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- AI-Created Novel Loses Publication Prize After Being Voted Winner In Reader’s Choice
Contest-winning AI novel loses physical publication and manga adaptation after guidelines were updated to ban AI-generated works. – Automation
- Are We Living In An Age Of Bad Painting?
Walking through Frieze London’s carpeted aisles in October, a long-developed hunch was confirmed emphatically: we are amid a deluge of bad painting. – The Art Newspaper
- So How Are Libraries Going To Get Their Books Now?
The company faced several challenges in recent years, including a data breach in 2022 – after the company was acquired by a private investment group in 2021 – that put it in what independent library consultant Marshall Breeding called “a weak financial position.” – NPR
- Broadway Production Will Rework “The Fantasticks” As Gay Love Story
“In the re-envisioned Fantasticks, the central romantic pair – traditionally Matt and Luisa – are now Matt and Lewis, reinterpreting the story’s ‘allegory of love, longing, and reconciliation through a gay lens,’ according to producers. The show’s original pair of fathers, who secretly orchestrate the clandestine love affair between their children, are now mothers.” – Deadline
- Béla Fleck Talks About Why He Canceled His Kennedy Center Concerts
“As this thing became more and more charged, it wasn’t any longer something where I’m under the radar playing this gig. I am actually taking a position by playing at the Kennedy Center now. By not canceling, I’m taking a position, and I don’t want to take that position.” – The Washington Post (MSN)
- Thoughts While Not Thinking<a href="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/2026/01/thoughts-while-not-thinking.html" title='Thoughts While Not Thinking‘ rel=”nofollow”><img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/P1310432-cropped-400-150×150.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="Untitled © by Gerard Bellaart" link_thumbnail="1" decoding="async" srcset="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/P1310432-cropped-400-150×150.jpg 150w, https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/P1310432-cropped-400-100×100.jpg 100w, https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/P1310432-cropped-400-200×200.jpg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" data-attachment-id="29738" data-permalink="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/p1310432-cropped-400" data-orig-file="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/P1310432-cropped-400.jpg" data-orig-size="400,572" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"3.3","credit":"","camera":"DMC-TZ10","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1517278688","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.1","iso":"400","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="P1310432 cropped (400)" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="
Untitled © by Gerard Bellaart
” data-medium-file=”https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/P1310432-cropped-400-210×300.jpg” data-large-file=”https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/P1310432-cropped-400.jpg”>Stealthy quantum words phantoms of expectation and suicides of time riddle us with springs and traps. - Bruce Crawford, Ad Exec Who Led Metropolitan Opera And Lincoln Center, Has Died At 96
In his primary career, ran agencies BBDO Worldwide and Omnicon. As the Met’s general manager, he erased the company’s big deficits and stabilized its operations; he also served twice as board chairman. As chair of Lincoln Center, he established peace among feuding resident organizations and set big projects in motion. – The New York Times
- Did Someone Just Figure Out How To Decode The Voynich Manuscript?
Not exactly, no, but science journalist Michael Greshko may have taken a big step toward that goal. No one had yet figured out a workable approach to even attempt reading the famously indecipherable 15th-century codex, but Greshko has demonstrated that a medieval-style cipher using cards and dice is plausible. – Live Science
- What’s The Ultimate Goal Behind Trump Administration Attacks On The Smithsonian? To Finally Win The Culture Wars
Charlotte Higgins: “’The goal,’ as one senior employee of the Smithsonian told me, ‘is to reframe the entire culture of the United States from the foundation up.’” – The Guardian
- Smithsonian Faces New Ultimatum From Trump Administration
“After a monthslong lull in tensions, the Smithsonian is facing an ultimatum from the White House to comply next week with a demand” to produce a very long list of internal documents for “a comprehensive review of the institution’s content and plans — or risk potential cuts to its budget.” – The New York Times
- Another Former Student At Richmond Ballet Sues For Abuse
“A former Richmond Ballet student is suing the performance organization for $11.5 million, alleging sexual, emotional and psychological abuse at the hands of staff members during her eight years (there). The 85-page complaint … is the third lawsuit filed by a former student … in the past five years.” – WTVR (Richmond)
- “Ur Kind of Music?”
I cannot think of a better conversationalist about music, and about the state of things musical today, than the conductor Kenneth Woods. Ken is an American based in the UK, where he conducts the English Symphony Orchestra in Worcester and resides in Wales. He programs bravely and insightfully. He presides
- Good Morning
Today’s AJ Highlights: In Washington, the boycott of the Kennedy Center has widened, as 17-time Grammy winner Béla Fleck became the latest artist to cancel appearances, stating that performing at the renamed venue has become too “charged and political” (San Francisco Chronicle (Yahoo!)). The financial fallout for public media is coming into focus: while listener “rage giving” has raised an impressive $100 million since Congress defunded the system, stations still face a substantial $435 million gap to maintain operations (Inside Radio).
In Europe, museum crises are boiling over. The Louvre strike has intensified over a specific grievance: management wants to spend millions on a new VIP entrance for the Mona Lisa, while staff argue the basic building is crumbling around them (Artnet). In Belgium, a plan to close Antwerp’s oldest contemporary art museum and move its collection to a smaller venue has been decried by artists as “illegal” and “insane” (The Guardian).
A new report finds that an increasing share of “elite artist” visas for entry into the U.S. are now being awarded to OnlyFans models and influencers, reshaping the government’s definition of artistic merit (Newsweek). Finally, experts argue we need to cultivate the skill of “critical ignoring” to survive the internet age (The Wall Street Journal).
All of today’s stories below.
- How Hard Is The Training To Become A Peking Opera Star? This Hard.
Zhang Wanting spent an entire semester practicing standing on one foot on a three-inch chair handle while lifting her other leg backward and leaning forward with an arched back. And that was maybe the easiest of the tricks she had to learn just with the chair, leaving aside all the other skills necessary. – AP
- Insider Art Market Predictions For 2026
If nothing else, the new year will likely reveal whether the art world’s pivot to the Gulf, and auction houses’ deepening emphasis on luxury categories, were good choices. – ARTnews
- New Vision For Your Car: An AI Companion
Across the show floor, the car emerged less as a machine and more as a companion as automakers and tech companies showcased vehicles that can adapt to drivers and passengers in real time — from tracking heart rates and emotions to alerting if a baby or young child is accidentally left in the car. – Fast Company
- America’s Only Weather Museum May Have To Close Down
“The National Weather Museum and Science Center in Norman, Oklahoma, the only US museum dedicated to weather artifacts, said late last month that it is at risk of closing. The nonprofit, launched in the early 2000s, has relied completely on donations, grants, and partnerships for funding, and receives no federal funding.” – ARTnews
- Remembering Literary Critic John Carey
Pugnacious, fearless and disdainful of academia’s more pretentious mores, Professor Carey was a paradoxical figure in the British literary establishment for more than half a century. – The New York Times
- How Great Musicians Steal
“I suppose a composer imagines a certain piece of music for certain instruments; he has a sound picture and wants the things that instrument can do. But that doesn’t negate the situation where you make a new sound picture, perhaps with the same materials. – Early Music America
- Hollywood Is Being Destroyed By Oligopolies
Effectively, in only three years, the Warner Bros. Discovery merger has validated nearly all the concerns that critics of “market first” policymaking have warned about for years. Once it had a dominant market share, the company started providing less and charging more. – The Conversation
- When Oscar Wilde’s Buddy Concocted A Massive Lesbian Literary Hoax
How, in 1894, just when literary interest in Sappho was reviving, Belgian-French author Pierre Louÿs (yes, he was a friend of Oscar’s) invented an ancient Greek poetess called Bilitis, composed erotic poetry he attributed to her (he claimed only to have translated it), and created a classic of lesbian literature. – Aeon
- The Man Who Has Four Shows Currently On Broadway
“If I step back and think about what unites the shows, it’s probably they’re all trying to be joy-forward experiences and shows where the audience is acknowledged,” says Alex Timbers, now 47. – AP News
- Report: Increasing Share Of Artist Visas Into The US Are Going To Influencers And Models
A growing share of O‑1B visas are now being granted to social media influencers and OnlyFans models, according to an immigration attorney. – Newsweek
- Universal Music Buys Big Stake In Bollywood Movie Studio
Universal Music India, a division of Universal Music Group, will acquire a 30% equity interest in the Mumbai-based movie studio. In the deal, announced Monday, the companies will work together on forthcoming films, series, music and emerging formats. – Los Angeles Times (Yahoo)
- We Need To Cultivate The Skill Of Critical Ignoring
In an age in which information on the internet is so abundant and so low-quality that it’s essentially noise, job number one is to fight our evolutionary instinct to absorb all available information, and instead filter out unreliable sources and bad data. – The Wall Street Journal
- Tyler Perry Faces Two Sexual Misconduct Lawsuits. Are More Coming? Or Is This All A Swindle?
“The first lawsuit accusing Perry of leveraging his power to sexually assault aspiring male actors in his orbit was filed in June. Another lawsuit was filed Dec. 26, with the entertainment mogul characterizing claims from both of the accusers as a shakedown. But his legal troubles may just be beginning.” – The Hollywood Reporter
- How Museums Can Help Rebuild Community Trust
As social divisions grow, they are becoming important forms of social infrastructure where people can encounter different perspectives. In many cases, their roles are also expanding as museums help the public engage with the pressing questions of our time. – The Conversation
- So Students Don’t Read Books Anymore. Really?
“Many teachers are secret revolutionaries and still assign whole books,” said Heather McGuire, a survey respondent who teaches English in New Mexico. I cheer these renegades because I can’t imagine my life – or bringing up my own children – without reading books in print. – The Guardian
- The Fast-Paced, Virtuosic, Intimidating Traditional Dance Of Georgia
“Georgian dance is an art of outrageous virtuosity and athleticism, often meant to indicate prowess at war and in the hunt. The dances are characterized by fiery leaps, sudden drops to the knees, swordplay, spinning jumps and men dancing on the tips of their toes.” – The New York Times
- Artistic Director Of Chicago’s Shattered Globe Theatre Will Depart
Sandy Shinner, 75, will step down in May from the widely-admired Off-Loop company, which she has run for 13 years. She will remain a member of the group’s ensemble. – Chicago Tribune (Yahoo!)
- Plan To Close Belgium’s Oldest Contemporary Art Museum Is “Illegal” And “Insane,” Say Artists
As part of what they say are cost-saving measures, the federal government of Belgium and regional government of Flanders plan to move the entire collection of Antwerp’s Museum of Contemporary Art to a similar institution in Ghent — which reportedly doesn’t have enough room for the additional artworks. – The Guardian
- “Performing There Has Become Charged And Political”: Béla Fleck Cancels Kennedy Center Concerts With National Symphony
The 17-time Grammy-winning banjoist said, “Performing there has become charged and political, at an institution where the focus should be on the music. I look forward to playing with the NSO another time in the future when we can together share and celebrate art.” – San Francisco Chronicle (Yahoo!)
- “Rage Giving” To Public Radio — Will It Be Enough?
Since Congress defunded public TV and radio months ago, an estimated $100 million has been raised from foundations and, notably, from record numbers of listeners angry about the cuts — so-called “rage giving.” That leaves only $435 million to go to replace the funding promised to stations just last year. – Inside Radio
- Warner Bros. Rejects Paramount’s Takeover Bid For Second Time
“Warner Bros. Discovery’s leadership has repeatedly rebuffed Skydance-owned Paramount’s overtures — and urged shareholders just weeks ago to support selling its streaming and studio business to Netflix for $72 billion. Paramount, meanwhile, has made efforts to sweeten its $77.9 billion hostile bid for the entire company.” – TechCrunch
- Multi-Million-Euro Plans For Mona Lisa Are One Big Issue In Louvre Strike
One of the major items in the Louvre–Nouvelle Renaissance renovation plan is the construction of a separate entrance and gallery for the huge number of people who want to see the famous portrait. Workers at the museum are urging management to spend that money on repairing the building’s crumbling physical plant instead. – Artnet
