Nate Freeman recaps the story of financier Jho Low and 1MDB, the enormous Malaysian government investment fund whose billions were diverted into the personal accounts of former prime minister Najib Razak and his family and friends — and from there into extremely high-priced art. — Artsy
A Scaffold Is Intruding On A Historic James Turrell Ceiling “Window”
The obstruction seems to be protruding from the gargantuan high-rises going up across the street from PS1, at 22-44 Jackson Avenue. These two residential buildings, which replaced the former legendary graffiti haven 5Pointz, are also called 5Pointz and will house 1,115 units total (including 223 affordable housing units) when they’re finished. – Gothamist
‘Turning The Usual Pattern Of Arts Engagement On Its Head’
An Arts Council England-funded program called Creative People and Places “aims to increase arts participation in places where people are less likely to take part in arts activity” — and it seems to be succeeding with the groups least likely to engage with the arts generally. What’s the secret? Nothing very secret at all, actually. — Arts Professional
How Do You Make ‘Twelve Angry Men’ Relevant In 2019? Cast Six White And Six Black Jurors
Director Sheldon Epps: “There is language in this play that you may have heard in a CNN report the night before. … It’s always been about racial issues; we’re just heightening what [the playwright] wrote about. He was specifically writing about how the American justice system is different for white Americans than it is for Americans of color.” — The Washington Post
America’s Oldest Jewish Newspaper, The Forward, Shuts Down Its Print Editions
“[Founded in 1897 and] once known as The Jewish Daily Forward, the [Yiddish] publication first put out supplements in English in the 1980s and started a weekly edition in English in 1990. Since 2017, The Forward has been a monthly magazine. It will continue to publish in both languages online after it stops appearing on newsstands.” Almost a third of the staff, including editor-in-chief Jane Eisner, has been laid off. — The New York Times
Gary Indiana Didn’t Care About His Village Voice Reviews. But He Had Fun
Sometimes he wrote columns in which all of the proper names had been excised, which rendered them useless as gallery PR; others featured pseudonymous composite characters like “Gaston Porcile Vitrine,” an allegory of art-world fickleness who finds himself suddenly, humiliatingly shunned at downtown hangouts after a season or two in the limelight. – The Baffler
Report: UK Publishing Industry Workforce Fails To Reflect The Population
The industry has failed to represent the working population of the capital, and continues to fail to connect with regions outside London. “The report shows we have a passionate industry full of people who are having to move away from their homes across the country in order to work in books – but we’ve also neglected to include the local population.” – The Guardian (UK)
The Mister Rogers Phenomenon
“When I say it’s you I like, I’m talking about that part of you that knows that life is far more than anything you can ever see, or hear, or touch. That deep part of you, that allows you to stand for those things, without which humankind cannot survive.” – New York Review of Books
DNA From Ancient Bones Has Researchers Rewriting Ideas About Our Origins. But.
But – these stories have been rewritten before in earlier scientific study. And before we declare a definitive new theory, there are questions… – The New York Times
Developing Authentic Disability Theatre, And Bringing It To The Public
“Theatre has the power to help us recognize the social forces that we have created as a society and allows us to envision how we can change them. To incite positive social change and critically alter the way society views differences, voices from the disability community must be included in what we present onstage.” Seattle dramaturg Andrea Kovich, who identifies as disabled, writes about two projects focused on the work of Deaf and disabled playwrights that she recently did with Sound Theatre Company. — HowlRound
Why Is The Font From The Covers Of Old Pulp Novels Suddenly Popular Again?
“In its first era of popularity, [Lydian] was all pop and pulp, but now it seems reserved for the task of adding just the slightest bit of a smirk to extremely straight-faced endeavors: elegant magazines, important books, experimental theater, and $80 ceramic pipes.” — Vox
Yalitza Aparicio, Star Of ‘Roma’, Becomes A Symbol Of, And For, Mexico’s Indigenous Women
“[She and the film have] started a national conversation about inequality, the treatment of domestic workers and who is welcome on the red carpet in a country where Indigenous women are rarely seen in magazines” — she’s now the first indigenous woman ever to appear on the cover of Vogue México — “much less at Hollywood awards shows.” — The New York Times
Carlos Miguel Prieto Cleared Of Overpaying Foreign Soloists At Mexico’s National Symphony
“The cultural secretary’s office admitted that the [earlier report] relied on information in a public government database that, in effect, converted the guest performers’ fees [between] American dollars to Mexican pesos twice, vastly inflating the totals in some cases.” Some observers are suggesting that the charge against Prieto, music director of the Louisiana Philharmonic as well as of Mexico’s flagship orchestra, was being pushed by musicians unhappy with his leadership. — The New Orleans Advocate
Dance Magazine Handicaps The New York City Ballet Directorship Candidates
“The new director’s name could be released any day now. And we have some theories about who it might be.” Lauren Wingenroth runs down a list of ten possibilities (though she seems to think only two are really likely). — Dance Magazine
Lin-Manuel Miranda Sees Audience Member Shooting Video, Calls Her Out From Stage Literally Without Missing A Beat
The creator of Hamilton, playing the title role in the musical’s high-profile run in Puerto Rico, was in the middle of the song “My Shot” when he spotted someone recording the show on her phone — and ad-libbed, in rhythm, “Lady filming in the 4th row, please stop it.” (After the show he tweeted “Please don’t make me do that shit again.”) — CBS
Poet Mary Oliver Dead At 83
“Often compared to her literary idol Ralph Waldo Emerson, with whom she shared an abiding interest in the natural world, Ms. Oliver combined a precise, unfussy style with an almost religious devotion to examining nature. … Ms. Oliver was a rarity in modern American literature — a best-selling poet, so popular she was interviewed by journalist Maria Shriver in O, the Oprah Magazine.” — The Washington Post
Why’s Everyone In Cremona So Nervous About Noise Right Now? It’s About The Strads
Eventually, the centuries-old string instruments for which this Italian city is famous will become too fragile to play. “So that future generations won’t miss out on hearing [them], three sound engineers are producing the ‘Stradivarius Sound Bank’ — a database storing all the possible tones that four instruments selected from the Museo del Violino’s collection can produce.” But the mics are extremely sensitive … — The New York Times
Netflix Refuses To Remove Footage Of Quebec Rail Disaster From ‘Bird Box’ And ‘Travelers’
Video of the 2013 derailment and explosion of an oil-tanker train that killed 47 people in the town of Lac-Mégantic features in both Netflix original productions, and, despite heavy criticism, the company says that the footage will not be cut. (Company reps say they’ll be more sensitive in the future.) — CBC
Inventing A Podcast To Bridge Different Cultures
Make-Believe is a new podcast company in Chicago, and is, as Jeremy McCarter likes to put it, a podcast that’s “one part live theater, one part TV production, one part social science… Chicago is multiple cities. The discourse becomes more authentic when you can bridge — let’s call it what it is — segregation.” – The New York Times
“Exciting Future”? Monitoring the Uncertain Condition of the Embattled National Academy of Design
“Get updates about our exciting new future,” proclaims the homepage of the long-dormant NAD, which closed its doors to the public on June 1, 2016, at the age of 190, with the stated intention of reopening in a “new home.” Two and a half years later, the nature of that “exciting future” has not yet been revealed and a “new home” has not yet materialized. — Lee Rosenbaum
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra’s Next Music Director Will Be Richard Egarr
The British harpsichordist and conductor, who currently leads the Academy of Ancient Music (from which he recently announced his departure) and begins a stint as artistic partner at the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra next season, succeeds Nicholas McGegan at the helm of the San Francisco period-instrument band at the start of the 2020-21 season. — San Francisco Chronicle
One Of New York City Ballet’s Most Atypical Dancers Takes On One Of Its Most Difficult Roles
“When he dances, he soars; in life, he swerves into self-doubt. Yet Mr. Stanley, a shy and self-effacing mixed-race 27-year-old gay man, has become one of the company’s most valued principals, both for his dancing and for what his presence means.” Gia Kourlas meets Stanley as he prepares to dance the title role in Balanchine’s Apollo. — The New York Times
Where Dance Meets Physics (Where? Yale, Of Course)
For eight years now, a pair of Yale professors, Sarah Demers (particle physics) and Emily Coates (ballet), has taught a course called “The Physics of Dance.” “Their partnership has involved everything from directing a short film to presenting a TedX Talk and performing a piece that Coates created, commissioned by Danspace Project. This month, they’re publishing a book.” — Dance Magazine