When a person fails to begin a project that they care about, it’s typically due to either a) anxiety about their attempts not being “good enough” or b) confusion about what the first steps of the task are. Not laziness. In fact, procrastination is more likely when the task is meaningful and the individual cares about doing it well. – Human Parts
The First Federally Subsidized Artists’ Housing In The U.S., Now In One Of The Country’s Priciest Neighborhoods
“Created in the 1960s [on the western edge of Greenwich Village], Westbeth brought together icons such as Diane Arbus, Robert De Niro Sr. and Benny Andrews. Merce Cunningham headquartered his dance company in a cavernous space in the building in 1971. Once verified as a working artist – meaning a person derived a significant portion of his or her income from the production and sale of their work – residents were admitted by disciplinary committees ranging from music and performance to visual arts and writing. Rent was determined by income. But what was meant to be a short-term solution for looking to build their careers quickly became a stronghold for artists as the city’s real estate prices rose” – and many of those early residents have never left.
Now Here’s An Old Easter Tradition We Could Revive: Priests Dancing Through Labyrinths Tossing Balls
“In Auxerre Cathedral in northern France, and most likely in cathedrals in Sens and Amiens (and perhaps Chartres, as well), clergy gathered around the labyrinth [patterned into the floor of the nave], danced in a circle, and tossed a ball from person to person. These games, according to medieval religious observers, had ties to pagan practices. In certain places, they were incorporated into church rituals for hundreds of years.”
People Are Turning Against Social Media. How To Save It?
If we’re really serious about changing how social networks operate, far more radical interventions are required. Here are three possible ways to rescue social media from the market-based pressures that got us here.
The Brooklyn Museum Hires Two White Curators For Its African Collections, And Backlash Is Strong
The problem isn’t these two curators, specifically (though the “Black Panther” references are flying thick and fast on Twitter), it’s this widespread institutional issue: “African-Americans made up a mere 4 percent of all curators, conservators, educators and museum leaders, while Hispanics made up 3 percent and Asians made up 6 percent, according to a widespread museum demographic survey completed by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in 2015. White scholars occupied those roles at overwhelming rates, while people of color were more represented at museums through janitorial or security roles.”
Why Has This Brancusi Sculpture In A Paris Cemetery Been Covered Up?
This perplexing explanation of private family control, regardless of public ownership by the city of Paris and listing as a historical monument, was confirmed to Hyperallergic by Sylvie Lesueur, the conservator of Cimetières Montparnasse, who gave no further details other than confirming that the Rachewskaïa family is behind the boxed Brancusi. For now, “The Kiss” sits covered in secrecy by a very solid wooden box with a tiny hole, ostensibly serving to confirm that the sculpture is indeed still there — for now.
US Congress Votes To End “Government-Funded Oil Paintings”
Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy’s wish has come true, with President Donald Trump signing his Eliminating Government-Funded Oil-Painting — or EGO — Act into law on Wednesday. The cheekily named legislation prohibits taxpayer funds to be used on officially painted portraits. The law applies to portraits of the President, the Vice President, a member of Congress, the head of an executive agency, or the head of an office of the legislative branch.
NPR Ratings At All-Time High
“According to Nielsen Audio Fall 2017 ratings, the total weekly listeners for all programming on NPR stations is 37.7 million people – a record that has been maintained since the Spring of 2017. NPR’s Newscasts, updated live every hour, can now be heard on 947 broadcast stations by nearly 28.7 million listeners.”
Houston Gets Its Own Version Of An Anish Kapoor ‘Bean’
Cloud Column, a very shiny, 21,000-pound stainless-steel ellipsis by Anish Kapoor that has just been installed on the campus of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. It’s almost impossible to avoid thinking of Cloud Column as the vertical version of Cloud Gate (a/k/a “The Bean”), Kapoor’s popular sculpture in Chicago’s Millennium Park.
The War Of The Beans: Chicago And Houston Papers Totally Diss Each Other’s Anish Kapoor Sculptures
As Kapoor’s Cloud Column is being installed in Houston (and drawing inevitable comparisons to Kapoor’s Cloud Gate in Chicago), the Chicago Tribune‘s Kim Janssen and the Houston Chronicle‘s Lisa Gray started throwing serious shade at each other’s public sculpture as the rest of the nation watched with amusement. (The Dallas Morning News chimed in with “Sorry Chicago, making fun of Houston’s ‘bean’ sculpture is our job.”)
Without Warning, Beloved Brancusi Sculpture In Paris Cemetery Is Boxed Up
“The Cimetière du Montparnasse is at risk of losing one of two of its most distinctive occupants. A famous Constantin Brancusi sculpture of a couple embracing, Le Baiser (The Kiss, 1909), has … been on view just inside the cemetery’s Rue Émile-Richard entrance since the very end of 1910 or early 1911. But, for at least six months now, the sculpture has been covered up and mysteriously concealed from public view.”
In Mosul, Rebuilding The Centuries-Old Book Culture ISIS Tried To Destroy
In the years they occupied Iraq’s second city, the extremists burned tens of thousands of books and torched the widely admired university’s library. NYRB‘s reporters meet with librarians, law professors, and a literature lover who has opened a library/café.
How Brexit Will Damage UK Arts
When it comes to Brexit and the arts, freedom of movement and access to finance are the two most frequently discussed issues. They feature heavily in two reports from Arts Council England last month that provide the best data yet on what the sector is thinking and doing in response to the vote to leave.
Reboot Of “Roseanne” Show Draws Unexpectedly Massive TV Audience
While nostalgia was expected to bring in eyeballs, no one predicted such a huge turnout on premiere night for the blue-collar family sitcom with a Donald Trump-supporting protagonist, especially among the younger demographic. But then, few predicted that Trump would become the Republican nominee and would win the presidential election when he first announced his candidacy.
What’s The Hot New Source For TV Material? Podcasts
“A podcast offers up intellectual property in a particularly appealing format – compared with a book or even a script, it’s a stronger proof of concept of how a show or movie would actually play out. ‘It’s one step closer to seeing it onscreen,’ [Matt] Tarses said. ‘You already know what it sounds like.'” (Tarses is the creator of Alex, Inc., an ABC series about a podcaster, based on Alex Blumberg’s podcast about launching his podcasting company, Gimlet Media. How meta can you get?)
Islamabad’s Disappearing Bookshops Signal A Big Cultural Shift
When Islamabad was built as the capital of a newly independent Pakistan, it was the “old bookshops” that gave the neighbourhoods a spirit and character beyond the insipid soullessness that pervades purpose-built cities. Now their accelerating disappearance tells a story of the seismic political and commercial shifts that have taken place here over the past two decades.
Think West End Ticket Prices Are Too High? Here’s Why They Cost So Much
“Every year London’s commercial theatres are accused of profiteering, as ticket prices rocket and the industry boasts of record-breaking revenues. But analysing the high costs involved, ticketing expert Richard Howle shows where your money goes – and why musicals remain a risky investment, often taking years to recoup.”
Here’s The African-American Museum That Charleston, And America, Need
Michael Kimmelman writes about the long-planned International African American Museum, to be located at the wharf on Charleston’s waterfront where close to half of all African slaves brought to the U.S. arrived.
More Commonwealth Authors Demand (Again) That Americans Be Kicked Out Of Man Booker Prize
“Three years since the Man Booker began allowing any author writing in English and published in the UK to enter, 99% of Folio Academy members who responded to the question have said that the Booker should change its rules again, with most responses citing the new ubiquity of US authors in the prize’s longlists.”
Lots Of Bad Public Art Has Made Macedonia’s Capital A Giant Monument To Kitsch
“Quick quiz. Which of the following makes sense?
a) Three pirate ships on a river in a landlocked country in the Balkans;
b) A 47-foot-high bronze statue of an ancient warrior that is Alexander the Great and is also not Alexander the Great; or
c) A house dedicated to Mother Teresa, a saint known for her modesty, done up in an opulent style that can best be described as Miami meets the Flintstones.
Answer: None, unless you are in Skopje, Macedonia.”
Why Misty Copeland Is Embracing The ‘Misty Copeland Swan Lake Fouetté Fail’ Video
“[The video is of] Copeland performing [the] Swan Queen last week in Singapore, where she wasn’t able to finish her 32 fouettés (she was criticized for doing the same thing when she debuted the role in 2015). … Why would ballet’s biggest star want to promote a video of herself messing up, and a tweet saying that she doesn’t deserve to be in American Ballet Theatre? Because she’s bravely proving some important points.”
Metro Chicago’s Elgin Symphony May Run Out Of Money Before This Season’s Last Concert
“Because of a financial shortfall, the Symphony Orchestra’s board of directors have scheduled a special meeting late Thursday afternoon to see if the group will be able to find a way to afford putting on the final concerts of its season May 5-6.”
This Film Won Six South African Academy Awards, And Black Traditionalists Are Trying To Get It Classified As Porn
Inxeba (The Wound), about a gay love triangle taking place amidst Xhosa male coming-of-age rites, took directing, acting, writing, and editing honors as well as Best Film at the South African Film and Television Awards this week. Yet traditional leaders have furiously opposed the movie, arguing that it is hard-core pornography that profanes a sacred part of their culture. (No genitalia are shown on screen.)
Across Asia, There’s A Boom In Opera House/Performing Arts Centers – And The Jobs That Come With Them
As the continent’s economic power grows, cities are building performing arts centers as badges of their new global clout. The complexes are usually called opera houses (the idea of “opera” still carries real prestige), but they usually have another auditorium for dance and/or drama, and often a black box as well – and all those stages need people to run them and shows to present. These theaters are sprouting up from China to Kazakhstan to the Persian Gulf, as flashy freestanding buildings or (sometimes) in high-end shopping malls.
Top Posts From AJBlogs 03.28.18
April Showers: 28 La Salle University Deaccessions in Three Christie’s Auctions (with estimates)
Without a press release, let alone any fanfare, Christie’s has now published the complete catalogue information (including presale estimates) for 28 of the 46 works that were deaccessioned by La Salle University to bankroll its … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2018-03-28
Chummy MacGregor And “Moon Dreams”
Chummy MacGregor was born on this day in 1903 and died on March 9, 1973. It’s the rare listener to modern jazz who doesn’t know of the MacGregor composition “Moon Dreams,” which … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2018-03-28