“The Neo-Renaissance structure [in Budapest] has been closed for the past 18 months due to extensive restoration and modernization works. Newly released images reveal the full extent of the project, which has a whopping budget of $30 million. The behind-the-scenes photographs show the vast reconstruction works taking place on the roof, where new tiles have been added, along with a substantial overhaul of the auditorium with a ‘smart’ concept.” – CNN
Blog
Blaming the Victim: The Shocking “Green Vault” Assault at Dresden’s Royal Palace
Any burglarized homeowner knows that a five-minute response time isn’t good enough when you’re dealing with grab-and-go criminals. Art museums should not be lured into false complacency with high-tech gadgetry. They are no substitute for the most basic, essential component of art stewardship — human guards. – Lee Rosenbaum
The Difficulties Of Reconciling Consciousness With The Physical World
“The mind is not physical, not extended in space. The body and everything else are made of physical substance and located in space. Substance dualism is out of fashion these days, but some philosophers are property dualists, who believe consciousness is an emergent property, a kind of ghostly accompaniment to physical reality.” – BookForum
Audiences Are Choosing ‘Immersive Experiences’ Over Looking At Objects In Museums. How Will The Art Business Handle This?
“Performance and installation pieces are now the preferred media of just such moments at biennials and museum shows. For the second edition in a row, the top prize for a national pavilion at the Venice Biennale was won by a performance. … But where does all this leave the commercial art world, which for centuries has relied on the passive contemplation of painting and sculpture to forge careers, reputations and fortunes? How do you monetise experiential art?” – The Art Newspaper
The New Ticket Scalpers Are Scary Complex – And They’re Making Money
The number of casual ticket resellers appears to be on the rise, Fashion said, and it’s his business to know. “It’s pretty chill if you think about it: You get to get a ticket for 20 bucks and then you sell it for 200 bucks, so you get 18 hours of work within 10 minutes.” – The Atlantic
This High-Stress Competition Is The Only Way To Get Promoted At The Paris Opera Ballet
“Welcome to POB’s annual ‘concours de promotion,’ or competitive promotional exam. In a company that employs 154 dancers, it is the only way to climb the ranks. Outsiders are often baffled by this system because it is so different from how other companies promote their dancers. This year, Pointe was invited to take an inside look at this high-stakes event and spoke with two of the 14 dancers awarded promotions that go into effect in January 2020.” – Pointe Magazine
Letter From The Future: Stories In A Post-Print World
It strikes me as strange to mourn a format, particularly when the new format has made storytelling more accessible and widespread than ever before. Virtual reality transcends literacy, language, ability and geography; it’s collaborative and adaptive and inherently empathetic, permitting us to walk any number of digital miles in someone else’s shoes; it’s even affordable, thanks to the team of rogue librarians behind @AlexandriaRising, who created the sliding-scale pricing system. – The New York Times
Biographer Robert K. Massie, Author Of ‘Nicholas And Alexandra’, Dead At 90
“In monumental biographies of Peter the Great (1672-1725), Catherine the Great (1729-96) and Czar Nicholas II and Czarina Alexandra, who were assassinated with their five children and others in 1918, Mr. Massie captivated audiences with detailed accounts that read to many like engrossing novels. One was even grist for Hollywood: Nicholas and Alexandra (1967) was adapted into a film of the same title in 1971.” – The New York Times
Smaller Galleries Weigh The Cost/Benefits Of Participating In Art Fairs
While it may be the right time for a newer or smaller gallery to try to get into the bigger fairs like FIAC, Frieze and Art Basel, the costs can be almost prohibitive. – The New York Times
‘Existential’ Is Dictionary.com’s 2019 Word Of The Year
The site’s editors wrote that the word “captures a sense of grappling with the survival — literally and figuratively — of our planet, our loved ones, our ways of life. … But, existential also inspires us to ask big questions about who we are and what our purpose is in the face of our various challenges.” (The runner-up: nonbinary.) – CNN