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Rutherford Chang, Conceptual Artist Who Made His Collections Art, Has Died At 45

Chang "turned his collection of the Beatles’ White Album into a meditation on the aging of a vinyl classic,” for instance, and also, "melted down 10,000 pennies into a copper block to make a statement about the value of each red cent.” - The New York Times

Tom Robbins, Author Of Novels Including Even Cowgirls Get The Blues, Has Died At 92

“With their meandering plots, pop-philosophical asides and frequent jabs at social convention and organized religion, Mr. Robbins’s books were the perfect accompaniment to acid trips, Grateful Dead shows and weekend yoga retreats, long before those things became middle-class and mainstream.” - The New York Times

Barbara Kingsolver Took Her Profits From The Massive Hit Demon Copperhead And Built A Rehab Center

In the novel, Demon and his people experience a full range of opioid addictions. With the money she made from her Pulitzer prize-winning (and hugely bestselling) book, Kingsolver "has founded a recovery house for women in Lee County, where the novel is set.” - The New York Times

Denzel Washington Can Be A Rather Tough Interview

He drops gems anyway. About his wife, who competed for the Cliburn: "Acting just sort of chose me, and I got going. But she’s an artist. I never looked at myself that way. I learned a lot about it, the discipline, the appreciation, from her.” - The New York Times

Mort Kunstler, Whose Epic War Paintings Were Meticulously Researched, Has Died At 97

“Künstler developed a sense of dramatic realism early in the 1950s as an illustrator for pulp novels and men’s adventure magazines,” which carried over into his fine art, especially his Civil War paintings. - The New York Times

Amy Lau, A Co-Founder Of Design Miami, Has Died At 56

Interior designer Vicente Wolf: “Amy was the first of a new generation of designers. … She was unrestrained in the sense that she wasn’t going to do things the way everyone else was doing things — in her mixture of furniture and her use of color.” - The New York Times

David Edward Byrd, 83, Designed Iconic Broadway And Rock Posters

"(His) swirling, psychedelic, instantly entrancing illustrations gave the rock mecca Fillmore East its signature look and contributed at least two of the greatest, most recognizable posters in modern Broadway history, for … Follies and Godspell." - Deadline

Culture Warrior Jordan Peterson Is Having Trouble Selling Tickets In San Francisco

In fact, he's already cancelled half a dozen West Coast tour dates. Imagine that. - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)

Bass Paul Plishka, Whose Met Opera Career Spanned 50 Years, Has Died At 83

Though he also sang with the great companies of London, Paris, Milan, Munich, San Francisco, and other cities, he's best known for his long association with the Met, where he gave 1,672 performances in 88 roles. - OperaWire

Trial For Knife Attack On Salman Rushdie Begins This Week

Hadi Matar faces attempted murder charges for repeatedly stabbing the author as he was onstage, about to give a public lecture, at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York state. Matar was subdued and arrested at the scene. - AP

Joe Biden Signs On With CAA Talent Agency

While a CAA client from 2017 to 2020, President Biden published his #1 New York Times bestselling memoir, “Promise Me, Dad,” launched the 42-date “American Promise” tour, which sold more than 85,000 tickets nationwide, and headlined numerous speaking engagements. - Variety

Artist Alonso Davis, Champion Of Black American Art, Has Died At 82

Davis and his brother Dale opened the first Black-owned gallery in Los Angeles, “showing and selling works from Elizabeth Catlett, Romare Bearden, Betye Saar, Jacob Lawrence, Ruth Waddy, Doyle Lane, Charles White, John Outterbridge, and Noah Purifoy.” - Hyperallergic

Millicent Dillon, Who Chronicled The Writers Jane And Paul Bowles, Has Died At 99

“Dillon won the coveted O. Henry Award five times for her stories, but she devoted most of her writing career to the Bowleses — especially Jane, the neglected wife of the much better known Paul.” - The New York Times

When You Get To Season Four, It’s Time To Break Out

"Previously a classical pianist, singer and orchestral clarinetist, started acting in high school productions and began her TV career at 17 on an Australian kids’ show.” Then came Mythic Quest. - The New York Times

Is Mark Wahlberg Trying To Capitalize On The Rise Of Conservative Hollywood?

He’s simply quite Christian now. “The supposed edginess of the Christian Actor stems from the idea that in godless Hollywood it’s somehow taboo to be religious, and that an openly Christian actor will face some kind of retaliation.” - Slate

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