Arts news

• After Lego Spurns Ai Weiwei, National Gallery of Victoria Will Collect Bricks for the Artist

  27-10-2015 22:21 via artnews.com
  Finally, a purpose for all that Lego you have got lying around.Today Ai Weiwei announced that the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, will serve as the first in a series of international Lego collection points for his latest art project. Ai’s … Read More
  
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• From Time Bombs to Fruit Baskets: Goings-On in London, New York, and Los Angeles

  27-10-2015 21:53 via artnews.com
  Sean Steadman at Project Native Informant, Jason Benson at Bodega, Eli Ping at Ramiken Crucible, Alex Chaves at Night Gallery, Elad Lassry at David Kordansky Read More
  
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• Billions Of Views – Online Video Is HUGE (But Not Entirely)

  27-10-2015 20:40 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  “I am not saying YouTube isn’t a huge, game-changing deal. It is. I am not saying YouTube sensations aren’t real sensations. They are. But we can’t even have a conversation about what is really happening with people’s attention, or relative value, if we aren’t talking in the same terms.”
  
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• New Project To Use Technology To Map Inside Of Pyramids

  27-10-2015 20:19 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  “Among the tools used will be infrared thermography to detect temperature variations on the monuments’ exteriors, which could reveal previously unseen cavities, chambers or corridors close to the surface. With the help of drones, the team will use photogrammetry and laser scanning to make accurate 3D models of the pyramids, other monuments nearby and their general surroundings.”
  
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• Why Contemporary Music Musicians Aren’t Unionized

  27-10-2015 20:13 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  “The AFM and other unions play a significant role in the realm of larger, more traditional music making—orchestras, musicals, film recording, opera, et cetera—but they are far less visible when it comes to performances of new music.”
  
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• Canada’s New Government Promises Big New Investment In Culture. What Might That Look Like?

  27-10-2015 20:10 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  “If the newly elected Liberals honour all their campaign promises – a big “if” with any political party – the Government of Canada will now invest an extra $1.35-billion in arts and culture by 2020. But do the Liberals understand that what Canada really needs is coherent cultural policy?”
  
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• ‘I Have Nothing to Do With Hollywood!’: Frances Stark Meets Will Ferrell Onstage at the Hammer

  27-10-2015 19:17 via artnews.com
  In 2012, while Frances Stark was working on her acclaimed film installation Bobby Jesus’s Alma Mater b/w Reading the Book of Davis and/or Paying Attention Is Free, actor Will Ferrell released a Spanish-language film called Casa de mi Padre. Despite the … Read More
  
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• Covering up Japanese erotica for lols betrays our timidity when it comes to sexuality

  27-10-2015 18:06
  
  The erotic Japanese artform shunga has been modernised – using jokey emoji-like icons. It’s proof of our perversely prudish sexual ageWhat’s gone wrong with erotica? Are we too addled by a hypersexualised age to find artistic beauty in images of desire?The question is aroused – or not – by a book of “modern shunga” that takes the sensual art form invented in 17th-century Japan and subjects it to some crass, and actually quite prudish, jokes. It’s a
  
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• Goldsmiths To Offer Six New Refugee and Asylum-Seeker Scholarships

  27-10-2015 17:56 via artnews.com
  ArtLyst tipped us off to the news that Goldsmiths, University of London will be offering six new scholarships, worth over £140,000 ($214,340) a year altogether, aimed at refugees and asylum seekers in light of the ongoing immigrant crises in the … Read More
  
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• Hobby Lobby’s “Christian Values” Owners Investigated For Theft Of Ancient Iraqi Artifacts

  27-10-2015 17:50 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  “The tablets were described on their FedEx shipping label as samples of “hand-crafted clay tiles.” This description may have been technically accurate, but the monetary value assigned to them—around $300, we’re told—vastly underestimates their true worth, and, just as important, obscures their identification as the cultural heritage of Iraq.”
  
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• Egypt: Faith After the Pharaohs review – a magical dig into the past

  27-10-2015 17:50
  
  British Museum, London
  With its miraculously preserved ancient objects – precious texts, gleeful art, children’s toys – Neil MacGregor’s last hurrah gets close to solving the mystery of religion itselfNeil MacGregor’s swansong as director of the British Museum is a brilliant challenge to the modern western belief in unbelief: the cosy assumption that all sensible people are secular rationalists now. It confronts our inability to cope with a world in which religion i
  
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• Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Names Peggy Fogelman Director

  27-10-2015 17:07 via artnews.com
  Peggy Fogelman, the director of collections at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York, will be heading up to Boston to serve as the director of that city’s primo collection-turned-institution, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.Fogelman will take over from … Read More
  
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• ‘Mary Reid Kelley: The Thong of Dionysus’ at Fredericks & Freiser

  27-10-2015 16:57 via artnews.com
  Pictures at an Exhibition presents images of one notable show every weekday.Today’s show: “Mary Reid Kelley: The Thong of Dionysus” is on view at Fredericks & Freiser in New York, and features a short film and a new series of photographic … Read More
  
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• ‘Alien Yearbook’ Report: American Medium Launches Brenna Murphy’s New Color Monograph ‘Domain~Lattice’

  27-10-2015 16:53 via artnews.com
  Tonight at American Medium in Bed-Stuy, there is a launch party for Domain~Lattice, the first full-length color monograph by the Portland artist and musician Brenna Murphy, published jointly by the New York publishers Pleasure Editions and the Brooklyn design studio … Read More
  
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• Classical Music Losing Its Audience? It’s A Matter Of Relevance

  27-10-2015 16:46 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  “Might there be a concert a few decades hence in which – God willing – my trio is still performing, but only to an audience of one? And if that listener were to perish mid performance, would we keep playing?”
  
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• Shakespeare In Translation: To Be, Or, You Know, To Kill Myself…

  27-10-2015 16:26 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  In the end, any new production of Shakespeare—on Broadway, TV or movies—is a kind of translation, a gambit for clarity and relevance amidst mystery. Maybe it’s the literal-mindedness of Play on! that has drawn such outrage and mockery.
  
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• Modern art is rubbish? Why mistaking artworks for trash proves their worth

  27-10-2015 16:00
  
  Another exhibit has been bagged up and put in a bin by cleaners, but this common mistake shows just how radical contemporary art can beIs modern art rubbish? The question hangs in the air like the stale smell of last night’s ashtray whenever art gallery cleaners stuff an installation into black sacks and leave it out for the bin men.It has happened to Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin and other contemporary artists, and now it has happened to Milan’s Sara Goldschmied and Eleonora Chiari, who
  
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• Philip French, 82 – Was The Observer Film Critic For 50 Years

  27-10-2015 15:44 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  “During his five decades as a critic, French watched more than 2,500 movies, published several books and received an OBE for his services to film in 2013.”
  
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• Theatre Critic Frank Rizzo Takes Buyout After 30 Years At Hartford Courant

  27-10-2015 15:40 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Rizzo has written for the Courant for over thirty years. He has also contributed to such publications as Variety, American Theatre magazine, the Sondheim Review and The New York Times.
  
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• The History Industry – Americans Are Buying It

  27-10-2015 15:07 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Americans’ ignorance about their own country’s history has been called an “epidemic,” and yet they seem as enthusiastic as ever to consume books, TV shows, movies, and musicals with a historical slant.
  
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• Here Is the Exhibitor List for Art Basel Hong Kong 2016

  27-10-2015 14:57 via artnews.com
  Life being nothing more than a piece of rotten meat being slow pushed through a rusty grinder, an endlessly slow parade of flesh pointing only toward useless questions—like “What could possibly be the point of being alive?” and “How could I have … Read More
  
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• How Did “NPR Voice” Become The Default Audio Media Way Of Speaking?

  27-10-2015 14:44 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  “In addition to looser language, the speaker generously employs pauses and, particularly at the end of sentences, emphatic inflection. A result is the suggestion of spontaneous speech and unadulterated emotion. The irony is that such presentations are highly rehearsed, with each caesura calculated and every syllable stressed in advance.”
  
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• The Wrestler: Frank Stella Readies a Landmark Third New York Retrospective

  27-10-2015 14:30 via artnews.com
  On a sunny morning in early September, 79-year-old artist Frank Stella stood on the loading dock of his studio in upstate New York. Across the street a gigantic crane was lifting a couple of hulking wooden crates off the back … Read More
  
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• Morning Links: Declining Chinese Art Market Edition

  27-10-2015 14:10 via artnews.com
  Must-read stories from around the art world Read More
  
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• Is There Still Any Value In Big International Music Competitions?

  27-10-2015 14:03 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  There is something to be said for weathering the rigour of these competitions without ever actually placing, as victories can take on a pyrrhic quality. “Life is squeezed out of the winner, as he has to keep touring and play his winning pieces.”
  
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• Disrupting the Cycle of Urban Violence With Arts and Culture

  27-10-2015 10:47 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  “Hip-hop dialed down street violence in the Bronx. New Orleans’ Mardi Gras Indian gangs made peace through craft. Why is culture such an underrated civic tool?”
  
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• Reuniting The Humanities Into One (Great Big) Discipline

  27-10-2015 10:37 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  “Rather than conceiving them under a rubric of disciplines, we are developing the ‘big idea’ that the enterprise entire is the study of the different ways that human beings have chosen or been able to live their lives as human beings.”
  
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• Sesame Street’s First Autistic Character Is A Big Deal, Yes – But Maybe Not For The Reasons You Think

  27-10-2015 10:24 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Inclusiveness? Teaching kids to accept difference? Sesame Street has always done that. “Put simply: in 2015, everyone has heard of autism. Sesame Street did not have to do much explaining about why Julia is different (and the same), and why she was joining the cast.” This was not always the case …
  
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• Parents, This Is Why Not To Push Your Kids To Become Child Prodigy Musicians

  27-10-2015 10:18 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  “‘For every ten students, one will attempt suicide, one will become mentally ill, two will become alcoholics, two will slam doors and jettison the violin out the window, three will work as violinists, and perhaps one will become a soloist.’ For aspiring violinists and their parents – including Wagner herself – those are not good chances. Why would anyone choose that kind of life?”
  
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• Oregon’s Salem Chamber Orchestra Cancels All Concerts, Considers Bankruptcy

  27-10-2015 10:13 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  “Salem Chamber Orchestra has canceled the three remaining concerts of its 2015-2016 season. The board came to this decision during the past week and is seeking legal counsel to discuss a potential bankruptcy. Teresa Cox, interim executive director, could not confirm whether the 31-year-old nonprofit is dissolving.”
  
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• Buried Treasure: 3,500-Year-Old Tomb, Complete With Gold And Precious Stones, Found Intact In Greece

  27-10-2015 10:06 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  “The warrior’s grave belongs to a time and place that give it special significance. He was buried around 1500 B.C., next to the site on Pylos on which, many years later, arose the palace of Nestor, a large administrative center that was destroyed in 1180 B.C., about the same time as Homer’s Troy. The palace was part of the Mycenaean civilization; from its ashes, classical Greek culture arose several centuries later.”
  
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• Delusions Of Candor: How Gore Vidal Fooled Us (And Himself)

  27-10-2015 10:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  “In the course of more than half a century, his quips, aphorisms, insults, and punch lines amounted to a self-portrait, airbrushed so as to highlight his favorite warts: Olympian detachment, patrician hauteur. It was an act, a put-on – perhaps the most effective double bluff in the history of literary P.R.”
  
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• There Are Those Who Think Snoopy Ruined ‘Peanuts’ – Here’s Why They’re Wrong

  27-10-2015 09:56 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Yes, it seems Charlie Brown’s beagle really irked some folks. (Daniel Mendelsohn: “[He’s] so self-involved, he doesn’t even realize he’s not human.” Sarah Boxer begs to differ: “Snoopy may be shallow in his way, but he’s also deep, and in the end deeply alone, as deeply alone as Charlie Brown is. Grand though his flights are, many of them end with his realizing that he’s tired and cold and lonely and that it’s suppertime.”
  
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• Confessions Of A White Writer Who Used A Latino Pen Name

  27-10-2015 09:51 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  “I’ve been struggling with ‘coming out’ for a long time. I didn’t know how. I considered quietly disappearing, which is easier to do online than it is in real life. But disappearing isn’t owning up to what I’ve done, and this issue is bigger than I am. A friend suggested that I do the opposite of disappear – make a public statement. Here’s my best attempt.”
  
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• Should Literary Journals Charge Writers Just To Read Their Work? (No)

  27-10-2015 09:46 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  “Publications are increasingly charging fees to consider submissions – a practice that’s bad for the writing community at every level.”
  
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• John Cameron Mitchell’s Journey From Reaganite To Punk Queen

  27-10-2015 09:41 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  “As Hedwig prepares a national tour, its creator talks with our editors about the show’s genesis, ’90s New York, and socialist project management.”
  
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• Brooklyn Public Library Vice President of Arts and Cultural Programs

  27-10-2015 06:14 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Brooklyn Public Library seeks a Vice President of Arts and Culture Programs. The Vice President will direct programming at the Central Library and oversee efforts at the 60 neighborhood branch sites. Successful candidates will possess diverse literary and performing arts program experience. The Vice President of Arts and Cultural Programs is a new position reporting to the Library’s President. A full position profile may be found at http://www.mcaonline.us/
  Brooklyn Public LibraryVice
  
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• Top Posts From AJBlogs 10.26.15

  27-10-2015 05:53 via feedproxy.google.com
  Monday Recommendation: JALC In Cuba
  The JALCO’s 2010 visit to Cuba coincided with the beginnings of warmer official relations between cold war enemies. Their two-CD set recorded … read more
  AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2015-10-26Annals of obsolescence
  A week after bringing home my new MacBook Air, I’m more or less used to it. To be sure, I have yet to explore any of its more recherché capabilities, but now that I’ve written … read more
  AJBlog: Abou
  
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• They Had No Idea Where In Africa The Movie Had Been Shot And Felt That They Should Have Known Even Though The Story Takes Place In An Unnamed African Country

  27-10-2015 02:22 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  He has been lying down on his back but then his back hurts fromlying down.The local wineshop was owned by a short rotund bald headed man. The owner had set up a large flag with the word wine on it.They played American pop songs sung in Vietnamese and Indonesian.He read the NY Times, there wasn’t as much in the Oregonian. It hurt when he breathed deeply.She said that strengthening the core would help one’s back.His stepfather had spent days on his back when he had been very stressed o
  
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• Want To See Some Broadway Shows? You Can Stream ‘Em Now

  27-10-2015 02:03 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  “We’re trying to make the digital capture of a Broadway show more like an original cast recording — something that’s done for every show as a matter of course.”
  
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• Twyla Tharp Deals With The Dance Masses In Her Post-Performance Q&As

  27-10-2015 01:04 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  “There is of course one place where language is not so helpful and that is if you are actually interested in what a dance is.”
  
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• How Does Google Answer Ambiguous Questions? Ask RankBrain

  27-10-2015 00:05 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  “RankBrain uses artificial intelligence to embed vast amounts of written language into mathematical entities — called vectors — that the computer can understand. If RankBrain sees a word or phrase it isn’t familiar with, the machine can make a guess as to what words or phrases might have a similar meaning and filter the result accordingly, making it more effective at handling never-before-seen search queries.”
  
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• Woman Thrown Out Of Theatre For Singing Along ‘Loudly And Badly’ During Musical

  27-10-2015 00:04 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  “Audience members claimed the woman threatened people who complained, with some saying the police had been called.”
  
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