AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- Good Morning
Today’s AJ highlights: Legendary architect Frank Gehry, whose swooping, metallic structures redefined the urban landscape, has died at 96 (Los Angeles Times). His passing marks the end of an era, even as the field wrestles with new technologies: AI is already reshaping architectural workflows, offering speed and options but raising questions about creativity (ArchDaily).
Elsewhere in the arts, the definition of permanence is shifting. Contemporary artists are challenging the idea of monuments as eternal, embracing impermanence as a form of resistance (Hyperallergic). And in a move that signals the changing tide of publishing, the CEO of Barnes & Noble says he’d sell AI-authored books—provided they’re clearly labeled (BBC/Yahoo!).
Finally, a cautionary note for parents: new research suggests fantastical content in children’s programming can actively deplete cognitive resources (PsyPost).
All our stories below.
- Our Changing Notions Of The Purpose Of Monuments
Rather than construct an imagined past as a universal tradition, as with conventional monuments… contemporary artists understand ambivalence and impermanence as key conditions of resistance, whether in the form of ephemeral materials, representations that flit across binaries, or speculative propositions for the future that challenge linear readings of history. – Hyperallergic
- Where Drag Meets The Viola (There’s A Joke In There Somewhere)
Stuck at home in Palo Alto with two parents who teach in Stanford’s music department, Ezra Costanza created the drag character Obsidienne Obsurd, a genderless Chinese-American genderless drag musician with an exuberant wardrobe, makeup palette, and playlist. – San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
- Architect Frank Gehry, 96
Gehry, who arrived in L.A. as an aimless teenager just after World War II and went on to become the most famous and one of the most influential architects in the world over a prolific six-decade career, died Friday at his home in Santa Monica following a brief respiratory illness. – Los Angeles Times
- The Notion Of Decline Of Our Education System Is A Long-Running Trope
The suspicion that Americans are becoming more illiterate has long been irresistible to the educated class. In the present day, this happens to be objectively true. But across time and cultures, we hear the alarm of declinism. – The Atlantic
ISSUES
- Our Changing Notions Of The Purpose Of Monuments
Rather than construct an imagined past as a universal tradition, as with conventional monuments… contemporary artists understand ambivalence and impermanence as key conditions of resistance, whether in the form of ephemeral materials, representations that flit across binaries, or speculative propositions for the future that challenge linear readings of history. – Hyperallergic
- Norman Foster’s New JP Morgan Tower In Manhattan: An Obscene Essay In Steel
The sheer amount of structural steel – 95,000 tonnes in total – is obscene for a building that contains just 60 storeys in its 423-metre height, half the number of floors you might expect in such a colossus. It uses 60% more steel than the Empire State Building, which is taller and has more square footage. – The Guardian
- This Year’s Best New Architecture
Editors of Dezeen pick their favorites, including new cultural institutions, homes, hotels, skyscrapers and even an architecture school. – Dezeen
- Why Trump Fired His Ballroom Architect. And Here’s His Replacement
Trump and McCrery had clashed over the president’s desire to keep increasing the size of the building, but it was McCrery’s firm’s small workforce and inability to hit deadlines that became the decisive factor in him leaving, one of the people said. – Washington Post
- How AI Is Changing How Architecture Is Conceived
Across design firms, respondents emphasized two immediate gains: speed and the ability to generate options. – ArchDaily
MEDIA
- Report: Trump’s Kennedy Center Is Stiffing Artists On The Fees
Representatives for three performers tell THR they’re still waiting on checks months after their shows. – The Hollywood Reporter
- This Year’s Kennedy Center Honors Will Be Different
Previous hosts of the Kennedy Center Honors have included Walter Cronkite, Stephen Colbert, Gloria Estefan and Queen Latifah. Trump will host this year, a first for a U.S. president. – NPR
- US Federal Grants To Museums And Libraries Restored Following Court Case
“The Institute of Museum and Library Services is reinstating all grants that were previously terminated by the Trump administration. A short statement posted on the agency’s website Wednesday reads, ‘this action supersedes any prior notices which may have been received related to grant termination.’” – NPR
- London’s Barbican Centre To Get An Overhaul That Might Just Make It Easier To Navigate
It will be a mammoth task, and a necessary one. The 43-year-old Brutalist landmark in central London has never been renovated, and its physical plant is starting to literally crack up. What’s more, the Barbican is notorious for being confusing to get around in, and that will finally be addressed. – The Guardian
- Whistleblower Alleges That CEO Of Chicago’s Black History Museum Misused Funds, Abused Staff
The now-former vice president of education and programs at the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center is suing the institution and its CEO, Perri Irmer, alleging misuse of public funds, harassment and retaliation. – WBEZ (Chicago)
MUSIC
- Why Does AI Write Like That? And Why Are People Willing To Read It?
If you’re anything like me, you did not enjoy reading that paragraph. Everything about it puts me on alert: Something is wrong here; this text is not what it says it is. It’s one of them. – The New York Times
- CEO Of Waterstone’s And Barnes & Noble Says They Would Sell AI-Authored Books (If Clearly Labeled)
“We as booksellers would naturally and instinctively disdain it,” said James Daunt, but “maybe it’s going to produce the next War and Peace. And if people want to read that book, AI-generated or not, we will be selling it — as long as it doesn’t pretend to be something it isn’t.” – BBC (Yahoo!)
- What It Says About You When Your Accent Changes
Researchers studied Taylor Swift’s voice as a way of exploring a phenomenon called “second-dialect acquisition,” or the way people learn a new style of speaking. Moving from place to place is the most obvious circumstance that might cause someone’s accent to change, but people’s voices can also evolve when they enter into new relationships. – The Atlantic
- World’s Third-Busiest Public Library Faces Job Cuts, Accusations Of “Digital Vanity Projects”
The State Library of Victoria in Melbourne is Australia’s busiest, yet a restructuring is eliminating 39 jobs — including reducing the number of public-facing reference librarians by 60%. Meanwhile the SLV has worked on “digital experiences” like a rotating 3D model of legendary outlaw Ned Kelly’s helmet. – The Guardian
- How Did The Ancient Assyrian Library Of King Ashurbanipal Survive For 2,600 Years?
Oddly enough, the collection —well, the cuneiform clay tablets, not the papyrus — has come down to us today precisely because the Babylonians and Medes conquered and down Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, in 612 BC. – Artnet
PEOPLE
- Good Morning
Today’s AJ highlights: Legendary architect Frank Gehry, whose swooping, metallic structures redefined the urban landscape, has died at 96 (Los Angeles Times). His passing marks the end of an era, even as the field wrestles with new technologies: AI is already reshaping architectural workflows, offering speed and options but raising questions about creativity (ArchDaily).
Elsewhere in the arts, the definition of permanence is shifting. Contemporary artists are challenging the idea of monuments as eternal, embracing impermanence as a form of resistance (Hyperallergic). And in a move that signals the changing tide of publishing, the CEO of Barnes & Noble says he’d sell AI-authored books—provided they’re clearly labeled (BBC/Yahoo!).
Finally, a cautionary note for parents: new research suggests fantastical content in children’s programming can actively deplete cognitive resources (PsyPost).
All our stories below.
- Our Changing Notions Of The Purpose Of Monuments
Rather than construct an imagined past as a universal tradition, as with conventional monuments… contemporary artists understand ambivalence and impermanence as key conditions of resistance, whether in the form of ephemeral materials, representations that flit across binaries, or speculative propositions for the future that challenge linear readings of history. – Hyperallergic
- Where Drag Meets The Viola (There’s A Joke In There Somewhere)
Stuck at home in Palo Alto with two parents who teach in Stanford’s music department, Ezra Costanza created the drag character Obsidienne Obsurd, a genderless Chinese-American genderless drag musician with an exuberant wardrobe, makeup palette, and playlist. – San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
- Architect Frank Gehry, 96
Gehry, who arrived in L.A. as an aimless teenager just after World War II and went on to become the most famous and one of the most influential architects in the world over a prolific six-decade career, died Friday at his home in Santa Monica following a brief respiratory illness. – Los Angeles Times
- The Notion Of Decline Of Our Education System Is A Long-Running Trope
The suspicion that Americans are becoming more illiterate has long been irresistible to the educated class. In the present day, this happens to be objectively true. But across time and cultures, we hear the alarm of declinism. – The Atlantic
PEOPLE
- Good Morning
Today’s AJ highlights: Legendary architect Frank Gehry, whose swooping, metallic structures redefined the urban landscape, has died at 96 (Los Angeles Times). His passing marks the end of an era, even as the field wrestles with new technologies: AI is already reshaping architectural workflows, offering speed and options but raising questions about creativity (ArchDaily).
Elsewhere in the arts, the definition of permanence is shifting. Contemporary artists are challenging the idea of monuments as eternal, embracing impermanence as a form of resistance (Hyperallergic). And in a move that signals the changing tide of publishing, the CEO of Barnes & Noble says he’d sell AI-authored books—provided they’re clearly labeled (BBC/Yahoo!).
Finally, a cautionary note for parents: new research suggests fantastical content in children’s programming can actively deplete cognitive resources (PsyPost).
All our stories below.
- Our Changing Notions Of The Purpose Of Monuments
Rather than construct an imagined past as a universal tradition, as with conventional monuments… contemporary artists understand ambivalence and impermanence as key conditions of resistance, whether in the form of ephemeral materials, representations that flit across binaries, or speculative propositions for the future that challenge linear readings of history. – Hyperallergic
- Where Drag Meets The Viola (There’s A Joke In There Somewhere)
Stuck at home in Palo Alto with two parents who teach in Stanford’s music department, Ezra Costanza created the drag character Obsidienne Obsurd, a genderless Chinese-American genderless drag musician with an exuberant wardrobe, makeup palette, and playlist. – San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
- Architect Frank Gehry, 96
Gehry, who arrived in L.A. as an aimless teenager just after World War II and went on to become the most famous and one of the most influential architects in the world over a prolific six-decade career, died Friday at his home in Santa Monica following a brief respiratory illness. – Los Angeles Times
- The Notion Of Decline Of Our Education System Is A Long-Running Trope
The suspicion that Americans are becoming more illiterate has long been irresistible to the educated class. In the present day, this happens to be objectively true. But across time and cultures, we hear the alarm of declinism. – The Atlantic
THEATRE
VISUAL
- The Notion Of Decline Of Our Education System Is A Long-Running Trope
The suspicion that Americans are becoming more illiterate has long been irresistible to the educated class. In the present day, this happens to be objectively true. But across time and cultures, we hear the alarm of declinism. – The Atlantic
- Fascinating: Research Find That Fantastical Programming Impairs Cognitive Attention In Children
The researchers found a significant negative effect for fantastical content. Children who watched programs featuring impossible events tended to perform worse on attention and executive function tasks immediately afterward. – PsyPost
- The Importance Of Style In Science
Style, as I see it, is much more idiosyncratic and manifests in scientists who may practice in the same field and utilize similar methods, but who nonetheless differ in the way they conduct and produce their work. – Undark
- Why We Shouldn’t Bring Back Gatekeepers
Put simply: Once established institutions lost the privilege to control the public conversation, they acquired an obligation to participate within it, which, so far, they have mostly failed to do. – Conspicuous Cognition
- When Our Machines Become Sentient, Will We Notice?
If an AI system were sentient, then the alignment paradigm, whereby AI activities are circumscribed entirely by human goals, becomes untenable. It would be ethically impermissible to subject the interests of a sentient AI system to human-defined goals. – 3 Quarks Daily
