AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- Good Morning
Today’s AJ highlights: Wynton Marsalis has announced he will retire as the head of Jazz at Lincoln Center, ending a 40-year tenure that built the organization into a global powerhouse (The New York Times). The Kennedy Center continues its administrative chaos: its newly hired senior VP of artistic programming has resigned after just a few days, offering no explanation for the sudden exit (The Washington Post (MSN)). The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston announces layoffs of 6% of its workforce to address an “unsustainable deficit” (WBUR (Boston)) , and the Washington Post is described as undergoing an “existential meltdown” under its current CEO (Intelligencer (MSN)).
A major study commissioned by the BBC has urged the broadcaster to rethink “color-blind” casting, warning that audiences view it as “tokenism” and find the accompanying historical storylines “preachy” (Deadline). A revival of American Psycho is grappling with the fact that its protagonist, Patrick Bateman, has morphed from a satire of yuppie greed into a serious role model for the “Andrew Tate manosphere” (The Guardian).
The legal battle over AI has reached a level of discord. Universal Music, Concord, and ABKCO have filed a massive lawsuit against Anthropic, seeking $3 billion in damages for the alleged copyright infringement of over 20,000 song lyrics (Music Business Worldwide).
All the stories we collected today are below.
- Diagnosing King Henry VIII
Over the course of his 38-year reign, he aged from a famously handsome monarch into an overweight, volatile despot. Various explanations, from syphilis to scurvy to psychopathy, have been proposed over the centuries, yet these diagnoses often tell us more about the preoccupations of the time than about Henry himself. – History Today
- BBC Told To Avoid Color-Blind Casting
- Why Is “American Psycho” Popping Up All Over? (And Should We Be Worried?)
In the 35 years since the novel made its bloody splash, there have been a hit movie, a stage musical, and countless memes. Now a remake of the film is in the works, the musical is being revived, and Patrick Bateman is a role model for the Andrew Tate manosphere. – The Guardian
- How Did The Iconic “Infinite Jest” Become A Punchline?
The occasion is a moment to ask how a novel that mourns addiction and venerates humility and patience became a glib cultural punch line, routinely subjected to the word “performative” in its most damning sense. – The New Yorker
ISSUES
- To Wall-Text Or Not-To-Wall-Text
“It feels more important than ever to invite multiple voices into the museum space. There isn’t one perfect solution for all visitors, but we strive to offer a variety of access points—whether it’s traditional labels, guided gallery conversations or prompts to spark reflection and dialogue.” – The Art Newspaper
- James Rondeau Is Ready To Beef Up The Art Institute Of Chicago (And Let’s Just Forget About That Airplane Incident, Okay?)
As some other American museums struggle, the Institute is doing very well under Rondeau’s leadership (notwithstanding the medication-and-alcohol-fueled disrobing during a commercial flight last April). He’s now pushing for an expansion, saying the museum needs more display space. – WBEZ (Chicago)
- Museum Of Fine Arts, Boston Resorts To Layoffs
“The MFA faces ‘an unsustainable deficit that we have committed to resolve,’ (an) email to employees stated. … The institution said in a statement to WBUR it plans to reduce 6.3% of its workforce. More than 30 museum positions will be affected.” – WBUR (Boston)
- With Little Warning, SFMOMA “Pauses” Its Free First Thursday Program
“Free First Thursday, which waives the general admission fee for all Bay Area residents from 4-8 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month, has been temporarily halted starting in February. … No return date has been set, but SFMOMA plans to announce a new program series in the summer.” – San Francisco Chronicle (Yahoo!)
- Studio Museum In Harlem Closed Through Next Week Due To “Sprinkler Emergency”
Last Saturday, as museum staff were preparing the building for the winter storm, a sprinkler malfunction caused water to pour from a ceiling near the gift shop. The building was evacuated and closed for this week, but full repairs will require one additional week. – ARTnews
MEDIA
- Why Is “American Psycho” Popping Up All Over? (And Should We Be Worried?)
In the 35 years since the novel made its bloody splash, there have been a hit movie, a stage musical, and countless memes. Now a remake of the film is in the works, the musical is being revived, and Patrick Bateman is a role model for the Andrew Tate manosphere. – The Guardian
- Smithsonian Struggles For Independence As 250th Birthday Celebration Starts
The battle is approaching a tipping point after the Smithsonian acquiesced to an administration demand to hand over documents regarding the types of exhibits it will display for America’s 250th anniversary this summer. – The Hill
- Kennedy Center’s New Chief Of Programming Resigns After Just A Few Days
Two Fridays ago, the center announced the appointment of Kevin Couch, who programmed for pop/rock venues in four midsized cities, as the new senior vice president of artistic programming. Last week the center tweeted the news. On Wednesday, with no further comment, Couch confirmed his resignation. – The Washington Post (MSN)
- Cash-Strapped Vienna Cuts Its Arts Funding
While the reductions aren’t as severe as in Berlin (€130 million) or France (€150 million), the Austrian capital has withdrawn €5 million from several theaters, including the award-winning Theater an der Wien, €250,000 from the Vienna Philharmonic’s Summer Night Concert, and €1.3 million from the Wien Museum. – The New York Times
- Trump Tries To Shift Blame For “Massive Deficit” At Kennedy Center
He posted on Truth Social, referring to cascading cancellations and plummeting ticket sales, “People don’t realize that The Trump Kennedy Center suffered massive deficits for many years and, like everything else, I merely came in to save it and, if possible, make it far better than ever before!” – The Daily Beast
MUSIC
- How Did The Iconic “Infinite Jest” Become A Punchline?
The occasion is a moment to ask how a novel that mourns addiction and venerates humility and patience became a glib cultural punch line, routinely subjected to the word “performative” in its most damning sense. – The New Yorker
- Minneapolis Bookshop Becomes Famous After ICE Murders
Greg Ketter became a social media phenomenon over the weekend, when MS Now aired a video of him pacing half a block away from where Alex J. Pretti had been murdered by agents an hour earlier, cursing the 50-100 armed ICE agents keeping the crowd back. – Publishers Weekly
- With Adelaide Writers’ Week Cancelled, A Grassroots Festival Is Popping Up Instead
“Constellations – also jokingly dubbed ‘Not Writers’ Week’ – is being put on by “a loose coalition” of writers and publishers and the support of not-for-profit Writers SA, with dozens of free events to be staged from 28 February to 5 March.” – The Guardian
- A Marathon Moby Dick As A “Radical Act”
Moby-Dick, by Herman Melville, published in 1851. Let’s consider it. Is there another book at once so good and so bad, so thrilling and so boring, so authentic to the currents of the soul and so hideously contrived, so stunningly patrolled by dreamlike visions and so crushed by its own intellectual baggage? – The Atlantic
- Colorado School District Drops Its Appeal Of Order To Reverse Book Bans
“Defendants in Crookshanks v. Elizabeth (Colo.) School District, who had appealed to the 10th Circuit after a federal judge ordered the district to restore 19 censored books, motioned to dismiss their own appeal on January 20. A three-judge panel had been scheduled to hear oral argument on January 23.” – Publishers Weekly
PEOPLE
- Good Morning
Today’s AJ highlights: Wynton Marsalis has announced he will retire as the head of Jazz at Lincoln Center, ending a 40-year tenure that built the organization into a global powerhouse (The New York Times). The Kennedy Center continues its administrative chaos: its newly hired senior VP of artistic programming has resigned after just a few days, offering no explanation for the sudden exit (The Washington Post (MSN)). The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston announces layoffs of 6% of its workforce to address an “unsustainable deficit” (WBUR (Boston)) , and the Washington Post is described as undergoing an “existential meltdown” under its current CEO (Intelligencer (MSN)).
A major study commissioned by the BBC has urged the broadcaster to rethink “color-blind” casting, warning that audiences view it as “tokenism” and find the accompanying historical storylines “preachy” (Deadline). A revival of American Psycho is grappling with the fact that its protagonist, Patrick Bateman, has morphed from a satire of yuppie greed into a serious role model for the “Andrew Tate manosphere” (The Guardian).
The legal battle over AI has reached a level of discord. Universal Music, Concord, and ABKCO have filed a massive lawsuit against Anthropic, seeking $3 billion in damages for the alleged copyright infringement of over 20,000 song lyrics (Music Business Worldwide).
All the stories we collected today are below.
- Diagnosing King Henry VIII
Over the course of his 38-year reign, he aged from a famously handsome monarch into an overweight, volatile despot. Various explanations, from syphilis to scurvy to psychopathy, have been proposed over the centuries, yet these diagnoses often tell us more about the preoccupations of the time than about Henry himself. – History Today
- BBC Told To Avoid Color-Blind Casting
- Why Is “American Psycho” Popping Up All Over? (And Should We Be Worried?)
In the 35 years since the novel made its bloody splash, there have been a hit movie, a stage musical, and countless memes. Now a remake of the film is in the works, the musical is being revived, and Patrick Bateman is a role model for the Andrew Tate manosphere. – The Guardian
- How Did The Iconic “Infinite Jest” Become A Punchline?
The occasion is a moment to ask how a novel that mourns addiction and venerates humility and patience became a glib cultural punch line, routinely subjected to the word “performative” in its most damning sense. – The New Yorker
PEOPLE
- Good Morning
Today’s AJ highlights: Wynton Marsalis has announced he will retire as the head of Jazz at Lincoln Center, ending a 40-year tenure that built the organization into a global powerhouse (The New York Times). The Kennedy Center continues its administrative chaos: its newly hired senior VP of artistic programming has resigned after just a few days, offering no explanation for the sudden exit (The Washington Post (MSN)). The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston announces layoffs of 6% of its workforce to address an “unsustainable deficit” (WBUR (Boston)) , and the Washington Post is described as undergoing an “existential meltdown” under its current CEO (Intelligencer (MSN)).
A major study commissioned by the BBC has urged the broadcaster to rethink “color-blind” casting, warning that audiences view it as “tokenism” and find the accompanying historical storylines “preachy” (Deadline). A revival of American Psycho is grappling with the fact that its protagonist, Patrick Bateman, has morphed from a satire of yuppie greed into a serious role model for the “Andrew Tate manosphere” (The Guardian).
The legal battle over AI has reached a level of discord. Universal Music, Concord, and ABKCO have filed a massive lawsuit against Anthropic, seeking $3 billion in damages for the alleged copyright infringement of over 20,000 song lyrics (Music Business Worldwide).
All the stories we collected today are below.
- Diagnosing King Henry VIII
Over the course of his 38-year reign, he aged from a famously handsome monarch into an overweight, volatile despot. Various explanations, from syphilis to scurvy to psychopathy, have been proposed over the centuries, yet these diagnoses often tell us more about the preoccupations of the time than about Henry himself. – History Today
- BBC Told To Avoid Color-Blind Casting
- Why Is “American Psycho” Popping Up All Over? (And Should We Be Worried?)
In the 35 years since the novel made its bloody splash, there have been a hit movie, a stage musical, and countless memes. Now a remake of the film is in the works, the musical is being revived, and Patrick Bateman is a role model for the Andrew Tate manosphere. – The Guardian
- How Did The Iconic “Infinite Jest” Become A Punchline?
The occasion is a moment to ask how a novel that mourns addiction and venerates humility and patience became a glib cultural punch line, routinely subjected to the word “performative” in its most damning sense. – The New Yorker
THEATRE
VISUAL
- Why Liberal Arts Education May Be More Important In The Age Of AI
A machine will never possess the level of interpersonal skills needed to manage a team, to engage in civil discourse with individuals from different cultures and backgrounds, or to resolve messy human conflicts that resist logic. Judgment will never be AI’s strength. – US News
- We Used To Think That Our Brains Were Our Brains. Now We Know Different
Neuroplasticity therefore reframes the brain as neither rigid nor infinitely malleable, but as a living system shaped by experience, effort and time. – The Conversation
- New Brain Research Reveals Insight On What Sparks Creativity
The old metaphor of creativity being sparked makes it sound like there’s a creativity center in the brain that’s just waiting to kick things off. But brain scans of jazz improvisers point to a much more diffuse picture of creativity’s location. – Psychology Today
- Why The World Seems Obsessed By Consciousness Lately
Intelligence and consciousness are different things. Intelligence is mainly about doing: solving a crossword puzzle, assembling some furniture, navigating a tricky family situation, walking to the shop — all involve intelligent behavior of some kind. – Noema
- Study: AI Models Beat Humans On “Average” Creativity. Still Not On “Radical” Creativity
A massive new study comparing more than 100,000 people with today’s most advanced AI systems delivers a surprising result: generative AI can now beat the average human on certain creativity tests. – Science Daily
