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Coronavirus Is Devastating The Arts In China

“Movie releases have been canceled in China and symphony tours suspended because of quarantines and fears of contagion. A major art fair [and a performing arts festival] in Hong Kong [were] called off, and important spring art auctions half a world away in New York have been postponed because well-heeled Chinese buyers may find it difficult to travel to them.” – The New York Times

Scrotum-Nailing, Bank-Burning Artist Interferes With Paris Mayoral Campaign

Pyotr Pavlensky — who gained notoriety in Russia for sewing his lips shut in solidarity with Pussy Riot and nailing his scrotum to Red Square, and who, having received political asylum from the French government, proceeded to set fire to the Bank of France — obtained, posted online, and gave to the newspaper Libération sexting messages and images sent to a woman by President Macron’s former spokesman, who is — make that was — running for mayor of Paris. – Yahoo! (AP)

Wayne McGregor Is Choreographing A Margaret Atwood Ballet

In a joint project for the Royal Ballet of Great Britain and the National Ballet of Canada, McGregor will create MaddAddam, a three-act work based on Atwood’s trilogy Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood and MaddAddam with a new score by Max Richter. The world premiere will be this coming November in Toronto, with London performances in 2022. – The Guardian

The Obama Portraits Have Become, In Essence, Pilgrimage Sites

“Stories of visitors praying or breaking down in tears before the portraits circulated on social media.” (Not unlike Jerusalem or Lourdes.) Says the director of the National Portrait Gallery in D.C., “It’s a form of what I call secular pilgrimage. Much like people go to Graceland or John Lennon’s grave — the response has that quality to it.” – Artnet

Denied Visas, Siberian State Symphony Cancels U.S. Tour

The 81-musician orchestra, based in the Russian city of Krasnoyarsk (a few hundred miles northeast of where the borders of Mongolia, China, Kazakhstan, and Russia meet), was to have made a two-week tour in February and March of regional cities in California, Florida, Alabama, North Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. U.S. Customs and Immigration Services gave no reason for the denial of the visas. – Orange County Register (California)

See A 3D Recreation Of Ancient Greece

Visitors to the site can browse reconstructions that date back as early as 1200 BCE, the Mycenaean period — or Bronze Age — through Classical Athens, featuring the rebuilds made necessary by the Greco-Persian War, and ages of occupation by Romans and Ottomans. Tsalkanis traces the evolution of sites like the Acropolis throughout the ages, the rise and fall of the city walls, the Agora, which served as center of city life, and various temples, libraries, and other fortifications. – Hyperallergic

Shock: Entire Board of French Movie Academy Resigns

The shock announcement by the 21-member board of the Association for the Promotion of Cinema – the organization overseeing the Cesar Academy – comes on the heels of industry-wide backlash following 12 Cesar nominations for Roman Polanski’s “An Officer and a Spy.” The Cesars were also heavily criticised for shutting out feminist personalities such as director Claire Denis and author Virginie Despentes from one of recent gala events preceding the ceremony. – Variety