AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- The Cultural Debate About Wall Texts
“When curators withhold information about the works and the artists, they are reinforcing their own curatorial approach, which is a contradiction. Decontextualizing and dehistoricizing is practically a colonialist act.” – Hyperallergic
- What Musical Variations Can Teach Us About Divergent Creativity
It’s hard to imagine creativity without divergent thinking. How are you being exploratory? How are you being adventurous? A theme and variations is a very overt demonstration of that process, because the whole idea is to generate novel versions of the same source. – The New York Times
- America’s Post-Modernist Architecture Legacy
Postmodernism began as a critique of modernism’s exhausted promises. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, many designers no longer treated modernism as radical or socially redemptive. Urban renewal projects accelerated the demolition of historic neighborhoods, and landmark preservation battles raised urgent questions about what the United States valued and, ultimately, protected. – Arch Daily
- At 85, Choreographer Lucinda Childs Is Still Busy
“I’m not, um, young,” she says. “And I do have help. I don’t go in without somebody there who can help to translate and who understands my movement. But my favorite thing is to make things.” – The New York Times
- Head Of Arts At London’s Barbican Centre Is Out After Only 18 Months
Devyani Saltzman was named director of arts and participation in February 2024; she was one of seven senior leaders installed after the Barbican replaced the managing director model. News of her departure comes about a month after the arrival of new CEO Abigail Pogson, and Saltzman is not being replaced. – The Guardian
ISSUES
- The Cultural Debate About Wall Texts
“When curators withhold information about the works and the artists, they are reinforcing their own curatorial approach, which is a contradiction. Decontextualizing and dehistoricizing is practically a colonialist act.” – Hyperallergic
- America’s Post-Modernist Architecture Legacy
Postmodernism began as a critique of modernism’s exhausted promises. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, many designers no longer treated modernism as radical or socially redemptive. Urban renewal projects accelerated the demolition of historic neighborhoods, and landmark preservation battles raised urgent questions about what the United States valued and, ultimately, protected. – Arch Daily
- Louvre Discovers $12 Million Ticketing Scam
When officials at the Louvre in Paris suspected a couple of tour guides of reusing tickets in late 2024, they did not expect to learn that a broad scamming network had cost the museum nearly $12 million over a decade. – The New York Times
- Tate Modern Serves Frida With a Side of Capitalism
When museums pivot from contemplation to consumption, even revolutionary icons get commodified. Tate’s Kahlo experience trades artistic liberation for lifestyle branding—because apparently unibrows sell better with appetizers. – The Conversation
- University Gets Cold Feet Over Hot ICE Criticism
When your art hits too close to home, apparently even universities develop sudden institutional amnesia about academic freedom. Victor Quiñonez’s immigrant-focused work got the silent treatment—no notice, no discussion, just gone. — Hyperallergic
MEDIA
- Head Of Arts At London’s Barbican Centre Is Out After Only 18 Months
Devyani Saltzman was named director of arts and participation in February 2024; she was one of seven senior leaders installed after the Barbican replaced the managing director model. News of her departure comes about a month after the arrival of new CEO Abigail Pogson, and Saltzman is not being replaced. – The Guardian
- The British Museum Has Removed The Word Palestine And Palestinians From Its Middle East Displays
“Concerns were recently raised by UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLIF), a voluntary group of solicitors, about references to ‘Palestine’ in displays covering the ancient Levant and Egypt, which risked ‘obscuring the history of Israel and the Jewish people.’” – The Guardian (UK)
- Berlinale Defends Jury President Wim Wenders Post-Soundbite About Gaza That Led Arundhati Roy To Withdraw
The festival head said, “Artists should not be expected to comment on all broader debates about a festival’s previous or current practices over which they have no control. Nor should they be expected to speak on every political issue raised to them unless they want to.” – The Guardian (UK)
- What Happens To A City’s Public Space When A Huge Event – Say, A Sports Event – Takes Over?
Ask Los Angeles. “My favorite part was how the plaza was filled with people marveling at very talented graffiti artists making Foot Locker-branded murals in the shadow of the Graffiti Ghost Towers that our leaders say we have to clean up because they’re too offensive to tourists.” – Torched LA
- The Zombie Internet Is Here To Eat, Or Rot, All Of Our Brains
What are the consequences of a “human-free” internet? – Fast Company
MUSIC
- The Machines Are Coming for Your Plot Twists
What seemed preposterous in a 1962 novel—story-writing machines—is now Silicon Valley gospel. As AI churns out narratives, we’re left wondering: who’s really telling the story, and does anyone care about the difference? — 3 Quarks Daily
- IMLS Makes America’s Grants Great Again
Federal cultural funding now comes with ideological strings attached, as museums and libraries discover their grant applications must suddenly harmonize with presidential vision statements. Creative freedom, meet creative financing. — Artnet
- When Words Have No Liability
We now live alongside AI systems that converse knowledgeably and persuasively—deploying claims about the world, explanations, advice, encouragement, apologies, and promises—while bearing no vulnerability for what they say. – The Atlantic
- How Cornwall Shaped British Writers, And British Imagination
Winston Graham of Poldark, Virginia Woolf, Daphne du Maurier, and many other writers drew – and continue to draw – inspiration from the moors, cliffs, rugged coastline, and mines of the rural county. – BBC
- How Many Times Can One Man Win Cowboy Poet Of The Year, A Real Award That We Did Not Make Up?
At least three. “The Western Music Association describes the award as recognizing a person who writes ‘with imaginative power and beauty of thought, with the ability to enable audiences to develop a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the Western lifestyle through performance.’” – Oregon ArtsWatch
PEOPLE
- The Cultural Debate About Wall Texts
“When curators withhold information about the works and the artists, they are reinforcing their own curatorial approach, which is a contradiction. Decontextualizing and dehistoricizing is practically a colonialist act.” – Hyperallergic
- What Musical Variations Can Teach Us About Divergent Creativity
It’s hard to imagine creativity without divergent thinking. How are you being exploratory? How are you being adventurous? A theme and variations is a very overt demonstration of that process, because the whole idea is to generate novel versions of the same source. – The New York Times
- America’s Post-Modernist Architecture Legacy
Postmodernism began as a critique of modernism’s exhausted promises. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, many designers no longer treated modernism as radical or socially redemptive. Urban renewal projects accelerated the demolition of historic neighborhoods, and landmark preservation battles raised urgent questions about what the United States valued and, ultimately, protected. – Arch Daily
- At 85, Choreographer Lucinda Childs Is Still Busy
“I’m not, um, young,” she says. “And I do have help. I don’t go in without somebody there who can help to translate and who understands my movement. But my favorite thing is to make things.” – The New York Times
- Head Of Arts At London’s Barbican Centre Is Out After Only 18 Months
Devyani Saltzman was named director of arts and participation in February 2024; she was one of seven senior leaders installed after the Barbican replaced the managing director model. News of her departure comes about a month after the arrival of new CEO Abigail Pogson, and Saltzman is not being replaced. – The Guardian
PEOPLE
- The Cultural Debate About Wall Texts
“When curators withhold information about the works and the artists, they are reinforcing their own curatorial approach, which is a contradiction. Decontextualizing and dehistoricizing is practically a colonialist act.” – Hyperallergic
- What Musical Variations Can Teach Us About Divergent Creativity
It’s hard to imagine creativity without divergent thinking. How are you being exploratory? How are you being adventurous? A theme and variations is a very overt demonstration of that process, because the whole idea is to generate novel versions of the same source. – The New York Times
- America’s Post-Modernist Architecture Legacy
Postmodernism began as a critique of modernism’s exhausted promises. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, many designers no longer treated modernism as radical or socially redemptive. Urban renewal projects accelerated the demolition of historic neighborhoods, and landmark preservation battles raised urgent questions about what the United States valued and, ultimately, protected. – Arch Daily
- At 85, Choreographer Lucinda Childs Is Still Busy
“I’m not, um, young,” she says. “And I do have help. I don’t go in without somebody there who can help to translate and who understands my movement. But my favorite thing is to make things.” – The New York Times
- Head Of Arts At London’s Barbican Centre Is Out After Only 18 Months
Devyani Saltzman was named director of arts and participation in February 2024; she was one of seven senior leaders installed after the Barbican replaced the managing director model. News of her departure comes about a month after the arrival of new CEO Abigail Pogson, and Saltzman is not being replaced. – The Guardian
THEATRE
VISUAL
- The Man Who Thinks The Enlightenment Was A Mistake
Rod Dreher emerged from the conservative blogosphere in the 2000s and won fans with his daily stream of testy opinions and unguarded anecdotal writing. He seems almost allergic to ideological consistency, has long had readers on the left as well as the right, and sometimes changes his mind over the course of a single paragraph. – The Atlantic
- How Pokémon Became A Source Of Massive Soft Cultural Power
It’s a card game! It’s an app! It’s a movie! It’s a meme! It’s a stuffie (or a lot of stuffies)! But truly, what is Pokémon? – CBC
- Generative AI Is Pretty Bad At Video Game Worlds
It might never improve enough. “Even in the most ambitious view where AI technology is feasibly able to generate worlds that are as responsive and interesting to explore as a video game that runs locally … there’s a lot more that goes into making a video game.”- The Verge (Archive Today)
- The Ur-Conspiracy Theory, And How To Fight Them In General
“The fundamental problem we face involves the degree to which the truth must now compete with such a vast multiplicity of falsehoods that discovering truth itself becomes unviable.” – Paris Review
- Does Making Art Require A “Writer’s Room”? Or Is It Something Else?
There’s no question that they’ve helped me write. And yet, if I look back over my career as a writer, the value I’ve derived from carefully controlling my environment has paled in comparison to my main source of motivation: scary e-mails from editors. – The New Yorker
