Elite education has lost the trust of many Americans, in no small part because of how it solidifies the advantages of wealth. The fact that many schools still give preferential treatment to children of their alumni just adds insult to injury. - The New York Times
Adam Moss sits in on rehearsals and talks with the five-time Tony-winning director and his actors (including Audra McDonald and Joy Woods, of course) on how much Wolfe changed the show while changing so little of it. (And no, it's not all about race, though that's certainly part of it.) - New York Magazine
The problem is that we’ve taken the practice of celebrating industriousness too far. We’ve gone from commending effort to treating it as an end in itself. We’ve taught a generation of kids that their worth is defined primarily by their work ethic. - The New York Times
Culture dictates human action far more than individual humans dictate cultural production. To understand great works of art as human achievements is just as backward as understanding the beauty and variety in nature as the work of divine hands. - The New York Times
No amount of evidence, on virtually any topic, is likely to move public opinion one way or the other. We can attribute some of this to rank partisanship. But there’s another, equally vexing problem. We live in a media ecosystem that overwhelms people with information. - Vox
The atelier’s commissions have included replacing a third of Versailles’s garden statues with copies created from marble-dust resin and supplying Jeff Koons with five classical sculptures for the artist’s 2013 series “Gazing Ball.” - The New York Times
There's been some concern expressed about this, so journalist Steve Pond looked into four high-profile awards that have gone gender-neutral in the past few years. In this admittedly small sample size, are actresses being shortchanged or do things basically even out? - TheWrap
A Ditto Music survey of over 1,200 artists found that nearly 60% use AI in their projects. Tools like AIVA generate compositions based on specific parameters, replicating complex musical patterns. - Android Police
When the strikes ended, workers in Hollywood hoped their schedules would finally fill up again. But for many people, things only got worse. - The New York Times
It was considered a blockbuster back in 1924, and its producers were pioneers in movie-related merchandising. It faded from public view after the talkies arrived, but a print was rediscovered in upstate New York in the 1940s, and a restored version has been getting centennial screenings this year. - The New York Times
"After his Trey McIntyre Project gave its final performances 10 years ago, choreographer Trey McIntyre didn’t think he’d work in-depth with another dance company. But then the Los Angeles–based BODYTRAFFIC changed his mind." - Dance Magazine
"This once-desolate northeast corner of downtown attracts millions of guests annually to renowned cultural institutions housed in buildings such as I.M. Pei’s Meyerson Symphony Center and Renzo Piano’s Nasher Sculpture Center. Still, the district is not without its challenges." - The Dallas Morning News (MSN)
Also, the artwork thrown in the trash by accident, the four-year-old who accidentally smashed an ancient jar, the grown man who deliberately smashed an Ai Weiwei, the museum staffer who sneaked his own art onto the walls, and the women-only-no-men-allowed exhibition with the fake Picassos that weren't spotted for months. - CNN
The 12th-century Byzantine-style mosaics in the cathedral of Monreale, on a hill overlooking the Sicilian capital, Palermo, are exceeded only by those in Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. They cover almost 69,000 square feet and their gold leaf collectively amounts to almost five pounds of solid gold. - BBC
Then-prime minister Rajiv Gandhi blocked publication and import of the novel not long after it was released in 1988. Last month, when the government couldn't produce the relevant paperwork, a court overturned the ban. At least one New Delhi bookstore reports that sales are good. - The Guardian
