Tag: 09.28.20

Artemisia Gentileschi’s Life Story Is So Much More Than The Rape Everyone Focuses On Today

“The turmoil of Artemisia’s early life — and the remarkable evidence of it that survives — has inevitably overshadowed the less sensational, and less documented, narrative of what followed. Nevertheless, her later career was extraordinary, and it is reasonable to conclude that the fact of having been raped was less significant to Artemisia’s sense of self than some of her modern champions have suggested.” – The New Yorker

The Flaws And Blemishes Of Thinking Scientifically

Philosophers of science tend to irritate practicing scientists, to whom science already makes complete sense. It doesn’t make sense to Michael Strevens. “Science is an alien thought form,” he writes; that’s why so many civilizations rose and fell before it was invented. In his view, we downplay its weirdness, perhaps because its success is so fundamental to our continued existence.” – The New Yorker

These Artists Turned Medical Bills Into Art And Sold Them To Pay The Debt

MSCHF, the group responsible for stunts like Finger on the App and MasterWiki, is bringing attention to the failures of the American healthcare system with Medical Bill Art. Three real medical bills were rendered into oil paintings and sold for the amount of money owed via the art market. The work is aptly called 3 Medical Bills. – Mashable

The BBC Anchors The Entire British Media. Now It May Be In Real Danger.

“The world’s largest broadcaster, the BBC has remained iconic through the generations — criticized regularly, of course, but nonetheless capturing the trust and attention of Britons like nothing else. Now, though, it’s facing a remarkable array of new private-sector competitors — and public-sector overseers — that all seem to have Auntie Beeb, in various ways, in their sights. And that puts one of the core purposes of a public service broadcaster — serving as a central, trustworthy anchor in a country’s media ecosystem — at a new level of risk.” – Nieman Lab

America’s 100 Most Banned And Challenged Books Of The Decade

Each year for Banned Books Week, the American Library Association releases a list of the books that offended parents or patrons tried most often to have removed from schools and libraries; for 2020, the ALA has compiled a list covering the 2010s as a whole. As usual, Huck Finn and To Kill a Mockingbird are there, as are Fun Home and the kids’ book about the gay penguins in Central Park, but top of the list is Sherman Alexie’s award-winning The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. (The runner-up is Captain Underpants.) Right in the middle of the list, at no. 52, is The Holy Bible. – The Guardian

Minnesota Orchestra Musicians Accept 25% Pay Cut

“In a deal announced Monday, the orchestra’s board and union musicians ratified [a two-year contract extension] outlining work rules and compensation cuts during a pandemic that has taken a financial toll, nixing live audiences through at least the fall. If, after a year, the whole orchestra returns to performing for full audiences, those pay cuts would be reversed.” – The Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

Judge Tosses Out Suit Against New York City Ballet Over Sexting Scandal

In 2018, after now-former City Ballet principal Chase Finlay sent nude images of his ex-girlfriend, Alexandra Waterbury, to two of his colleagues, Waterbury sued all three men as well as the company and its ballet school, where she had previously been a student. The judge on the case has now dismissed all claims against the company, the school, and the other two dancers as well as six of Waterbury’s seven claims against Finlay, allowing to proceed only the charge that Finlay violated “a city administrative code prohibiting unlawful disclosure of an intimate image.” – The New York Times

Is Putin’s Plan To Build Cultural Centers All Over Russia About To Fall Apart?

“Russian president Vladimir Putin’s 120bn ruble ($1.6bn) project to build a string of regional cultural centres with branches of leading federal museums and theatres has come under fire after … two dozen former staff members of the National Cultural Heritage Foundation, which is building the centres with funding from Russian state oil and gas profits, said that 120 contracts had been terminated in June with no notice, no severance pay and four months of salary arrears.” – The Art Newspaper