Despite repeated attempts by affiliated tribes to return the collection to New Mexico, the funerary objects remain at the Weisman. Under a 1990 federal law, institutions that receive federal funding must create an inventory of any Native American cultural objects or funerary remains as a part of the repatriation process. The University and the Weisman have come under fire by Native American communities, anthropologists and the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council (MIAC) for their delay of inventory. – The Star-Tribune (Mpls)
Nasty Fight Breaks Out Between Joffrey School, Former Director
Christopher D’Addario, who quietly resigned as executive director in March, temporarily shuttered the Greenwich Village school’s website Sept. 16, then threatened more disruptions if he wasn’t paid a hefty $450,000, the school claims in a Manhattan Federal Court lawsuit. – New York Post
Unions And Arts Orgs Argue About Renegotiating Contracts
The unions argue that the companies can’t cut off workers now and expect them to return when they’re ready to reopen. They also say that if concessions are made during the shutdown, salary, benefits, staffing minimums and guaranteed hours should be restored to pre-pandemic levels once things return to normal. – Washington Post
Milwaukee’s Pabst Theatre Protests COVID Restrictions
Under the current Milwaukee pandemic order, bars and restaurants with approved safety plans are able to bring in any amount of customers as long as they can remain socially distanced inside the business. Bar and restaurant owners told WISN 12 News that usually amounts to about 50% capacity. However, the order only allows 10 people inside art and theater venues, not including staff. WISN (Milwaukee)
Magicians Sure Wish They Could Wave A Wand And Make This Virus Disappear
Meanwhile, they’re performing stage tricks from home for kids, also at home, who are often rather tired of screens. “The shift has been particularly jarring for people of this specialty, who’ve long argued that magic is best experienced in person.” – The New York Times
The Graphic Design Of Instagram Activism
Not unlike the activist graphic design of the past, woke Instagram design is easy to comprehend, is clever, and often contains familiar themes so that meaning doesn’t have to be spelled out. Companies are happy to seize on that visual language for their own vaguely worded “Go People” posts. But those can easily fall flat – audiences see through the language to the emptiness that lies below. – Hyperallergic
What Classical Music Loses In Screen Translation
The novelty of watching concerts over Zoom has worn off, and though audiences are still pleased to have anything, anything at all, to watch, the loss of physical space is real, and musicians and conductors feel it. “The absence of an audience subtracts something essential from the music as well; it becomes an unbalanced equation, an unanswered question.” – Washington Post
The Australian Comedian Who’s Now Famous For Watching Paint
Christian Hull is popular not for watching paint dry, but for watching it mix – and guessing the colors that will result. – NPR
In Isolation, Listening To The World
You want to hear Japanese psychedelia from 1971? Johnny Hallyday and Edith Piaf? The indie music of Mexico? The internet, of course, is there for you (and for all of us). – The New York Times
Even Its Founders Couldn’t Figure Out How To Market Quibi
They tried, sort of. When app downloads dropped, they brought in experts. “The marketing experts pitched multiple ideas to shake up Quibi’s approach. One plan was to heavily promote several marquee shows on the app, similar to how Netflix used House of Cards to legitimize itself.” But the founders weren’t into it. – Los Angeles Times
What Is Novelist Elizabeth Strout Doing To Stay Culturally Alert During The Pandemic?
The author of Olive Kitteredge (for which she won a Pulitzer) and many other novels, including 2019’s Olive, Again, just fell for the playing of pianist Hélène Grimaud, and continues to find Edward Hopper’s art comforting. – The Guardian (UK)
Sean Connery, Scottish Definer Of James Bond, 90
Connery was Bond for seven films and embodied him for many Bond fans. He dismayed those fans “by walking away from the Bond franchise and went on to have a long and fruitful career as a respected actor and an always bankable star.” – The New York Times