How Technology Is Rediscovering Lost Art
Much as AI, or machine learning, has been woven into the rest of our daily lives, it's now taking a shot at resurrecting precious cultural artefacts...
San Francisco Expands Its Guaranteed Income Pilot For Artists
"Thanks to funding from Jack Dorsey's #StartSmall foundation and a donation from billionaire McKenzie Scott, which supplemented the city's initial investment with $3.5 million,...
“It’s A Mysterious Thing, The Dynamic Between A Puppet Onstage And The Audience, Even...
Take, for instance, the puppet playing Milky White the cow in the upcoming Broadway revival of Sondheim's Into the Woods. - The New York...
Hagia Sophia’s 1,500-Year-Old Marble Floors Cracked By Heavy Machinery
"A number of marble tiles on the floor of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, which was turned back into a mosque in 2020 after...
Remember When Hollywood Threatened To Pull Out Of Georgia Over An Abortion Ban? It...
"Now that the law is on the verge of going into effect, thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court, the studios have gone quiet. ......
Germany Signs Formal Agreement To Return 1,100 Benin Bronzes To Nigeria
"The collection of metal plaques and sculptures that decorated the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin ... that have found their way into...
There’s A New, Well-Endowed Funder On The Arts Scene
"Funded by a $440 million bequest from Ruth DeYoung Kohler II, the Ruth Foundation for the Arts immediately enters the highest echelons of arts...
The US Has Lost 360 Newspapers Since 2019
"That is on top of the 2,500 closures since 2004 documented in earlier reports. The result is even more 'news deserts' in poorer and...
The Man Who Declared The End Of History Goes To War With History
It turns out that Francis Fukuyama doesn’t like what history’s end has wrought. Liberalism has been corrupted by bad actors on all sides who...
Report: 36 Countries Have More Trees Now Than They Did In 2000
Countries—including Bangladesh, China, Denmark, Ireland, and Uruguay, and Bangladesh—had a net gain in tree cover, according to new data from researchers at the University of Maryland...
Talent Agency Mega-Merger: CAA Buys ICM
The deal reduces the number of top agencies to three dominant players: CAA, WME and United Talent Agency. ICM is the fourth largest firm....
The Real Power Of Our Age: Fandom
"For me, at least, fandom has started to feel like a phenomenon akin to cryptocurrency or economic populism—a history-shaping force that we’d be foolish...
Ted Cruz Goes To War With A Muppet Again Over Vaccines
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) shared the clip on Twitter — and blasted the popular PBS/HBO children’s show for allowing Elmo to “aggressively advocate for...
The Point: Criticism That “Stakes A Claim”
I do think the purpose of criticism is to make an assertive claim for what is there. When Toni Morrison speaks of the “Africanist...
Can New York City Public Schools Have Both Smaller Class Sizes And Music And...
Probably not, says Education Through Music executive director Janice Weinman, and especially not this year. The state legislature just passed a law requiring the...
The Ghosts Inhabiting Cities
Most metropolises are overrun with ghosts; from New York to London, Mumbai to Shanghai, a simple Google search throws up an encyclopaedia’s worth of...
The Poetry Of Marilyn Monroe
She wrote poetry regularly, though she never published any of it. Sure, she was no Marianne Moore, but there's real thought and feeling in...
Who Was St. Sebastian, And How Did He Become A Major Element In Gay...
He was a Roman soldier martyred in the 3rd century CE, traditionally depicted tied to a tree, wearing only a loincloth, his bare torso...
Woody Allen Says He’ll Retire From Directing
“I’ll probably make at least one more movie. A lot of the thrill is gone,” Allen said. - Variety
The Bells Of Notre-Dame And The Sounds You Never Knew They’ve Been Making
Large cast-metal bells like the ten at the Paris cathedral (they survived the 2019 fire) emit sounds all the time: when they're not actively...
The Benefits Of A Long Career In One Orchestra
In this respect, the orchestral world is like a throwback to the postwar employment landscape, when it was not uncommon to spend your entire...
Queering Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes
Yes, Serge Diaghilev was what we might call today queer, but he certainly couldn't be open about it — and neither could the pathbreaking...
Foley Artists And The Secrets Of Movie Sounds
"The bulk of the sound in film is typically added in postproduction. ... Foley effects are custom to a film, and are synchronized to...
The Oberammergau Passion Play, An Almost 400-Year-Old Tradition, Is Not Just Back, It’s Better
"Thanks to steady work since 1990 to maximize the play's ecumenicism via ever bolder changes in characterizations and design" — in particular, altering anti-Semitic...
The One American City Where Contemporary Classical Music Has Become The Norm
Mark Swed: "New York, London, Berlin, Paris and Amsterdam happen to be historically vibrant centers of new music. ... But new music hasn't in...
