AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- Mamdani’s 70,000 Free Seats At The Met
Good Morning,
Beginning this month, the Metropolitan Opera will give away 10,000 tickets a month — about one in ten seats for the season — to New Yorkers who haven’t set foot inside since 2019, under Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s new “Opera for All” partnership. He tied it to Fiorello La Guardia’s 1943 “People’s Opera,” which sold seats for 75 cents (The New York Times).
Mark Swed filed his last column as the Los Angeles Times‘ classical critic after 50 years and 121 seasons, closing with a trip to a church organ in Halberstadt, Germany, that has sustained a single John Cage chord since 2001 and won’t finish until 2640 (Los Angeles Times). Steve Reich, the minimalist composer turning 90 on October 3, offered a blunter standard: “Good music is good music, and most music is not!” — his test is whether it can play next to Charlie Parker or Bach and sound worthwhile (The Guardian).
Cleveland Orchestra players struck at 12:01 a.m. Friday, saying their pay trails the other “Big Five” orchestras and that management withheld a healthcare-cost breakdown until a day before talks broke down (Ideastream Public Media). In Kentucky, rare-book dealer Brandon DiSabatino has spent two months fielding bulk orders from Blue Angel, a company that calls itself an industrial supplier, for obscure titles — including a scarce self-published book by the conceptual artist Chris Burden. When he called to ask why, a rep named “Crystal” giggled and said the call was breaking up (Mother Jones).
All our stories below.
- Catching Up With Art Dealer Inigo Philbrick, Now That He’s Out Of Prison
“I’ve done my time, and all that I ask is that people give me the benefit of the doubt. I may not be given a second chance — but at least recognize that I’ve suffered a lot from what happened.” – Artnet
- Survey: How Libraries Are Using AI
Respondents were most likely to use AI for enhancing staff productivity (57.7%), supporting student learning (55.8%), and improving content discovery (53.3%). They were less likely to use AI tools for digital preservation (21.3%) or collection management (27.5%). – Publishers Weekly
- Atlanta Ballet Cuts Way Back On Its Orchestra, And Musicians Picket
Members of the pit orchestra protested outside the theater last weekend at performances of the company’s season-opening program, which was danced to recorded music. Atlanta Ballet management says it can afford a live orchestra this season only for its stagings of The Nutcracker and Swan Lake. – ArtsATL
- A Convicted Prolific Publishing Scammer Seems To Be Back In Business
Over more than five years, Bernardini created some 160 fraudulent internet domains, prosecutors argued, and impersonated hundreds of publishing professionals to obtain more than a thousand unpublished manuscripts. – The New York Times
ISSUES
- Correcting The Record On Lee Krasner
Krasner and Pollock were, in mid-20th-century New York, at the heart of the artistic movement that would become Abstract Expressionism. At that time, the only label more detrimental to a talented artist’s career than “woman” was the handle “wife.” – The New York Times
- At Long Last, MOCA In L.A. Has Its New Director
“After almost two decades of high leadership turnover and a more than year-long search, the Museum of Contemporary Art has appointed Jonathan Abbott as its new director and chief executive.” He comes from Boston’s PBS affiliate, GBH, where he was CEO for 15 years. – Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
- Lucas Museum Architects And The Building Of Fantasies
MAD Architects is a team that has completed major cultural and residential projects in 16 countries and counting. Their signature is hard-to-believe designs that do all of the shouting — etched towers churning like hula-hooping women; a museum honed like an ancient stone; an opera house resembling a mountain, bursting from the ground. – The New York Times
- Former Microsoft CEO Repairs Damaged Calder Mobile In U.S. Senate Building
When Kim and Jon Shirley visited Alexander Calder’s Mountains and Clouds (1976/1986) in the atrium of the Hart Senate Office Building, the stabile portion of the sculpture (the mountains) was there, but the mobile part (clouds) had been removed due to structural damage. Ten years and $10 million later, the clouds are back. – ARTnews
- The African American History and Culture Museum, Ten Years On
The decades-long effort got its final push with the bipartisan efforts of Congressman John Lewis of Georgia, a stalwart of the civil rights movement, and Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas; the bill establishing the museum was signed by President George W. Bush in 2003. – The Smithsonian
MEDIA
- In Colombia, Arts Workers Of All Sorts March To Protest Cuts To Culture Budget
“Hundreds of artists, students and cultural workers gathered outside of (the) Ministry of Culture in Bogotá on Monday, protesting a proposed 30% cut to the cultural budget in 2027 and a suspension of national arts awards.” – The Art Newspaper
- Australia’s Performing Arts Sector Is In Crisis
Too many of our finest performers and musicians feel compelled to leave Australia. Productions, concert seasons and festivals are being cancelled or scaled back. – ArtsHub
- White House Officials Search For Easier DC Landmarks To Put Trump’s Name On (But Not Ford’s Theatre)
What with the ongoing battle over the Kennedy Center, Trump administration staffers are reportedly trying to find other spots to which his name could be added without legal wrangling. An MS NOW report said that among the places aides considered was the site of Lincoln’s assassination, a suggestion Trump himself angrily denies. – AlterNet
- Kennedy Center Officials Extend Closure For Another Week, Citing Safety Issues
“Executive Director Matt Floca cited recent studies of roofing damage he says could harm pedestrians in a status report filed Wednesday evening. … Floca has said the current shutdown is separate from the board’s decision” to close indefinitely, which requires the court’s approval, “and was prompted by immediate safety concerns.” – The Washington Post (MSN)
- Higher Ed’s AI-Detection Struggle
Four years into the ChatGPT era, colleges may be further from solving AI cheating than they were when it launched. – The Atlantic
MUSIC
- Survey: How Libraries Are Using AI
Respondents were most likely to use AI for enhancing staff productivity (57.7%), supporting student learning (55.8%), and improving content discovery (53.3%). They were less likely to use AI tools for digital preservation (21.3%) or collection management (27.5%). – Publishers Weekly
- A Convicted Prolific Publishing Scammer Seems To Be Back In Business
Over more than five years, Bernardini created some 160 fraudulent internet domains, prosecutors argued, and impersonated hundreds of publishing professionals to obtain more than a thousand unpublished manuscripts. – The New York Times
- Wikipedia Is 25 Years Old
In 25 years Wikipedia has transformed from a new and provocative innovation to a stalwart of the internet age. That journey reflects persistent anxieties about credibility, expertise, and user-generated content that have continually haunted our relationship with the online. – History Today
- America’s Largest Young-Adult Book Festival Is Adding Adult Programming
YALLFest, held each fall in Charleston, is adding ROMFest, a parallel programming track for actual grownups, focusing on romance novels. Why are they doing this? Because it turns out that the majority of YALLFest attendees are full-fledged adults. – Publishers Weekly
- A Bookseller Confronts The AI Company Trying To Buy His Rare Books
Brandon DiSabatino quickly became concerned that Blue Angel might be trying to buy his books for a similar ulterior—and to him, sinister—purpose. In so doing, he joined the ever-expanding crowd of people who the AI rush has forced to constantly reconsider their reality. – Mother Jones
PEOPLE
- Mamdani’s 70,000 Free Seats At The Met
Good Morning,
Beginning this month, the Metropolitan Opera will give away 10,000 tickets a month — about one in ten seats for the season — to New Yorkers who haven’t set foot inside since 2019, under Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s new “Opera for All” partnership. He tied it to Fiorello La Guardia’s 1943 “People’s Opera,” which sold seats for 75 cents (The New York Times).
Mark Swed filed his last column as the Los Angeles Times‘ classical critic after 50 years and 121 seasons, closing with a trip to a church organ in Halberstadt, Germany, that has sustained a single John Cage chord since 2001 and won’t finish until 2640 (Los Angeles Times). Steve Reich, the minimalist composer turning 90 on October 3, offered a blunter standard: “Good music is good music, and most music is not!” — his test is whether it can play next to Charlie Parker or Bach and sound worthwhile (The Guardian).
Cleveland Orchestra players struck at 12:01 a.m. Friday, saying their pay trails the other “Big Five” orchestras and that management withheld a healthcare-cost breakdown until a day before talks broke down (Ideastream Public Media). In Kentucky, rare-book dealer Brandon DiSabatino has spent two months fielding bulk orders from Blue Angel, a company that calls itself an industrial supplier, for obscure titles — including a scarce self-published book by the conceptual artist Chris Burden. When he called to ask why, a rep named “Crystal” giggled and said the call was breaking up (Mother Jones).
All our stories below.
- Catching Up With Art Dealer Inigo Philbrick, Now That He’s Out Of Prison
“I’ve done my time, and all that I ask is that people give me the benefit of the doubt. I may not be given a second chance — but at least recognize that I’ve suffered a lot from what happened.” – Artnet
- Survey: How Libraries Are Using AI
Respondents were most likely to use AI for enhancing staff productivity (57.7%), supporting student learning (55.8%), and improving content discovery (53.3%). They were less likely to use AI tools for digital preservation (21.3%) or collection management (27.5%). – Publishers Weekly
- Atlanta Ballet Cuts Way Back On Its Orchestra, And Musicians Picket
Members of the pit orchestra protested outside the theater last weekend at performances of the company’s season-opening program, which was danced to recorded music. Atlanta Ballet management says it can afford a live orchestra this season only for its stagings of The Nutcracker and Swan Lake. – ArtsATL
- A Convicted Prolific Publishing Scammer Seems To Be Back In Business
Over more than five years, Bernardini created some 160 fraudulent internet domains, prosecutors argued, and impersonated hundreds of publishing professionals to obtain more than a thousand unpublished manuscripts. – The New York Times
PEOPLE
- Mamdani’s 70,000 Free Seats At The Met
Good Morning,
Beginning this month, the Metropolitan Opera will give away 10,000 tickets a month — about one in ten seats for the season — to New Yorkers who haven’t set foot inside since 2019, under Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s new “Opera for All” partnership. He tied it to Fiorello La Guardia’s 1943 “People’s Opera,” which sold seats for 75 cents (The New York Times).
Mark Swed filed his last column as the Los Angeles Times‘ classical critic after 50 years and 121 seasons, closing with a trip to a church organ in Halberstadt, Germany, that has sustained a single John Cage chord since 2001 and won’t finish until 2640 (Los Angeles Times). Steve Reich, the minimalist composer turning 90 on October 3, offered a blunter standard: “Good music is good music, and most music is not!” — his test is whether it can play next to Charlie Parker or Bach and sound worthwhile (The Guardian).
Cleveland Orchestra players struck at 12:01 a.m. Friday, saying their pay trails the other “Big Five” orchestras and that management withheld a healthcare-cost breakdown until a day before talks broke down (Ideastream Public Media). In Kentucky, rare-book dealer Brandon DiSabatino has spent two months fielding bulk orders from Blue Angel, a company that calls itself an industrial supplier, for obscure titles — including a scarce self-published book by the conceptual artist Chris Burden. When he called to ask why, a rep named “Crystal” giggled and said the call was breaking up (Mother Jones).
All our stories below.
- Catching Up With Art Dealer Inigo Philbrick, Now That He’s Out Of Prison
“I’ve done my time, and all that I ask is that people give me the benefit of the doubt. I may not be given a second chance — but at least recognize that I’ve suffered a lot from what happened.” – Artnet
- Survey: How Libraries Are Using AI
Respondents were most likely to use AI for enhancing staff productivity (57.7%), supporting student learning (55.8%), and improving content discovery (53.3%). They were less likely to use AI tools for digital preservation (21.3%) or collection management (27.5%). – Publishers Weekly
- Atlanta Ballet Cuts Way Back On Its Orchestra, And Musicians Picket
Members of the pit orchestra protested outside the theater last weekend at performances of the company’s season-opening program, which was danced to recorded music. Atlanta Ballet management says it can afford a live orchestra this season only for its stagings of The Nutcracker and Swan Lake. – ArtsATL
- A Convicted Prolific Publishing Scammer Seems To Be Back In Business
Over more than five years, Bernardini created some 160 fraudulent internet domains, prosecutors argued, and impersonated hundreds of publishing professionals to obtain more than a thousand unpublished manuscripts. – The New York Times
THEATRE
VISUAL
- Habermas’ Ideas On Public Debate
He explained the three types of discourse that characterise deliberation – moral, ethical, and pragmatic – and was clear that when it comes to the moral, there are no experts: only individuals working out, together, what’s right in a given context. – Aeon
- Is AI Above The Law? Outside? Under?
At least for now, then, robots legally are things, not persons. But neither category quite fits. Instead, robots are outlaws: they lie outside the protection of the law, and their actions are not answerable to it. – The New Yorker
- Are Debates Over Student AI Use Arguing Over The Wrong Things?
The battle for the role of AI in higher education this fall is being fought over when and where AI and other digital technologies should be used. This combat ignores the larger crisis: how can colleges verify that they are preparing students to become productive members of society in a digital age? – Post Alley
- Looking Back On What The Literary Theory Generation Wrought
A half-century after poststructuralism broke out of Parisian lecture halls and stumbled into unexpected acclaim and vitriol in the English-speaking world, we now have enough distance from the culture wars of the 1980s and ’90s to look back on theory with clearer vision. Or so it would seem. – Hedgehog Review
- The Real Qualities Of A Skeptic
‘Sceptic’ comes from the Greek skeptikos, meaning enquirer, and has a long and serious pedigree in philosophy. Yet, since the 1990s, the term has been hijacked by science-denial movements, giving us oxymorons like ‘climate sceptic’, ‘vaccine sceptic’, and ‘evolution sceptic’. – Aeon