Category: The Arts
“How capitalism can save art”
That is the new Op-Ed by Camille Paglia, excerpt:
Creativity is in fact flourishing untrammeled in the applied arts, above all industrial design. Over the past 20 years, I have noticed that the most flexible, dynamic, inquisitive minds among my students have been industrial design majors. Industrial designers are bracingly free of ideology and cant. The industrial designer is trained to be a clear-eyed observer of the commercial world—which, like it or not, is modern reality.
…Young people today are avidly immersed in this hyper-technological environment, where their primary aesthetic experiences are derived from beautifully engineered industrial design. Personalized hand-held devices are their letters, diaries, telephones and newspapers, as well as their round-the-clock conduits for music, videos and movies. But there is no spiritual dimension to an iPhone, as there is to great works of art.
Paglia’s new book is here. For the pointer I thank Alex T.
My favorite things Korea
1. Movie. If I had to pick one, I might opt for Old Boy. The deeper point is that you should watch them all. If it is a Korean movie, and you can get your hands on it (as a non-Korean), it is probably excellent. This is a remarkable regularity and a good selection filter for exploring. This list is one place to start but not to stop. The Host is a fun spoof of monster movies and Shiri is a gripping thriller. Watch any Korean movie which Scott Sumner recommends. Even some of the clunkier Korean movies, such as The Housemaid, are better than most Hollywood fare.
2. Actress: Grace Park from Battlestar Galactica, and there is also Shin Eun-kyung.
3. Actor: John Cho, of Harold and Kumar fame. It is unlikely he is the best.
4. Video artist: Nam June Paik.
5. Classical pianist: Kun-Woo Paik, I find he is better represented on disc (Ravel, Liszt, Scriabin) than on YouTube. For violinist there is Sarah Chang, YouTube here.
6. Economist: Ha-Joon Chang comes to mind, although I disagree with most of his work. Here is my podcast interview with him.
7. Poet: Ko Un is the only one I have read. It is hard to judge any poet outside of his or her native language, but I definitely had the feeling something was there.
8. Novelist: Kyung-sook Shin is alas the only one I can name.
9. Movie, set in: Korean movies aside, you might consider Pork Chop Hill.
10. Painter: Contemporary art is a rich vein for South Korea. This catalog is one good place to start.
The bottom line: This is an impressive showing and it is improving rapidly. The killer categories is movies.
Music Break
The X Factor isn’t doing well in the ratings but this was Xcellent.
http://youtu.be/iAJyoiQEQco
why are americans less stylish than europeans/japanese?
From Bob Unwin:
i mean style in clothing, but the same question could be asked about taste in architecture, interior design and other domains. (blog post by a fashion person: http://bangsandabun.com/2010/03/europeans-dress-better-than-americans-fact/)
1. greater average distance to a major fashion center. both physical and cultural distance.
2. less urbanization [these points 1&2 were maybe more important in the past]
3. distance from europe and few of the relevant european style-leaders emigrating
4. different signaling aims (more internal cultural diversity and weaker class distinctions; male clothing needing to be less ‘gay’ and more conventional).
5. any relation to the late blooming of US visual art and music on the world scene?
6. american is more informal in style and has been an influential exporter of informal styles (this doesn’t undermine the general point about the style difference)
related question: are there any fashionable american economists? i’d be especially interested in any that dress like artists or literary intellectuals.
My all-time favorite things Ontario
1. Short story author: Alice Munro I consider one of the very best writers ever, from anywhere or any period. Read them all, and there is a new collection coming this November. Here is one place to start.
2. Movie, set in: Dead Ringers, by David Cronenberg, one of my favorite films period.
3. Director: After Cronenberg there is James Cameron, hate me if you want but I find his movies splendid. Sarah Polley remains underrated in the United States, start with Away From Her, another of my all-time favorites.
4. Novelist: Margaret Atwood, especially Cat’s Eye. I used to like Robertson Davies, but somehow his novels have not stuck with me.
5. Pianist: I used to think that only half of Glenn Gould’s recordings were tolerable, but in the last five years I have come to see his Haydn and Brahms recordings as masterpieces. Now it’s only the Mozart and Beethoven I can’t stand. Don’t forget the Berg Sonata and of course the Bach and also his writings.
6. Architect: Frank Gehry comes to mind, though I do not like the new rendition of the Art Gallery of Ontario.
7. Alanis Morissette song: “Head Over Feet.”
8. Comedian: I love Mike Myers in “Wayne’s World” and Jim Carrey in “Ace Ventura” and “The Cable Guy.”
9. Favorite Neil Young album: Everybody Knows this is Nowhere.
10. Blogger: Ahem! Cory Doctorow deserves mention too.
We haven’t even touched the painters.
What strikes me is not only how strong this list is, but how little thought was required to compile it.
The equilibrium (with apologies to Daniel Klein)
On September 5, the first Sleeping Beauty in Polataiko’s exhibition awoke to a kiss from another woman. Both of them were surprised. Polataiko shot photos of them laughing and looking at each other. Then he posted the images to his Facebook profile, where he has been live-blogging the entire event. Now the Sleeping Beauty must wed her “prince,” thus queering the historically heteronormative fairtytale. Gay marriage is not allowed in the Ukraine, however, so these two women will have to wed in a European country that does allow for same-sex marriage.
Here is more. I believe that none of you had solved for this equilibrium. For the pointer I thank Eapen.
The next transformational technology?
Noah Smith writes:
Addendum: I seem to be the only person talking about Desire Modification as a transformational technology. Greg Egan and Vernor Vinge have written books in which this technology plays a central role. In my “spare time” I’m writing a couple of sci-fi short stories based on the idea. It’s a really big deal, and I’ll write a post about it soon.
Economists who support the arts
Hi Tyler (we are Facebook friends),
I am working on a blog posting for my new blog (www.wormwood-and-honey.com) and I want to write about instances where economists supported the arts in some special way. So far I have four cases: Professor Norton T. Dodge and his support of the Russian avant grade artists; Professor Alexander Gershenkron for his great review of Nabokov’s abominable translation of” Eugene Onegin”, Professor Gregory Grossman at Berkeley for inviting and supporting the Polish poet Alexander Wat who dictated his great book “My Century” while visiting there; and lastly, John Maynard Keynes for his support of theater, ballet and dance. Could you think of other cases? Or articles/books on the subject?
Thanks,
Julian Berengaut
Richard Caves collects Picasso, Bill Landes collects Charles Burchfield, and William Baumol did a good deal of wood sculpture, but I do not know that any of them have served as patrons of living artists. Assar Lindbeck also works as a painter, as does Robert Mundell. Spencer MacCallum (not an economist but he has written on economic issues) has been an important patron and promoter of Mexican pottery, and my own patronage efforts in Mexico are discussed in my book on the economics of Mexican art.
Roderick Deane is a New Zealand businessman, economist, and a supporter of New Zealand artists. Marie-Josée Kravis is an economist and also a patron of the arts, mostly for Canadian artists I believe. Georges Menil, of the Menil family, is an economist in Paris. Wayne Cox (not an economist) writes on tax issues and has been an important supporter and collector of Jamaican Intuitive art. Henry Kaufman is an economist who has donated a good deal of money to the arts. Henry Raeburn painted a portrait of 19th century economist Francis Horner, but it was paid for by Horner’s brother rather than by Francis. Maybe there was a Beckerian or Coasian bargain behind the scenes.
Richard D. Bodig was a singer, scholar of Renaissance music, and also an economist. How about this headline?: “Jazz singer Olesya Yalunina on how jazz freed her from a career in economics.” Stephen Dubner used to play in a rock band.
That is what comes to mind. Who am I missing?
The Font of Wisdom
My favorite things China
1. Novel: Soul Mountain, by Gao Xingjian. Parts of Dream of the Red Chamber are splendid, but it is hard to keep track of the whole thing and also I wonder whether any of the available editions in English are satisfactory.
2. Movie: The Story of Qiu Ju. A real charmer.
3. Comedian: Jackie Chan.
4. Movie, set in, but not a Chinese movie: How about Transsiberian? Shanghai Noon? Are any of those old movies set in China any good?
5. Book, non-fiction: James Fallows, China Airborne. I am also a fan of the book where the guy drives a car around China. The Private Life of Chairman Mao is a stunner, maybe the best book I know on tyranny.
6. Book, set in, fiction (not by Chinese author): Edgar Snow, Red Star Over China. Pearl Buck I find boring.
7. Sculpture: Tang horses, some images are here.
8. Contemporary Chinese artist: Cai Guo-Qiang, images here. His one man show at the Guggenheim is one of the best exhibitions I’ve ever seen. Try this video, apologies for the ad at the beginning.
9. Chinese traditional music: I am interested in Chinese opera, but don’t quite feel I’ve heard the real thing. I once heard an electrified performance, but my sense is the music is all about the timbre and needs to be heard in an nowadays-almost-impossible-to-achieve setting, given that I am not a 17th century Chinese noble. Any advice? By the way, here is a good article on recent developments in Chinese (semi-classical) music.
10. Cookbooks: Fuchsia Dunlop’s two Chinese cookbooks are not only two of the best cookbooks ever they are two of the best books ever.
11. Best book about Chinese fiction: Sabina Knight, Chinese Literature: A Very Short Introduction. This short book is a marvel of economy, substance, and style.
12. Pianist: Yundi Li, try this video of Chopin’s 2nd Scherzo.
13. Architect: I.M. Pei. We have friends who live in a Pei-designed house, and it is splendid.
14. Movie director: John Woo was born in China. The Killer might be his best movie, but Once a Thief is arguably the most underrated. WindTalkers is quite good too and also underrated.
I am not counting either Hong Kong or Taiwan for these categories. I also am not counting American-born, ethnic Chinese, such as Maya Lin. And J.G. Ballard was born in Shanghai, but what category do I put him in?
I wonder if this is actually true
Researchers who have scanned books published over the past 50 years report an increasing use of words and phrases that reflect an ethos of self-absorption and self-satisfaction.
“Language in American books has become increasingly focused on the self and uniqueness in the decades since 1960,” a research team led by San Diego State University psychologist Jean Twenge writes in the online journal PLoS One. “We believe these data provide further evidence that American culture has become increasingly focused on individualistic concerns.”
Their results are consistent with those of a 2011 study which found that lyrics of best-selling pop songs have grown increasingly narcissistic since 1980. Twenge’s study encompasses a longer period of time—1960 through 2008—and a much larger set of data.
Here is more.
Pictures of Spain
Grandiose projects across Spain now sit empty and dying. The New York Times focuses in on Ciudad de la Luz, a mega-movie studio built far from cultural centers that is now foundering.
Ciudad de la Luz has become a prominent example of Valencia’s frenzy of modern-day pyramid building, which left a legacy of $25.5 billion in regional debt and bankrupt infrastructure projects as well as the backlash now building against it.
Valencia’s other investments included a harbor for superyachts, an opera house styled like the one in Sydney, Australia, a futuristic science museum, the biggest aquarium in Europe and a sail-shaped bridge, not to mention an airport that never had a single arrival or departure. It also attracted extravagant events like the America’s Cup and Formula One racing.
The Daily Mail takes a look at Spain’s “ghost airport,” a billion Euro project that was meant to serve 5 million passengers a year and is now closed after just three years in operation.
The Socialist regional government spent millions propping up the venue, promoting the project with advertising campaigns and approving a €140 million guarantee to keep it afloat.
But, last October, it saw its final commercial flight, by Vueling. The airport remained open for another six months, the staff still being paid to deal with a handful of private arrivals.
It finally closed in April, but even though it is now closed to air traffic, maintenance tasks still have to be carried out.
The 4,000 metre runway has to be continually painted with yellow crosses, so pilots flying over the airport will know they cannot land there.
Private money appears to have also taken a bath on many of these projects although it’s always difficult to say after government guarantees and kickbacks. The Times quotes one tourist on the meaning:
“I understand now why there’s a financial crisis in Europe,” said Bryce Matuschka of New Zealand. “The bridge is a real work of art, and the aquarium is great, but for some of these buildings you just have to ask, What was all that money spent for?”
I don’t think that’s quite right. My view is that rather than causing a crisis, bad investments are mostly masked by a boom and revealed by a crisis. Still, “infrastructure spending” doesn’t always create jobs; sometimes it’s better to stick with slow rail and sewers.
The real inflation problem
Competitors are said to pump air to deliberately inflate the udders before sealing the teats with superglue to stop the air or milk leaking out. The procedure gives the cattle the appearance of having full udders, an attribute believed to be desirable in show cattle. The practice, which leaves cows in “severe discomfort”, is understood to be an attempt to win agricultural prizes for their animals. Champion animals can fetch up to £100,000 at auction and are highly prized for breeding. The RSCPA has promised to investigate complaints, although no prosecutions have yet taken place.
Here is more, courtesy of Rahul.
Four underrated European masterworks
1. The Ravenna mosaics, most of all at St. Vitale.
2. Monreale, the Norman church outside of Palermo, Sicily.
3. Matthias Grünewald’s Isenheim altar, in Colmar, France.
4. Tiepolo’s paintings in the Residenz, in Wurzburg.
I much prefer any of those to the Mona Lisa, and to my prejudiced taste they are all among the very greatest of artistic masterpieces. They are all worthy of pilgrimages.
My favorite things Romania
1. Schubert pianist: Radu Lupu.
2. Conductor: Sergiu Celibadache. A high variance obsessive, Amazon doesn’t seem to carry his important recordings. At his peak he is one of the best conductors ever and can force a total rethink of the music upon you. He demanded so much rehearsal time, and so much perfection, that he was often impossible to work with. There is a short YouTube bit here.
3. Painter: I can’t name one, sorry. I have seen some nice folk art icon paintings on glass, see the image at the bottom of this post.
4. Sculptor: Constantin Brâncuşi, with a preference for Bird in Space.
5. Chopin pianist: Dinu Lipatti, especially the Waltzes.
6. Producer of maxims: Emil Cioran. I have enjoyed all of his books.
7. Poet: Paul Celan. I am surprised he is not more widely read in the United States. At his peaks I don’t think any 20th century poet is better or more important.
8. Novelist: Herta Müller, better in German than English, both linguistically and culturally.
9. Violinist: Georges Enescu, of course he was a composer too.
10. Mozart pianist: Clara Haskil.
11. Movie: I’ve tried a bunch of the famous recent ones, but I can’t get through them and this is from a man who gladly watched the entire 7 hour, 12 minute Sátántangó .
12. Former NBA basketball center: G. Muresan.
13. Economist: Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen.
The bottom line: There is some real beauty here, and aesthetic romance, but I don’t have a good theory for why novels and painting are not stronger.
