ArtsJournal

Saddam Hussein Tried To Reconstruct The Ancient City Of Babylon, And His Abandoned Buildings Are Still There

VISUAL Posted:

“In the 1980s, during the Iran-Iraq War, Saddam Hussein became obsessed with the Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar, who is notorious for waging bloody wars to seize large swaths of current-day Iran and Israel. Saddam saw himself as a modern reincarnation of Nebuchadnezzar, and to prove it, he spent millions building a massive reconstruction of Babylon. … Today, it seems to fall between picnic site and abandoned theme park.” – Atlas Obscura

Why Do We Only Equate Innovation And Creativity With Cities?

IDEAS Posted:

Few people, particularly those cognizant of current writing on cities, culture, and technology, would blink at the sentence above. “Urban innovation,” the “smart city,” and the “triumph of the city”—these have become familiar as buzz phrases and even book titles. But what about peripheral regions, rural areas, and small towns—can’t they be smart and innovative? And what exactly is meant by “the triumph of the city”? Triumph over what? – CityLab

What I’ve Learned About Arts Journalism In The Past Decade

ISSUES Posted:

Diep Tran: “When I was first hired at American Theatre, I thought arts journalism was two things: reviewing shows and interviewing celebrities. But as I’ve grown in my career, I realized that it has become something else for me: Journalism is an act of service. The theatre industry, like most industries, is notoriously tight-lipped in many sensitive areas: compensation (or the lack of it), race and power dynamics, and sexual harassment, to name just a few. Those in power would rather you, the reader and the viewer, look at the art and not look too closely at what’s going on behind the curtain.” – American Theatre

Russia And Syria Make Deal To Restore Ancient Palmyra, Damaged By ISIS

VISUAL Posted:

Among the long-term goals of the agreement are the Hermitage and the National Museum of Oman working together to restore 20 Syrian antiquities, primarily from Palmyra; an international campaign to restore Palmyra, seriously damaged by Isis; and the formation of an international expert group under the auspices of Unesco and DGAM, together with the Hermitage and Aga Khan Foundation. – The Art Newspaper

Against Sameness: Paradise Can’t Be Boring

IDEAS Posted:

One view of paradise is that it is a place with no conflict, no sharp edges. But that’s not what most of us want. The peak experiences, the excellence of accomplishment isn’t about frictionless existence, it’s about trying and failing and fixing and learning. – Aeon

Blaming the Victim: The Shocking “Green Vault” Assault at Dresden’s Royal Palace

AJBlogs Posted:

Any burglarized homeowner knows that a five-minute response time isn’t good enough when you’re dealing with grab-and-go criminals. Art museums should not be lured into false complacency with high-tech gadgetry. They are no substitute for the most basic, essential component of art stewardship — human guards. – Lee Rosenbaum

Audiences Are Choosing ‘Immersive Experiences’ Over Looking At Objects In Museums. How Will The Art Business Handle This?

AUDIENCE, ISSUES Posted:

“Performance and installation pieces are now the preferred media of just such moments at biennials and museum shows. For the second edition in a row, the top prize for a national pavilion at the Venice Biennale was won by a performance. … But where does all this leave the commercial art world, which for centuries has relied on the passive contemplation of painting and sculpture to forge careers, reputations and fortunes? How do you monetise experiential art?” – The Art Newspaper

Biographer Robert K. Massie, Author Of ‘Nicholas And Alexandra’, Dead At 90

PEOPLE Posted:

“In monumental biographies of Peter the Great (1672-1725), Catherine the Great (1729-96) and Czar Nicholas II and Czarina Alexandra, who were assassinated with their five children and others in 1918, Mr. Massie captivated audiences with detailed accounts that read to many like engrossing novels. One was even grist for Hollywood: Nicholas and Alexandra (1967) was adapted into a film of the same title in 1971.” – The New York Times

At ‘Slave Play’ Q&A, Woman Shouts That Playwright Is ‘Racist Against White People’

THEATRE Posted:

“According to witnesses, the woman, whom [playwright Jeremy O.] Harris has nicknamed ‘Talkback Tammy’ on Twitter, stood up from her seat and loudly interrupted the Q&A just as it was finishing up. She accused the queer black playwright of being ‘racist against white people.’ At one point, she complained that she didn’t want to hear that white people are the fucking plague all the time.'” Harris patiently responded to her and even sort of defended her reaction afterward, saying “Rage is a necessary lubricant to discourse.” – Gothamist

Two Members Of Nobel Prize For Literature Committee Resign, One Because Of Award To Peter Handke

WORDS Posted:

“Author Kristoffer Leandoer said he was leaving because he had ‘neither the patience nor the time’ to wait for the committee to complete its reforms” called for after the scandal that led to the postponement of last year’s award to this year. He said that his resignation had nothing to do with the very controversial choice for this year’s prize of Peter Handke, but the other departing member, Gun-Britt Sundström, said her decision was for just that reason. – Reuters

As Police Spray Tear Gas, Hong Kong Museum Of Art Closes One Day After Reopening

VISUAL Posted:

“Hong Kong police deployed tear gas during a protest yesterday that took place close to the city’s Museum of Art just one day after it reopened its doors to the public. The use of tear gas at the museum, which re-opened after a three-year renovation with a travelling show from the Tate, prompted concerns over whether the police’s wide use of the substance is putting important works and museum visitors at risk.” – The Art Newspaper

What The NY Phil’s New Home At Lincoln Center Will Look Like

MUSIC Posted:

Justin Davidson: The current scheme, a joint Philharmonic–Lincoln Center project, is relatively modest. The auditorium stays where it is but gets gutted and rebuilt (again). In 2022, the orchestra moves out for an extended summer break, from May to November, returns for an abbreviated season in the reconfigured but unfinished hall, and spends most of 2023–24 touring, floating, and sojourning in its ancestral home at Carnegie Hall. The new Geffen reopens in March 2024. (Lincoln Center and the Philharmonic say that they’ve already raised two-thirds of the money.) – New York Magazine

Classical Music’s Streaming Problem

AUDIENCE, MUSIC Posted:

According to a new survey commissioned by Primephonic, 34% of the 1,000 Americans surveyed are interested in listening to classical music, but only 16% actually do so. Put another way, only half of the people interested in streaming classical music are actually listening. Primephonic and Idagio ($10 monthly) — another classical music-only streaming service that launched in the U.S. in 2018 — intend to take advantage of the gap in those numbers, to improve access to classical music by offering new-user-friendly software and guided listening. – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette