Sex, food, drugs, art--are they all the same? Do they provide the same kind of pleasure and engagement? No, says Julia F. Christensen, a neuroscientist at the Warburg Institute, University of London. She says--and I seriously hope she is correct--that art engages the brain in a special way that can "help overwrite the detrimental effects of dysfunctional urges and craving." … [Read more...] about ICYMI: Art Is Better Than…
Research
Artificial Intelligence Invades The Museum and Art Worlds
“It’s a massively ambitious project.” That is Tony Guillan, a multimedia producer for the Tate museum, in the U.K, speaking. Guillan manages the IK PRize, which the Tate Britain has awarded for the last few years to projects that use digital technology in an innovative way to promote the exploration of art at the Tate Britain or on the Tate website. He's speaking of this … [Read more...] about Artificial Intelligence Invades The Museum and Art Worlds
The Arts: By The (National) Numbers
A few years ago, when the National Endowment for the Arts said it would join with the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis to determine how much the arts contributed to the economy, I applauded. When the very first data was released, I even tried to sell an article to about the beginning of this worthwhile effort. The editor I pitched passed, saying that we should wait until the … [Read more...] about The Arts: By The (National) Numbers
What’s Up With The Met’s Lauder Center?
That was the question on my mind when I proposed a story on it for the annual New York Times special section on museums, which was part of today's paper. The result is headlined A Gift That Could Rewrite Art History in the paper (it's different--and too "newsy" a headline on the web--bt that's journalism today. Interestingly, the Times usually shows the writer the print head, … [Read more...] about What’s Up With The Met’s Lauder Center?
NEA Reveals The Real Targets For Art Museums
The National Endowment for the Arts released three reports today on arts participation, barriers to it, the impact of the arts and culture industries on the economy--all information from 2012. There's much to digest. Here's the link to them. But I'm going to paste here just four charts from them that speak to one aspect of the environment for arts museums. Each one tracks … [Read more...] about NEA Reveals The Real Targets For Art Museums