“In the first phase, four stations have been identified for the project, with each to be transformed according to one particular theme: Islamic art and Arabic calligraphy, inventions, contemporary art and [multimedia] visual art.”
Are We Hiding Behind “Innovation”? (What’s The Policy?)
“Innovation” is no substitute for a robust technology policy. It must frame its arguments around big themes of equality and justice. Of course, those goals are buried somewhere in its information agenda.
Syria Accuses Turkey of Letting Looters Get Away With Loot
The Assad government’s culture ministry says that its neighbor is “turning a blind eye to the systematic looting of the country’s cultural heritage. Illicit digging at archaeological sites is ‘fierce’, antiquities stores have been raided by armed gangs, and foreigners, from Turkey in particular, are smuggling hundreds of objects across its borders, Syria claims.”
China Decentralizes Film Censorship
“Domestic films soon will be censored by regulators in the province where film production companies are based, rather than by a national one … Although the move loosens the central grip on censorship, insiders are skeptical it will do much to open up the industry.”
Website Aims To Become “I-Tunes Of Art”
“The online store has licences to sell prints of more than 60,000 images by 1,500 artists including Andy Warhol and Picasso as well as an eclectic array of images including vintage Vogue shoots, classic Hammer film posters and Penguin bookcovers.”
Why Did Spanish Art Flourish Under The Franco Regime?
“Even though the Spanish authorities in the Forties had declared that art should be a ‘luminous glow’ as opposed to ‘subversive chaos under the name of Still Life’, modern creative impulses none the less found vibrant expression under this regime.”
Martin Amis: Money Has Defeated England’s Class Structure
“Money has won. It had always won in America but now it’s won in England too. So if you put your son’s name down for Eton it’s because you can afford to do that, it’s not because it’s any class-granted right. I have no nostalgia for the class society but I have no very great enthusiasm about the money society.”
Memphis Symphony Saved For At Least This Season
“The Memphis Symphony Orchestra will finish its current season after all. Two $100,000 donations and a series of benefit concerts have helped narrow a $400,000 shortfall from the fall.”
America’s Creepy, Surveillance-Endorsing Love of ‘NCIS’
Gregg Easterbrook: “The shows depict a world in which terrorists planning mass slaughter are under every bed, in which viewers root for the good-looking, wisecracking agents to smash down doors without warrants; in which super-advanced electronic surveillance is used exclusively to protect the public. In the NCIS version of reality, we’ll all die unless powerful government agencies treat the United States Constitution like a big joke.
How ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ Lines Up With the Ukraine Crisis
Yuliya Komska (whose father created an enormous stained-glass window for the Grand Hotel Lviv) gives the rundown on why Wes Anderson’s film is so timely – and suggests that the movie could be an antidote to the “Ukraine fatigue” sure to set in soon in the West.
Pat Oliphant, Still Drawing Sharp Political Satire at Age 78
“For nearly 60 years, Mr. Oliphant has been skewering politicians, statesmen and other hapless souls in cartoons that have won him virtually every award in his field, including a Pulitzer Prize in 1967 while he was still in his early 30s – and sometimes condemnation in equal measure.”
St. Paul Chamber Orchestra Names Jeremy Denk Next Artistic Partner
Beginning this fall, the pianist and MacArthur Fellow, who just won the 2014 Avery Fisher Prize, “will work with the SPCO for three years on performances, collaborations with vocal artists, new commissions by American composers and a North American tour.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 03.17.14
Dudamel, Gergiev: Should they leave politics to the experts?
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On the Judgment of Appropriators
AJBlog: New Beans | Published 2014-03-18
Dave Eggers on Artists in the Digital Age
AJBlog: CultureCrash | Published 2014-03-17
Inside tips: How to pass an orchestra audition
AJBlog: Slipped Disc | Published 2014-03-17
Friendship Outs: Giant Gift Of Marin Watercolors Goes To…
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts | Published 2014-03-18
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Pianist Jeremy Denk Wins Avery Fisher Prize
“Now, just a few years after he was little known outside of piano circles, offers are pouring in. On Tuesday the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra will name him an artistic partner, beginning next season.”
How Much Do Shakespeare’s Lovers Actually Talk To One Another?
“Do any of Shakespeare’s lovers actually, you know, talk to each other? If Romeo and Juliet don’t, what hope do the rest of them have?”
Study: Many Artists Don’t Consider Themselves Artists (Why?)
“So why don’t these people consider themselves professional artists? No doubt some only do their creative work as a side venture, and make little or no money from it. But it appears that some have trouble wrapping their heads around the idea that their work makes them, by definition, professional artists.”
How “Lion King” Regained Its Crown As Broadway’s Top-Selling Show: An Algorithm
“While other shows also employ this so-called dynamic pricing system to raise seat prices during tourist-heavy holiday weeks, only Disney has reached the level of sophistication achieved in the airline and hotel industries by continually using its algorithm to calibrate prices based on demand and ticket purchasing patterns.”
China Is Opening A New Museum Every Three Days (And Shanghai? Shanghai Wants To Become Paris)
“Shanghai’s impulse to build so many museums is the direct result of a governmental five-year plan for the city to become an artistic center on par with London, Paris, and New York.”