AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- Ecuador Selects A Second Design For Its New National Museum After Everybody Hated The First One
The ungainly white box proposed by Spain’s Studio Alberto Campo Baeza was greeted with online objections by over 20,000 Ecuadorians and was withdrawn earlier this month. The new design, by Tokyo-based studio SANAA, is described as “a system of interconnected vertical plazas” wrapped in rounded façades of terracotta brick. – Dezeen
- Why Did This Children’s Lit Festival Remove Comments On Diversity?
Authors said that their comments criticising the festival for its lack of representation under a post on its Instagram page were deleted, with the original post later removed and comments limited on other posts. – The Guardian
- The Odessey And The Culture Wars
This mapping of contemporary Western values onto the plot of a Greek epic poem is the true artistic project of Mr. Nolan’s film, and it makes for a better political debate than anything about colorblind casting or imagined D.E.I. – The New York Times
- A Ballerina’s 75-Year Career
Yoko Morishita, who will turn 78 in December, is the prima ballerina in Japan’s storied Matsuyama Ballet Company. One of Japan’s most-celebrated dancers, she performed with Rudolf Nureyev 200 times and toured with Margot Fonteyn. – The Wall Street Journal
- Meet Matthew Bogdanos, Chief Of The Manhattan D.A.’S Antiquities Trafficking Unit
“Bogdanos himself is just as incongruous as these idols on the storeroom. He has the build of the sinewy boxers in the George Bellows prints on his office wall — he still competes as an amateur middleweight — and the manner of a man who enjoys a fight more than he will admit.” – Financial Times
ISSUES
- Ecuador Selects A Second Design For Its New National Museum After Everybody Hated The First One
The ungainly white box proposed by Spain’s Studio Alberto Campo Baeza was greeted with online objections by over 20,000 Ecuadorians and was withdrawn earlier this month. The new design, by Tokyo-based studio SANAA, is described as “a system of interconnected vertical plazas” wrapped in rounded façades of terracotta brick. – Dezeen
- Jeff Koons Wins Case Accusing Him Of Copyright Infringement
A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday upheld a ruling in favor of pop artist Jeff Koons in a copyright dispute with a sculptor who had accused Koons of using his sculpture without permission in a 1989 series of artworks. – Reuters
- Art Institute Of Chicago Lays Off Its Entire Custodial Staff, Will Outsource
“The cultural institution announced it will no longer employ 23 custodial workers on June 29. … The employees’ last day is Aug. 14, but a museum spokesperson said they will have the opportunity to re-apply for their positions with the new company, GDI Integrated Facility Services, based in Canada.” – Chicago Sun-Times
- Louvre Reopens Gallery Where Crown Jewels Were Stolen — But It’s Empty
The Apollo Gallery had been closed to the public ever since last October’s broad-daylight theft of the French crown jewels on display there. Now it’s open again, with nothing on display. Fortunately, the room itself is pretty spectacular. – AFP (MSN)
- The Next Director Of Britain’s Tate Galleries Will Be —
— Jessica Morgan, currently director of New York’s Dia Art Foundation. “Morgan will need to guide the organisation through a difficult financial landscape, raise poor staff morale and grapple with fluctuating visitor numbers.” – The Guardian
MEDIA
- In This City, The Pay-What-You-Choose Model Is Starting To Spread. How’s It Working Out So Far?
The parameters are different for each company — Opera Philadelphia, an early adopter, sets an $11 minimum — but a number of different troupes and presenters in Philly have been trying the scheme. Here are some of the lessons, expected and unexpected, that they’ve learned so far. – Broad Street Review (Philadelphia)
- Proposed Massachusetts Law Would Help Keep Arts Spaces From Being Evicted Or Priced Out
“Artist studios, rehearsal spaces and performance venues frequently contend with rent hikes and evictions as developers gobble up property across the state. … The Creative Space Act would allow municipalities to establish a trust fund to acquire cultural spaces threatened by displacement.” – WBUR (Boston)
- Why Philanthropists Give?
For some, this elevated focus on philanthropy is not so much a voluntary strategic choice, but rather a response to their existing funders encouraging them to diversify their revenue streams and achieve what they see as a more sustainable future for the sector as a whole. – ArtsHub
- It Might Cost Too Much To Rebuild Mackintosh’s Glasgow School Of Art
Rebuilding the school in line with Mackintosh’s designs would cost 265 million pounds, about $355 million, the school said in a news release. That is “an amount that is not affordable and which would compromise the financial sustainability of the organization,” it said. – The New York Times
- Arts And Culture Events In Downtown Chicago Contributed $395 Million To City’s Economy In Last Three Months
The figure is a 20% increase over the second quarter last year. There were slightly under 1.5 million visitors in that period, and foot traffic in the Loop on weekdays is still below pre-pandemic levels. – Chicago Sun-Times
MUSIC
- Why Did This Children’s Lit Festival Remove Comments On Diversity?
Authors said that their comments criticising the festival for its lack of representation under a post on its Instagram page were deleted, with the original post later removed and comments limited on other posts. – The Guardian
- Tips From Experts On How To Get Your Book Published
We asked five literary experts – a mix of published authors and publishing professionals – for their top tips on getting published. – The Conversation
- Why We Buy Books We Don’t Read
An unread book is a good example. It may remain closed for weeks or months, but the brain has already recognised its potential value, enjoying the prospect before the first page has been turned. – The Conversation
- Alan Turing Wrote A Short Story — And It’s About Cruising For Sex
The unfinished six-page story, titled “Pryce’s Buoy,” was known about by Turing experts but never before studied. Says scholar Sarah Dillon, “He’s been seen as socially unaware, entirely concerned with logic and numbers, and pretty isolated. His short story reveals a different man: playful, cheeky, literary, and someone who really liked sex.” – The Guardian
- A View From Second-Class On The Titanic In A Rare Surviving Letter From A Passenger
Henry Hodges, a musical instrument salesman, sent the letter from Queenstown (now Cobh), in Cork Harbour in Ireland, the ship’s final stop before crossing the Atlantic on its first and last voyage in 1912. The document provides a little-seen look at accommodations and activities for second-class travelers. – Smithsonian Magazine
PEOPLE
- Ecuador Selects A Second Design For Its New National Museum After Everybody Hated The First One
The ungainly white box proposed by Spain’s Studio Alberto Campo Baeza was greeted with online objections by over 20,000 Ecuadorians and was withdrawn earlier this month. The new design, by Tokyo-based studio SANAA, is described as “a system of interconnected vertical plazas” wrapped in rounded façades of terracotta brick. – Dezeen
- Why Did This Children’s Lit Festival Remove Comments On Diversity?
Authors said that their comments criticising the festival for its lack of representation under a post on its Instagram page were deleted, with the original post later removed and comments limited on other posts. – The Guardian
- The Odessey And The Culture Wars
This mapping of contemporary Western values onto the plot of a Greek epic poem is the true artistic project of Mr. Nolan’s film, and it makes for a better political debate than anything about colorblind casting or imagined D.E.I. – The New York Times
- A Ballerina’s 75-Year Career
Yoko Morishita, who will turn 78 in December, is the prima ballerina in Japan’s storied Matsuyama Ballet Company. One of Japan’s most-celebrated dancers, she performed with Rudolf Nureyev 200 times and toured with Margot Fonteyn. – The Wall Street Journal
- Meet Matthew Bogdanos, Chief Of The Manhattan D.A.’S Antiquities Trafficking Unit
“Bogdanos himself is just as incongruous as these idols on the storeroom. He has the build of the sinewy boxers in the George Bellows prints on his office wall — he still competes as an amateur middleweight — and the manner of a man who enjoys a fight more than he will admit.” – Financial Times
PEOPLE
- Ecuador Selects A Second Design For Its New National Museum After Everybody Hated The First One
The ungainly white box proposed by Spain’s Studio Alberto Campo Baeza was greeted with online objections by over 20,000 Ecuadorians and was withdrawn earlier this month. The new design, by Tokyo-based studio SANAA, is described as “a system of interconnected vertical plazas” wrapped in rounded façades of terracotta brick. – Dezeen
- Why Did This Children’s Lit Festival Remove Comments On Diversity?
Authors said that their comments criticising the festival for its lack of representation under a post on its Instagram page were deleted, with the original post later removed and comments limited on other posts. – The Guardian
- The Odessey And The Culture Wars
This mapping of contemporary Western values onto the plot of a Greek epic poem is the true artistic project of Mr. Nolan’s film, and it makes for a better political debate than anything about colorblind casting or imagined D.E.I. – The New York Times
- A Ballerina’s 75-Year Career
Yoko Morishita, who will turn 78 in December, is the prima ballerina in Japan’s storied Matsuyama Ballet Company. One of Japan’s most-celebrated dancers, she performed with Rudolf Nureyev 200 times and toured with Margot Fonteyn. – The Wall Street Journal
- Meet Matthew Bogdanos, Chief Of The Manhattan D.A.’S Antiquities Trafficking Unit
“Bogdanos himself is just as incongruous as these idols on the storeroom. He has the build of the sinewy boxers in the George Bellows prints on his office wall — he still competes as an amateur middleweight — and the manner of a man who enjoys a fight more than he will admit.” – Financial Times
THEATRE
VISUAL
- How Hierarchy Hides in How We Think
The question is not whether the technological revolution already underway will abolish hierarchy. It will not. The question is different: what will the new currency of rank be, and will it better recognise ability, responsibility, and work, or give old advantages a new language? – 3 Quarks Daily
- Reality Is Breaking Down
The rapidly degenerating digital culture is the third leg of the stool of the “reality distortion field” that has engulfed the U.S. – Artnet
- The Power Of Coffee Houses To Change History
It was debated whether coffeehouses were truly a place of creativity or frivolous laziness. Many resolved to leave the coffeehouse behind, as if it were a vice, and then failed to kick the habit. – Aeon
- Why Costco Is Thriving As The Antithesis Of Amazon
While most retailers today assume that consumers want ever greater assortment, Costco’s popularity speaks to a countervailing desire for less choice. Indeed, the pre-selection of items for sale in their warehouses is part of the value proposition. – The Walrus
- A Short History Of Being Burned Out
Burnout’s meaning shifted from literal to figurative over time. It began as a description of candles burning out or fuel being used up, then shifted to a barn burning down and a worker’s energy or body being depleted in the rebuilding. Eventually it came to simply describe a worker’s exhaustion. – The Conversation