November 2 – 8, 2019
News
Comment
Comment
Meaghan Wilson-Anastasios
Gender bias in the art world
“Last year, London’s 200-year-old National Gallery acquired a self-portrait by the Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi in a bid to improve the gender balance of its 2300-work permanent collection. The acquisition lifted the number of paintings by women on the gallery’s walls to 26. To say women are underrepresented in the visual art world is to state the obvious. Unpicking how and why we have ended up here, though, is less straightforward.”
Comment
Paul Bongiorno
The Coalition’s surplus focus
“Who else but that old master of political imagery Paul Keating could sum it all up so colourfully? The Australian economy is stagnant, and he says the Morrison government can’t do anything about it because the Liberal Party has a ‘surplus virus’ in its bloodstream. The former treasurer and prime minister, credited as a great economic reformer, says ‘the economy is … like the car idling at the lights and waiting for the lights to turn green to take off again’.”
Letters, Poem & Editorial
Culture
Profile
Rapper, poet and novelist Omar Musa
Through his one-man show Since Ali Died, Omar Musa has connected with audiences who have experienced ostracism. The rapper, novelist and poet speaks about the power of storytelling and the need for greater nuance in depictions of the Muslim community. “People come up to me after the show. Firstly, there are people really interested in having direct access to a young Muslim man growing up post-9/11. And then, secondly, there are those who relate to the outsider experience. I talk about a very specific intersection of race and religion – but try to make it relatable to all people who might feel a bit different.”
Visual Art
Olympia: Photographs by Polixeni Papapetrou
For 20 years, photographer Polixeni Papapetrou’s images were often inspired by her daughter. A new retrospective of this work explores the tensions between art and motherhood and the shifting boundaries between adult and child.
Portrait
NSW Rural Fire Service’s Shane Fitzsimmons
“The outlook for the next three months is dominated by above-average temperatures and below-average rainfall – there is simply nothing in the predictions for any meaningful rain: no normal rain, let alone drought-breaking rain. The risk is real – for people living in urban areas, too.”
Books
Life
Puzzles
Quotes
BUSINESS
“As a business we pride ourselves on putting our team first and, in this case, we have let them down.”
The Woolworths chief executive apologises for underpaying workers by $300 million. Rather than “wage theft”, they prefer the term “scanning avocados through as potatoes”.
REPUTATION
“Countries that respect and promote their citizens’ rights at home tend also to be better international citizens.”
The Foreign minister argues China should be held responsible for its human rights abuses, while also providing an explanation for Australia’s plummeting reputation overseas.
PROTEST
“We have shown a hell of a lot of discretion, a hell of a lot of tolerance.”
The Victoria Police acting commander says his officers used their discretion in pepper-spraying protesters and dragging journalists away from the scene at a mining conference in Melbourne.
ENERGY
“I reckon we should do the opposite of what the big energy companies say because they are a big reason why we are in this mess ... So let’s build coal!”
The Resources minister performs a logical twist so violent it would make a chiropractor nervous.
SCHOOL
“Yeah, it does ... make a difference and that’s why your generation doesn’t understand.”
The Central Coast teacher is filmed by a student telling the class what women wear can be responsible for them being sexually assaulted. Who knew it was possible for sex ed to get any worse?
MUSIC
“God is using me to show off.”
The musician claims his $US68 million tax refund is a sign that God has chosen him and definitely has nothing to do with Donald Trump’s tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy.
