Roberta Smith: “What made the 2010s the most thrilling of all the decades I’ve spent in the New York art world was the rising presence of black artists of every ilk, on every front: in museums, commercial galleries, art magazines, private collections and public commissions. During this exhilarating sea change new talent emerged, older talent was newly appreciated and the history of American art was suddenly up for grabs — and in dire need of rewriting.” – The New York Times
Dorothy Seiberling, Editor Who Explained Avant-Garde Art To The Public, Dead At 97
“As Life magazine’s art editor, Ms. Seiberling helped shape public opinion about the 20th century’s foremost avant-gardist artists” — most notably, Georgia O’Keeffe and the Abstract Expressionists — “encouraging open-minded consideration of their importance.” – The New York Times
The 10 Most Influential Films Of The Decade (Per The New York Times)
Manohla Dargis and A.O. Scott: “The most popular movies and the movies we love most aren’t always the ones that shape the industry, reflect the times or change the terms of cultural discourse — for better or worse. The films on the first list, whether we like them or not …, made a difference in the world of entertainment and beyond.” (also includes ten favorites from each critic) – The New York Times
Vienna State Opera Finally Stages Work Written By A Woman (It Only Took 150 Years)
“I really want to shake up this old-fashioned, beautiful, wonderful place a bit,” says composer Olga Neuwirth, 51, whose adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s Orlando opens on December 8. (The house actually commissioned an opera from Neuwirth back in 2004, only to reject the libretto written by Nobel laureate Elfriede Jelinek.) – The Guardian
Kanye West Popped-Up An Opera – So How Was It?
Mark Swed: “Typically, a new opera is a multiyear project, so the very notion of this pop-up one, which seems to have been in the works for a couple of weeks at most, is extraordinary. But if you go back to the 18th and 19th centuries, operas were popular entertainment put on with the regularity and immediacy that television shows are today.” – Los Angeles Times
Women Writers Still Don’t Get Respect For Their Work
“Ten years ago I went to a speed-dating event in Belfast where I told a succession of potential dates I was a writer and was met with a unanimous sense of disappointment. “I thought you might be a nurse,” one man said, his face falling.” – Irish Times
Propwatch: the climbing tackle in ‘Touching the Void’
How do you capture the scale, the struggle, the elemental extremity of mountain climbing? In the theatre? It’s simpler than you think. After all, they both use the same kit. – David Jays
Hollywood’s Blockbusters Are Squeezing Out Everything Else
“These huge franchise pictures are elbowing out midrange and lower-budget movies. It’s harder for midsize movies to get theaters in the first place, much less hold onto them long enough to build an audience.” – The New York Times
In 1988 The Shroud Of Turin Was Declared A Fraud. But…
Oddly the original data was unavailable to researchers. But in 2017, a legal request under the Freedom of Information Act obtained the raw information for the first time. Their results, published recently in Archaeometry, show that the issue of the dating of the Turin Shroud is far from settled. – The Daily Beast
How Taylor Swift Took On Equity Firms Over Ownership Of Her Music
At a time of public outrage over corporate greed and a heightened awareness of gender-based power dynamics, the 29-year-old Ms. Swift was able to turn a commercial dispute into a cause célèbre. – The New York Times
Struggling To Make Sense Of Today’s Politics? Fan-Fiction Might Help
It’s a growing genre. Political fiction has always existed, but now many writers are re-imagining our contemporary political landscape in political ways that make sense to them. – The New York Times
Another Young K-Pop Singer, Goo Hara, Has Died
The 28-year-old was a member of one of the first big K-pop girl groups, Kara. She had attempted suicide in May. In her solo career, she had some hits and also some TV and movie roles. – The New York Times
The Inventor Of The World-Wide Web Thinks We Can Fix The Internet
Aw, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, we appreciate the attempt. “The Contract for the Web is a global plan of action created over the past year by activists, academics, companies, governments and citizens from across the world to make sure our online world is safe, empowering and genuinely for everyone.” – The New York Times
The English National Ballet Has Severed Ties With Prince Andrew
This seems like a pretty solid idea for a company that has a lot of young women involved. And, of course, “earlier this week the duke announced he would be not be undertaking public duties ‘for the foreseeable future,’ following a widely criticised television interview about his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.” – The Stage (UK)
Music Tourism, Inventive And Identity-Affirming, Soars
As a record number of people want more than just Spotify or YouTube videos, well, the logical result is that “music cruises are one of the interesting growth areas of music tourism. There has been a boom; it is a real development of the last few years.” – The Observer (UK)
Has Instagram Killed The Job Of The Paparazzi?
Perhaps, and also perhaps by design. In 2010, Instagram (before it was bought by Facebook), “that free photo-sharing app with a hipster sheen, hit the iPhone. Several months later, Justin Bieber — the biggest star to take to the platform — posted a moody shot of Los Angeles traffic, and suddenly, we weren’t snapping hungrily at the window of a famous person’s car anymore. We were in the passenger seat. As more celebrities signed up, we gained access to their kitchens and bedrooms and closets and bathrooms. Celebrity culture moved inside. It was domesticated.” – The New York Times
Finding The Art Of The ‘Real’ Moscow In Its Grim Suburbs
As Russia’s population faces a steep decline, Moscow is growing – but there’s no room in the city center. One curator: “We got used to viewing the suburbs as strange, remote areas we don’t want to visit. … But when you get out here, thanks to the artist, you see something you wouldn’t expect.” – Seattle Times (AP)
How Do We Know It’s Creative Placemaking?
Some major organizations have been trying to figure out how to help communities use the arts and culture to create strong, shared values. – Margy Waller