AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- Is It Possible To Have A Great Series Finale?
Here are eight that did it right — landed that unwieldy plane, circled back, etc. — did whatever they needed to do to wrap things up well. – The Atlantic
- Our Brains In Pop Music Concerts
A Nick Jonas concert “reminded me of an obscure phrase coined by a 19th-century sociologist – Émile Durkheim’s ‘collective effervescence.’ … Individuals who are normally preoccupied with their personal concerns get swept up into a kind of electric, communal intensity.” – The Guardian (UK)
- Mary Heilmann, Who Poked Fun At Her Minimalist Colleagues With ‘Wobbly’ Lines, Has Died At 86
Heilmann, emblematic of women artists of her generation, “was in her 60s when she belatedly achieved wide acclaim for her ebulliently colored, loose-limbed, often lopsided abstract paintings.” – The New York Times
- What It’s Like To Be The Bookstore/Skate Shop Right By A Huge Influencer’s Acreage
“Turns out the people can’t get enough fly-fishing guides from 1973.” – The Paris Review
- The Salzburg Festival Marches Forward Without An Artistic Director
Soprano Asmik Gregorian: “This feels very strange and empty. … It was planned by Markus Hinterhäuser, and we are all here because of him. It feels a bit like a boat without a captain.” – The New York Times
ISSUES
- Massive Art Thefts, Massive Recoveries This Week In Italy And Brazil
“The recovered works are Cézanne’s Still Life with Cherries, which authorities said was valued at about $7m (£5.2m), Renoir’s Fish, valued at $3.5m, and Matisse’s Odalisque on the Terrace.” – The Guardian (UK)
- Celebrating “Other” Washingtons
In Chicago, a lone statue of George Washington is now surrounded by “Other Washingtons,” which take the form of blue flags bearing the faces of Black Americans who bear the same last name. – CNN
- History Is Being Erased In Gaza, Iran And Ukraine
Of international bodies, Unesco is active in keeping a record of the fate of cultural heritage worldwide, but a record is just a record. Its listing of Russia’s and Israel’s devastation of their hated foes is like watching a historic tragedy unfold in real time. – The Guardian
- Eight Matisses Stolen From São Paulo Library Are Found By Brazilian Police
The Matisse illustrations, made for a limited-edition art book, were taken last December from the Biblioteca Mário de Andrade, where they were part of an exhibition presented jointly with the São Paulo Museum of Modern Art. Also stolen were five engravings by Brazilian artist Candido Portinari; they have not yet been located. – BBC
- Italian Police Recover Cézanne, Matisse, And Renoir Stolen From Private Museum
The Carabinieri have regained possession of Renoir’s “Fish,” Cézanne’s “Still Life with Cherries,” and Matisse’s “Odalisque on the Terrace,” which were stolen from the Magnani Rocca Foundation near Parma this past March. – AP
MEDIA
- Nick Reiner, Accused Of Killing His Parents, Wants To Access His Trust Fund To Pay His Lawyers
But the so-called “Slayer Statute” prevents the youngest child of Michelle Singer Reiner and Rob Reiner from doing that. – The New York Times
- Visiting The Bullshit Museum In Slovenia’s Capital
“In the heart of old Ljubljana, a mannequin with a bucket on its head welcomes visitors to a new and ambitious project – a museum focusing on the varied and sometimes antagonistic humour of the former Yugoslavia.” – The Guardian
- Making A Pilgrimage To The Now-Thoroughly Commercialized Mecca
“There are few words to describe the whiplash of coming face to face with a Joe & The Juice, a Sephora and a plethora of other shops and hotels and Times Square-style billboards after going through one of the most spiritually charged experiences of my life.” – Aeon
- Former UArts Building To Become Artist Housing In Philly
The news comes after the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation awarded the VIA a $2.5 million grant for the building project and the establishment of on-site arts programming. – Hyperallergic
- UK Universities Warn Of Funding Crisis Amid Collapse Of International Enrollment
University leaders are warning of financial turmoil in British higher education after new figures suggested a collapse in international student numbers would deprive the sector of vital income and undermine its future. – The Guardian
MUSIC
- What It’s Like To Be The Bookstore/Skate Shop Right By A Huge Influencer’s Acreage
“Turns out the people can’t get enough fly-fishing guides from 1973.” – The Paris Review
- This Irish Thriller Writer Dominates The NYT’s Best Thrillers List
“Among the experts (291 editors, booksellers, librarians, book lovers and crime authors), four of French’s books made it to a list of the 50 best thrillers of the 21st century” – more than any other writer’s books. – Irish Times
- Publishers Face Increasing Pressure Over AI
“Until AI, there has been the expectation that no matter what is written in a book, It [was] authored by a person, or people. There needs to be new terms in the social contract between reader and writer.” – Christian Science Monitor
- Has Our Literacy Crisis Been Overblown?
Yes, Americans read less than they did forty years ago—not surprising, considering how many other forms of entertainment and information are competing for our time and attention. But does this spell decline or diversification? – The Bulwark
- A Return To Handwriting Letters
Like so many of us, I stopped writing letters as I spent more time online. But in the past few years, I’ve begun to see handwritten letters anew, as a form of resistance against the doom and disconnection of our digital lives. – Psyche
PEOPLE
- Is It Possible To Have A Great Series Finale?
Here are eight that did it right — landed that unwieldy plane, circled back, etc. — did whatever they needed to do to wrap things up well. – The Atlantic
- Our Brains In Pop Music Concerts
A Nick Jonas concert “reminded me of an obscure phrase coined by a 19th-century sociologist – Émile Durkheim’s ‘collective effervescence.’ … Individuals who are normally preoccupied with their personal concerns get swept up into a kind of electric, communal intensity.” – The Guardian (UK)
- Mary Heilmann, Who Poked Fun At Her Minimalist Colleagues With ‘Wobbly’ Lines, Has Died At 86
Heilmann, emblematic of women artists of her generation, “was in her 60s when she belatedly achieved wide acclaim for her ebulliently colored, loose-limbed, often lopsided abstract paintings.” – The New York Times
- What It’s Like To Be The Bookstore/Skate Shop Right By A Huge Influencer’s Acreage
“Turns out the people can’t get enough fly-fishing guides from 1973.” – The Paris Review
- The Salzburg Festival Marches Forward Without An Artistic Director
Soprano Asmik Gregorian: “This feels very strange and empty. … It was planned by Markus Hinterhäuser, and we are all here because of him. It feels a bit like a boat without a captain.” – The New York Times
PEOPLE
- Is It Possible To Have A Great Series Finale?
Here are eight that did it right — landed that unwieldy plane, circled back, etc. — did whatever they needed to do to wrap things up well. – The Atlantic
- Our Brains In Pop Music Concerts
A Nick Jonas concert “reminded me of an obscure phrase coined by a 19th-century sociologist – Émile Durkheim’s ‘collective effervescence.’ … Individuals who are normally preoccupied with their personal concerns get swept up into a kind of electric, communal intensity.” – The Guardian (UK)
- Mary Heilmann, Who Poked Fun At Her Minimalist Colleagues With ‘Wobbly’ Lines, Has Died At 86
Heilmann, emblematic of women artists of her generation, “was in her 60s when she belatedly achieved wide acclaim for her ebulliently colored, loose-limbed, often lopsided abstract paintings.” – The New York Times
- What It’s Like To Be The Bookstore/Skate Shop Right By A Huge Influencer’s Acreage
“Turns out the people can’t get enough fly-fishing guides from 1973.” – The Paris Review
- The Salzburg Festival Marches Forward Without An Artistic Director
Soprano Asmik Gregorian: “This feels very strange and empty. … It was planned by Markus Hinterhäuser, and we are all here because of him. It feels a bit like a boat without a captain.” – The New York Times
THEATRE
VISUAL
- The Neuroscience Explanation For Why We Need Concerts
For “collective effervescence” to occur organically, bodies need to be present, in the same space, dancing to the same rhythm. The function is to restore the social bonds and shared beliefs that are eroded by the drudgery of ordinary life. – The Guardian
- An Attempt To Build India’s “Most Livable” City
More than 25,000 people are working at the site on any given day, building a design by Norman Foster, the celebrated British architect. The city is laid out in grids and includes about a five-mile stretch of government buildings. – The New York Times
- Are We Close To Locating Where Consciousness Lives In The Brain?
Most discussions of AI and consciousness ask whether machines can experience anything. But maybe the real mystery is: If consciousness is not fundamentally related to higher cognition, then what kind of phenomenon is it? – Noema
- Do We Lose Our Minds In Big Crowds?
In popular culture and pop psychology, crowds are often associated with strong emotions, excessive emotional expression and the uncritical spread of emotions. Commentators often link that crowd emotion in turn with uncontrolled behaviour and, in some cases, mindless violence. – Psyche
- Unlocking The Mysteries Of Hegel
In both its depth and breadth, Hegel’s philosophy is perhaps rivalled only by that of Aristotle. – Psyche