AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- Good Morning
This week’s AJ stories highlight a cultural sector defined by radical divergence: between financial collapse and encouraging growth, between the “slop” of automation and the organized resistance of human creators.
Economically, the narrative of “arts in crisis” is proving dangerously uneven. The depths of the Metropolitan Opera‘s financial crisis is bracing. The company announced drastic cuts and is considering selling its prized Chagall murals to plug a $55 million hole (ARTnews). Having plundered its endowment for several years, the giant cruise ship of American arts is rapidly taking on water. Texas opera seems to be bucking the trends: the Dallas Opera announced a record $54.5 million campaign (Dallas Morning News), and Houston Grand Opera is riding a wave of critical and industrial success (San Francisco Classical Voice). Is there a lesson? Probably not. But the contrast is stark.
Technologically, “AI fatigue” has transformed into active rebellion. This week saw big pushback to the machines: San Diego Comic Con banned AI art (Artnet), 800 artists signed a “Stealing Isn’t Innovation” pledge (The Verge), and scientists warned that research journals are being clogged with “AI slop” (The Atlantic). The case? Machines can generate, but we don’t have to accept it. And as tests proved this week, AI still “sucks at dancing” (CalMatters). So there.
Finally, we are seeing a “Great Decoupling” of institutions from their traditional political and structural homes. The Washington National Opera is divorcing the Kennedy Center (Washingtonian), Hollywood is abandoning its “progressive sincerity” (The New York Times), and Netflix is reportedly dumbing down dialogue because viewers can no longer pay attention to complex plots (Variety). Maybe there’s no connection between these stories, but they do fit a larger trend of institutional breakdown and adaption to new realities.
All our stories from the week are below.
- AJ Chronicles: This Week in the Great Culture Shift
This week, ArtsJournal looked at thousands of stories and collected 118 stories across culture. This is one person’s attempt to make sense of them. - Carlos Simon shares the ethos behind his composing process
Carlos Simon, Composer-in-Residence of the Kennedy Center, shares the ethos behind his composing process that impacts communities.
- Still in Memory: Carl Weissner, So Rudely Interrupted
<a href="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/2026/01/still-in-memory-carl-weissner-so-rudely-interrupted.html" title="Still in Memory: Carl Weissner, So Rudely Interrupted” rel=”nofollow”><img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1-carl-copyrighthedelberger-literaturtagen-206-copy-thumb-280×152-21233-150×150.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" link_thumbnail="1" decoding="async" srcset="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1-carl-copyrighthedelberger-literaturtagen-206-copy-thumb-280×152-21233-150×150.jpg 150w, https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1-carl-copyrighthedelberger-literaturtagen-206-copy-thumb-280×152-21233-70×70.jpg 70w, https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1-carl-copyrighthedelberger-literaturtagen-206-copy-thumb-280×152-21233-110×110.jpg 110w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" data-attachment-id="2099" data-permalink="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/2012/01/carl-weissner-in-memoriam.html/1-carl-copyrighthedelberger-literaturtagen-206-copy-thumb-280×152-21233" data-orig-file="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1-carl-copyrighthedelberger-literaturtagen-206-copy-thumb-280×152-21233.jpg" data-orig-size="280,152" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":""}' data-image-title="1-carl-copyrighthedelberger literaturtagen 206 copy-thumb-280×152-21233" data-image-description="Carl Weissner (1940-2012) died on Jan. 24, in Mannheim, Germany.
” data-image-caption=”Carl Weissner (1940-2012) died on Jan. 24, in Mannheim, Germany.
” data-medium-file=”https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1-carl-copyrighthedelberger-literaturtagen-206-copy-thumb-280×152-21233.jpg” data-large-file=”https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1-carl-copyrighthedelberger-literaturtagen-206-copy-thumb-280×152-21233.jpg”>Tonight marks the 14th anniversary of Carl Weissner’s departure. He left us unexpectedly in the late hours of Jan. 23, 2012 or in the hours before dawn on Jan. 24. His absence has not diminished among his friends, though the date of his death has grown more distant. - Restoring “America’s Notre-Dame” — Which Is In, Of All Places, Kentucky
The Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington (across the Ohio River from Cincinnati) is a scaled-down copy of Notre-Dame de Paris on the outside, while the interior is modeled on the French cathedral in St.-Denis. It’s a product of America’s turn-of-the-20th-century Gothic Revival, getting its first restoration in its 125 years. – AP
ISSUES
- Restoring “America’s Notre-Dame” — Which Is In, Of All Places, Kentucky
The Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington (across the Ohio River from Cincinnati) is a scaled-down copy of Notre-Dame de Paris on the outside, while the interior is modeled on the French cathedral in St.-Denis. It’s a product of America’s turn-of-the-20th-century Gothic Revival, getting its first restoration in its 125 years. – AP
- Comic Con Bans AI Art
“Material created by Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) either partially or wholly, is not allowed in the art show. If there are questions, the Art Show coordinator will be the sole judge of acceptability.” – Artnet
- Curator Resigns After Nan Goldin Acquisition Voted Down
A senior curator and two collections committee volunteers have resigned their posts at the Art Gallery of Ontario after the institution voted against acquiring a new slideshow work by the artist Nan Goldin. The purchase was defeated after several members expressed concern about Goldin’s remarks denouncing Israel’s attacks on Gaza as genocide. – Artnet
- The Remarkable Art In A Building The Federal Government Has Marked For Sale
What would happen to the murals is an open question, as removing them may prove difficult. Advocates for the building fear that without protections put in place ahead of a sale, the buyer would have no incentive to maintain the historical features inside. – Washington Post
- The Real Battle For The Smithsonian
Americans argue about the Smithsonian far more than we would if only its possessions mattered. When our museums of record tell us a story, that story matters enormously. – The Atlantic
MEDIA
- Minneapolis Arts Organizations Join General Strike Today
“We’re pausing operations to recognise the weight of this moment in our community and to care for our employees and people in the Twin Cities community.” – The Art Newspaper
- Should Struggling Artists And Performers Get Preference In New York City’s Affordable Housing Programs?
After all, large numbers of creatives have been fleeing the city, driven away mostly by the high cost of apartments. But would such a preference be fair to other struggling New Yorkers? – Gothamist
- Chaos At One Of San Francisco’s Beloved Indie Performance Venues
“CounterPulse … is in crisis caused by financial strain, leadership collapse and a bitter labor conflict. With just one show on its calendar for all of 2026 and no one at the helm, its predicament raises questions about sustainability, power and labor in small arts organizations.” – San Francisco Chronicle (Yahoo!)
- Hundreds Of Artists Warn About AI Slop
Around 800 artists, writers, actors, and musicians signed on to a new campaign against what they call “theft at a grand scale” by AI companies. The signatories call the campaign “Stealing Isn’t Innovation.” – The Verge
- Trump Administration Just Won’t Let Its Court Fight Against Institute Of Museums And Library Services Go
“Although the IMLS restored discretionary grant funding in December and just last week reopened to grant proposals for FY 2026 — in compliance with a November court order — defendants in State of Rhode Island v. Trump have filed a notice of appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.” – Publishers Weekly
MUSIC
- Author Declares Culture Dead, Publishers Still Printing Books
W. David Marx diagnoses 25 years of creative stagnation in a new cultural history. Presumably the irony of launching a fresh cultural critique about the death of cultural innovation isn’t lost on anyone involved. — Artnet
- The Heart Of Small-Market Weekly Newspapers? The Obituaries
“It has long been recognized that newspaper obituaries hold value for communities, documenting lives and preserving local history. Their significance is rarely debated. Their value to the business of news and in sustaining local newsrooms is far less understood.” – Reynolds Journalism Institute
- Amazon’s AI Authors Lack What Writers Need Most: Attitude
Machine-generated novels and coloring books are flooding the marketplace, but they’re missing literature’s secret ingredient—artistic ego. Turns out readers might actually miss all that human neurosis and creative self-importance after all. — LitHub
- Science Peer Review Journals Are Being Swamped By AI Slop
For more than a century, scientific journals have been the pipes through which knowledge of the natural world flows into our culture. Now they’re being clogged with AI slop. – The Atlantic
- Unique, “Priceless” Medieval Manuscript Discovered In English School Library
The book is the only surviving complete original manuscript of Richard Rolle’s Emendatio vitae, written circa 1340. – BBC (MSN)
PEOPLE
- Good Morning
This week’s AJ stories highlight a cultural sector defined by radical divergence: between financial collapse and encouraging growth, between the “slop” of automation and the organized resistance of human creators.
Economically, the narrative of “arts in crisis” is proving dangerously uneven. The depths of the Metropolitan Opera‘s financial crisis is bracing. The company announced drastic cuts and is considering selling its prized Chagall murals to plug a $55 million hole (ARTnews). Having plundered its endowment for several years, the giant cruise ship of American arts is rapidly taking on water. Texas opera seems to be bucking the trends: the Dallas Opera announced a record $54.5 million campaign (Dallas Morning News), and Houston Grand Opera is riding a wave of critical and industrial success (San Francisco Classical Voice). Is there a lesson? Probably not. But the contrast is stark.
Technologically, “AI fatigue” has transformed into active rebellion. This week saw big pushback to the machines: San Diego Comic Con banned AI art (Artnet), 800 artists signed a “Stealing Isn’t Innovation” pledge (The Verge), and scientists warned that research journals are being clogged with “AI slop” (The Atlantic). The case? Machines can generate, but we don’t have to accept it. And as tests proved this week, AI still “sucks at dancing” (CalMatters). So there.
Finally, we are seeing a “Great Decoupling” of institutions from their traditional political and structural homes. The Washington National Opera is divorcing the Kennedy Center (Washingtonian), Hollywood is abandoning its “progressive sincerity” (The New York Times), and Netflix is reportedly dumbing down dialogue because viewers can no longer pay attention to complex plots (Variety). Maybe there’s no connection between these stories, but they do fit a larger trend of institutional breakdown and adaption to new realities.
All our stories from the week are below.
- AJ Chronicles: This Week in the Great Culture ShiftThis week, ArtsJournal looked at thousands of stories and collected 118 stories across culture. This is one person’s attempt to make sense of them.
- Carlos Simon shares the ethos behind his composing process
Carlos Simon, Composer-in-Residence of the Kennedy Center, shares the ethos behind his composing process that impacts communities.
- Still in Memory: Carl Weissner, So Rudely Interrupted<a href="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/2026/01/still-in-memory-carl-weissner-so-rudely-interrupted.html" title="Still in Memory: Carl Weissner, So Rudely Interrupted” rel=”nofollow”><img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1-carl-copyrighthedelberger-literaturtagen-206-copy-thumb-280×152-21233-150×150.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" link_thumbnail="1" decoding="async" srcset="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1-carl-copyrighthedelberger-literaturtagen-206-copy-thumb-280×152-21233-150×150.jpg 150w, https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1-carl-copyrighthedelberger-literaturtagen-206-copy-thumb-280×152-21233-70×70.jpg 70w, https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1-carl-copyrighthedelberger-literaturtagen-206-copy-thumb-280×152-21233-110×110.jpg 110w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" data-attachment-id="2099" data-permalink="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/2012/01/carl-weissner-in-memoriam.html/1-carl-copyrighthedelberger-literaturtagen-206-copy-thumb-280×152-21233" data-orig-file="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1-carl-copyrighthedelberger-literaturtagen-206-copy-thumb-280×152-21233.jpg" data-orig-size="280,152" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":""}' data-image-title="1-carl-copyrighthedelberger literaturtagen 206 copy-thumb-280×152-21233" data-image-description="
Carl Weissner (1940-2012) died on Jan. 24, in Mannheim, Germany.
” data-image-caption=”Carl Weissner (1940-2012) died on Jan. 24, in Mannheim, Germany.
” data-medium-file=”https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1-carl-copyrighthedelberger-literaturtagen-206-copy-thumb-280×152-21233.jpg” data-large-file=”https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1-carl-copyrighthedelberger-literaturtagen-206-copy-thumb-280×152-21233.jpg”>Tonight marks the 14th anniversary of Carl Weissner’s departure. He left us unexpectedly in the late hours of Jan. 23, 2012 or in the hours before dawn on Jan. 24. His absence has not diminished among his friends, though the date of his death has grown more distant. - Restoring “America’s Notre-Dame” — Which Is In, Of All Places, Kentucky
The Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington (across the Ohio River from Cincinnati) is a scaled-down copy of Notre-Dame de Paris on the outside, while the interior is modeled on the French cathedral in St.-Denis. It’s a product of America’s turn-of-the-20th-century Gothic Revival, getting its first restoration in its 125 years. – AP
PEOPLE
- Good Morning
This week’s AJ stories highlight a cultural sector defined by radical divergence: between financial collapse and encouraging growth, between the “slop” of automation and the organized resistance of human creators.
Economically, the narrative of “arts in crisis” is proving dangerously uneven. The depths of the Metropolitan Opera‘s financial crisis is bracing. The company announced drastic cuts and is considering selling its prized Chagall murals to plug a $55 million hole (ARTnews). Having plundered its endowment for several years, the giant cruise ship of American arts is rapidly taking on water. Texas opera seems to be bucking the trends: the Dallas Opera announced a record $54.5 million campaign (Dallas Morning News), and Houston Grand Opera is riding a wave of critical and industrial success (San Francisco Classical Voice). Is there a lesson? Probably not. But the contrast is stark.
Technologically, “AI fatigue” has transformed into active rebellion. This week saw big pushback to the machines: San Diego Comic Con banned AI art (Artnet), 800 artists signed a “Stealing Isn’t Innovation” pledge (The Verge), and scientists warned that research journals are being clogged with “AI slop” (The Atlantic). The case? Machines can generate, but we don’t have to accept it. And as tests proved this week, AI still “sucks at dancing” (CalMatters). So there.
Finally, we are seeing a “Great Decoupling” of institutions from their traditional political and structural homes. The Washington National Opera is divorcing the Kennedy Center (Washingtonian), Hollywood is abandoning its “progressive sincerity” (The New York Times), and Netflix is reportedly dumbing down dialogue because viewers can no longer pay attention to complex plots (Variety). Maybe there’s no connection between these stories, but they do fit a larger trend of institutional breakdown and adaption to new realities.
All our stories from the week are below.
- AJ Chronicles: This Week in the Great Culture ShiftThis week, ArtsJournal looked at thousands of stories and collected 118 stories across culture. This is one person’s attempt to make sense of them.
- Carlos Simon shares the ethos behind his composing process
Carlos Simon, Composer-in-Residence of the Kennedy Center, shares the ethos behind his composing process that impacts communities.
- Still in Memory: Carl Weissner, So Rudely Interrupted<a href="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/2026/01/still-in-memory-carl-weissner-so-rudely-interrupted.html" title="Still in Memory: Carl Weissner, So Rudely Interrupted” rel=”nofollow”><img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1-carl-copyrighthedelberger-literaturtagen-206-copy-thumb-280×152-21233-150×150.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" link_thumbnail="1" decoding="async" srcset="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1-carl-copyrighthedelberger-literaturtagen-206-copy-thumb-280×152-21233-150×150.jpg 150w, https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1-carl-copyrighthedelberger-literaturtagen-206-copy-thumb-280×152-21233-70×70.jpg 70w, https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1-carl-copyrighthedelberger-literaturtagen-206-copy-thumb-280×152-21233-110×110.jpg 110w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" data-attachment-id="2099" data-permalink="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/2012/01/carl-weissner-in-memoriam.html/1-carl-copyrighthedelberger-literaturtagen-206-copy-thumb-280×152-21233" data-orig-file="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1-carl-copyrighthedelberger-literaturtagen-206-copy-thumb-280×152-21233.jpg" data-orig-size="280,152" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":""}' data-image-title="1-carl-copyrighthedelberger literaturtagen 206 copy-thumb-280×152-21233" data-image-description="
Carl Weissner (1940-2012) died on Jan. 24, in Mannheim, Germany.
” data-image-caption=”Carl Weissner (1940-2012) died on Jan. 24, in Mannheim, Germany.
” data-medium-file=”https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1-carl-copyrighthedelberger-literaturtagen-206-copy-thumb-280×152-21233.jpg” data-large-file=”https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1-carl-copyrighthedelberger-literaturtagen-206-copy-thumb-280×152-21233.jpg”>Tonight marks the 14th anniversary of Carl Weissner’s departure. He left us unexpectedly in the late hours of Jan. 23, 2012 or in the hours before dawn on Jan. 24. His absence has not diminished among his friends, though the date of his death has grown more distant. - Restoring “America’s Notre-Dame” — Which Is In, Of All Places, Kentucky
The Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington (across the Ohio River from Cincinnati) is a scaled-down copy of Notre-Dame de Paris on the outside, while the interior is modeled on the French cathedral in St.-Denis. It’s a product of America’s turn-of-the-20th-century Gothic Revival, getting its first restoration in its 125 years. – AP
THEATRE
VISUAL
- AI Art’s Predictable Problem: The Cliché Machine Cranks On
As algorithms churn out endless variations on tired themes, human artists are discovering their secret weapon isn’t perfection—it’s the beautiful, messy unpredictability that no code can replicate. — Aeon
- Justice System Meets Its Deepfake Moment
When seeing is no longer believing, Canadian courts face an existential crisis: how do you prove what’s real when reality itself can be manufactured? The legal system’s analog truth tests meet digital deception. — The Walrus
- Why Movies Launch And Music Drops
A key reason why it’s now more complicated to promote an album than, say, a theatrically released film, is the ephemeral, immaterial nature of contemporary music consumption. By comparison, most films that see a theatrical release maintain a predictable, streamlined promotional schedule. – The New Yorker
- How We Lost The Art Of Paying Attention
Most of us are by now familiar with the broad mechanisms of the “attention economy” – the hijacking and monetising of consumer attention through addictive channels. The ravages of this system are ever more apparent. – The Observer
- The Death Of The 20th Century Mono-Culture (And What It Means)
The implications for the battered-and-bruised entertainment industry are obvious. The impacts on our culture are just starting to fully materialize, but will be more significant. Instead of pulling us together, pop culture is another force dragging us apart. – The Wall Street Journal
