"The costs for security, conservation and insurance are growing, according to cultural institutions that have experienced attacks. In some cases they are suing the activists for the damages." The protesters who vandalized the Degas at the National Gallery in DC are facing serious federal criminal charges. - The New York Times
"Unionized Hollywood actors on the verge of a strike have agreed to allow a last-minute intervention from federal mediators but say they doubt a deal will be reached by a negotiation deadline late Wednesday." - AP
"(He) was the most widely read Czech writer of the 20th century after Kafka. … Although, unlike Kafka, he lived to see fame, he also survived long enough to witness the waning of his reputation, and never received the Nobel Prize that had once been talked of as a certainty." - MSN (The Telegraph)
Folk wisdom suggests that if you expect the worst, then you won’t be disappointed. This advice is pervasive; it can drive meteorologists to over-promise rain and companies to overestimate delivery times. - Psyche
On the other hand, you don't see many eighty-year-olds leading mainstream movies—especially big-budget blockbusters for revenue-starved conglomerates. - Statsignificant
As it stands, organisations across the regions are facing critical decisions—or, worse, closure. Levelling up is widely considered to have failed. - The Art Newspaper
Notably, the surveyed artists' professional practice represented just 33% of their overall income, with many having to rely on additional ways to bring in money. Just 12% of surveyed artists said that their practice represented their sole means of income. - The Art Newspaper
This case will “likely rest on whether courts view the use of copyright material in this way as ‘fair use’”, said Lilian Edwards, professor of law, innovation and society at Newcastle University, “or as simple unauthorised copying.” - The Guardian
Four historians weigh in, with takes ranging from "(he) resolved to be a good king and even a reformer" to "one of the most lamentable tenures of England's medieval monarchs" to "his reign was too short to give a definitive answer." - History Today
The equivalent of about $5.50 might be a small price to pay to see one of the world’s most iconic monuments — where the painter Raphael is buried — but the new fee has been accompanied by stumbling blocks. - The New York Times
"Songs have been written in over 20 languages across the U.S. and around the world. … The musical styles range from classic lullaby to rock, Latin, spoken word, and everything in between. Mothers have written their lullabies from homeless shelters, prisons, hospitals, as well as their homes." - MSN (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
According to the website Lexica, which tracks over 10 million images and prompts generated by Stable Diffusion, Greg Rutkowski’s name has been used as a prompt around 93,000 times. Some of the world’s most famous artists, such as Michelangelo, Pablo Picasso, and Leonardo da Vinci, brought up around 2,000 prompts each or less. - Technology Review
"When the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, Virginia repatriated a Bakor monolith to Nigeria at the end of June, … it received an almost identical facsimile made of resin … offered for free by the non-profit Factum Foundation, which … hopes that the exchange may serve as a model for future repatriation agreements." - Artnet
I didn’t have any ambition to be a “novelist.” I just had the strong desire to write a novel. I had no concrete image of what I wanted to write about—just the conviction that I could come up with something that I’d find convincing. - The New Yorker
"Hanoch Levin's Queen of a Bathtub, … a musical that used satire to attack perceived militarism, self-righteousness and racism in the aftermath of Israel's victory in the 1967 war, … (is) being revived in Jaffa amid a sense among its Palestinian performers it is more relevant than ever." - The Guardian
