“[He spent] a long career of playing crotchety yet lovable men whose working-class roots mirrored his own. The actor, who worked until the day before his death, had a remarkable fluency with the hardships his characters faced and the humor they derived from those situations. … [His] ability to convey paternal irritation with comedic flair became a hallmark of nearly all his performances.” – The Atlantic
Blog
School Reading Scores Declined In Half Of American States This Year
“Eighth graders at the bottom 10th percentile of reading achievement lost six points on the exam compared with similar students two years ago, while students at the 50th percentile lost 3 points and students at the 90th percentile — top achievers — lost only 1 point.” – The New York Times
Who Gave You The Right To Tell That Story? Ten Authors On Writing Fiction About Identities Other Than Their Own
“The conversation is often depicted in the media as a binary: On one side are those who argue that only writers from marginalized backgrounds should tell stories about people who share their cultural histories — a course correction for an industry that is overwhelmingly white — while on the other are those who say this wish amounts to censorship. For those following closely, it can feel as though the debate has gotten stuck in a rut.” Here, a group of writers including Jennifer Weiner, N. K. Jemisin, Victor LaValle, Laila Lalami, Monique Truong, and Sarah Schulman discuss why they write outside their identities. – New York Magazine
A Clickbait List Of America’s Most Interesting Museum Building Designs State-By-State
We admit, this is just museum building porn, but we love looking at beautiful buildings, and Architectural Digest has compiled a list of coolest-looking museums in each state in America. – Architectural Digest
Culture Will Be Key To Rebuilding Iraq, Say Experts
Officials ranging from the country’s minister of culture to UNESCO executives say that restoring museums, ancient churches and mosques will not only provide employment and (eventually) revenue from tourism, they will help build “social cohesion through shared national heritage and history.” – The Art Newspaper
Rediscovering The Women Who Built The Early Film Industry
“In the early years of the twentieth century, women worked in virtually every aspect of silent-film-making, as directors, writers, producers, editors, and even camera operators. The industry — new, ad hoc, making up its own rules as it went along — had not yet locked in a strict division of labor by gender. … Now we are in the midst of a new round of rediscoveries — this time of women’s behind-the-camera roles well into the golden age of Hollywood.” – The New Yorker
After 25 Years Of Vagabondage, Smuin Ballet Finally Has A Home Of Its Own
Ever since Michael Smuin founded Smuin Contemporary Ballet in San Francisco in 1994, the company has had to scrounge rented studio space as it could, sometimes even ending rehearsals so that children’s classes could use the space. Now, at last, they own their own building — in a former ballroom that was spotted by a former company dancer who became a real estate agent. – The San Francisco Chronicle
They’ve Discovered Another Problem At The Rothko Chapel, So Its Reopening Will Be Delayed
“When construction crews dismantled the chapel’s acoustical ceiling tiles this summer to prepare the building for a new skylight, they found the concrete support walls were built without steel reinforcement.” That was permissible back in 1970, when the chapel was built, but it won’t do in today’s Houston, a city ever more vulnerable to ever more powerful hurricanes. Steel rebar reinforcements are being added to all the walls. – Houston Chronicle
Did They Just Discover A Portrait Of Machiavelli Painted By Leonardo Da Vinci?
“An unsigned painting of an unidentified bald man with a beard has aroused excitement among historians and art buffs after lying largely unnoticed in the collection of a historic chateau in central France for decades.” That chateau belonged to the renowned diplomat Talleyrand, and a document signed by his chamberlain is what set off all the fuss. – Yahoo! (AFP)
Russia’s Richest Oligarch Sets Opening Date For His New Moscow Arts Center
GES-2, a center for contemporary art(s) designed by Renzo Piano and constructed inside a disused 1907 power station, will open next September. Leonid Mikhelson, the billionaire funding the project, insists that GES-2 “is not a museum”; it will have a 420-seat concert hall/theatre and an on-site workshop as well as exhibition spaces, outdoor event space, and a birch grove. (What Mikhelson won’t say is how much it all costs.) – The Art Newspaper