“There are many reasons why musicians continue to make music, both live and in the studio, right up until the end. In some cases it is out of financial necessity, and in other instances it is because of an addiction to the adrenaline rush of mass adulation, an experience rather harder to reproduce in the lavish surroundings of an exclusive retirement community. Even as we might good-naturedly mock and wince at what we see as the more absurd aspects of their careers, there is an enormous affection that exists between audience and act, especially if their fans have grown up with their favourites.” – The Critic
Tag: 04.27.20
Museums Are Rich. But Cash-Poor. So Now The Inevitable Debate…
For those governing and supporting museums, the old standards about the use and disposal of collections and endowments are rapidly risking obsolescence. Museums are, of course, property-rich in a manner unlike any individual, or a company with a profit motive. Works of art and endowment funds (typically cash and investments held to generate income, not to be spent) are both, in the eyes of the law, the property of museums, but there are critical distinctions. Art collections generally do not appear on balance sheets but endowments do. The basic organisational question of which property is an asset that can be legally used to cover liabilities is unique to cultural institutions. Museums on either side of the Atlantic come at this challenge from slightly different starting points. – Apollo
Lessons On Solitude From An Author Who’s Not Thoreau
“In Rousseau’s scheme of things, solitude was the natural human state. By stepping outside of society, by distancing oneself from other voices, one was facilitating a return to oneself. But being with oneself is one thing; writing about the state of being with oneself, another.” – The Paris Review
Theatre Architects Consider How COVID Could Change Theatre Design
“The proposed addition of hand-washing stations and health screening areas means that theatre lobbies will have to grow. The whole theatre building will have to grow, in fact. If social distancing becomes a commonplace circulation pattern, theatres will require more space in the lobby, around the box office, at the bar, and in line for the restrooms. Not to mention in auditorium seating. … But this theatre-half-empty situation provides an opportunity for future theatre builders.” – American Theatre
Is This An Art Collective Or A Private Equity Firm? Group Buys Brand-Name Artwork And Literally Breaks It Up To Sell Off The Parts
“The Brooklyn-based artists and designers behind MSCHF purchased a $30,000 Damien Hirst spot print and cut out all 88 of its dots. Starting today, they’re selling the dots for $480 each.” (That’s $42,400 in total.) “Meanwhile, the original print, now just a piece of paper with 88 holes and Hirst’s signature, is up for auction for a minimum of $126,500.” (Wow, they really are like Bain Capital.) – Artnet
Shuttered Theatre Companies Still Need Their Fundraising Galas. So They’re Streaming Them — And It’s Working
“With many staffers on furlough, and operations grinding to a halt, fundraising efforts (and a boost of morale) can be more important than ever. And while there’s some debate over how well stage productions translate to the screen, theatres are proving that virtual galas do just fine online. Fundraising goals are being met, even surpassed, with attendance tripled in some cases.” Here’s how several companies are pulling it off. – American Theatre
Female Choreographers Are Transforming The Story Ballet
“An iconic yet tortured female painter. A mistress wrapped up in a witch hunt in an early American colony. A talented cellist whose life ended prematurely after her battle with multiple sclerosis. … Today, there is a thrilling, 21st-century wave of story-driven ballets choreographed by women. What are their perspectives, and the stories they choose to tell, adding to ballet’s canon?” – Dance Magazine
San Francisco Art Institute Says It Won’t Close After All
“An outpouring of support and encouragement from potential partners and charitable organizations — along with protests by students, faculty, alumni and staff — convinced the Board to take extreme measures to keep SFAI open,” the press release states. – Inside Higher Ed
Quixotic: Renegade Design Competition Reimagines A New LACMA
Of the 28 proposals submitted, the jury — which included a retired LACMA curator — selected six as the “leading ideas.” The winning studios will each receive $1,500 prizes. Nan Goldin declined to say who is funding the competition: “It’s the same anonymous donor who has bankrolled the ads that we’ve taken out.” – Los Angeles Times
Learning How To Do The Arts In A Post-COVID World
One challenge is figuring out how to monetize the digital experience for an audience that’s bathing in a glut of free content. Another is figuring out how to create an experience that’s satisfying online, by organizations that have been trying to do this for some years already. – Vanity Fair