Alan Harrison (who has run a few arts outfits in his time): “If a revenue budget cannot survive the number of paid hours required to reach the goals, then the organization itself is not viable, at least not for that budget year. No longer should artists — performing, visual, administrative — tolerate the lack of compensation.” – The Clyde Fitch Report
Tag: 08.24.19
Why All this Praise For Rich People?
“To criticise our praise for the wealthy and powerful as excessive inevitably raises the question of meritocracy. To what extent do we live in a meritocracy, and is that a good or a bad thing?” – Aeon
How Literature Was Deployed As Weapon In The Cold War
In the wake of the second world war, Russia and the West feared the domino effect of enfeebled countries like Albania falling into the clutches of imperialist capitalism or communism. Each side deployed literature as a frontline force in their struggle. – The Spectator
The Turner Prize-Winning Artist Who Cut A Car In Two To Match A Divided Painting
Simon Starling, a Scottish artist who lives and works in Copenhagen: “I have occasionally made shows where I try to connect to two venues in a single exhibition, and I guess, because of what’s happening in Britain with Brexit, it seemed like an irresistible moment to make an exhibition about a divided painting.” (And car.) – The Observer (UK)
Is The Political Novel Dead?
Sure, there are many political writers, and of course all writing is political in some way. “Much harder to find, however, is an example of what one might call the campaigning novel: that subset that includes classics by the likes of Charles Dickens and Émile Zola alongside fiction-cloaked manifestos, memoirs and works of reportage. What unites them is a passionate desire to use character and narrative to draw the reader’s attention to some social ill and to galvanise efforts to remedy it.” – The Guardian (UK)
Werner Herzog Is Now A Disney Character
Yes. It’s weird, and it’s true: He’s a “mentor” of some sort in a new Star Wars TV show. Luckily, the show looks super-grim. Still: What? – Vulture
Guess Who Just Got Into Podcasting?
The company that’s into just about everything else (well, not that company, the one that just announced a huge slate of movies and TV show for its new streaming service, but a different big company): Netflix. The company’s line about podcasts: “We are always looking for different ways to engage with people. … We’re talking a lot with our documentary team about what opportunities are out there.” (Shocker: True crime is doing well for Netflix.) – Variety
What Is The Legal Difference Between An ‘Audiobook Caption’ And, Well, A Book?
Audible – the Amazon-owned audiobook giant – is being sued by the big 5 publishers. Why? A new feature that automatically generates “captions” for its audiobooks. Captions that … well, one might be forgiven for thinking we already have “captions” for books, which are books. The argument: “Audible didn’t seek a license, doesn’t plan to compensate publishers and won’t allow them to decide which titles are made available as so-called distributed text. [The lawyer] also says Audible’s Immersion Reading feature, which requires a user to purchase both the audiobook and eBook, meets the goal of Captions without infringing publishers’ rights.” – Wired