Shortly after federal agents descended upon the institution in June following questions about the authenticity of works in a Basquiat show, the Orlando Museum of Art canned its director Alan De Groft. Mounting evidence alludes to his involvement in a greater scam. - Artnet
We have become too used to thinking of intelligence as the private skill of individuals, vying against one another in a neoliberal world of relentless competition. What is needed, especially in an age of irredentist warmongering and climate disaster, is a greater emphasis on our ability to reason together, our “collective intelligence”. - The Guardian
The intensity of our collective distraction is historically unprecedented, and for obvious reasons. Most importantly, the power players in our online experience are financially invested, and deeply so, in training users to flit quickly and continuously from one hyperlinked stimulus to another. - Hedgehog Review
FN Meka, which has over 10 million followers on TikTok, had come under heavy fire for appropriating Black culture and mocking police brutality, with some critics calling it “digital blackface.” - Los Angeles Times
One wouldn't expect to consider a designer of advertising posters to be historically important, but Jules Cheret's work — widely imitated and now found in reproductions in countless homes, restaurants and offices — established the visual vocabulary that we now associate with the Belle Epoque. - Artnet
In every field of culture, the "folk" takes second place. This denies the inventive power of our people. Modi's Hindu regime uses this hierarchical structure to impose its dominance by asserting Sanscritic superiority in the form of a Hindu hierarchy. - The Art Newspaper
Certain corners of Twitter need to be reminded of this: a bitter argument broke out last week between those who find him an insufferable incel and those who insist he's an abused and bereaved teenager who deserves compassion (and those who disagree are heartless). Folks, remember: Holden is fictional. - Vulture
Melissa Barak was a leading dancer for Los Angeles Ballet during its first five seasons. She also performed with New York City Ballet, and in 2013 founded her own contemporary ballet company, Barak Ballet, which is on hold while Barak focuses on her new position. - Los Angeles Times
The software called Voyager improvises responses to a live performance in real time. Last week, New York's Ensemble Signal and jazz flutist Nicole Mitchell performed George Lewis's Tales of the Traveler, for which the orchestra's part is notated but the soloist(s) improvise, with Voyager playing a Disklavier. - The New York Times
Why did I even want to be an actor? It was a question I hadn’t thought to ask myself; the dream had calcified in my bones too long ago. Childish reasons, in my case. Excitement, praise – hunger for fame, even. I know now that the life of an actor would suit me very badly. - The Guardian
"You may not know her name, but (Kate) Berlant is influential in comedy circles, and her digressive style stands for everything that a scripted autobiographical play doesn't. And she is having trouble wrapping her head around it." - The New York Times
Companies that once saw China as a vital growth market stand to lose out on billions of dollars in $100 concert tickets, $12 matinee stubs and $5 bets. - Wall Street Journal
The long-planned institution on Charleston's waterfront, set to open next January, will tell stories of the Africans involuntarily brought to the U.S. and their descendants. Here's an overview of its construction, what will be in its galleries, and a few small controversies. - Charleston City Paper
"(He) moved seamlessly between genres, writing serious comic novels, comic serious novels and bestselling mystery novels — in addition to working on soap opera One Life to Live, which drew acclaim during his run as head writer for its zany humor and sensitive explorations of social issues." - MSN (The Washington Post)
