Los Angeles has no shortage of distinguished art museums, but those looking for a more unconventional alternative can turn to the Downtown Art Walk. Every second Thursday of each month, thousands flock to what is usually a drab section of downtown Los Angeles, until it is transformed into an eclectic outdoor festival, replete with a motley hodgepodge of art, music, food and people. For fans of the Los Angeles art scene who are getting a little disenchanted with traditional settings, Art Walk is a welcome feast for all five senses. Read more…
Conservatives Express Disdain for Arts and Literature
According to a poll by Innovative Research Group, only 40 percent of Canadians agreed in January 2008 that Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government is committed to defending the institutions and values that make us special as Canadians. A year earlier, 74 percent of Canadians said they thought “government investments in arts and culture are needed so we do not forget our past and national history.” Read more…
“Culture is realized only by denying itself as such”, says Pierre Bourdieu [Price 1991]. An interesting insight into the necessarily subconscious nature of any truly vital controlling social norm. That which we are conscious of, that which makes the evening news, may be “true” in a shallow sense but is never the significant underpinning which revs the engines of society. To dislodge that requires a peek under the hood where the unquestioned lies.
Art in Context
In her book Primitive Art in Civilized Places, Sally Price makes interesting points regarding the historical context within which the aesthetic experience of art is embedded. Particularly intriguing is the notion that “a visual perception can be altered when the object itself remains unchanged,” based on the context and visual surroundings of the object and the previous knowledge and experiences of the viewer. No matter how white the gallery walls or how reverential and hushed the whispers, the artwork is still inextricably sunk within a stew of culture. Gallery itself could be display in apartment lviv.
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