Yearly Archives: 2023
Why On Earth Do So Many U.S. Prisons Ban Fantasy And Sci-Fi Lit?
"Is the banning of fantastical literature in prisons just carceral paranoia — or is it indicative of a larger cultural attitude that simultaneously denigrates...
James Gaffigan On The Need For A Different Programming Philosophy For Orchestras
I think the future is versatility—a mixtape. I really believe that if a piece is put next to the right piece, even if it’s Schubert and...
When A Small, Underfunded Theater Company’s Show Misfires, Should A Critic Review It Honestly?...
"A year and a half ago, when I wrote a critical review of a show by (a) small company, a theater colleague asked me...
The Typewriters Of Legendary Authors, Now Up For Sale
"After 20 years of assembling what may be the greatest typewriter collection in the world," — owned by the likes of Ernest Hemingway, Maya...
Finding Ways For Researchers To Combine Science And Arts
"It’s not art-at-the-service-of-science. … It’s a collaboration of the two that can generate a vision for the future, to explain complex information, both theoretical...
Vera Molnár, A Pioneer Of Computer Art, Is Dead At 99
"Long before many others did so, Molnár embraced computers, which she used to create spare, minimalist drawings that were made according to sets of...
Yahoo Makes Major Job Cuts For The Second Time This Year
"Layoffs affected a number of verticals including the website’s 'Originals' teams, with affected staffers told of their status in a meeting with their manager...
Artforum, Noticeably Slimmer, Tries To Regroup After The Israel-Hamas Letter And The Top Editor’s...
"A skeleton crew of editors needed to take a hacksaw through the December issue of Artforum magazine. There were only a few weeks between...
Despite The Backlash, “Oppenheimer” Will Be Released In Japan
"The choice to have the film address, but not explicitly depict, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the U.S. — which killed tens...
The Top 25 Most-Viewed Wikipedia Articles of 2023
Celebrity deaths were top of mind, as they are most years on Wikipedia. The list of notable deaths was the second most viewed page....
Why Community Is More Important Than Ever
Being alone is bad for you—and it’s not all about close family and friends. “Talking to strangers,” says Robert Waldinger, who leads the longest-running...
Worry That Funding For The BBC Threatens Political Independence
There is concern that the settlement announced by culture secretary Frazer kicks the door open to annual funding deals, potentially leaving the BBC more...
How Drag Queens Are Fighting Performance Bans In Texas
Earlier this year, Brigitte Bandit became one of five plaintiffs in a lawsuit that challenged Texas Senate Bill 12, which criminalized some drag performances...
What Shall We Call The Age In Which We’re Living?
During the past weeks, I’ve been casting about to see what ideas are already out there. Suggestions I’ve found include the Terrible Twenties, the...
Defining Modern For A Post-Modern World
“Modern” is certainly a fluid term, and to flatly state that any one era permanently defines the term is, I suppose, arrogant. But Paris...
Cleveland Play House Hires A New Artistic Director
"Michael Barakiva … is an Armenian-Israeli American director and writer whose work has been seen at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Syracuse Stage and the...
Monet, Art Brands And Money
The art market is international and barely regulated; its products are easily transportable, squirrelled away in freeports or swiftly turned into cash. Grifters, fakers...
What U.S. Ballet Companies Go Through To Get And Maintain Visas For Foreign Dancers
There are two main types of visas for this purpose, but obtaining either is a complicated, time-consuming, expensive process. Here's a look at how...
In The Age Of AI, New Articles Will Disappear
The articles journalists write will become source material to be remixed and delivered in hyper-personalized presentations. (One easy example is that most people likely...
The Carnage In The Podcasting Industry Isn’t As Bad As It Looks
"This constant stream of layoffs and show cancellations — not just at Spotify, but at other prominent shops across the industry — has made...
A Greatly Diminished ArtForum Magazine Hits Newsstands After Boycott
At least six members of the editorial team resigned and nearly 600 writers signed letters boycotting the magazine and its sister publications like ARTnews and Art in America. -...
The Movie Biz Seems Surprisingly Interested In Classical Music Lately
In roughly two years, there've been Tár, Maestro, Chevalier (a biopic of Black composer Joseph Bologne), the documentary American Symphony, and upcoming Callas biopic...
A New Harlem Renaissance
Even with a general climate of crisis in the theatre industry at large, Harlem organizations are expanding in both literal and metaphorical ways: embarking...
DeSantis’s Handpicked Board To Govern Disney World Accuses Its (Disney-Approved) Predecessors Of “Corporate Cronyism”
The current board — installed following Disney's public criticism of DeSantis's "don't say gay" law — described the previous one as "the most egregious...
The $15,000 Rembrandt That Just Sold For $14 Million
When Christie's auctioned off Adoration of the Kings (1628) in Amsterdam two years ago, the house attributed it to "the circle of Rembrandt" and...
