"A job is a material thing, a book is a material thing—a product—and if we are going to analyze material things we should set forth on the basic understanding that, as a job, bookselling is a victim to much the same trappings as any other job: the exploitation of its workforce." - Public Books
"We should positively reframe and reclaim the word ‘risk’ as an artistic necessity that is vital to the future of our sector. What are the classics of tomorrow? We won’t find them if we operate from a place of caution and fear." - The Stage
A Lexington, Kentucky, native, McCann was a vocalist and self-taught pianist whose career dated back to the 1950s, when he won a singing contest while serving in the U.S. Navy and appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show." - AP
The culture ministry said Thursday it will move away from one-time, small grants distributed to a wide range of artists toward more targeted and impactful support for large-scale projects over the years. - Yonhap News
Typically, most personality changes occur in young and older adulthood, with middle age appearing to be the period of the greatest stability. Changes in personality can be driven by the natural ageing process or the influence of external factors, such as major life events and daily interactions with other people. - Psyche
Ben Davis: "I always say: Futurology is mainly people telling you what corporations are already doing. Here, I’m trying to avoid predictions like, 'art gets more interactive' or 'limitless content-on-demand,' because obviously that is just restating the proposition generative A.I. is being sold on." - Artnet
In 2022, 5.5m vinyl records were bought in the UK, the largest volume of sales since 1990. Over the first nine months of last year, British vinyl sales increased 13% year on year. - The Guardian
"'If I was in LA or New York, or even Hawaii, I would not be getting this award,' he said. 'There’s something special about weird and wonderful San Francisco that allows me to really think about hula on another level.'" - The Guardian
The effect on the B.L. has been traumatic. Its electronic systems are still largely incapacitated. When I visited the library last Monday, the reading rooms were listless and loosely filled. “It’s like a sort of institutional stroke,” Inigo Thomas, a writer for the London Review of Books, told me. - The New Yorker
"These activations offer titles another way to stand out, literally, amid a crowded mediascape. For series, specifically, they offer a way to retain fans between seasons." - The New York Times
After his diagnosis, and during the pandemic, Andraes Staier continued sketching. “I didn’t start like, ‘I want to compose, and it will be done at some point,’” he said. “It was more of a way to question myself about how I understand music.” - The New York Times
The rise of bebop led to trios and quartets replacing the 15-to-20-member orchestras of Ellington, Basie, etc. as the dominant ensembles in jazz. Economics keep it that way; big bands don't usually get a bigger fee than small ones. But a few intrepid bandleaders are keeping the flame alive. - The Guardian
Early in December, the Art In Public Places Commission narrowed dozens of submissions to just three and posted them online with a call for feedback. They got what they asked for — just maybe not what they expected. - Baltimore Banner
The €5 charge won't even cover the cost of administering it, let alone discourage or limit wear-and-tear from too much foot traffic. Anna Somers Cocks argues that it should cost at least as much to enter Venice as it does to go to the Uffizi Gallery (€25). - The Art Newspaper
The bans and the battles over them, writes Laura Miller, might achieve the goal of their wealthy conservative backers (destroy citizens' faith in public schools and libraries so they can be privatized), but they won't, and can't, keep kids from learning about the subject matter. - Slate
