“Stolen Art”

Who owns a painting? And more importantly, who has access to it?

Cornelius Gurlitt, son of art dealer Hildebrand Gurlitt, a Nazi collaborator who helped loot paintings from Jewish art dealers in the name of saving German values from the perceived dangers of Modernist art, died in 2014 and left a massive collection of art now viewable in Bonn, Germany and Bern, Switzerland. The exhibition titled “Gurlitt: Nazi Art Theft and its Consequences” is displayed at the Federal Art Gallery in Germany and runs until March 11, 2018. A similar exhibition, “Gurlitt: ‘Degenerate Art,’” is displayed at the Art Museum in Switzerland until March 4, 2018.

Modernist art, labeled by the Nazis as “Degenerate Art,” is made up of works by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Albrecht Durer, Claude Monet, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Eugene Delacroix, among others. Modernist art was an attempt to redefine preconceived notions of what art should look like, challenging its audiences both aesthetically and philosophically. Where movements such as Fauvism, Cubism, Dadaism, Surrealism, Symbolism, and Post-Impressionism reconstructed figures, altered perspectives, and drastically changed visible colors, Nazis labeled the movements as “Degenerate”—wildly dangerous to the public.

Now, Germany is working to re-unite the works in Gurlitt’s collection to their original owners, and is in the process establishing laws of just ownership.

The question remains: by making once-invisible art now available to the public, what else can we do to right past wrongs? And how does art transcend its owners? What do we make of images that prevail, timelessly and tirelessly, imprinted in our minds and visible on our screens, permanently and effectually present?

claude-monet-waterloo-gurlitt

–Camille Dourmashkin-Cagol

Harassment in Hollywood: The Sequel

Ever since the numerous harassment accusations against Harvey Weinstein were revealed to the public, many celebrities have been speaking out on their own experiences of sexual harassment and assault in Hollywood. This list includes Terry Crews, Rachel McAdams, Hilarie Burton, and most recently, Anthony Rapp.

Late last month, Anthony Rapp opened up about being nearly sexually assaulted by Kevin Spacey, lead actor in Netflix’s House of Cards, when he was 14 and Spacey was 26. Anthony recounted that “when he was 14, [Kevin Spacey], inebriated at a party thrown at Spacey’s apartment, made a sexual advance on the then-underage actor. Rapp said Spacey placed him on a bed and climbed on top of him but Rapp was able to leave before the encounter could go further.”

Kevin Spacey’s response is as follows:

I have a lot of respect and admiration for Anthony Rapp as an actor. I’m beyond horrified to hear his story. I honestly do not remember the encounter, it would have been over 30 years ago. But if I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate, drunken behavior, and I am sorry for the feelings he describes having carried with him all these years.

This story has encouraged me to address other things about my life. I know that there are stories out there about me and that some have been fueled by the fact that I have been protective of my privacy. As those closest to me know, in my life I have had relationships with both men and women. I have loved and had romantic encounters with men throughout my life and I choose now to live as a gay man. I want to deal with this honestly and openly and that starts with examining my own behavior.

Since Anthony Rapp opened up about his experience with Spacey, the latter has been fired from House of Cards, Netflix has announced that they will not release his upcoming film titled Gore, his publicist (as well Creative Artists Agency) will no longer be representing him, and he has been criticized by many people for his timing, including gay actor Zachary Quinto, who shamed Spacey for “…coming out as a calculated manipulation to deflect attention from the very serious accusation that he attempted to molest [a kid]… and… only… acknowledg[ing] his truth when he thought it would serve him – just as his denial served him for so many years” on Twitter. Moreover, a number of other men, from actors to directors to House of Cards crew members, have spoken out about similar unwanted experiences with Spacey.

I want to say “it’s [adjective] to see a sexual predator in Hollywood facing punishment” but I can’t think of an appropriate adjective that wouldn’t undermine how disturbing the situation is. I will say though, in times like these, it’s important to side with Spacey’s victims, to listen to their stories and not discredit them, and to commend them for speaking out against such a prominent actor in a competitive industry. It’s also important, however, to remember that despite the rising number of accusations against Spacey, he should not be used as an example to support the stereotype that all gay men are sexual predators. A pedophile and a sexual predator is just that, regardless of sexual orientation or gender.

-L

The Death of Local News

Technology bridges gaps and makes the world seem smaller. This is not news. We have seen positive effects of this, as long distance familial and romantic relationships have become more manageable and communication more steady among global business partners. However, in becoming a “global community,” we have begun to lose sight in our own local communities. It is a well known fact that local businesses such as book stores, clothing stores, and even grocery stores cannot always compete with large corporations and conglomerations that have a sturdier online presence and often require minimal effort.

Interestingly, the same is true of our local news. Rather than thriving in a digital age wherein locals could access stories that are most relevant to their neighborhoods, online news sources that cater to local news stories are finding it hard to keep their head above water.

The Bklyner, one local news source, merged with smaller local news networks in December 2016 in an attempt to ensure survival. The announcement that The Bensonhurst Bean was being absorbed by the larger site with this excerpt from a longer statement:

As you know, Brooklyn is undergoing massive development, without a coherent plan, and without the watchdogs that city media used to provide. At BKLYNER, we are committed to reporting on the stories about the environment, housing, and development, while keeping you informed on the neighborhoods we know you care about. It will still be reporting from the neighborhoods we know, but these stories will have broader reach and greater impact.

There is a heavy emphasis on lack of strong city media in this snippet, as even other media sources have found big-name papers leaning ever more towards national and international news while forgetting about the places they are most intimately familiar. This merger has been largely successful, at least as far as readers know. However, it does demonstrate the inability for local news sources to maintain independence over long stretches of times.

In contrast, March 2017 saw yet another merger between two local news sources, DNA INFO and The Gothamist. This, too, was an attempt at elongating business life, and with over half a million subscribers and two million social media followers (according to Bklyner), it seemed as though the businesses would be just fine. Reporting efforts and business life had continued to make these news sources thrive, but just last week newsrooms decided to unionize. It came as a shock to many when earlier this week it was announced that they would be shutting down permanently. The Daily Beast reports that efforts to unionize played a role in the shut-down of the sites, even as Joe Ricketts, the founder of DNA Info, thanked staff and readers for”tireless effort and dedication.” Ricketts released the following official statement on the subject:

But DNAinfo is, at the end of the day, a business, and businesses need to be economically successful if they are to endure. And while we made important progress toward building DNAinfo into a successful business, in the end, that progress hasn’t been sufficient to support the tremendous effort and expense needed to produce the type of journalism on which the company was founded.

This shut down will leave 115 staffers without jobs, and will certainly leave gaps in local news coverage.

So, how can we shift the conversation to include our local communities’ news stories once more? And can we reclaim our local pride and interest in a global community? These are questions we will have to struggle to answer, and yet they are questions worth asking.

-Margaret Iuni