There is a direct correlation between museum shows and spikes in interest at auction. “It confirmed in a reasonably analysed way that there is a relationship and, therefore, to support museums is not completely philanthropic—there is a commercial spin off.” – The Art Newspaper
Blog
How Bolsonaro Is Waging His Culture War On Brazil’s Arts Sector
“The president’s vow to rid cultural and educational institutions of ‘leftist’ values is changing the game at the institutions charged with fostering cultural production.” Here’s a rundown of the changes Bolsonaro has made so far. – Americas Quarterly
Don’t Read? What It Means To Love Literature
It is no secret that in contemporary America there are many people who hardly read at all, and then another sizable group who, though they keep up with news, sports and the latest fads in self-care or technology, have little interest in serious fiction, poetry or literary commentary. It would be wrong to say such people hate literature, for one has to care about something to truly hate it. – The Point
‘How Am I Going to Dance to This?’ Ask New York City Ballet Dancers About Ratmansky’s Latest Music Choice
The plaintive question came from Sara Mearns as she and her colleagues listened to the decidedly avant-garde music choreographer Alexei Ratmansky had selected for his new work, Voices. Ratmansky’s response: “There is no musicality, just your own.” – The New York Times
Why Shouldn’t We Think Of Literary Characters As Real? (It’s A Sin)
The warning against treating characters as if they were real stands as a gatekeeper to the academic discipline of literary criticism. Students who can’t abide by the rule will get bad grades. The professor will sigh and conclude that they just don’t have what it takes to become decent literary critics. Yet the same students may love reading, really get into the novels we assign, and be both confused and depressed to learn that to discuss the problems of Elizabeth Bennet as if she were their friend is to fail in some fundamental way. – The Point
The Environmental Costs Of The Vinyl LP Revival
“If you’re one of the millions of people to re-embrace vinyl records, it’s worth knowing where they come from and how they’re made.” (It ain’t pretty.) – The Guardian
An Argument Against Fairness
The Left thinks of fairness as egalitarian “equal outcomes” distribution, and the Right thinks of fairness as meritocracy (i.e., the winner takes the spoils, the qualified take the reward). Frequently, these are incompatible notions of the good, and the tension between them may have never been more intense. But running orthogonal to the debate about fairness is this more obscure yet fundamental issue of favoritism. – Heterodox Academy
Another Thing We Can Blame On Algorithms: Cancel Culture
“Outrage is the perfect negative emotion to attract attention and engagement – and algorithms are primed to pounce.” Worse, “misleading content on social media tends to lead to even more engagement than verified information.” On the other hand, once you’ve been cancelled, algorithms can help you (to overextend the metaphor) get revived on another network, as in the case of Kevin Hart. – The Conversation
The Rise And Collapse Of CollegeHumor.com
“For two decades, CollegeHumor rode a number of online trends and movements. The company started as the brainchild of literal teenagers, and it outlived many competitors because of this precocity about the social web. Until, all of a sudden, the social web helped render its business model obsolete.” – Wired
It’s True: ‘Cats’ Is Becoming The Next ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’
The movie was set to be one of Hollywood’s epic disasters, on track to lose $100 million. “But a funny thing happened on the way to the cinematic scratching post. Word-of-mouth buzz began to build that Cats‘ numerous and not-inconsiderable quirks were, in fact, more fun than the sum of its filmmaker- and studio-intended entertainment value.” Viewers, many assisted by cannabis, “seemed to relish the collective joy of discovering a movie this bizarre in an era when Hollywood has never been more allergic to creative risk-taking. Repeat viewings became de rigueur.” – Vulture