“These are different times. We don’t see artists as sole, heroic, mysterious creators any more. We are used to appropriation of all kinds, from sampling to mashups to critical homages. We are used to referencing and remixing. We are in constant debate over the possibility of originality. And we are used to the idea of art as vandalism, too.”
Tag: 12.05.14
Yeah, No, Greece Is Certainly Not Cool With This Loaning Of The Elgin Marbles Thing
“The British argument held until recently – that the Parthenon Marbles cannot be moved – is no longer valid, just as the existence of the new Acropolis Museum invalidated the other British argument that there was no appropriate space for exhibiting the sculptures.”
No, England And Wales, You Damn Well Cannot Deny Books To Prisoners
“It is very hard to be both a reader and a villain. Reading helps you understand the world around you and relate to how your behaviour effects others. It should be encouraged as much as possible.”
David Shrigley: Comedy In Misunderstanding The Context
“Comedy is not the opposite of seriousness. The opposite of seriousness is incompetence. And the opposite of comedy is not seriousness – it’s misery. The ability to laugh is a luxury that everybody should be able to afford.”
Serial Opera (In Series, Not Notes)
“Although it will be filmed before live audiences, it is meant to be seen on television or online, in short installments that will be released over two years. The production will also include online extras, including video clips that look at the process of composing and staging the piece.”
Super-Gallerist Larry Gagosian Wins Billionaire’s Lawsuit
Billionaire collector Ron Perelman “sued Gagosian and his gallery in September 2012, accusing them of concealing material information and manipulating art prices. Gagosian sued Perelman the same day, accusing him of reneging on an agreement to buy two pieces of art for more than $23 million and offering less money and other works in exchange.”
Donor Pledges $100 Million For Opera House, Dies; Theatre Sues, Court Rules
“The planned theater has been the subject of one of the most closely watched legal battles in the worlds of classical music and philanthropy, after a major benefactor of the Lucerne Festival, Christof Engelhorn, offered to donate more than $100 million to build it, but died before the money was paid. That led officials from the festival to sue for the money.”
The Winner Of This Year’s Bad-Sex-In-Writing Award
Ben Okri won the Booker in 1991 for The Famished Road and has received, among other prizes, the Commonwealth Writers’ prize, the Aga Khan Prize for Fiction and the Guardian Fiction prize. Unable to attend, he issued a terse and less than ecstatic statement: “A writer writes what they write and that’s all there is to it.”
Struggle For The Soul Of Nashville Culture
“These two tendencies — save our soul, but grow grow grow — are now colliding in a bizarre form of hyper-gentrification. Neighborhoods close to downtown once drew teachers, writers and musicians with well-built, well-priced Craftsman homes. But with the influx of wealth has come a new kind of buyer, often an investor offering cash well above asking price. A house that went for $40,000 a decade ago might now go for 15 times that amount.”
Earthquake At The New Republic: New CEO Pushes Out Editor-In-Chief And Leon Wieseltier (!)
When Guy Vidra came to the magazine in October, he told the staff that “there were peacetime chief executives and wartime chief executives, and he was the latter. He added, using a profanity, that he planned to break stuff.”