Art and Culture

When Tate Modern announced a major exhibition devoted to Frida Kahlo, few doubted it would be popular. The Mexican artist has become one of the most recognisable cultural figures in the world, with her image adorning everything from tote…
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“The Meaning of the Hitler Salute” (John Heartfield, 1932) “Little man asks for large gifts.” (Or in Trump terms, “demands big bribes.”)Motto: “Millions stand behind me.” John Heartfield’s collage appeared on the cover of Arbeiter…
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Japan has created a music right that will, for the first time, require performers and record companies to be paid when their recordings are played in public spaces such as cafes, shops, hotels, and gyms.The country’s parliament enacted a…
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“The purpose of the device is to provide an unbiased account of the events that lead to the demise of the planet, hold accountability for future generations, and inspire urgent action,” the Earth’s Black Box website states. “How the…
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This is an edition of the Books Briefing, our editors’ weekly guide to the best in books. Sign up for it here.My favorite essays feel like surprising chemical reactions: Their materials combine into something novel and combustible. The…
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Senar Switzerland’s idyllic Lake Lucerne, bounded by majestic mountains, was famously the site of two composer’s homes. Sergei Rachmaninoff built Senar (an acronym for SErgei and NAtalia Rachmaninoff) on land purchased in 1930. From…
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Good Morning, A flute-and-harp fragment in Mozart’s hand surfaced this week, and the New York Times reports it’s almost certainly real. How is it that we’re still discovering or re-discovering art that was created…
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One of the few nonperformers in music to become a household name, Mr. Davis maintained a visible role as a starmaker for half a century. In the late 1960s he propelled a reluctant Columbia headlong into the rock era with acts like Janis…
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Visiting Zurich earlier this week, I was eager to sample the Zurich Opera in Wagner. They are bringing the Ring to Carnegie Hall next season led by their General Music Director, Gianandrea Noseda. I found myself attending the…
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Walt WhitmanJoseph M. KeeginHomer and Hesiod, Hegel notes, “gave to the Greek gods their names and their form,” but only the former concerned himself too with heroes. Both of Homer’s great poetic epics open with divine invocations…
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