Misguided American aesthetics
Plus, a Bach concert on...OnlyFans?
I am spending my summer the way I did the summers of my youth: that is to say, spending such long stretches at time seeped in a book you’d think I have nothing else to do. That is how I spent my Saturday, starting and finishing a book (that wasn’t quite my vibe) for my work book club (which I do run). Last week I read Meghan O’Grady’s How It Feels to Be Alive; over Memorial Day weekend, I tore through Mornings Without Mii and Particularly Cats, as I turn to cat-driven literature in my search for solace. Perhaps this is a good reminder that I run the McNally Editions book club—you can sign up for June’s session here. We are reading Nocturnes for the King of Naples by Edmund White.
There are almost too many things I tell myself I have to do—there are my weekly Spanish lessons and daily workouts and each week any number of performances that I feel I need to see to stay connected to the art world, to understand what’s going on and to have my perspective continually molded. Also, a social life to maintain and continually expand.
I spend too much time scrolling and find myself caught in the same ongoing conversations interspliced with the topic du jour (tradwives, peptides, building in public). There is an overwhelming atmosphere, in many parts of the internet in which I exist, of cupidity. Even offline, last week, I went to a panel—of course attended by the very-online—in which nearly ever audience question had to do with taste, and how one comes about acquiring it. Is it that hard, I think, to go out into the world yourself? To find things and decide for yourself?
I feel a bit like turning a touch inward lately, but this isn’t a sign of dejection, frustration, or any anti-social inclination; I’m just more interested in what I might uncover with a little more time on my own.
Well well well: Trump’s name must be removed from the Kennedy Center, a federal judge ruled last week, and the institution has two weeks to get it off the building and the website. Why? Because the Kennedy Center was created through an act of Congress, and as such, “only Congress can change it,” U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper wrote in his decision, the Washington Post reported. He also halted the Center’s current plan to close for two years amid renovations, but the board is still free to vote on a closure, should it deem it necessary.
Unsurprisingly, Trump railed against Cooper on Truth Social and said that he’s backing away from the Center, and has “no interest in continuing what could only be a hopeless journey.”
This does leave the Center in limbo, as Trump remains chairman, and the board members are all Trump loyalists who plan to fight the court’s decision on the removal of Trump’s name. The Center is in need of renovations, and executive director Matt Floca (who was formerly the facilities director and recently replaced the embattled Richard Grenell) expressed concern that removal of Trump’s name could make it harder for the Kennedy Center to get much-needed donations (which doesn’t sound accurate, given its new stature as a political battleground), The Atlantic reported. All this is to say: this story is far from over, and in the meantime, the musicians of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra—like principal clarinetist David Jones, who the New York Times recently profiled—are facing cut paychecks and a very uncertain future.
Everyone’s thinking about taste these days. Especially the president, who is fixated on his so-called beautification projects, like painting the reflecting pool blue (time will tell if the algae returns, as it did after the Obama administration’s attempt to curb the issue) and proposing a triumphal arch, to mention nothing of the White House’s forthcoming ballroom. Experts—preservationists, designers, and historians—are more often than not opposed to Trump’s aesthetic inclinations. Why?
For one, the National Mall itself is supposed to be place for contemplation. The Cultural Landscape Foundation, which is suing the Trump administration for the reflecting pool paint job, Washingtonian reported earlier this month, says that the blue (compared to the original gray) is “more appropriate to a resort or theme park.” Landscape architect Laurie Olin told the Atlantic, that, “[t]he blue should be the goddamn sky. Not the bottom of the pool.”
As for the arch, Tyler Green wrote in the Atlantic—it goes entirely against the U.S.’s history of using arches to promote “U.S. republicanism,” a political belief that emphasizes autonomy, civics, and the right to choose one’s own leaders. In New York, for instance, Washington Square Arch commemorates the inauguration of George Washington, and the Grand Army Plaza arch commemorates Civil War veterans.
The much-maligned secretary of the Smithsonian, Lonnie G. Bunch III is hard at work organizing “American Aspirations,” which he says is “probably the last” exhibit he will curate, he told the NYT. It honors the U.S. Semiquincentennial and opens tomorrow.
The Louvre heist is getting both a book and a movie. Journalists Jean-Michel Décugis, Jérémie Pham-Lê, and Nicholas-Charles Torrent reference previously unseen reports, court documents, and other details in their book, Main basse sur le Louvre: Les secrets du casse (The Louvre Heist: Secrets behind the robbery), which is out now in French. Le Monde has an excerpt in English. French filmmaker Romain Gavras is adapting it for the screen.
A bunch of new appointments in the world of classical music. The Los Angeles Philharmonic finally has its replacement for Gustavo Dudamel. Daniel Harding, a Brit, will take up the baton for in the 2027-2028 season. Very sweet: he celebrated his new appointment with a trip to In-N-Out with LA Phil president and CEO Kim Noltemy and Hollywood Bowl president Meghan Umber, listened to students play jazz at the Beckman YOLA Center, and caught a Dodgers game with Dudamel, both of them dressed in custom jerseys, the Los Angeles Times reported. Of particular note is Harding’s side career: he is a part-time pilot for Air France.
Harding, 50, started training for his pilot’s license a decade ago. The conductor, who made his debut with the London Symphony Orchestra at 18, was always fascinated with aviation and started working toward the goal after a divorce. He’s able to balance the two because of how scheduling usually works for conductors. “The music schedule will always come first, because it is usually decided years in advance, whereas pilots’ schedules come very late,” he told The Times in 2022. “I just have to make sure that when I am planning concerts I leave enough time to honor my commitment to Air France and their safety requirements. It’s all about safety.”
The Seattle Symphony also named its new president and CEO. Jeremy Rothman, the current chief artistic officer of the Philadelphia Orchestra, will take the position vacated a year ago by Krishna Thiagarajan. He has a big task ahead of him, as the Seattle Symphony’s home base, Benaroya Hall, is about to finish a $20 million renovation project. Rothman told the Seattle Times that he is particularly focused on making sure audience members of all ages and backgrounds feel welcome at the symphony and “demystifying” performances.
Also reopening is the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD), which was closed for eight months while undergoing a renovation. Jova Lynne and Marie Madison-Patton, the co-directors of the museum, are recognizing the museum’s 20th anniversary this year by reaffirming the institution’s emphasis on “the wholeness of the artist,” as someone who can also have a full-time job, be a caregiver, or contend with other factors that add to their identity. Fittingly, the MOCAD’s renovation includes a new space for the community, a Learning Center, and a cafe that opens out onto the street, ArtNews reported.
Los Angeles’s Getty Center just shared early details of its forthcoming renovation, which was announced in April. The nine-figure renovation will include a green space and stairway designed by Gehry Partners, a new tram designed by the ski lift manufacturer Doppelmayr, and a welcome hall by Why Architecture (which was behind the Met’s celebrated new Michael C. Rockefeller wing). The Getty will close for the renovations next March and reopen ahead of the 2028 Summer Games, The Art Newspaper reported.
How dangerous is art? Two new books investigate. Depraved: The Story of Dangerous Art by art philosopher Daisy Dixon investigates how art has changed its viewers’ minds over time, arguing that it can “seduce us into doing the most abominable things.” Ai Wei Wei’s On Censorship investigates how we should treat art given this potential. Both authors are aligned: censorship is bad, but we would do well to reexamine how we study and understand art, the Financial Times reports.
I don’t think I realized that France also has pieces of the Parthenon? In any case, a new law that the country’s Parliament passed in May, “paves the way for the return of looted antiquities that have been housed in French public collections,” Le Monde reports, though it has a cutoff of 1815 (as in, the law applies to acquisitions that occurred after this date) and archeological finds obtained through legal division or scientifically focused exchanges are exempt. The Louvre’s Parthenon fragments were obtained in 1792, while the second was purchased at auction in 1818. The latter, and some others could be eligible for restitution, though the Louvre will have to give its approval first—should Greece request them.
Russia’s war on Ukraine continues to take a toll on the country’s cultural institutions. CBC reported that a missile and drone attack decimated more than 40% of the National Chornobyl Museum collection, while Kyiv’s National Art Museum, Kyiv Opera Theater, the National Philharmonic of Ukraine were also “badly damaged.”
I’d be remiss to not mention that UNESCO has confirmed damage to two museums, 128 buildings of historical and/or artistic interest, and three depositories of movable cultural property in Gaza since October 7, 2023. The Associated Press also confirmed that U.S. and Israeli airstrikes recently damaged at least four cultural and heritage sites, including Tehran’s Qajar-era Golestan Palace, which dates back to the 16th century.
Below the paywall: The near-future of the British Library, a new residency open to artists and writers, an exciting ballet promotion, Miffy goes to Japan, a “laptopera,” classical music on OnlyFans, and more…
