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For A.E.K. — Louis Armstrong reads ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas. “The poem, first published in 1823, would be Armstrong’s final commercial recording. Armstrong taped it on February 26, 1971, on a reel-to-reel recorder at his home in Queens, New York, during his last spell of good health.”
Wacław Szpakowski’s Rhythmical Lines, a series of labyrinthine geometrical abstractions, each one produced from a single continuous line. More at the artist’s website.
Francis Bacon: Human Presence opens at the National Portrait Gallery: “this exhibition will explore Francis Bacon’s deep connection to portraiture and how he challenged traditional definitions of the genre.” More on his approach to portraiture, from the artist himself, in conversation with David Sylvester. And, in case you want even more Bacon, a new book about his work process will be released next month.
The BBC Sound Effects Archive now offers over 33,000 sounds for free download and released under a non-commercial use license. Note, especially for AEK, the “sound mixer” toggle to layer, edit and re-order clips from the archive to create your own sounds.
Iria Leino: 1968–1970, a solo exhibition at Harper’s Chelsea 512 gallery through 19 October. More about Leino’s remarkable life and work here.
For your summer holiday film list — Ayo Edebiri browses the Criterion Collection’s film closet. More Criterion closet picks here.
Zürich Opera’s new staging of Der Ring des Nibelungen was live streamed throughout May and is now available, on-demand and free of charge, until 15 June. Even if you are not a Wagner fan, Andreas Homoki’s production and Christian Schmidt’s neoclassical, rotating sets are worth a look.
From Business Insider’s series Still Standing, a look at La Maison du Pastel, a 300-year-old French company that makes pastels for artists by hand. A complete set of their pastels, packaged in three custom-made French oak chests, is available via their web shop for just under thirty thousand euros.
Remembering Alice Munro: “In your life there are a few places, or maybe only the one place, where something happened, and then there are all the other places.” More here.
The Mataaho Collective wins the Golden Lion at the 60th Venice Biennale for their monumental installation, Takapau. “I hope that young people…see our work and see that there are no boundaries to how they can connect to their Māoritanga or being a Māori practitioner. That you can be inspired by the work of our ancestors and follow a continuum of art-making that is of value, and really is a way to talk about who you are.” More here.