“Writing for certain art magazines and blogs allowed me a Gatsbyian entrance into the lives of the extraordinarily wealthy. I got to interview art collectors, gallery dealers, models, artists, and designers who probably spend more on handbags than I do on rent. I’ve sipped champagne in a Bentley and feasted on caviar in penthouse apartments. Though I disliked some of the art I was assigned to cover, as a grad student I couldn’t really be choosy about what I wrote about. I wanted to get published, and getting paid to write, no matter the topic, felt like a blessing.”
‘Memetics’ – Towards A Theory Of Internet Memes
“In an age where politicians campaign through social media and viral marketers ponder the appeal of sneezing baby pandas, memes are more important than ever – however trivial they may seem. … What has happened to the idea of the meme, and what does that evolution reveal about its usefulness as a concept?”
Can We Save The Universe From Certain Death?
“Should life surrender to its sad, entropic fate, or should we (for ‘we’ are the only entities we know of who might be able to make a difference) at least begin to think about postponing – perhaps indefinitely – the death of the only home we have?”
The Most Popular Artist In The World, 2014 Edition, Goes Against The Odds
“Male artists represented by the world’s major art dealers were over seven times more likely to be given a solo exhibition than female artists signed to the same top gallerists, including Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth and David Zwirner. Against this background, [Yayoi] Kusama’s success in 2014 looks even more remarkable.”
BuzzFeed – Yes, BuzzFeed – Is Launching Writers’ Fellowships And A Literary Magazine
Poet Saeed Jones: “The fellowship is just the beginning of what I really like to think of as a kind of literary movement coming to BuzzFeed. In addition to the fellowship program, I’ll be launching a literary magazine — about a year from now — as well as a reading and salon series. We’ll also be hosting creative writing workshops.”
Why Did Amazon’s New ‘Dash’ Button Cause So Much Reflexive Horror?
“As propaganda, the video seems more like a condemnation of consumption than a celebration of it. All that stuff, the same stuff, used and discarded day after day. It’s the kind of montage that a movie director would use to show just how sad and soulless a character’s life was.”
The Rise And Fall Of Thomas Kinkade
“It was Thom’s favorite subject: world domination. The excitement of planning, of dreaming, of bringing vision to life. And it wasn’t because of the money. It was because he believed God had a special purpose for him, and that was to influence people through his paintings. He thought that with his paintings, he would change the world.”
California’s Iconic Record Store Amoeba Records Turns 25
“In a lot of ways, we’re kind of like an art museum – for music. It’s interesting – a lot of people don’t know how to look at art or talk about art. But people definitely know how to talk about music. Music is something a lot more people are literate to. And people don’t really have anywhere to go, outside of a show, to cultivate that. The closest you can get is to come to a place like Amoeba.”
Is Yannick Nézet-Séguin The Template For The New American Orchestra Music Director?
“As a number of American orchestras — including the National Symphony Orchestra — embark on the search for new music directors of their own, Nézet-Séguin appears to be a template for what they’re looking for. If there’s a flaw in his seemingly perfect profile, everything around him is usually moving too fast, with too much electricity and excitement, for anyone to have time to figure it out.”
Here’s How To Disrupt The Public Radio Model
“Shows are the center of gravity for public radio fans. Fans should be able to support the shows they love, while the distribution channels take their cut behind the scenes.”
Five Philadelphia Theatre Companies Find A New Home
“After 18 years performing at the tiny but storied Adrienne Theater on Sansom Street, InterAct Theatre Company will be picking up its props and sets and leading a group of four other theatrical organizations to a new, multistage home being carved out of the old Drake hotel ballroom behind the Kimmel Center.”
Humanities Profs Get No Respect (Even From Other Humanities Profs)
It’s pretty shocking that humanities scholars, alleged proponents of what Germans call the “science of the spirit” (Geisteswissenschaften), believe some facets of the spirit are worthier of science than others—often using, by the way, the same soulless determinants of “market value” that those outside the academy use to deride the entire professoriate altogether.
Vienna Philharmonic Adopts Naples, Florida
“The orchestra will visit Naples every March for four of five days each time. In addition to performing two concerts each year, the musicians will do other activities, including lectures and public master classes.”
I Did The Naked Tour Of The James Turrell Retrospective – Turns Out It Was A Brilliant Idea
Monica Tan: “Once you’re in front of it, the shape is so large it fills your entire field of vision, until it seems to warp and wrap around your entire body. Without a thread between my body and the work, my bare flesh seems to be drinking all that peppy pink brightness in. … Everyone around me is gawping at the art, almost euphoric with delight.”
“A Pritzker Prize For Sculpture”: Dallas’s Nasher Sculpture Center Announces New $100K Award
“The Nasher Prize for Sculpture will be presented to ‘a living artist in recognition of the art form.’ The inaugural winner will be announced in the fall and receive the award on April 2, 2016.”
They’re Going To Digitally Recreate Bruce Lee For New Biopic
“Ip Man 3 will be the third film to depict the famous wing chun kung fu grandmaster (also known as Yip Man), after the huge box-office success of 2008’s Ip Man and 2010’s Ip Man 2. … The third instalment was to be the first to feature the Enter the Dragon star as an adult.”
The 11 Greatest Children’s Books (A BBC Critics’ Poll)
“In search of a collective critical assessment, BBC Culture’s Jane Ciabattari polled dozens of critics around the world … We asked each to name the best children’s books (for ages 10 and under) ever published in English.”
The TV Preacher Who Became A Major Patron Of Modernist Architecture
“He began with a drive-in church designed by Richard Neutra located just three miles from Disneyland. Over time he added a telegenic cathedral by Philip Johnson and a shimmering, cylindrical ‘hospitality center,’ with an auditorium and cafe, by Richard Meier.
Filmmaker Manoel de Oliveira, Whose Career Stretched From Silent Films To The 2010s, Dead At 106
“For his champions, his striking output since especially the early 1970s placed him at the top of auteur royalty … Oliveira had completed only two features by age 55 but subsequently made 29 by the time he was 102. … [His most recent film, The Old Man of Belem, premiered at last year’s Venice Film Festival.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 04.02.15
Ice Floes Meet and Part
AJBlog: Dancebeat Published 2015-04-02
Doris Duke Performing Artists and JJA Jazz Heroes: Tale of two honor rolls
AJBlog: Jazz Beyond Jazz Published 2015-04-02
So you want to see a show?
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2015-04-02
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Talent War Breaks Out In Hollywood As Agents Defect
There was a flurry of activity inside CAA’s offices, known around town as the “Death Star,” on Wednesday. Agents were stunned by the velocity of the turnover, according to people at CAA who could not speak publicly. They said the large-scale relocation came with no warning to management, and even assistants turned up to work with no bosses to tend to.
Study: We Like Ambiguous Art More
In a small study in which participants evaluated paintings, the researchers found that “the higher the subjectively perceived degree of ambiguity within an artwork, the more participants liked it, and the more interesting and affecting it was for them.”
Russian Artists Face A Choice: Censor Themselves, Or Else – But They’re Never Sure How
“Cultural figures in Russia today describe a climate of confusion and anxiety in which the law banning obscenities, as well as a 2013 law that criminalizes acts offending religious believers, are often ignored unless someone wants them applied.” Under the Soviets, said one publisher, “at least we knew the rules.”
Whitney Museum Contemplates A Bigger Future, With Bigger Expenses (And Admission Fees)
That new Renzo Piano building along the High Line is three times the size of the old Whitney, and 50% more expensive to operate.
Play Reimagining ‘Three’s Company’ Fights Off Copyright Lawsuit
A Federal district judge ruled that David Adjmi’s 3C “represented a ‘drastic departure’ from the TV show, which ran from 1977 to 1984 and remains in syndication.”