ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

Stories

The Outsize Power Of The Short Story In Literature

Agents and publishers might quail, but "a good story conveys a sense of more going on in the background, more to be discovered. We choose to return to them because something in them—honesty, clearsighted wisdom, a sense of humor, surprising turns of phrase, depth of character—lingers, expands." - LitHub

The FBI Raids An Art Foundation In Puerto Rico

The investigators "seized over 100 works from the Michèle Vasarely Foundation in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which houses pieces by the late artist Victor Vasarely and his son Jean-Pierre." The seizures are, depressingly, "just the latest in a long and bitter saga." - Hyperallergic

It’s Incredibly Hard To Find Canadian Box Office Figures

Except for Quebec, Canada's film numbers are lumped in with the U.S. But would knowing them make much difference? - CBC

Ahmad Jamal, Jazz Pianist With A Spare Touch, Dies At 92

Jamal's "trademark was an ingeniously airy approach to classic pop standards such as 'Love for Sale,' 'A Gal in Calico' and 'Don’t Blame Me' or in his own groove-inflected compositions such as 'Ahmad’s Blues,' a song that became part of the jazz repertoire." - Washington Post

The Secret Cinema In The Back Of A London Shop

"The dimly lit space, which is sandwiched between a former Victorian public baths and a burger shop in Clapton, east London, is a cinematic Aladdin’s cave, its floor reduced to a narrow path between stacks and shelves of film paraphernalia." - The Guardian (UK)

Center Theatre Group Chooses Snehal Desai, An Artistic Director With Deep Connections To LA

"CTG seems to have received the message that local knowledge of a sprawling, culturally complex city is necessary to rebuilding the communal connection that had been fraying for years." - Los Angeles Times

An Englishwoman In New York

How Cecily Brown moved from working as a waitress, farmer's market worker, and animator to being a working painter celebrated at the Met. - The Observer (UK)

Larissa Fasthorse On Getting The Thanksgiving Play Ready For Broadway

"It’s meant to give people that beautiful release and time together as an audience, getting to have a really good time in the theatre. But then also, to choose your metaphor, to have the uranium rods for afterwards. ... I’m trying to make these things all exist together." - American Theatre

The Fight Over Books, Libraries, And Free Information In Llano, Texas

County commissioners agreed to keep the library open and restore some banned books, but the threat isn't over. A librarian who resigned explains not only how many horrible phone calls she received, but how important the library is for the community. - NPR

Why Not Have A Cinema That Looks Like Beautiful Pile Of Melting Ice Cream?

The designer of many of India's single-screen cinemas created "visually enticing places that transported you from the commonness of the streets and prepared you for the fantastical world of movies and storytelling that was to come." AMC, take notes. - BBC

Why Board Gamers Need To Chill When People Say No

"I desperately want everyone to witness the euphoric tactical flourishes and wonderful social interactions that a great board game can foster in the right environment, but I have also come to understand that for some people, a pile of cardboard will always be a pile of cardboard." - Slate

The Asia Society Will Stop Blurring Images Of The Prophet Muhammad Online

The Asia Society blamed a contractor for the blurring of two images in its show about the underworld. "We take responsibility for this error, but this was not an active choice to censor and is being corrected." - The New York Times

Machines, Humans, And The Definition Of Art

Let's rethink the whole thing. "Seeing a work of art as indissolubly linked with an individual creator’s technical skills is a worn-out myth. The further we develop, the more this link displays its conventionality." - Los Angeles Review of Books

Collectors In Britain Are Warned Against Overzealous ‘Restorers’ Of Furniture

Is that desk an antique, or is it a much more recent piece that's been, er, "restored"? One expert says, "Quite frankly, if you want something bright and shiny, buy something new." - The Observer (UK)

Amazon’s Growth May Be Slowing, But Warehouse Injuries Are Still High

Does "move fast and break things" really have to mean "move fast and break people"? - Fast Company

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