Of course, we’ve all probably been watching quite a few things during the past year, but have those things included Academy-honored movies? Time to start, perhaps. – The Guardian (UK)
They’ve Found The Emperor Hadrian’s Breakfast Room, And It Was Quite Something
“Researchers discovered the breakfast area within the ruins [of Hadrian’s Villa east of Rome], and it reveals how the emperor and his wife began each day with an impressive display of power. They believe the emperor would have sat on a raised marble platform, flanked by fountains. … Both Hadrian and his wife were positioned as if on thrones, with retractable bridges further setting them apart from their many servants.” – Artnet
How The San Francisco Symphony Has Rebranded
The modern approach plays out in its new look, which patrons will see on everything from posters outside the box office to tickets to the website and social media. The static typeface of yesteryear, which looks the same no matter where it’s applied, is gone. In its place is a new custom, variable typeface called “ABC Symphony” that evokes the sensation of singing. – Fast Company
Why Artificial Intelligence Will Never Write Compelling Novels
If computers could do literature, they could invent like Wells and Homer, taking over from sci-fi authors to engineer the next utopia-dystopia. And right now, you probably suspect that computers are on the verge of doing just so… Yet despite all this gaudy credentialing, the hoax is a complete cheat, a total scam, a fiction of the grossest kind. Computers can’t grasp the most lucid haiku. Nor can they pen the clumsiest fairytale. Computers cannot read or write literature at all. And they never, never will. – Nautilus
LA’s Empty Museums
Los Angeles, where the coronavirus pandemic has been particularly severe, is the largest city in the nation whose museums have yet to reopen even temporarily since the pandemic struck last March. – The New York Times
#Queertheballet Explained
“Without visible exemplars, many queer women and non-binary people question their own place within the art form. “Growing up, I felt like I was the only one,” says Kiara DeNae Felder, a queer, non-binary dancer with Montreal’s Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. “I felt like, ‘Maybe there’s a reason I don’t see other people like me.’” – The Guardian
What Do You Get When A Drag Queen Crosses Streaming Theater With A National Tour?
What you get is writer-performer Kris Andersson’s Dixie’s Happy Hour, “a 95-minute performance streamed to patrons of 21 arts centers and theaters across the country. … A year into the pandemic, streaming shows are nothing new, but Andersson’s approach of a touring schedule rather than a one-off with a particular theater is novel. As is his profit-sharing model: Hosting theaters keep 80% of their ticket sales, and 20% goes to Andersson for the cost of the production and royalties owed to the crew who filmed the show, which was recorded with an eye toward making it appear live.” – Los Angeles Times
This Year’s Oscars: Brought To You From All Over
For several years in the 1950s, starting in 1952, Oscar night featured simultaneous gatherings in Los Angeles and New York. One can imagine something similar happening this year — maybe even including cities outside of the U.S. like London, Paris and Seoul, since the Academy’s membership is now truly international — to spare people from having to undertake long-distance travel and to allow for greater social distancing at each venue. – Hollywood Reporter
A More Diverse Oscars, Sure. But Look A Little Closer…
In a category that has historically overlooked female directors, this feels like progress. After all, only five women have ever been nominated for the best-director Oscar, and if Zhao, King, and Fennell all make it in, that number would nearly double in a single year. But look a little closer, and there’s still a pernicious double standard at play. – The New York Times
18,000-Year-Old Music Instrument Identified — And Played
The ancient conch shell was discovered at the site of some cave art in the French Pyrenees back in 1931, when archaeologists figured it must have been some sort of ceremonial cup. Now researchers using CT scans have determined that the shell was decorated and that its two holes had to have been man-made, most likely to accommodate a mouthpiece. They’ve managed to get three notes from the shell even without any mouthpiece (sound clip included). – Wired
New Lead In Case Of Picasso Stolen In Athens
“Almost nine years ago, two thieves carried out a near-perfect heist at the National Gallery in Athens, taking two works by modern masters Pablo Picasso and Piet Mondrian, as well as a a sketch by Italian Mannerist artist Guglielmo Caccia. … The case remains unsolved, but a new investigation suggests at least one work — Picasso’s Head of a Woman — may still be in the country.” – ARTnews
Poland’s Independent Media Go Dark To Protest New Advertising Tax
“Many private Polish TV channels and radio stations fell silent and online sites and newspapers ran black front pages on Wednesday in a concerted protest over a planned tax that critics fear will weaken or destroy some media.” The ruling Law & Justice party says the tax is a “solidarity fee” to fund healthcare and COVID relief for arts and culture; the indie media says the tax, too high for a perpetually struggling industry, is meant to strangle all non-government outlets. – BBC
How Do You Play a Flower Pot?
What makes washtubs sound best? How about coffee cans? For the answers, check out Lou Harrison’s instructions for his Concerto for Violin and Percussion. So far as I am aware, it is the most memorable, most original violin concerto by any American. It also creates a visual spectacle ideal for COVID-era streamed performances. – Joseph Horowitz