A bias toward contemporary art has pervaded museums across the globe for decades now, but as this year proved, work from past eras can just as much define the present as pieces made in the past couple years. - ARTnews
Many researchers find another reason to worry about the spread of English: the prospect of cognitive hegemony. Languages, they argue, influence how we perceive and respond to the world. The idiosyncrasies of English—its grammar, its concepts, its connection to Western culture—can jointly produce an arbitrary construction of reality. - The New Yorker
Early on, many in the Protestant movement saw organ music as just another Popish frippery; even Luther disapproved of it at first. He changed his mind, of course, and the presence of the organ in church became a major point of conflict, and even identity, between Lutherans and Calvinists. - History Today
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
