What does transgression mean now – and what are artists transgressing against? Laura Miller: “Much of what transgressive art rebels against is politeness, but politeness has many dimensions. It may dictate that you never swear or discuss sex, religion, or politics in ‘mixed company.’ And it also decrees that you don’t use racial slurs when referring to groups you don’t belong to.” Some (not so great) artists can’t figure out the distinction. – Slate
Tag: 01.28.19
Can Journalism Survive (As Recognizable Journalism)?
Jill Lepore: “There’s no shortage of amazing journalists at work, clear-eyed and courageous, broad-minded and brilliant, and no end of fascinating innovation in matters of form, especially in visual storytelling. Still, journalism, as a field, is as addled as an addict, gaunt, wasted, and twitchy, its pockets as empty as its nights are sleepless. It’s faster than it used to be, so fast. It’s also edgier, and needier, and angrier. It wants and it wants and it wants. But what does it need?” – The New Yorker
Rewrite The Bible? Well, Yes, Actually
Robert Alter’s method of peeling down to the strangeness of the original in order to reveal another kind of beauty can be bracing, like seeing a familiar painting with its accumulations of smoke and varnish gone. — The New Yorker