“We shouldn’t be a white castle on the hill. Our new vision is about deepening the cultural life of every resident in the county. That is a very outward vision,” says Los Angeles Music Center CEO Rachel Moore. Carolina Miranda looks at the Music Center plaza’s new redesign — “less a full-blown re-do than a careful surgical intervention” — and whether it will serve that vision. – Los Angeles Times
Tag: 08.22.19
Saying He No Longer Feels Welcome As A Refugee, Ai Weiwei Is Leaving Germany For Britain
“[The dissident artist] said he initially chose Germany after leaving China as it had worked so hard for his freedom, but now felt that Germany had changed and he was once again an exile. ‘Today, due to the political conditions in China, I have again been forced out,’ he said, accusing Europe of pandering to Beijing on human rights so as to win more business.” – Thomson Reuters
The “Times Change” Excuse for Past Antiquities Misdeeds: Kapoor/Metropolitan Museum Edition
“Times change” is a time-dishonored argument for justifying moral lapses, whether they’re #MeToo transgressions (Plácido Domingo) or retention of antiquities that were likely looted (Philippe de Montebello). Those accustomed to the old rules need to get with the new program: The operative slogan has changed from “Times change” to “Time’s up!” – Lee Rosenbaum
Drag In Paris, Nouvelle Vs. Old-School
There are still transformiste cabarets, with what might be called female impersonators (talk about old-school) lip-synching impressions of famous chanteuses for an audience little different from the one at the Moulin Rouge. There’s also a booming new RuPaul’s Drag Race-influenced scene of drag queens (and kings) who invent their own characters — and, writes Laura Cappelle, “the joie de vivre at most events I attended was practically un-Parisian, with no neutral colors or existential gloom in sight.” – The New York Times