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.

How to Finish Your Dissertation

I was hoping to finish my dissertation last year and graduate in May. But it’s August. I’m heading back for another year on campus and nowhere near finishing my degree. I would like to complete my dissertation and yet am not making any progress. (Read more from Inside Higher Ed.)

Back to Art School: Grayson Perry and Gillian Wearing Meet Tomorrow’s Stars

They are the art stars of tomorrow. So what are they making? Slime fountains and love machines, find the British artists Grayson Perry and Gillian Wearing as they visit two degree shows and recall their own student days. (Read more from the Guardian.)

Is Culture-Borrowing Always Theft?

American music has always been a great and complex exchange, but who gets to borrow from whom—and under what conditions—has become increasingly controversial. Paul Simon’s Graceland was criticized at the time of its release for his use of “African” musical elements. Now it’s almost impossible to imagine a white musician attempting a similar experiment. (Read more from Vulture.)

Artist Launches Reparations Website and “Social Experiment” on White Privilege

Launched as a modest project on Facebook in mid-July but soon expanded to a standalone website, Reparations is drawing international attention for its brazen approach to race relations, including condemnation from those who see it as a racially divisive tool that exploits white liberal guilt. But the Seattle-based artist Natasha Marin defended her project as a social experiment intended to explore “white privilege.” (Read more from the Los Angeles Times.)

The More Art Changes, the More Urgent a VARA Update Is

The 1990 Visual Artists Rights Act narrowly defines the type of art that is protected as paintings, sculptures, drawings, and graphic and photographic prints. But what if your medium is ceramics, graffiti, tattoos, tapestries, wildflowers, or something else that gives the feeling associated with art but doesn’t fit the legal definition? (Read more from the New York Observer.)

UK Copyright Extension on Designed Objects Is “Direct Assault” on 3D Printing

A recent extension of UK copyright for industrially manufactured artistic works represents “a direct assault on the 3D printing revolution,” says Rick Falkvinge. Last month the government extended copyright for designs from 25 years to the life of the designer plus 70 years. In practice, this is likely to mean a copyright term of over 100 years for furniture and other designed objects. (Read more from Ars Technica.)

Why Is Buying Art as an Investment Frowned Upon?

Using art as a means to make money or transfer assets isn’t new, but “investment” is almost a dirty word when used in the context of the art world. Why is it so frowned upon? Everybody working in the art market has to make a living, after all. (Read more from Artnet News.)

The Academic Advantages of Twitter

My mentor, who signed up for a Twitter account but admitted that he doesn’t really get it, may be near a tipping point: either ready to abandon the platform or just on the verge of getting it. Without wanting to sound like a hyped-up social-media evangelist, let me see if I can help. What can Twitter be for academics? (Read more from Inside Higher Ed.)