“Should we look to the past and replicate the ancient Rome model where the richest pay higher prices so the poorest can come for free? Should we look to the future and create our own bitcoin-like currency? … Can airline pricing in theatre really work?”
42,000 People Singing For Freedom In Estonia
With Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the conflict along its Ukrainian border, Estonia’s Laulupidu festival of traditional song and dance took on even more national import than usual (and that’s a lot.
Do We Comprehend Information Differently When We Read It Online Rather Than On A Page?
Researchers are finding that “the physicality of a printed page may matter for those reading experiences when you need a firmer grounding in the material. The text you read on a Kindle or computer simply doesn’t have the same tangibility.”
Study: Interrupting, Multi-tasking Lowers Creativity
“A team of researchers at George Mason University has found that people who are interrupted while writing end up producing lower-quality essays than writers who are allowed to work undisturbed.”
Our Cult Of Spontaneity – Not All It’s Cracked Up To Be
Serendipity is our friend; planning is for losers. “Spontaneity” is rhetorically offered as the reason to celebrate both online social media and last-minute travel bucket shops.
Why Are We So Attracted To The Idea Of A “Great American Novel”?
One of the central claims of “The Dream of the Great American Novel” is that novels are uniquely well suited to the task of representing what is quintessentially American because they are “carriers and definers of evolving ‘national imaginaries’”.
Support For Artist Resale Rights Picks Up Support In US Congress
“The bill has gained six co-sponsors in the past three weeks, including the representatives Sam Farr of California and Janice Schakowsky of Illinois. At a hearing yesterday, 15 July, in Washington, DC, experts including Karyn Temple Claggett, the director of policy and international affairs for the US copyright office, testified in support of the bill.”
How A Decade Of Digital Distribution Has Hurt The Creative Economy
“It’s only common sense that the devaluation creative industries face is having a sustained negative effect on the investment available for sustainable artistic careers. Through new groups like the Content Creators Coalition, artists have begun to advocate for themselves. But forging an internet that takes individual rights (including privacy), cultural diversity and sustainable progress seriously also requires that consumers get on board.”
Music Pollution – Is That What’s Really Devaluing Music
“There’s a lot of blame to spread around for our music appreciation downgrade: illegal downloads, corporate record companies missing the digital curve, overly compressed music resulting in fatigue and “digititus,” and the low-res quality of mp3 files, to name only a few factors. All of these things contribute to the devaluing of music as a distinct primary experience. But I think there’s a single phenomenon that’s working harder than all the others: The constant bombardment of music functioning as an aspect of an environment, in spaces from restaurants to government offices to bars to shopping malls, reducing music to just so much sonic wallpaper.”
Richard Mellon Scaife Leaves Two Small Pa. Museums Big Art Collections
The late billionaire “left nearly half his large art collection, a 900-acre Western Pennsylvania estate, and $15 million to the Brandywine Conservancy and Museum of Art in Chadds Ford.” The other half goes to the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg, Pa.
What Do You Get When You Cross Samba, Frevo And Break-Dancing?
You get passinho, “a street dance born in Rio’s shantytowns that has broken through social divides to captivate Brazilians from all walks of life and win international attention.”
The Science Of Sentimentality
“What is sentimentality? Is it a manipulation tactic, a type of emotion – the desire to be overwhelmed mixed with self-regard – or an overwrought response to a trigger? What factors predispose you to it: youth or age, a gene, a gender, a mood, an IQ score? Is sentimentality useless or precious? … Why does weeping in the darkness of the theater feel so lovely? Why does clicking on an Upworthy link feel so wrong?”
Athol Fugard, Arvo Pärt, Steven Holl Win Japan’s Praemium Imperiale
“Thee popular Estonian composer Arvo Pärt and the South African playwright Athol Fugard are among the recipients of the [$147,500] 2014 Praemium Imperiale awards, Japan’s highest honors in the arts. This year’s roster of winners also includes architect Steven Holl, painter Martial Raysse and sculptor Giuseppe Penone.”
“A Flaming Bag Of Dog Poop”: Seattle G&S Society Responds To “Mikado”-As-Yellowface Column
Company business manager Pamela Kelley Elend: “Ms. Chan formed her opinion, and it is an opinion not backed up by facts, research, or actually seeing a performance … She wielded that power [of the press] to lob the journalistic equivalent of a flaming bag of dog poop on our door step. We can try to stomp out the fire, and rinse off the residue, but we are still tainted by the stink.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 07.16.14
American Art Bonanza Left By Richard Mellon Scaife
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts | Published 2014-07-16
The Self-Centered Pursuit of Diversity
AJBlog: Engaging Matters | Published 2014-07-16
The Peter Gelb furor
AJBlog: Sandow | Published 2014-07-16
Grand Bargain vs. Tawdry Fire Sale: Detroit Institute of Arts’ Progress on the Former, Caveats on the Latter
AJBlog: CultureGrrl | Published 2014-07-16
“Anonymous” Women, Once Again
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts | Published 2014-07-17
Placemaking: Bringing People Together
AJBlog: Field Notes | Published 2014-07-17
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Detroit Companies Pledge $26 Million Toward Saving Detroit Institute of Arts
“The institute announced Wednesday that a large group of companies, foundations and wealthy individuals – Roger S. Penske and the Penske Corporation; Quicken Loans and the Rock Ventures Family of Companies; DTE Energy; Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan; Meijer; Comerica Bank; the JPMorgan Chase Foundation; Consumers Energy and Delta Air Lines Foundation – had pledged $26.8 million toward a $100 million commitment by the museum as its part of the “Grand Bargain.”
Board, Advisors Quit Over Women’s Project Theatre Director’s Abrupt Departure
“Julie Crosby’s abrupt departure as the producing artistic director of Women’s Project Theater has led most of its advisory board and several members of the board of directors to quit, saying that her exit endangers the 36-year-old theater.”
A Giant Hedge Fund Of Art (That Benefits Artists)
“Close to 2,000, from 75 countries, they have collectively contributed 10,000 artworks to the trust, a unique combination of artist collective and hedge fund.”
The Top-Selling Tour Of 2014 So Far? Cher
“The diva’s tour has grossed a reported $54.9 million through the end of its first leg on July 11. A total of 610,812 attendees went to the 49 shows — all of which were sell-outs.”
Italy Turns To Corporate Sponsors To Maintain Its Monuments
“The practice of using corporate largess to finance restoration projects for public antiquities was once fairly rare here. But with the nation struggling with a stagnant economy and crushing public debt – Rome is flirting off and on with bankruptcy – politicians are now looking to private companies and international sources to help preserve Italy’s cultural heritage.”
This Robot Is Scrawling Poetry On The Floor Of A Shopping Center
“If, as Wordsworth said, poetry is human emotion recollected in tranquillity, what happens when verses are scrawled in sand on the floor of a shopping centre? When they are left unguarded, to be kicked and scuffed by customers wandering into Costa Coffee or New Look? We’ll find out this week.”