| The George Floyd Fallout: Art Museums Take a Knee In a striking departure from their customary reluctance to take strong political stands that would alienate some visitors, art museums around the country, speaking separately but with one voice, responded to the asphyxiation of George Floyd. – Lee Rosenbaum
With a country “on the brink” does it matter if your arts venue is shuttered? I hear from nearly all corners of the arts sector that there is “no going back to normal” — that something fundamental needs to be redesigned in our systems to make them more equitable, healthy, and sustainable. If so, it matters which arts organizations survive the next two years and which go away, and it matters how arts organizations are defining their short-term and long-term crises and goals. – Diane Ragsdale
Great “Gates”: A Tribute to Christo, 84, Who Made Magic in NYC’s Central Park Our loss yesterday of Christo, the canny conceptual artist with tangible appeal, is a poignant reminder of more innocent times — 16 days in early 2005 when New Yorkers from all walks of life converged on Central Park for one peaceful purpose — to walk together basking in the luminosity of flowing canopies of saffron rip-stop nylon that were hung in a procession of some 7,500 frames. – Lee Rosenbaum
The Gershwin Threat/The Gershwin Moment The Gershwin threat was seemingly felt by all American-born classical musicians: they feared his genius. European-born classical musicians weren’t threatened, and the list of Gershwin admirers includes Otto Klemperer, Jascha Heifetz, Dmitri Shostakovich, etc. The Gershwin moment is right now. Music historians study and esteem him (they never did before). We no longer segregate Rhapsody in Blue on pops concerts (as the Boston Symphony did until 1997). – Joseph Horowitz
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