“In the decades since the 1980s, and after the victory of capitalism over communism in the cold war, we have lived, Chantal Mouffe told me, within a sense of the “normal” to which there has seemed no alternative. Words and concepts that had been so important for those struggling for freedom from authoritarian rule in the twentieth century Mouffe now saw as having been co-opted by purely economic interests: “choice,” for example, had become a way to justify relinquishing public control of schools and hospitals; “liberty” had migrated in meaning to bolster the selling-off of state assets.” – New York Review of Books
The Great Book Scare: When Readers Worried They Might Get Infected
This scare, now mostly forgotten, was a frantic panic during the late 19th and early 20th centuries that contaminated books—particularly ones lent out from libraries—could spread deadly diseases. – Smithsonian
Ferlinghetti At 100: Beating The Drum Of American Originality
“The fact that Lawrence Ferlinghetti, a friend and publisher of his better-known confreres, has recently celebrated his hundredth birthday in style by publishing Little Boy, an uncategorizable stream-of-consciousness bildungsroman offers an inspiriting case study of keeping the blessed callings of poetry, art, and political radicalism alive by example.” – The Baffler
Despite Tyranny And Censorship, Ugandan Women Are Leading A Literary Renaissance
“Uganda was once at the fulcrum of African literature. It was at Makerere University, on a hill above Kampala, that giants such as Chinua Achebe and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o gathered in 1962 for the first African Writers’ Conference, a landmark event held on the eve of independence for many countries. But Uganda would soon sink into an abyss, where power flowed from the gun and not the pen. … Yet in a place where history and politics weigh heavy, writers are finding fresh voice.” – The Economist
Brazil’s Culture Minister Resigns Over Bolsonaro Administration’s Moves To Defund Queer-Themed Projects
In response to the suspension of a government funding program for film and TV over LGBT+ projects, culture minister Henrique Pires said, “It is very clear that I am out of tune with … the president on freedom of expression. I don’t agree that culture can have filters, so I’m leaving. … We need to pacify Brazil to work, not keep looking through a magnifying glass to see if there is a naked man kissing another man.” – The Art Newspaper
Four Years Ago, Italy Hired Its First Museum Directors From Abroad. It May Soon Be Sending Them Home
“In 2015, Italy unveiled a series of reforms that had the potential to transform the country’s storied museums. For the first time, foreign museum directors took the helm at major institutions across the country and all national museum directors were granted more independence than they had had in the past. Now, however, those measures have been rolled back.” – Artnet
Alaska State Legislature Saves State Arts Council After Governor’s Veto
In late June, Gov. Mike Dunleavy exercised a line-item veto over the $3.87 million in funding for the Alaska State Council on the Arts. An attempt to override that veto in July failed and the Council shut down, but subsequent negotiations between lawmakers and the governor restored that item to the state budget. – Alaska Public Media
Should The Curator Of An Art Exhibition Get A Mention In A Review?
Guardian arts editor Alex Needham started a Twitter tempest with this: “Dear curators, in the same way that I don’t get a byline when I commission and edit a piece, chances are you won’t get mentioned in the Guardian when we cover one of your shows. That’s just how it is.” Naomi Rea explains why Needham has gotten so much pushback. – Artnet
US Cities With The Most College Graduates
The list of the cities with the highest share of college grads overlaps considerably with the list of leading metros, with eight places showing up on both. – CityLab
Two Artists Withdraw Their Work From The Shed
The latest withdrawal at the Shed highlights the increasing tension surrounding institutions accepting support from trustees whose sources of income are controversial. – artnet
The Architect Who Believes In Beautiful Scaffolding
Well, let’s be real: Susanna Sirefman wanted a better design for the “sidewalk shed” portion of scaffolding – that is, the part that people (say, New Yorkers) generally walk through. “The winning design had to be safe or safer, provide better storefront access, create a 180-degree different experience for pedestrians, use state-of-the-art building technologies, be easily installed, and complement a mix of streetscapes. And be beautiful.” – The New York Times
Issa Lopez Bursts Onto The Horror Scene
López, a Mexican director and writer, defied convention and expectations to create a new horror film that addresses the real-life horrors of drug cartels (with a side dose of fantasy along with the horror). Why unexpected? Well: “Penning rom-coms for sale, or ‘wrong-coms’ as López humorously dubs them, gained her access to the big screen just as major U.S. studios started producing movies in Mexico.” – Los Angeles Times
Charles Santore, Illustrator Of Classic Children’s Books, Has Died At 84
Santore reached millions of people through his illustrations for the covers of TV Guide before he turned to classic literature for children. His TV Guide covers were legendary, and as a matter of fact, “his 1976 cover depicting Redd Foxx as the title character in Sanford and Son is in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington.” – The New York Times
The Toxic Campaign That Foreshadowed Our Cultural Moment (And Never Went Away)
The basics: “Five years ago, the ex-boyfriend of a game developer posted a bitter rant about their relationship online—and video gaming and journalism and American political life are still dealing with the fallout.” The details – about memes, swarming, doxxing, swatting, and so much more – infiltrated daily life in the U.S. for everyone from artists to politicians to the entire state of politics. – Slate
The TV Show That Incorporates Not Just Voguing But A Ton Of Modern Dance
On Pose, the actors – whose characters are fully part of New York’s ballroom scene – do a lot more than vogue and runway, though that’s essential too. “The show has an undeniable commitment to dance that is present even when the characters aren’t performing or rehearsing, just talking and laughing and crying. Pose is something of a peek into the private lives of dancers, in which the rigor is the same for all — it doesn’t matter if their work is done in a studio, on a stage or on the piers.” – The New York Times
What It’s Like For An Actress To Play A Character Who Shows Little Emotion
Anna Torv, who plays a serial-hunting psychologist on Mindhunter, explains: “When you’re an actress, you don’t even realize that the majority of the time you end up carrying the emotional weight of whatever scene you happen to be in. If someone’s going to cry, it’s going to be the girl. If someone is emotional and having a meltdown, it’s going to be the girl. … It’s just the expectation, so that’s what your instincts end up honing. All of a sudden to be in the skin of this woman who is just so dry … Anytime I showed a flicker of something, especially in the beginning, David would be like, ‘Please, pull it back.'” – The New York Times
David Koch Stamped His Name On Arts Organizations To ‘Send A Message’ To Liberals
New York’s major arts organizations, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Lincoln Center, are now intertwined with the Koch name for decades. Not that there wasn’t dissent – from the outside. On the inside: “He also sat on several cultural boards, hobnobbing there and at galas, with people of varying political persuasions. The longstanding decorum of such gatherings suggested that, like sedate family Thanksgiving dinners, politics was not generally a polite topic for conversation.” – The New York Times
How The Rossini Renaissance Sparked From A Beachfront Festival To The World
The Rossini Festival in Pesaro, Italy, may never be a Salzburg, but it sure changed Rossini’s reputation. Most of the composer’s “operas were long dormant. For much of the 20th century, Rossini had become a one-opera composer, known solely for his comedy The Barber of Seville.” Then the Pesaro festival ramped up, pursuing “the scholarly rediscovery of even Rossini’s most obscure compositions, together with a dedication to teaching the magnificent fireworks of Rossinian style.” – The New York Times
Kicking The Sophomore Curse To The Curb, By Taking Eight Years To Publish A Second Novel
Téa Obreht took her time after The Tiger’s Wife struck the bestseller list and stayed for many, many months. She says, “It was appropriate to let the wrong books go and wait for the right one to come along.” – The New York Times
Dear Good Morning America: Ballet Is For Boys
When host Lara Spencer of Good Morning America decided to go after six-year-old Prince George for his studies, she made especial fun of his ballet classes. Her apology Instagram post (after the predictable outcry) didn’t go well either. “The dancer Barton Cowperthwaite said in a comment: ‘No one wants to see a hiking picture from deep in your photo library. We want to see you make an apology, on air, for publicly dragging a child and an entire art form through the mud.'” (This rather ugly episode has spawned a hashtag: #ballet4boys) – The New York Times
Getting The Cultural Details Right
When it came to making the new Dora the Explorer movie, the production company worked hard to get things right for indigenous representation. Did it pay off? “Live-action still-pan-Latina Dora, who also speaks Quechua, was created with the help of a consultant to help ensure that the indigenous language and elements were accurate.” (And the lead actor recorded and re-recorded her lines in Quechua to make sure they were correct.) – The New York Times
Women At Edinburgh Fringe This Year Report That Sexual Harassment Was Common
The reports are to the BBC and other media, and to an actors’ union as well, but not to police. A lot of the harassment takes place on the Royal Mile as women flyer for their or their companies’ shows. And this is just disgusting on the reviewers’ part: “Another woman said many like her felt pressured into putting up with the unacceptable behaviour of show reviewers – who can make a great difference in getting more people to watch their performances.” – BBC
UK Study: Businesses Are Not Investing In The Arts
Fewer than one-third of businesses do. “Most individuals surveyed by the funder wanted more cultural opportunities where they live (55%), but businesses were less enthusiastic: they prioritised other spending, felt local arts groups were “not business minded enough”, and didn’t see how investing in arts and culture would benefit them.” – Arts Professional