“If you are going to hail a writer from 400 years ago as the greatest writer of all time, then you need to look at him in relation to the contemporary moment. Because the moment you don’t do that, he can be bracketed from it all and just kept on his pedestal.” - Washington Post
"Proust's humor often has to do with misreadings or over-interpretations, and his question is usually not what happens but to whom and when." Scholar Michael Wood compares the jokes to the meta-humor in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, such as the differences in the laws of physics for humans and for toons. - Literary Hub
The problem is that their society in ancient Gaul and Britain didn't read or write, so the only contemporary descriptions we have today come from Roman colonists predisposed to portray them as barbaric. Archaeology, however, can tell us quite a bit. - Aeon
This week, Ittai Gradel, a Dutch antiquities dealer, said he had told the British Museum about the thefts two years ago and claimed that his allegations had gone unheeded. Fischer previously claimed that he took Gradel’s allegations “seriously.” In a statement issued on Friday, Fischer changed his tune. - ARTnews
Alexis Soloski: "Family films have been undergoing a shift that predates both 2020 and Marvel dominance. The G rating, a stalwart of the films of my childhood, has nearly disappeared, a corollary to the reluctance of producers of family films to admit that they're meant for families." - The New York Times
Lyrics celebrating the working man and woman have a long history in American music, from artists including Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, Bill Withers and Bruce Springsteen. Scratch the surface, however, and you also find extremist and conspiratorial narratives. - NPR
Marco Goecke, who was director of the ballet at the Hannover State Opera in Germany before the February incident, was invited to lead rehearsals of his older work as a freelancer, and he told Hannover's newspaper he'd been rehired. The state culture minister declared that "unacceptable." (in German) - NDR (Germany)
"This is 'one great big Edinburgh experiment', says Coco Sarel, possibly as a caveat in case things go wrong. Sarel (900,000 followers) is one of four TikTok comedians who, she says, want to find out if they're any good at stand-up. 'Which is better than four LinkedIn comedians.'" - BBC
After several years of protests, repression, and COVID lockdowns dimmed the city's international reputation and kept its performers at home, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Ballet, Sinfonietta, and Chinese Orchestra are again traveling abroad to, in the government's words, "tell a positive Hong Kong story." - South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)
The 36-year-old music director of the Louisville Orchestra has largely eschewed the touring-guest-conductor circuit many of his peers use to build careers. He stays put in Kentucky, putting time and attention into involving himself and the orchestra in the community of the city and the state. - The New York Times
The Tyne and Wear Metro, which serves the Newcastle-Gateshead-Sunderland area in northeastern England, played classical in some parts of the system 20 years ago to "curb anti-social behavior." This tie around, it's "to help create a soothing and warmer environment." - BBC
No announcement has been made, and the current president remains eligible for a second contract term. Nevertheless, several Italian newspapers report that author/broadcaster Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, a lifelong friend of the new culture minister with no management experience, is the leading candidate. - Artnet
Many large organizations, such as the Met Museum, have owned condos or houses that they provide to their CEOs rent- and tax-free, as both recruitment perk and venue for entertaining donors. Recently, with attention on the low pay of junior employees, some institutions are ending the practice. - The New York Times
In the UK, there are three potentially large funding pots for the arts: government, local authority and private. Anyone who has lived through the past 13 years in Britain will be able to tell you that two of those sources have drastically shrunk. - The Guardian
