AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- Bored at the Ballet, Malraux Covered a Ceiling
Good Morning,
In 1962 André Malraux, France’s culture minister, looked up from a ballet at the Palais Garnier, found the ceiling dull, and commissioned Marc Chagall to replace it. Chagall painted 24 canvases for free and they were hung over Jules-Eugène Lenepveu’s original, which has been a listed monument since 1923 and unseen for 60 years. Lenepveu’s descendant Arnaud Carayon has hired a lawyer and proposes alternating the two ceilings a decade apiece once the house reopens after its 2027-32 renovation (The Guardian).
In Amsterdam, the Van Gogh Museum settled with the Dutch government after mediation, clearing a renovation that begins in 2028 and keeps the museum partly open (The New York Times).
The Boston Center for the Arts gives two theatre companies at a time three years of rehearsal space, mentorship and marketing; nearly 20 applied last round, and CHUANG, an Asian-American company founded in 2018, has renewed for a second term (The Boston Globe).
Andrew Potter, 43, with his voice at its peak, is leaving opera because singers pay their own housing for six weeks of rehearsal and he couldn’t find $12,000 to bring his family along (NPR).
Netflix’s Asia-Pacific production director Sung Q Lee told the Busan film festival that the company has used AI in 300 titles. Director Kang Yun-sung, whose AI-assisted Run to the West earned about $100,000, estimates AI will cut the cost of his next film, The Gulf of Aden, by 40 percent (The Hollywood Reporter).
All of our stories below.
Doug
- Sorry, But The Reading “Crisis” Isn’t One
The practice of using our eyes to create and absorb systems of language instead is so difficult and so weird, in fact, that, as best as we can tell, and as Marriott reminds us, it’s been invented no more than four times in our 300,000 years as a species. – The New Republic
- Hollywood Expects David Ellison To Fail. Will He?
With $80 billion in debt and a sprawling media empire to combine, David Ellison will have his hands full with the now court-approved combination of Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery, known as Skydance. But so-called “expert” opinion has him failing before he even starts. – New York Post
- American Retirees Aren’t Spending Down Their Savings. This Is A Problem
A survey of older adults with at least $100,000 showed that only 28 percent were comfortable watching their savings taper off to cover living expenses, ostensibly exactly what the money was saved for in the first place. This is a problem—not just for retirees but for the country. – The Atlantic
- New Hammer Museum Director Envisions A New Arts District
At an institution with a fiscal operating budget of about $30.4 million, she is seeking to place educational initiatives on equal footing with exhibitions, pursuing collaborations across the city, and positioning the Hammer as the anchor of a Westside arts district. – Los Angeles Times
ISSUES
- New Hammer Museum Director Envisions A New Arts District
At an institution with a fiscal operating budget of about $30.4 million, she is seeking to place educational initiatives on equal footing with exhibitions, pursuing collaborations across the city, and positioning the Hammer as the anchor of a Westside arts district. – Los Angeles Times
- Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum Reaches Funding Deal To Stay Open
The museum, one of Europe’s most popular art institutions, had long campaigned for additional government funding for what it said were essential renovations to help preserve its more than 200 paintings and nearly 500 drawings by Vincent van Gogh. – The New York Times
- The Hidden World Of Art Logistics
“Art logistics is the vital, invisible backbone of the global art market.” – The New York Times
- Should The Paris Opera Remove Chagall’s Work In Favor Of The Original Dome Art?
A relative of the 19th century artist whose work is under Chagall’s says oui: Jules-Eugène Lenepveu “was specifically chosen to decorate the opera ceiling by Charles Garnier, who designed everything in the opera house right down to the last door knob.” – The Guardian (UK)
- Remember When San Francisco Had A Working Waterfront?
This museum sure does. – San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
MEDIA
- Amazon Fumbled The Bag With Spider Noir – And With Nic Cage
Cage: “I am not an AI-friendly actor, so it’s like, connect those dots! I’m not a member of their club. I didn’t sign the waiver to let him use AI on Spider Noir. I’m probably not going to be working with that studio again.” – Variety
- What Made The iPod So Perfect
For one thing, it never connected to the internet. And: “It was a one-function device that superbly executed its function. It made people unconditionally happy.” – Wired
- Artist Manager For Rock Stars To Be Kennedy Center’s Next Programming Chief
“Rick Canny, … a longtime talent manager who worked with several prominent rock stars from the 1980s and ‘90s, … will soon be elevated to an executive artistic director position, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter.” – CNN (MSN)
- Cooper Union Finds A New Lessee/Owner New York’s Chrysler Building
“New York’s iconic Chrysler Building, standing on land owned and leased by the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, is transferring ownership to the commercial real-estate company Tishman Speyer and other investors, who are planning an extensive overhaul of the Art Deco landmark after years of neglect.” – ARTnews
- How Defunding Arts Education Brought About Civic Unraveling
The Bicentennial offered everyday people in the middle of the map novel opportunities to appreciate and deliberate what America was, and it succeeded in this because it conducted more than a history lesson: Art was surprisingly paramount in this event of collective self-identification, historical commemoration, and political convocation. – ARTnews
MUSIC
- Six Of The Best First Lines In Literature
A novel’s first line is saddled with an extraordinary responsibility: to not only establish a story’s start but also to impart with indelible effect the writer’s voice. – The Atlantic
- If Bookshops Make Ninety Percent Of People Happier, What’s Going On For The Ten Percent?
“One crime bookshops have been getting away with for years is their blatant role in incentivising the creation of ‘TBR’ (to-be-read) piles.” – Irish Times
- Indie Publisher New Directions Keeps Finding Nobel Prize Winners
“In an era when corporate publishers dominate a rapidly consolidating industry, New Directions has remained independent and continued its long tradition of seeking out and nurturing some of the world’s most seminal authors.” – The New York Times
- Since The Time Traveller’s Wife Was Published, Its Author Has Become Famous – And, She Says, Radicalized
“In early scene in the new book involves a group of neo-Nazis at a house party. When she was writing it, few people believed the US would witness a resurgence of neo-nazism.” – The Guardian (UK)
- Please, No More Articles On The End Of Reading
Just stop. We know, already. Got anything new to say? – Slate
PEOPLE
- Bored at the Ballet, Malraux Covered a Ceiling
Good Morning,
In 1962 André Malraux, France’s culture minister, looked up from a ballet at the Palais Garnier, found the ceiling dull, and commissioned Marc Chagall to replace it. Chagall painted 24 canvases for free and they were hung over Jules-Eugène Lenepveu’s original, which has been a listed monument since 1923 and unseen for 60 years. Lenepveu’s descendant Arnaud Carayon has hired a lawyer and proposes alternating the two ceilings a decade apiece once the house reopens after its 2027-32 renovation (The Guardian).
In Amsterdam, the Van Gogh Museum settled with the Dutch government after mediation, clearing a renovation that begins in 2028 and keeps the museum partly open (The New York Times).
The Boston Center for the Arts gives two theatre companies at a time three years of rehearsal space, mentorship and marketing; nearly 20 applied last round, and CHUANG, an Asian-American company founded in 2018, has renewed for a second term (The Boston Globe).
Andrew Potter, 43, with his voice at its peak, is leaving opera because singers pay their own housing for six weeks of rehearsal and he couldn’t find $12,000 to bring his family along (NPR).
Netflix’s Asia-Pacific production director Sung Q Lee told the Busan film festival that the company has used AI in 300 titles. Director Kang Yun-sung, whose AI-assisted Run to the West earned about $100,000, estimates AI will cut the cost of his next film, The Gulf of Aden, by 40 percent (The Hollywood Reporter).
All of our stories below.
Doug
- Sorry, But The Reading “Crisis” Isn’t One
The practice of using our eyes to create and absorb systems of language instead is so difficult and so weird, in fact, that, as best as we can tell, and as Marriott reminds us, it’s been invented no more than four times in our 300,000 years as a species. – The New Republic
- Hollywood Expects David Ellison To Fail. Will He?
With $80 billion in debt and a sprawling media empire to combine, David Ellison will have his hands full with the now court-approved combination of Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery, known as Skydance. But so-called “expert” opinion has him failing before he even starts. – New York Post
- American Retirees Aren’t Spending Down Their Savings. This Is A Problem
A survey of older adults with at least $100,000 showed that only 28 percent were comfortable watching their savings taper off to cover living expenses, ostensibly exactly what the money was saved for in the first place. This is a problem—not just for retirees but for the country. – The Atlantic
- New Hammer Museum Director Envisions A New Arts District
At an institution with a fiscal operating budget of about $30.4 million, she is seeking to place educational initiatives on equal footing with exhibitions, pursuing collaborations across the city, and positioning the Hammer as the anchor of a Westside arts district. – Los Angeles Times
PEOPLE
- Bored at the Ballet, Malraux Covered a Ceiling
Good Morning,
In 1962 André Malraux, France’s culture minister, looked up from a ballet at the Palais Garnier, found the ceiling dull, and commissioned Marc Chagall to replace it. Chagall painted 24 canvases for free and they were hung over Jules-Eugène Lenepveu’s original, which has been a listed monument since 1923 and unseen for 60 years. Lenepveu’s descendant Arnaud Carayon has hired a lawyer and proposes alternating the two ceilings a decade apiece once the house reopens after its 2027-32 renovation (The Guardian).
In Amsterdam, the Van Gogh Museum settled with the Dutch government after mediation, clearing a renovation that begins in 2028 and keeps the museum partly open (The New York Times).
The Boston Center for the Arts gives two theatre companies at a time three years of rehearsal space, mentorship and marketing; nearly 20 applied last round, and CHUANG, an Asian-American company founded in 2018, has renewed for a second term (The Boston Globe).
Andrew Potter, 43, with his voice at its peak, is leaving opera because singers pay their own housing for six weeks of rehearsal and he couldn’t find $12,000 to bring his family along (NPR).
Netflix’s Asia-Pacific production director Sung Q Lee told the Busan film festival that the company has used AI in 300 titles. Director Kang Yun-sung, whose AI-assisted Run to the West earned about $100,000, estimates AI will cut the cost of his next film, The Gulf of Aden, by 40 percent (The Hollywood Reporter).
All of our stories below.
Doug
- Sorry, But The Reading “Crisis” Isn’t One
The practice of using our eyes to create and absorb systems of language instead is so difficult and so weird, in fact, that, as best as we can tell, and as Marriott reminds us, it’s been invented no more than four times in our 300,000 years as a species. – The New Republic
- Hollywood Expects David Ellison To Fail. Will He?
With $80 billion in debt and a sprawling media empire to combine, David Ellison will have his hands full with the now court-approved combination of Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery, known as Skydance. But so-called “expert” opinion has him failing before he even starts. – New York Post
- American Retirees Aren’t Spending Down Their Savings. This Is A Problem
A survey of older adults with at least $100,000 showed that only 28 percent were comfortable watching their savings taper off to cover living expenses, ostensibly exactly what the money was saved for in the first place. This is a problem—not just for retirees but for the country. – The Atlantic
- New Hammer Museum Director Envisions A New Arts District
At an institution with a fiscal operating budget of about $30.4 million, she is seeking to place educational initiatives on equal footing with exhibitions, pursuing collaborations across the city, and positioning the Hammer as the anchor of a Westside arts district. – Los Angeles Times
THEATRE
VISUAL
- Sorry, But The Reading “Crisis” Isn’t One
The practice of using our eyes to create and absorb systems of language instead is so difficult and so weird, in fact, that, as best as we can tell, and as Marriott reminds us, it’s been invented no more than four times in our 300,000 years as a species. – The New Republic
- American Retirees Aren’t Spending Down Their Savings. This Is A Problem
A survey of older adults with at least $100,000 showed that only 28 percent were comfortable watching their savings taper off to cover living expenses, ostensibly exactly what the money was saved for in the first place. This is a problem—not just for retirees but for the country. – The Atlantic
- A Three-Year Arts Launchpad In Boston Provides A Path For Smaller Arts Groups
The Boston Center for the Arts Launchpad “is meant to provide both an anchor and a resource without restricting what each company might create.” – Boston Globe
- Why We Need A Four (Or More) Hour Documentary About Elon Musk
“This small group of people has tried to basically run a con on all of us. ‘We’re doing this out of the goodness of our own hearts. We’re making the world better.’ No, you’re padding your bottom lines and all you care about is you.” – The New York Times
- The Helpful Science Behind Spooky Season
“Seeking out fear is our way of preparing our bodies for the sometimes scary real world. And this vaccine is actually fun for most people.” – NPR