ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

Today's Stories

The Importance Of “The Importance Of Being Earnest”

"People have been arguing about the nature of the play ever since its 1895 premiere. Wilde himself described it as 'a delicate bubble of fancy', but added: 'It has its philosophy.' … What kind of play is it and how do we stage it today? These questions still divide opinion." - The Guardian

Popular Glastonbury Tries A New Scheme For Online Ticket Sales After An Increasingly Chaotic Process

This year they will now visit a holding page before the start of the ticket sale, “at least a few minutes before the sale opens” according to organisers. Once the sale begins, each person “will randomly be assigned a place in a queue to access the booking process”. - The Guardian

MacArthur “Genius” Violinist Johnny Gandelsman Has Commissioned A Multi-Composer Portrait Of America

The project, titled "This Is America," is a collection of 28 works Gandelsman has been commissioning, performing and recording since 2020. He gave the composers each a $5,000 fee and a request to compose a piece responding to the times we're currently living through in the United States. - The New York Times

Sotheby’s Sells AI-Created Artwork For $1M

On November 7, the artwork A.I. God. Portrait of Alan Turing (2024) by the humanoid robot artist Ai-Da sold for $1,084,800 during the auction house’s Digital Art day sale. There were 27 bids for the portrait. - ARTnews

Shepard Fairey On How Art Can Connect Us To Our Better Selves

Art is capable of connecting with the best part of who we are as humans and stimulating the part of us that recognizes the dignity and connection with other humans. - Forbes

Even After 30 Years, People Talk About (And Buy Tickets For) Matthew Bourne’s Gender-Switched “Swan Lake”

"Certain people found it difficult to accept Swan Lake in a new light," says Bourne. "There was some ballet snobbery when people would say the choreography was a bit repetitive. Anyone watching a classical ballet will know that the steps are often repeated. (But the) vast majority of audiences really bought into it." - Bachtrack

Howard Sherman: Struggling With How To Appreciate Opera

The blurring of lines that brought me to the opera voluntarily, willingly and with the same anticipation I bring to theatre suggests there may be a way forward – together. - The Stage

China’s Movie Box Office Is Collapsing

A prolonged fallow period extending through the summer has left the Beijing film industry wringing its hands, wondering whether a lasting shift in the marketplace may be underway. - The Hollywood Reporter

A Time Of Reckoning For Media In A New Trump Era?

There are blaring red warnings signs for traditional media everywhere you look. Ratings for the broadcast and cable news channels saw steep declines in ratings from Nielsen (finals showed an average of 42.3 million people, down from nearly 57 million four years ago), with the lowest ratings in decades. - The Hollywood Reporter

Meet The Maestros Of Evil Doll Movies

In a Welsh seaside town, Geoff and Lawrence Fowler are turning out a series of surprisingly good low-budget features (e.g., Jack in the Box) about dolls, puppets or robots possessed by evil. Says one aficionado, "Their films look good, they are well-designed and well-plotted with good jump scares." - The Hollywood Reporter

New Science Is Revising Stories Of The People Of Ancient Pompeii

Scientists analyzed ancient DNA extracted from skeletal remains and pieced together fragments of five people’s identities, rewriting the romantic stories of who they were and how they were related. - Washington Post

The US Archivist Is Accused Of Whitewashing American History

U.S. Archivist Colleen Shogan and her top advisers at the National Archives and Records Administration, which operates a popular museum on the National Mall, have sought to de-emphasize negative parts of U.S. history. She has ordered the removal of prominent references to such landmark events as the government’s displacement of indigenous tribes. The Wall Street Journal

Has Our Technology Collapsed Our Ability To Experience Awe?

Today, we are rapidly becoming ‘tech-vexed’ – my word for the gradual yet relentless seduction of computerised life. The COVID-19 pandemic simply accelerated a trend: many of us are now more intimately connected to smartphones than to nonmediated relationships with people. - Aeon

Film Festival In Istanbul Cancelled After Daniel Craig Film “Queer” Is Banned

"Streaming platform Mubi has cancelled its long-planned Mubi Fest Istanbul at the eleventh hour after (the local district) governor banned a screening of Luca Guadagnino’s LGBTI+ themed movie Queer, which was to have been the opening film." - Deadline

Voters In El Paso Veto Funding For Downtown Arena/Performance Venue

"With the approval of Proposition A, voters in El Paso have formally revoked the city’s authority to issue the remaining $128.5 million in bonds that had been allocated for a multipurpose performing arts and entertainment facility in Downtown El Paso." - El Paso Matters

King Tut’s Iconic Funerary Mask Was Probably First Made For Someone Else, Say Researchers

How could anyone tell this after all this time? The answer, say Egyptologists at the University of York, has been right in front of us. It's all about the ears. - Artnet

A Pulitzer Prize Winner Is Adapting “Fahrenheit 451” For The Stage

Martyna Majok, who won the Pulitzer for drama in 2018 with her play Cost of Living, will write the script. The project is in early development, and no director or marquee actor has yet been publicly attached to the project. - The Hollywood Reporter

It’s Only Been Three Days, And “The Handmaid’s Tale” Is Back On The Bestseller List

Since the presidential election results became clear early Wednesday morning, Margaret Atwood's novel has been high on Amazon's list of top-selling books, as are Orwell’s 1984 and Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. All three were popular during Trump's first term. - AP

India Lifts Ban On Import Of Rushdie’s “Satanic Verses” — For A Surprising Reason

And that reason is bureaucracy at its finest. - The Guardian

There’s No Water In The Fountain Of Trevi in Rome, And Tourists Are Bummed

"The city drained the fountain to clean it ahead of the Vatican’s Jubilee Year. ... Visitor access to the site is currently via a temporary walkway. But the real problem is the plywood-sided pool on the stairs in front of the fountain into which visitors are now instructed to toss coins." - Artnet

By Topic

Has Our Technology Collapsed Our Ability To Experience Awe?

Today, we are rapidly becoming ‘tech-vexed’ – my word for the gradual yet relentless seduction of computerised life. The COVID-19 pandemic simply accelerated a trend: many of us are now more intimately connected to smartphones than to nonmediated relationships with people. - Aeon

The Need To Be Right (It’s Seductive)

The background condition of this discussion is our current state of permacrisis: the collision of multiple critical problems whose conjunction renders effective response to any one of them impossible. Crisis demands a response, but too much of it strains our abilities. - The Walrus

Studies Touting The Benefits Of Universal Basic Income Pile Up. But The Case For It Isn’t Being Made Right

Spreading the fear of AI stealing all our jobs seems to garner much more enthusiasm for basic income than continually pointing at the evidence. But hitching the case for basic income to fears of rapid AI progress makes it far more vulnerable than it needs to be. - Vox

Threat To Our Future? An Empathy Gap

People find it easier to empathize with a single individual than with groups, plausibly because individuals are easier to conjure in one’s imagination. Therefore, the difference in empathy toward a present person and future others in general is likely even greater than what we’ve found. - Psyche

We Have Become An Algorithmically-Driven Culture. And We’re Unhappier Than Ever

Since the nineteen-sixties, much of American public life has become automated, driven by computers and predictive algorithms that can do the political work of rallying support, running campaigns, communicating with constituents, and even crafting policy. - The New Yorker

Why Humans Innately Distrust Other Forms Of Intelligence

Figuring out how to relate to minds of unconventional origin — not just AI and robotics but also cells, organs, hybrots, cyborgs and many others — is an existential-level task for humanity as it matures. - Noema

Popular Glastonbury Tries A New Scheme For Online Ticket Sales After An Increasingly Chaotic Process

This year they will now visit a holding page before the start of the ticket sale, “at least a few minutes before the sale opens” according to organisers. Once the sale begins, each person “will randomly be assigned a place in a queue to access the booking process”. - The Guardian

New Science Is Revising Stories Of The People Of Ancient Pompeii

Scientists analyzed ancient DNA extracted from skeletal remains and pieced together fragments of five people’s identities, rewriting the romantic stories of who they were and how they were related. - Washington Post

The US Archivist Is Accused Of Whitewashing American History

U.S. Archivist Colleen Shogan and her top advisers at the National Archives and Records Administration, which operates a popular museum on the National Mall, have sought to de-emphasize negative parts of U.S. history. She has ordered the removal of prominent references to such landmark events as the government’s displacement of indigenous tribes. The Wall Street Journal

Voters In El Paso Veto Funding For Downtown Arena/Performance Venue

"With the approval of Proposition A, voters in El Paso have formally revoked the city’s authority to issue the remaining $128.5 million in bonds that had been allocated for a multipurpose performing arts and entertainment facility in Downtown El Paso." - El Paso Matters

Ticket Scams Are Plaguing The Performing Arts

Even venues with programming that leans more toward Beethoven than Bad Bunny face mounting challenges from ticketing scams. - CultureOC

The Prime Philadelphia Real Estate Belonging To UArts Has Now Hit The Market

"(The University of the Arts) filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in September, enabling the school to sell off its real estate, spanning 76,000 square feet across (nine buildings), all situated within Philly’s bustling South Broad Street commercial corridor." - Artnet

MacArthur “Genius” Violinist Johnny Gandelsman Has Commissioned A Multi-Composer Portrait Of America

The project, titled "This Is America," is a collection of 28 works Gandelsman has been commissioning, performing and recording since 2020. He gave the composers each a $5,000 fee and a request to compose a piece responding to the times we're currently living through in the United States. - The New York Times

Shepard Fairey On How Art Can Connect Us To Our Better Selves

Art is capable of connecting with the best part of who we are as humans and stimulating the part of us that recognizes the dignity and connection with other humans. - Forbes

Howard Sherman: Struggling With How To Appreciate Opera

The blurring of lines that brought me to the opera voluntarily, willingly and with the same anticipation I bring to theatre suggests there may be a way forward – together. - The Stage

Sandra Cisneros Is Turning “The House On Mango Street” Into An Opera

The author of the beloved young adult novel is writing her own libretto, with music by composer Derek Bermel. The work just had its first performance, unstaged, at the University of Michigan; the fully staged world premiere is next July at Glimmerglass Opera in upstate New York. - Chicago Tribune

When Classical Music Forgeries Pass As The Real Thing, What Does That Say About Us?

"Knowing that a work is by Haydn or Mozart allows us to see ‘inevitable’ connections. Take away the certainty of authorship, and it’s devilishly difficult to read the musical images within. … If someone can write pieces that can be mistaken for Haydn, what is so special about Haydn?" - The Guardian

Building The Great Native American Songbook

With this new focus, he was ready when people were “freaking out” and looking for songs. “There is no repertoire like this in existence,” he said, “and I’m in a place where I can effect change. Why don’t I try to create a legacy, or start a movement of people writing pieces?” - The...

Sotheby’s Sells AI-Created Artwork For $1M

On November 7, the artwork A.I. God. Portrait of Alan Turing (2024) by the humanoid robot artist Ai-Da sold for $1,084,800 during the auction house’s Digital Art day sale. There were 27 bids for the portrait. - ARTnews

There’s No Water In The Fountain Of Trevi in Rome, And Tourists Are Bummed

"The city drained the fountain to clean it ahead of the Vatican’s Jubilee Year. ... Visitor access to the site is currently via a temporary walkway. But the real problem is the plywood-sided pool on the stairs in front of the fountain into which visitors are now instructed to toss coins." - Artnet

Why Is “American Gothic” Such An Enduring Image?

The painting’s essential elements—man, woman, pitchfork—have been referenced, reimagined, and parodied in everything from a 1942 photograph by Gordon Parks to a 2012 episode of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. - Artnet

Warhol Prints Damaged In Amateurish Attempted Heist

The gallery’s owner Mark Peet Visser has described the heist as “amateurish,” noting that explosives used to gain entry were “so violent that my entire building was destroyed,” and even damaged some neighboring shops. This was confirmed by local police in an official update. - Artnet

Why Abu Dhabi Is Shoveling Cash At Sotheby’s And Art Basel

Both companies currently have debt problems and are relieved for the investment. What's more, Sotheby's is trying to turn itself into a luxury brand beyond the art market — and so is Abu Dhabi, which spent its money on prestige cultural institutions while Dubai developed its reputation for luxury consumerism. - ARTnews

Fair Trade: The Idea Behind Nepal’s Museum Of Stolen Art

Nepali conservationist Rabindra Puri has hired local stonecarvers and craftsmen to create and display replicas of dozens of items of sacred art that were looted from temples and other sites over the past 60-odd years. The idea: return the stolen original to us and we'll give you the replica. - BBC

It’s Only Been Three Days, And “The Handmaid’s Tale” Is Back On The Bestseller List

Since the presidential election results became clear early Wednesday morning, Margaret Atwood's novel has been high on Amazon's list of top-selling books, as are Orwell’s 1984 and Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. All three were popular during Trump's first term. - AP

India Lifts Ban On Import Of Rushdie’s “Satanic Verses” — For A Surprising Reason

And that reason is bureaucracy at its finest. - The Guardian

Rachel Cusk’s Novel “Parade” Wins Goldsmiths Prize

Cusk was announced as the winner of the £10,000 prize, which recognises 'mould-breaking' fiction, … on Wednesday. … Parade comprises the stories of various artists, all called G. One of the Gs – based on artist Georg Baselitz – paints upside down; another is a woman with a 'wild' past, now unhappily married." -...

The History Behind The English Language’s Most Famous Swear Word

Fuck has an enormous range of uses across many parts of speech, as this dictionary details: sexual and nonsexual, positive and negative, literal and figurative, funny and violent. For any situation, there’s prob­ably some sense, some expression or catchphrase, some proverb, some intonation that can be brought to the table. - LitHub

Major European Publisher Will Start Using AI To Translate Some Novels Into English

"Veen Bosch & Keuning (VBK) – the largest publisher in the Netherlands, acquired by Simon & Schuster earlier this year – is 'using AI to assist in the translation of a limited number of books. … This project contains less than 10 titles – all commercial fiction.'" - The Guardian

Arguments Over Corporate Sponsorship And Gaza War Plague Canada’s Giller Prize

It seems the director of the C$100,000 literary award had been telling authors that she was working to sever the Giller's ties to its longtime lead sponsor, Scotiabank. Then she turned around and doubled down on the Scotiabank-Giller relationship. - Toronto Star

China’s Movie Box Office Is Collapsing

A prolonged fallow period extending through the summer has left the Beijing film industry wringing its hands, wondering whether a lasting shift in the marketplace may be underway. - The Hollywood Reporter

A Time Of Reckoning For Media In A New Trump Era?

There are blaring red warnings signs for traditional media everywhere you look. Ratings for the broadcast and cable news channels saw steep declines in ratings from Nielsen (finals showed an average of 42.3 million people, down from nearly 57 million four years ago), with the lowest ratings in decades. - The Hollywood Reporter

Meet The Maestros Of Evil Doll Movies

In a Welsh seaside town, Geoff and Lawrence Fowler are turning out a series of surprisingly good low-budget features (e.g., Jack in the Box) about dolls, puppets or robots possessed by evil. Says one aficionado, "Their films look good, they are well-designed and well-plotted with good jump scares." - The Hollywood Reporter

Film Festival In Istanbul Cancelled After Daniel Craig Film “Queer” Is Banned

"Streaming platform Mubi has cancelled its long-planned Mubi Fest Istanbul at the eleventh hour after (the local district) governor banned a screening of Luca Guadagnino’s LGBTI+ themed movie Queer, which was to have been the opening film." - Deadline

When Johnny Carson Animated American Late Night

His easygoing exterior belied a deft improvisatory mind that could take the temperature of the room, the guest, and the viewer all at once, course-correcting with breathtaking speed. - The New Yorker

Canada Orders Dissolution Of TikTok’s Operations There

Access to the popular video app won't be blocked for Canadian users, but the Industry Minister said that the order, which is based on evidence and assessments from Canada's intelligence agencies, is meant to address security risks related to ByteDance Ltd.’s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc. - AP

Even After 30 Years, People Talk About (And Buy Tickets For) Matthew Bourne’s Gender-Switched “Swan Lake”

"Certain people found it difficult to accept Swan Lake in a new light," says Bourne. "There was some ballet snobbery when people would say the choreography was a bit repetitive. Anyone watching a classical ballet will know that the steps are often repeated. (But the) vast majority of audiences really bought into it." -...

Can Audio Description For The Visually Impaired Work For Dance As It Does For Theatre?

Stopgap, a contemporary dance company which integrates variously disabled and neurodiverse performers, has a piece titled Lived Fiction in which audio description is integral to the work. Partially-sighted writer Caroline Butterwick came to find out if description can work with an art form as purely visual as dance is. - The Guardian

Raygun, The Notorious Olympic Breakdancer, Retires From Competition And Public Performance

Rachael Gunn of Australia already has an established career as an academic (studying breakdancing and popular culture), and the public roasting she received after her zero-points performance at the Olympic finals in Paris, along with subsequent worldwide scrutiny on social media, have become too much to put up with. - AP

How Choreographers Create Dance Movement For Straight Plays

"(This) which can mean adding subtle movement that never registers as choreography, or creating an unapologetic, front-facing dance number, or designing dancing that looks totally spontaneous — mostly without any dance-trained bodies." Choreographers Susan Stroman, Sonya Tayeh, and Sam Pinkleton explain how they meet the challenge. - Dance Magazine

Major Neurological Study Looks At How Our Brains Respond To Live Dance

"A pioneering five-year research project, Neurolive, run by cognitive neuroscientist Dr Guido Orgs and choreographer Matthias Sperling, … brings together neuroscience and dance to investigate what’s happening in our brains when we watch live performance." - The Guardian

Dallas Black Dance Theatre Is Working To Settle Labor Complaint And May Rehire Its Fired Dancers

"(Management) said it is working on a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board and ... the labor union representing 10 dancers who were fired earlier this year. … The news comes after the NLRB notified the dance company it would move forward with a complaint unless Dallas Black settled." - KERA (Dallas)

The Importance Of “The Importance Of Being Earnest”

"People have been arguing about the nature of the play ever since its 1895 premiere. Wilde himself described it as 'a delicate bubble of fancy', but added: 'It has its philosophy.' … What kind of play is it and how do we stage it today? These questions still divide opinion." - The Guardian

A Pulitzer Prize Winner Is Adapting “Fahrenheit 451” For The Stage

Martyna Majok, who won the Pulitzer for drama in 2018 with her play Cost of Living, will write the script. The project is in early development, and no director or marquee actor has yet been publicly attached to the project. - The Hollywood Reporter

Well-Known UK TV Actor Comes Up With Scheme To Save Small Theatre

Funds would be raised by selling tickets to the performances of the winning entries, with the theatre’s president Suranne Jones giving an on-stage critique afterwards. "It will combine a search for community talent with being a money-maker," she said. - BBC

This Play Is Part Puzzle, Part Real-Life Video Game, Part Grief Ritual

"Great Gold Bird is set across three locations, (starting with) audience members' homes. Where to go next is revealed via the narrative — an address unlocked after perusing a website dedicated to a lost love, or a map uncovered in a locked chest after we discover its combination." - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

How The “Theater Kid” Type In Pop Culture Went From Deeply Uncool To Fabulous

A decade ago, Anne Hathaway was widely mocked for her earnest, try-hard theater-kid ways, and when Ariana Grande, totally a theater kid in her youth, decided to become a pop star, she hid that past and those attitudes. But now the pop-culture pendulum has swung 180 degrees. - The New York Times

How Choreographers Create Dance Movement For Straight Plays

"(This) which can mean adding subtle movement that never registers as choreography, or creating an unapologetic, front-facing dance number, or designing dancing that looks totally spontaneous — mostly without any dance-trained bodies." Choreographers Susan Stroman, Sonya Tayeh, and Sam Pinkleton explain how they meet the challenge. - Dance Magazine

King Tut’s Iconic Funerary Mask Was Probably First Made For Someone Else, Say Researchers

How could anyone tell this after all this time? The answer, say Egyptologists at the University of York, has been right in front of us. It's all about the ears. - Artnet

How Quincy Jones Became The Ultimate Artistic Collaborator

Even when letting a singer loose, he knew that rhythm would always end up having its say. - The New Yorker

Joseph Rykwert, Architectural Historian Who Fought Bland Functionalism And Pushed For Good Urban Design, Is Dead At 93

"His books and his teaching changed the understanding of his discipline and helped to move the design and planning of cities and buildings away from the functionalist mindset that dominated postwar building." The concept of "placemaking" might not exist if not for his work. - The Guardian

How Quincy Jones Helped Redefine Pop Music In The 80s

The pairing of Jones, a noted composer, arranger and producer for jazz and R&B acts, and Jackson, the child star looking for a breakout sound, over three albums remains a career-defining arc that transformed pop music in the 1980s. - The New York Times

Can Kehinde Wiley’s Career Survive Abuse Allegations?

Wiley’s strategy for dealing with the allegations has been to publicly fight back. He hired Marathon Strategies, a crisis-PR and investigative firm that has been helping him highlight unflattering information about his accusers. - New York Magazine

Sarah Cunningham, Fast-Rising Artist Who Went Missing In London, Is Found Dead At 31

She was reported missing this past Saturday, and on Monday her body was found on the tracks of the London Underground. Police said her death "is not thought to be suspicious." - ARTnews

AJ Premium Classifieds

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, Australian National Academy of Music 

The Australian National Academy of Music provides artistic and professional development for the most exceptional young classical musicians from Australia and New Zealand.

Fall + Winter 2025 Applications Open for MS in Leadership for...

Northwestern University’s MS in Leadership for Creative Enterprises (MSLCE) program develops leaders across Entertainment, Media and the Arts. Earn your Master’s in One Year.

Executive Director – Maestra Music

The Executive Director will harness the energy and activities of a rapid movement that has grown exponentially since Maestra’s founding in 2019.

Executive Director – The Washington Ballet

The Executive Director of The Washington Ballet will work in a Co-CEO relationship with the Artistic Director, with both positions reporting to and working collaboratively with the Board of Directors.

General Director – Opera Colorado

Opera Colorado invites talented leaders possessing drive, ambition, energy, and a deep love of opera to present themselves as candidates for General Director.

Executive Director – Kansas City Repertory Theatre

Kansas City Repertory Theatre (KCRep) is excited to welcome an innovative, collaborative, and entrepreneurial minded professional to serve as the company’s next Executive Director.

AJClassifieds

Director of Development – Hudson Valley Shakespeare

They will be responsible for articulating, planning, and overseeing the implementation of a comprehensive development plan for all sources of contributed revenue.

Executive Director – Northwest Choirs Seattle

Northwest Choirs – home of the Northwest Boychoir and Vocalpoint Seattle – invites applications from passionate and entrepreneurial leaders to serve as its next Executive Director – Apply by Nov 15!

NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Visiting Arts Professor Dance, Contemporary Ballet

NYU Tisch Department of Dance seeks an experienced dance educator and dance practitioner with expertise in contemporary ballet technique with a strong anatomical and somatic approach to their practice.

Chief Development Officer, Lyric Opera of Kansas City

The Chief Development Officer, an accomplished strategic thinker who is focused on growth and who has comprehensive fundraising experience in major gifts, will act as Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s senior and leading development professional.

Payroll/HR Administrator, Mark Morris Dance

This position supports the entire organization, interacting regularly with all supervisors as well as all employees and independent contractors.

Worcester Chamber Music Society seeks new Executive Director

WCMS now seeks a new Executive Director to lead WCMS into its next stage of creative enterprise.

Patron Services Manager – Grand Teton Music Festival

The Grand Teton Music Festival (GTMF) unites over 250 celebrated orchestral musicians, led by Music Director Sir Donald Runnicles, each summer in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Stratford Festival seeks their next Artistic Director

“Stratford is by every measure – budget, employment, attendance, production – the largest repertory theater in North America, and likely the largest nonprofit theater, period.”

Director of Marketing and Communications – Hudson Valley Shakespeare

Hudson Valley Shakespeare (HVS) is in the midst of a transformational moment as an organization.

India Lifts Ban On Import Of Rushdie’s “Satanic Verses” — For A Surprising Reason

And that reason is bureaucracy at its finest. - The Guardian

Fair Trade: The Idea Behind Nepal’s Museum Of Stolen Art

Nepali conservationist Rabindra Puri has hired local stonecarvers and craftsmen to create and display replicas of dozens of items of sacred art that were looted from temples and other sites over the past 60-odd years. The idea: return the stolen original to us and we'll give you the replica. - BBC

When Classical Music Forgeries Pass As The Real Thing, What Does That Say About Us?

"Knowing that a work is by Haydn or Mozart allows us to see ‘inevitable’ connections. Take away the certainty of authorship, and it’s devilishly difficult to read the musical images within. … If someone can write pieces that can be mistaken for Haydn, what is so special about Haydn?" - The Guardian

New York Philharmonic Fires (Again) Two Players Accused of Sexual Assault

Following another investigation that looked into further allegations (besides the original accusations from 2010), principal oboe Liang Wang and associate principal trumpet Matthew Muckey have been terminated and banned from the premises. The musicians' union has decided not to contest their firing. - AP

The Trauma Of Being A Librarian On The Front Lines In The United States

Sure, there are the rancorous meetings where people accuse you of peddling porn, and the death threats. But there are also overdoses, physical attacks, and the daily challenges of dealing with people who need a lot more help than you could ever offer. - The New York Times

Cal Shakes Veterans Mourn, And Remember

"In my long career all over the country, I have never experienced a more comprehensively intelligent, generous and progressive audience. Where did that audience go? I suspect the answer to that question is not a short one.” - San Francisco Chronicle

Dueling Literary Letters Make Opposing Pledges About Israeli Cultural Institutions

One letter, signed by 2700 authors and entertainers, calls for a boycott of Israeli cultural institutions that are “complicit in violating Palestinian rights,” while another letter, signed by 1000 authors and entertainers, claims, “boycotts of creatives and creative institutions simply create more divisiveness.” - The New York Times

It Turns Out Free Pizza Was A Great Bribe For Reading

Or at least, that’s how Millennials remember the Book It! program, which is - shockingly - still going strong, 40 years in, with personal pan pizzas for kids in K-6th grade who read a certain number of books. - The New York Times

A Record Number Of Books Censored And Banned In Schools This Year

That’s a rise of 200 percent over 2023, which was already a huge year for organizations that rub their hands in glee as they try to stop kids from reading. - The New York Times

A Booker Shortlist Author On The Ways Language Fails

Anne Michaels, author of the spare, gorgeous Held says, "You can use brutal language to describe brutality, but that’s a lie; language can’t represent brutality. It’s exactly the same when I’m trying to get at the most beautiful, profoundly intense experience of intimacy.” - The Guardian (UK)

Revisiting Landmarks And Icons Of Mid-Century Modern Design

A package of articles considering some of the most important examples (including forgotten ones) of the style, from Eero Saarinen's Tulip table (the man detested table legs) to Isamu Noguchi's Akari lamps to the Eames Shell chair to Charlotte Perriand's modular shelving units to the city of Columbus, Indiana. - Dezeen

What Is It About A Work of Art That Gives A Person Genuine Chills? And Why Does That Seem To Happen So Rarely With...

A two-part essay by Ben Davis in which he considers (Part One) what exactly it is about a work that can give someone the physical response he calls "aesthetic chills" and (Part Two) why visual art doesn't seem to induce those chills as often as other art forms do. - Artnet
function my_excerpt_length($length){ return 200; } add_filter('excerpt_length', 'my_excerpt_length');