Wednesday Links: Polar Vortex Keeps On

Courtesy This Isn’t Happiness

According to the Times, the last time it was this cold in the city was on Jan. 7th was 1896. Got that? It hasn’t been this cold in 117 years. Now for the news:

• It’s time to dust off your vocal cords and try out for The Bruce High Quality Foundation University’s spring musical adaptation of “West Side Story.” Seriously you are not too old to flutter about on a stage in spandex. Choreographers, lighting designers, and props managers positions will need to be filled, too, so there’s bound to be a role that suits you. [BHQFU]
• In case you missed it: Angry Birds, now a perfume. [Fragrantica via Kaela Noel]
• Art critic Jonathan Jones makes another half-assed argument. He got a Playstation for Christmas and he still thinks video games are not art. Why?  “Electronic games offer a rich and spectacular entertainment, but why do they need to be anything more than fun? Why does everything have to be art?” Those are questions, not reasons. [The Guardian]
• “So when is it time to say ‘farewell to dance’?” asks Yvonne Rainer, grande dame of conceptual dance, film, and performance. She discusses accommodating older dancers (like herself). [MIT Press]
• Coco Fusco is now dressing up like Dr. Zira from Planet of the Apes; most recently she gave a lecture in full-costume at the Studio Museum for their showing of Radical Presence: Black Performance in Contemporary Art. [Daily Serving]
• Marlise Munoz is brain dead and on life support, and despite her stated wishes, John Peter Smith Hospital in Austin Texas won’t end her life. She was 14 weeks pregnant and the hospital claims that taking her off they would be violating Texas law. [The New York Times]
• The New York Times has redesigned! And the verdict is good. No more endless scrolling with the dim hope of navigating your way to the arts section. The website now has a header menu. [The Internet]
• Happy 65th Birthday to the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston! [CAMH]
• Damien Hirst made a Mickey Mouse painting (made out of dots, of course) for an upcoming Christie’s charity auction. The painting is … underwhelming. [The Telegraph]
• LUX, in Dalston, London is looking for a new Distribution Co-ordinator. Deadline for apps is Monday, January 13th. [LUX]

Tagged as: angry birds, black performance in contemporary art, coco fusco, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, criticism sure, dalston, Damien Hirst, dr. zira, freezing my bum, harlem, jonathan jones, london, lux, marlise munoz, mit press, planet of the apes, playstation, Polar vortex, radical presence, studio museum, the bruce high quality foundation, The New York Times, video games, west side story, yvonne rainer