{"id":812,"date":"2016-03-06T13:58:31","date_gmt":"2016-03-06T21:58:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/?p=812"},"modified":"2016-03-07T04:36:33","modified_gmt":"2016-03-07T12:36:33","slug":"five-highlights-from-this-weeks-artsjournal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2016\/03\/five-highlights-from-this-weeks-artsjournal.html","title":{"rendered":"Five Highlights From This Week’s ArtsJournal"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"02-met-breuer.w529.h352.2x\"<\/a>New York gets its first new major museum in decades. English National Opera continues its slow-motion implosion. The relationship between art and critics frays. Some counter-intuitive findings about creativity from scientists. And some cultural industries that are booming.<\/p>\n

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  1. The Met’s new Breuer Building<\/strong> (the former Whitney Museum) opens to massive expectations. This new building will fundamentally change<\/a> New York’s art world. At the very least, it transforms<\/a>\u00a0The Met’s place<\/a> in contemporary art. So here’s a first look<\/a> before it opened. But initial reviews have been cautious. Roberta Smith<\/a>: “For those who wondered if the Met would challenge the Museum of Modern Art or the downtown Whitney, the two opening shows at the Met Breuer feel more like a toe in the water of contemporary art than the expected plunge.” And The Guardian<\/a>: “I am not as confident as I\u2019d wish that this new pavilion has the same ambitions and sympathies as the mothership.\u201d And Jerry Saltz<\/a>: “In a debut show in a new building of an institution putting everything on the line in part to integrate international art, this kind of insular blinkering isn’t just mind-boggling and infuriating, it borders on the criminal.”<\/li>\n
  2. An English National Opera Meltdown<\/strong>: Last fall ENO’s new leader announced the opera company had “turned the page”<\/a> on its many problems. But by early this year, it was obvious this wasn’t true<\/a>. \u00a0has headaches everywhere, not the least of which is money. Then this week the ENO chorus voted to strike<\/a> to protest big cuts, and ENO senior staff said they would take 20% pay cuts<\/a>. And now some are calling to just shut the company down<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  3. So many opinions! Does anyone care?<\/strong>\u00a0Dan Ozzi wonders<\/a>: “With every new album available at our fingertips completely for free at the instant of its release for our own personal judgment, you\u2019ve got to wonder: Do we still need the album review?” On the other hand, Amazon reviewers can rabidly dig in with their opinions<\/a>. It’s scary out there.<\/li>\n
  4. Some Counter-intuitive Findings On Creative Thinking:<\/strong> Cleaning your desk might impede your creativity<\/a>. Think about some problems in stereotypes<\/a> and you become more creative. Indulging in irrational behavior<\/a> might be could for thinking creatively. And small talk isn’t a waste of time<\/a>, it lubricates important ideas.<\/li>\n
  5. This Week in Cultural Industries Doing Big Business:<\/strong> Hollywood studios are making fistfuls of money<\/a>. The festival business is making record profits<\/a>. Netflix is doing so well, that by itself it accounted for half of the drop in traditional TV viewing<\/a> last year. Broadway is using online lotteries<\/a>\u00a0to drive ticket sales. Still there are threats. We’re in the Golden Age of TV, but its success may also lead to its downfall<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n