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Indonesian Theme Park Ordered To Take Down Lights That Violate Chris Burden Copyright

The theme park had recreated Burden's collection of street lamps that he made for the front of the LA County Museum in Los Angeles. "The court has ordered Rabbit Town to take down its Love Light installation within 30 working days since the verdict." - Coconuts

How Kate Winslet Went About Mastering The Notoriously Tricky Philadelphia Dialect

"Few sounds are as difficult to master as the rounded Os, erratic As, dropped consonants and smushed syllables of the Philadelphia accent — or Filelfia acksent, as the locals would say." Winslet says it's one of the two trickiest accents she's ever had to learn; here's a look at the hard work she put in to get it right....

These $63 Million Paintings, Literally Kidnapped And Held For Ransom, Are Now The Subject Of A Billion-Dollar Lawsuit

The Shchukin Gallery, which sells Russian art in Paris and New York, is suing a Russian oligarch for damages and attorney fees of $950 million — in what might or might not be the culmination of an unusually tangled legal battle over three paintings by Kazimir Malevich and two by Natalia Goncharova that were, as Shchukin's attorney puts it,...

How Pixar Pushes The Boundaries Of Color To Push The Buttons of Moviegoers

"In a way, every filmmaker is really just playing with moving light and color on surfaces. That's the whole ball game, a filmic given. But Pixar takes it further, or perhaps just does it more self-consciously and systematically. Its emotionally weighty, computer-generated animated films deploy precisely calibrated color and light to convey narrative and emotion … But I'll tell...

Germany Takes Care Of Its Opera Houses, Even Through COVID — But There’s A Problem

"'What we learned in the crisis was that the public purse was very much willing to keep alive in Germany,' says Dieter Haselbach, a German cultural sociologist and consultant. 'But in the long run the state-funded system covers a structural crisis which is an oversupply of theaters and opera houses, with competition from digital performances.'" - The...

Amsterdam Branch Of The Hermitage In Danger Of Closing Permanently

"After laying off 25% of its full-time staff, including those who had been there since opening day," the only Western European satellite of the St. Petersburg institution "finally reached the bottom of its reserves last month. Because the Hermitage is a private institution ineligible for government aid, it is now calling for one million euros in donations...

France’s Cultural Venues Get An Official Reopening Date

"Museums, theatres, cinemas and concert halls will reopen on May 19, along with non-essential shops and outdoor seating at cafes and restaurants, Macron told regional French newspapers in a highly-anticipated announcement." - Yahoo! (AFP)

Scottish Government Ordered To Reconsider Six-Foot-Distance Reopening Rule After Arts Groups Rebel

Following a personal intervention by the culture minister, "controversial new guidelines which will force Scotland's arenas, concert halls and comedy clubs to impose two metre social distancing on audiences are to be reviewed in the wake of warnings they will force most venues to remain closed." - The Scotsman

UK Artists Demand Action On Post-Brexit Touring Crisis

"We are extremely concerned by the lack of progress which has been achieved over the last three months to unravel the mountain of costly bureaucracy and red tape which now faces the creative industries," the letter said. "With scheduling already under way for creative work later this year, you have a limited window of opportunity to resolve this crisis...

A $2 Billion Plan Would Transform LA’s Arts District

An Arts District cold-storage plant dating to the 1890s would be replaced with housing, offices, a hotel and shops in a proposal unveiled Thursday by Denver developers. With a price tag between $1.5 billion and $2 billion, the complex would rank among the largest L.A. commercial real estate developments in recent memory. - Los Angeles Times

Theatre Festivals Are Reopening In The UK. But What Should Their Role Be?

Many will grapple with an uncertain theatre landscape and uncertainty over how audiences might behave as society opens up. And this is at a time when cities have been devastated by the pandemic, and many are still reeling from the loss to life and livelihoods. - The Stage

Poetry Foundation Picks A New President

Michelle Boone’s appointment "may mark a turning point for the foundation, which has been criticized as insular and slow to respond to changing times. In addition to serving as commissioner for the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events under former Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Boone is wrapping up her tenure as chief program and civic engagement officer for Navy...

Bard Center Explores Connections Between Arts And Human Rights

The two-year, interdisciplinary MA plans to host in-person classes at Bard’s Annandale-on-Hudson campus and welcomes “current and aspiring activists, artists, and researchers” who are committed to “understanding, exploring, and furthering the growing encounter between human rights and the arts.” - Hyperallergic

Getting In To A Concert Got A Lot More Complicated In The COVID Protocols

"Gone was the chance to rush to a concert after work and plop down into your seat as the curtain rose. Before they entered the Shed, concertgoers would need to check one of three boxes: show proof of full vaccination; demonstrate a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of the event; or have taken a rapid antigen test,...

Is Music Universal Or Not? Depends On What You Mean

Kevin Berger: "In the past two years, the debate over whether music is universal, or even whether that debate has merit, has raged like a battle of the bands among scientists. The stage has expanded from musicology to evolutionary biology to cultural anthropology. … My recent adventures in the fields of music research have instilled in me … a...

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