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Extreme Film Criticism (Can You Hang?)

Some film critics now differentiate themselves from amateurs through the practice of Extreme Film Criticism. In it, critics subject themselves to physical, film-related challenges that bear little resemblance to long-form criticism of decades past but would nonetheless intimidate most amateurs. Then they write about it. Landing somewhere between product placement and a fraternity hazing ritual, these pieces constitute a response to major shifts in the landscape of both the news media and the film industry, with serious implications for the life expectancy of criticism as a form, and perhaps for the individual critics themselves. – Los Angeles Review of Books

Filmmaker Ivan Passer Dead at 86

Along with his classmate Miloš Forman, Passer was one of the key figures of the Czech New Wave in the 1960s, and after the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviets, the two escaped to the U.S. and resumed their careers in Hollywood. There Passer “directed a steady series of much-admired and often underappreciated films of economy, fidelity, humor and subtle beauty, among them Cutter’s Way, Stalin, Haunted Summer and Born to Win.” – Los Angeles Times

Five Years After Charlie Hebdo Shootings, France Plans Center For Satirical Cartoons

“In an announcement made on Tuesday, the French culture minister Franck Riester said the project was ‘conceived and wanted’ by Georges Wolinski — one of five caricaturists killed in the 2015 attacks, in which 12 people lost their lives. Its aim is to create ‘a place for meetings’ to enable the creation and promotion of satirical cartoons and support their creators, the statement says.” – The Art Newspaper

Ballet BC Names Emily Molnar’s Successor As Artistic Director

“French-born Nederlands Dans Theater alumnus Medhi Walerski has been named the troupe’s artistic director, starting officially in July 2020. … [He] replaces longtime artistic director Emily Molnar, who is taking the helm of the critically acclaimed NDT after the end of this season. She has steered Ballet BC for a decade, helping to bring it out of a financial crisis and taking it to a world stage, where it has won acclaim on tours to Europe and the U.S.” – The Georgia Straight (Vancouver)

Notre Dame Cathedral’s Roof, Destroyed By Fire, Should Be Rebuilt In Wood, Says Top French Architect

“Eric Wirth, vice president of the Guild of French Architects, … forcefully argued that wood — rather than concrete, material, or other materials that have been suggested — was the most ecological and structurally sound material during at a hearing at the National Assembly this week. …’If the structure had been made of steel, there would be no cathedral to speak of today,’ he said. In a fire, ‘iron holds for half an hour, an hour, and then writhes, pulls on the walls and collapses everything.'” – artnet

Could The Walls Of Notre-Dame Cathedral Really Collapse? Yes, It’s Quite Possible

Says the former master builder (i.e., chief preservation officer) of Cologne Cathedral, “The risk of further collapse is quite realistic. The vault is unlikely to collapse as a whole, but more parts could come down. What most people don’t realize is that heat can also damage stone. Intense heat dissolves — simply put — the structure of the stone.” What’s more, the scaffolding that was in use for a restoration project before last April’s catastrophic blaze “was completely welded into place by the intense heat generated by the fire” and the stone walls could be damaged further as that scaffolding is removed. – Deutsche Welle

Sampling Every Sound A Stradivarius Can Make

Here’s a detailed look at a project by the Museo del Violino in the Italian city of Cremona (the Stradivari family’s hometown and to this day a center of instrument-making) to digitally record and preserve the sound of every note, as bowed and plucked in various ways, that can be made by a violin and cello by Stradivari, a second violin by Guarneri, and a viola by Amati. – Popular Science

Director Ousted At Erie Art Museum Following High-Profile Reports Of Sexual Harassment

Just one business day after articles were published detailing accusations that he propositioned subordinates in Erie, Pa. and in his previous post at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and after a petition demanding his ouster attracted hundreds of co-signers over the weekend, 31-year-old Joshua Helmer is “no longer employed at the Erie Art Museum,” according to a brief statement on the museum’s Facebook page. – The Philadelphia Inquirer