CAA News Today

Each week CAA News publishes summaries of eight articles, published around the web, that CAA members may find interesting and useful in their professional and creative lives.

Erwin Panofsky’s Newly Discovered Thesis on Michelangelo and Raphael Will Be Published

Next year De Gruyter will publish a previously unknown thesis by the influential art historian Erwin Panofsky, titled “The Creative Principles of Michelangelo, particularly in relation to those of Raphael.” The document was discovered in the archives of Munich’s Central Institute for Art History last June. (Read more at Blouin Artinfo).

Hundreds of Lost William Blake Etchings Discovered at a Manchester Library

Researchers at the University of Manchester’s John Rylands Library have stumbled upon a treasure trove of works by the poet and artist William Blake. After two years of work, a group students, overseen by the art historian Colin Trodd, found about 350 engraved plates designed by Blake in the collection. (Read more at the Independent).

How Art Can Bridge the Digital “Divide”

Like writers embracing digital platforms, musicians embracing digital music, or photographers embracing digital photography, art based on new media often just did—and still does—old things in new ways. The art critic Claire Bishop also made this observation on the “digital divide” in art, further noting that: “While many artists use digital technology, how many really confront the question of what it means to think, see, and filter affect through the digital? (Read more at Wired).

Brooklyn Museum Finds Some Problematic Gifts Can’t Be Returned

The Brooklyn Museum seemed to have garnered a bonanza in 1932 when it received a large bequest from the estate of Col. Michael Friedsam, president of the elegant retail emporium B. Altman. But eight decades later that cache of Dutch and Renaissance paintings, Chinese porcelains, jewelry, and furniture has become something of a burden. A quarter of the 926 works have turned out to be fakes, misattributions, or of poor quality, and the museum potentially faces a hefty bill to store the 229 pieces it no longer wants. (Read more at the New York Times).

From Palate to Palette: Can Food Be Art?

Last night, I cooked broccoli rabe with caramelized onions and vegan fennel sausage, along with a creamy parmesan polenta and a crusty whole wheat rosemary bread made from the Camaldoli sourdough culture that I feed flour to each day. Like many artists I know, I love to cook and often spend between one and two hours making dinner each night. I once felt guilty about this—worried that my time would be better spent in my studio drawing or printing or otherwise making art—but then I came to see that making food—combining textures, flavors, scents, and colors—is also creative. (Read more at Createquity).

Social Media Play Fresh Role in the Arts

The profound effect of social-media use on the arts community is becoming clear, with a recent study providing a first view of how arts organizations large and small are using online platforms. In the Sacramento region, some small organizations, such as the fledgling Classical Revolution, rely completely on social-media sites, while larger presenters, like the Mondavi Center, are using them as a tool to attract new and younger audiences. (Read more at the Sacramento Bee).

Copyright Suit Pits Fair Use against Unlicensed Distribution

Digital civil-rights groups asked a federal court in New York to reject what they call an attempt by the Associated Press to restrict fair use of content on the internet. “If adopted by this or any other court, this view would sharply curtail the essential role fair use plays in facilitating online innovation and expression, restricting the use and development of services that allow users to find, organize, and share public information, services that depend on making intermediate copies, and even personal consumer uses such as time-shifting,” argues an amicus brief filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Public Knowledge, and the Stanford Law School Center for Internet and Society. (Read more at PC World).

Multinational MOOCs

The rapid expansion of massive open online courses (MOOCs) has left many in international higher education asking how they can compete. With elite American universities dominating the emerging market, will foreign institutions be left behind? (Read more at Inside Higher Ed).