“Back in the movie wasteland of last January, no one could have guessed what a bounty of good films the year would bring. Not just good films, but several that measure up to our idealized notions of what the medium once was.”
Archives for December 2013
Does Hollywood Actually Make A Political Difference?
Yes, sometimes, and not so much.
Finding A Magritte That’s Been Cut Up And Painted Over
That is, by the artist himself.
An Especially Excited Statue Gets A Little Cover
“Critics did not interpret the animal’s grip on the man — its paws gently resting on the man’s hips — as a bear hug. Moreover, the man appears to be experiencing sensations other than fear: He has an erection.”
Lost Van Dyck Turns Up On Antiques Roadshow (Yes, Really)
The painting “was bought for £400 by a priest in Nottingham, but experts say the restored 17th century portrait could be worth around £400,000.”
Making The Oscars Into The World’s Best, Not Just Hollywood’s Best
“There’s the Oscar lesson, proven year after year: You might win with a dark vision, but in general, keep it light and keep it in English.”
Can Changing Our Reading Habits Even The Balance?
“Establishing quotas is not inherently progressive, but it can help us examine our choices, to consider books or writers we might otherwise ignore or resist, and sometimes – as was the case for me with the wonderful Croatian author Dubravka Ugresic – recognize that we were missing out not having read them sooner.”
As Illustrations Grow More Popular, Museums Get Priced Out
“The rising prices are proving prohibitive for some; Davis says that high prices for works by Rockwell and Parrish have made purchases by museums such as his more difficult.”
Today’s top AJBlog posts 12/29/13
Very angry tweet: French birds demand share of Messiaen’s royalties
Source: Slipped Disc | Published on 2013-12-29
China’s violin method: ‘Study and train hard, according to a scientific method’
Source: Slipped Disc | Published on 2013-12-29
My “Porgy and Bess” Playlist
Source: Unanswered Question | Published on 2013-12-28
In NYC: Catching Up With Peter Schumannand the Bread and Puppet Theater
Source: Straight|Up | Published on 2013-12-27
In New York, Some Stagehands Make A Lot (A LOT) Of Money
“Even as organized labor in the United States has weakened significantly, the nearly 2,600 active members of Local 1 have retained their clout, allowing them to push for good wages and work rules.”
The Last Business Days Of A Typewriter Repairman
“Mr. Gan is also not a huge fan of Francis Ford Coppola, but he did service the Olivetti that Mr. Coppola used to write the Oscar-winning screenplay for ‘The Godfather.'”
The Return Of ‘The Lady And The Unicorn’ Tapestries
“Now they have been cleaned and rehung we have some idea of how they might have looked in the Middle Ages. They are really extraordinary.”
One Day In The Life Of A Bookstore Clerk
“I’m looking for a book.”
“Would you happen to have the title?”
“It’s a long shot, but I was in my car about a month ago and heard an author on the radio. Sounded really interesting.”
What’s The Matter With Minnesota?
“Any orchestra could slide off the road into the ditch the way Minnesota has done.”
The Most Exciting Magazine Of All Time
“No contemporary magazine could duplicate Life’s success, and not just because 1945 was such a monumental year. No modern magazine has remotely close to its influence. “
The Art Dealer With Deep Nazi Ties
“Gurlitt, the ‘art dealer to the Führer,’ reinvented himself: as a victim of the Nazis, a man who had saved precious artworks from destruction and someone who had never done anything malicious.”
Is That A Sequel – Or A Sell-Out?
“Continuation literature – as it has been hailed – falls into two camps: works that are licensed by writers’ estates and those that, like Austen, are in the public domain.”
Is Arts Journalism Only Going To Survive As The PR Wing For Institutions?
“In the new media landscape, everyone is a content provider, and thus everyone is in competition. All true. To some extent.”
Is This The Book Of The Future? (*Seriously* Not Digital)
“It stretched over our desks and across a little table. It slouched perilously near an open container of glossy doughnuts. A colleague braced the middle, another took the far end, and still the thing sagged in places.”
What Were The Most Powerful Images Of 2013?
Let The Atlantic show you in this three-minute video of 80 photos culled from the year in photography.
When You Consume Culture, Spare A Thought For The Creatives
“Those circulating copyrighted content can be as Scrooge-like as they please, because there’s no Tiny Tim to think of. Except that there is.”
The In-Jokes Onstage (Starting With ‘The Nutcracker’)
“The bodice of the principal dancer is adorned with a small oval cameo-style portrait of Balanchine. The women in the corps de ballet wear cameos of Lincoln Kirstein.”
The Best Dance of 2013 In London
A top five list balanced by a worst five list.
Hollywood Poised For A Record Year At The Box Office
“With the current domestic box-office tally nearly 1 percent ahead of last year at this time, 2013 could surpass 2012’s overall haul of $10.8 billion by more than $100 million, according to box-office tracker Rentrak.”
Did Iron Maiden Actually Use Piracy Data To Locate Its Fans And Make Money?
“I really wish MusicMetric had advised Iron Maiden on how to make millions of dollars from music pirates. It’s such a good story. Too good, evidently, to be true.”