[contextly_auto_sidebar id="WjZxcPtWCK6ExlRGkfHJTGqGfWWntSeY"] RECENTLY your humble blogger was able to connect the current situation in the world of technology -- the money, the power, the self-deception -- with the history of the arts. Specifically, I'm talking about cultural patronage, and I take it back to Haydn, Moneverdi and Velazquez. This piece of mine from Salon may interest Arts … [Read more...]
The Costs of Disruption
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="Xw8ARjhG6mdZqCIxpK59cJwcBfxfFyJo"] WHAT happens when we tear up the past, replace people with bots and culture with content? Those are some of the question on the mind of former New Republic literary editor Leon Wieseltier in his piece "Among the Disrupted." He begins this way: Amid the bacchanal of disruption, let us pause to honor the disrupted. The streets of … [Read more...]
Journalism’s Phony Golden Age
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="v0eG90rPghAVd66MQLAYaRsKRNlqKbJ4"] IT was only, I guess, a matter of time before the digital utopians started telling us -- including laid off scribes -- how great journalism has gotten. The latest is a Wired piece, "How the Smartphone Ushered in a Golden Age of Journalism. (It's venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, and not the Wired writer, who calls it a "golden … [Read more...]
Working for Free, Pro and Con
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="3yEpOmVWqQdiM8tHRZQ892WnlfCfPiSE"] AMAZINGLY, there are still gurus urging creatives that working for free -- for for-profit companies -- is a good "branding" move. An article in the Financial Times describes some who believe in the great opportunities of the digital age, and says that asking for -- and receiving -- free labor has continues to increase. But as … [Read more...]