It’s going to be a series of apps, in fact — and they’ll be free. The first one, now out, features the General Prologue, with text and audio in the original Middle English, a modern English translation, and a digitized facsimile of an early manuscript as well as notes and commentary. (One of the project’s contributing scholars was the late Terry Jones of Monty Python.) – Smithsonian Magazine
Tag: 02.05.20
Sculptor Beverly Pepper, 97
“After beginning her artistic life as a painter, Ms. Pepper was known from the 1960s on as a sculptor of towering forms of iron, steel, earth and stone, often displayed outdoors. … [Yet her] work was suffused with a quicksilver lightness that belied its gargantuan scale.” – The New York Times
How To Keep On Writing (Or Making Other Art) When It Feels Like The Planet Is Coming Apart
Writer Jenny Offill: “The question I was thinking about in this book … was, Can you still just tend your own garden once you know about the fire outside its walls?” – The New York Times
Fleeing War, Finding Refuge In Dance
In Burkina Faso, hundreds of thousands of refugees from neighboring countries are trying to find peace and a future in the capital. One of them, an 18-year-old dancer who’s been on the run since 2012, “knows that people like him wait years or decades to leave war zones — if the opportunity ever arrives. He must stand out to have a chance.” – The Washington Post
Banksy Is Brilliant At Manipulating The Media And Art Market. But Is He A Brilliant Artist?
The one part of the art world that has seemed resistant to him is the ultimate conferrer of status: museums. Will he be remembered as an important artistic figure? And if so, will that be as a painter, an activist, or a Duchamp-like “conceptual prankster”? – The New York Times
American Institute Of Architects Attacks Proposed Trump Rules On New Federal Architecture
“The AIA strongly opposes uniform style mandates for federal #architecture. Architecture should be designed for the specific communities that it serves, reflecting our rich nation’s diverse places, thought, culture, and climates. Architects are committed to honoring our past as well as reflecting our future progress, protecting the freedom of thought and expression that are essential to democracy.” – The Architect’s Newspaper
Christie’s Holds An Auction Of Low-Priced Art And It’s A Hit
The sale, dubbed Christie’s 100, featured 92 lots by many well-known contemporary artists, with bids starting at as low as $100. Certain works even sold for considerably less than the average New Yorker’s monthly rent, including a Louise Lawler print for $1,000, and a John Bock work on paper for $750. In all, 96 percent of the works found buyers and the sale pulled in $347,375. – Artnet
When Comedians Cross The Line (As With One Unfortunate Tweet About Kobe Bryant)
We won’t share here what comic Ari Shaffir put on Twitter about the late basketball star (it’s in the article), but it got him dropped by his agent, criticized by his colleagues, and threatened by angry Kobe fans. “Shaffir’s fans do expect this kind of thing from him. But the shocking death of Bryant hit a bigger cultural nerve, revealing how dark humor has expanded and evolved in the era of social media.” Jason Zinoman considers that evolution. – The New York Times
L.A.’s Geffen Playhouse Establishes Residency For Heavyweight Collective Of Black Theatre Talent
The group is called Cast Iron Entertainment, and includes Oscar-winning and Tony-nominated playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney and actors Sterling K. Brown, Glenn Davis, Brian Tyree Henry, Jon Michael Hill, and André Holland. They’ll have complete freedom to create and develop projects, with no requirement of an end project committed to the Geffen. – The Hollywood Reporter
Could The Big Acting Award Categories Be De-Gendered?
Some non-binary actors, and audience members, are asking the Oscars, Emmys, and other awards to eliminate separate actor and actress categories — and they’re pointing to one set of awards that did have gendered categories and dropped them: the Grammys. – The Washington Post