences. Others, well, disagree: one artist called it “a place where art and life and imagination go to die” and one critic who loved Rothko’s work called it “at worst a well-designed crematorium.” But the artist committed suicide well before construction in Houston was complete, and it has never looked as he imagined it — until now, say those who’ve just spent $30 million fixing the place. – Texas Monthly

In Europe, Festivals Are Reinventing As Drive-Ins

Scandinavia is taking the most innovative approach to the notion of the drive-in festival. Between August 21 and 26, in the Swedish town of Karlskrona, the Carl International Film Festival will have 30 boat-in screenings. Taking place in the Salto Fish Harbour with two LED screens, up to 100 boats will be allowed in, drawing attendees from around 1,600 nearby islands, with food delivered to boats from harbourside restaurants. – Forbes