A parade of golden objects march across the mantel, relegating the traditional Swedish ivy to a greenhouse. Gilded Rococo wall appliqués, nearly identical to the ones at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, are stuck to the fireplace and office walls with the same level of aesthetic consideration a child gives her doll’s face. - The New York Times
How did a trilogy of novels about wizards and elves and furry-footed hobbits become a touchstone for right-wing power brokers? How did books that evince nostalgia for a pastoral, preindustrial past win an ardent following among the people who are shaping our digital future? - The New York Times
Even when we criticise individualism, we remain entrenched in individualist modes of thinking. Liberal and conservative, religious or secular, hip-hop or punk or country – in countries like the US, these are merely different names for the competing brands by which individuals define themselves. - Aeon
Virginie Despentes: “I attend a lot of plays, and I realized that theater audiences are very curious. They really show up, even for demanding or radical works, which made me want to try it. I feel good when I’m in a theater — and these non-virtual moments feel important nowadays.” - The New York Times
They are as propulsive and viscerally affecting as Arthur Miller plays, but those who haven’t heard them often think they’re esoteric, strictly for connoisseurs. Nothing could be further from the truth. - The New York Times
The hope among ACT staff members, both past and present, is that, as this entity prepares to launch, ACT’s artist-focused legacy continues on through this murky transitional period into a new, united future. - Seattle Times
“More than 20 key stakeholders behind its success — from author Margaret Atwood and adapter Bruce Miller to producers, executives and the cast led by Elisabeth Moss (June/Offred) — share how the Trump-era drama captured the cultural zeitgeist … and launched a Gilead universe with sequel series The Testaments.” - The Hollywood Reporter
The teenaged Benjamin Appl was Fischer-Dieskau’s last private student, working with the baritone for three years until his death in 2012. Here Appl recalls what made Fischer-Dieskau’s singing unique, what studying with him was like, and some of his late-life emotional torment. - The New York Times
Charles McNulty looks at the history of L.A. Theatre Works, which has drawn on Hollywood’s extraordinary talent pool to perform and record audio drama, both before an audience and in a studio, and broadcast it on public radio. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
“Striking juxtapositions, and the often contentious stories behind them, lie at the heart of the (Victoria & Albert Museum’s) new £65m facility, which provides a thrilling window into the sprawling stacks of our national museum of everything. But it is much more than just a window – it’s a total immersion.” - The Guardian
“United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has reversed a district court’s preliminary injunction and dismissed free speech claims in Little v. Llano County. The lawsuit, filed in April 2022 by seven Llano, Texas, library patrons, concerns the removal of 17 books from the Llano branch library.” - Publishers Weekly
For more than 40 years (he) wrote with clarity, wit and love about a city in transition from the era of “urban renewal” slum clearance and suburban flight into new ideals of urbanism. - The New York Times
The museum of ancient Greco-Roman art and its collections survived the January fires, but 1,300 damaged trees have been removed from the grounds. The Villa will reopen on June 27 — on a limited Friday-to-Monday schedule, reservations required — with North America’s first major exhibition of art from the Mycenaean civilization. - Los Angeles Magazine
There’s no other system of encoding information quite like khipu, the knotted strings and cords used to keep records in the Inca Empire. For years, the research into their meaning was at a standstill, but in recent years there’s been progress in both recovering lost khipu and deciphering them. - The Atlantic (MSN)
The art schools were easy to get into and their teachers were well regarded. The schools’ core view was that the postwar world would be creative, incorporating a number of disciplines. Their graduates would be in tune with culture. - The Wall Street Journal
