ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

Today's Stories

Gen-Z’s Poor Mental Health Comes From Smartphone Culture. We Should Stop It

Once young people began carrying the entire internet in their pockets, available to them day and night, it altered their daily experiences and developmental pathways across the board. Friendship, dating, sexuality, exercise, sleep, academics, politics, family dynamics, identity—all were affected. - The Atlantic

AI – Understanding Versus Finding Patterns

How can these powerful systems beat us in chess but falter on basic math? This paradox reflects more than just an idiosyncratic design quirk. It points toward something fundamental about how large language models think. - The New Yorker

Will Rethinking Liberal Arts From A Conservative Tradition Make Them Better?

Classical education is premised on the idea that there is objective truth, and that the purpose of school is to set kids on a path toward understanding it. - The New Yorker

Remembering America’s Most Notorious Art Heist

The legacy of the heist is always apparent to museum visitors who, decades later, still confront vacant frames on the gallery walls where paintings once hung. - The New York Times

How Private Equity Companies Are Wrecking The Music Industry

Private equity — the industry responsible for bankrupting companies, slashing jobs and raising the mortality rates at the nursing homes it acquires — is making money by gobbling up the rights for old hits and pumping them back into our present. The result is a markedly blander music scene. - The New York Times

Spotify Promoting Audiobooks Using Some Music Industry Techniques

Combined with the promo page and countdown clock, the feature allows authors to engage in fandom in a way that is more typical of music than publishing. It’ll launch in mid-April. - The Verge

Historical Fiction Is Hot Right Now. Why?

Can historical fiction even be considered a genre of its own? Its many varieties share few common attributes other than that they all take place in the past. Even the simplest qualities are hard to pin down: for instance, how far back do you have to go? - The Drift

Libraries Struggle to Afford Access To E-Books, Which Are More Expensive Than Paper

While one hardcover copy of a novel costs the library $18, it costs $55 to lease a digital copy — a price that can't be haggled with publishers. And for that, the e-book expires after a limited time, usually after one or two years, or after 26 checkouts, whichever comes first. - ABCNews

Pianist Byron Janis, 95

In 1944, Janis became Horowitz’s first student and made his orchestral debut with conductor Arturo Toscanini’s NBC Symphony Orchestra. At 18, he was signed by RCA Victor Records as its youngest artist. - The Hollywood Reporter

The Ideas Behind The Harlem Renaissance

That aggregation of talent, energy and audience created what felt like a moment of rupture and renewal, a chance to reinvent Black life and Black consciousness, to escape the self-imprisoning consciousness that Du Bois anatomized and the even more debilitating quiescence and accommodation advocated by Booker T. Washington. - Washington Post

Germany Adds Berlin’s Techno Scene To UNESCO Heritage List

A German nonprofit, Rave the Planet, hoped for years to add techno to the intangible cultural heritage list. Five other new German entries "include fruit wine and mountaineering a parade in Bavaria known as the Kirchseeoner Perchtenlauf, where attenders dress as furry monsters." - The Guardian (UK)

Tech Bros Are Such Drama Kings

"It’s hard to know whether this performative strain in tech culture reflects something essential about the industry.” But … could they just, please, for the rest of us, stop? (Maybe join a community theatre?)- The Atlantic

Publishing Should Not Rely On Gig Workers

"Look a little more closely, and ‘growing pool of freelancers’ is a terrible euphemism for ‘jobs are disappearing and more and more of us are fighting for scraps by competing for freelance gigs.’” - LitHub

Minnesota Sculpture Park Sells Sculpture For Scrap

"The artist, John Hock, said he thought it was a theft and reported it to the Chisago County Sheriff's Office.” (The Franconia Sculpture Park, unsurprisingly, has a different story.) - Minnesota Public Radio

A Second Man Has Been Charged In The Theft Of Judy Garland’s Ruby Slippers

And it’s appropriately dramatic: "The indictment says Saliterman knew they were stolen, and that he threatened to release a sex tape of a woman and 'take her down with him’ if she didn’t keep her mouth shut about the slippers." - Seattle Times (AP)

What We Keep When We Death-Clean Our Shelves

"What is a home for if not to fill it with books? What would I do without them? I can’t get rid of these stories, even though I’ve internalized them. They’re part of me. They’re mine, and the physical reminder of that needs to be here, on the shelf.” - Reactor

What Happens When You Let A Computer, Or Close To It, Write A St. Patrick’s Day Rom-Com

Whew, Netflix, why? "Irish Wish is a thinly veiled Trojan horse for the conservative agenda, a crypto-fascist work of art cluttered with right-wing dog whistles and dialogue that could have only been written by a malevolently programmed artificial intelligence." - Vulture

Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth Will Be Filled With Every Woman

Actually, that’s spelled Everywoman, a sculpture that will adorn London’s public art playground. The deputy mayor: "The sculpture prize has entertained and brought out the art critic in everybody for 25 years, and I have no doubt these two very different pieces will continue that fine tradition." - The Guardian (UK)

The Gender Of Crossword Puzzles

"What kinds of intellectual work is considered worthy of our attention? What boxes have women historically been permitted to fill?” - The New York Times

Everyone Needs An Oldies Station

“There’s considerable static between heaven and earth, and innocence is an oddity. We are all dancing as best we can, to the music we can hear, and we step on each other’s toes and end up with scrambled eggs dripping down our chins." - The Smart Set

By Topic

Gen-Z’s Poor Mental Health Comes From Smartphone Culture. We Should Stop It

Once young people began carrying the entire internet in their pockets, available to them day and night, it altered their daily experiences and developmental pathways across the board. Friendship, dating, sexuality, exercise, sleep, academics, politics, family dynamics, identity—all were affected. - The Atlantic

AI – Understanding Versus Finding Patterns

How can these powerful systems beat us in chess but falter on basic math? This paradox reflects more than just an idiosyncratic design quirk. It points toward something fundamental about how large language models think. - The New Yorker

The Ideas Behind The Harlem Renaissance

That aggregation of talent, energy and audience created what felt like a moment of rupture and renewal, a chance to reinvent Black life and Black consciousness, to escape the self-imprisoning consciousness that Du Bois anatomized and the even more debilitating quiescence and accommodation advocated by Booker T. Washington. - Washington Post

Why Are Readers And Moviegoers So Obsessed With Stories Set In British Country Houses?

"These novels, films and TV shows set on grand estates strike us differently when most people can’t buy a flat. ... More than that, the Arcadian English ideal simply cannot survive when we discover slavery in the deeds.” And yet. - The Guardian (UK)

Will Bradley Cooper Ever Win An Oscar?

Maybe? Some suggestions for him - plus other one-week-later musings, including blaming a former Secretary of State for Barbie’s losses. - Vulture

The FCC Wants To Speed Up Our Internet

Broadband speed of 25 Millibytes per second (Mbps) for downloads and 3 Mbps for uploads isn’t it anymore - now the FCC says wants to more than quadruple each speed. (Gamers and those who have experienced buffering understand this all too well.) - Wired

Will Rethinking Liberal Arts From A Conservative Tradition Make Them Better?

Classical education is premised on the idea that there is objective truth, and that the purpose of school is to set kids on a path toward understanding it. - The New Yorker

Tech Bros Are Such Drama Kings

"It’s hard to know whether this performative strain in tech culture reflects something essential about the industry.” But … could they just, please, for the rest of us, stop? (Maybe join a community theatre?)- The Atlantic

A Second Man Has Been Charged In The Theft Of Judy Garland’s Ruby Slippers

And it’s appropriately dramatic: "The indictment says Saliterman knew they were stolen, and that he threatened to release a sex tape of a woman and 'take her down with him’ if she didn’t keep her mouth shut about the slippers." - Seattle Times (AP)

What Happens When You Let A Computer, Or Close To It, Write A St. Patrick’s Day Rom-Com

Whew, Netflix, why? "Irish Wish is a thinly veiled Trojan horse for the conservative agenda, a crypto-fascist work of art cluttered with right-wing dog whistles and dialogue that could have only been written by a malevolently programmed artificial intelligence." - Vulture

London’s Biggest EuroVision Screening Party Cancels To Protest Israel’s Participation In The Contest

Rio Cinema said, "With own slogan in mind, we hope that we can all be United By Music again soon. We will continue to organize fundraising events for the charities we support, including Doctors Without Borders and Medical Aid for Palestine." - Variety

Authors Withdraw From PEN Festival Over Its Response To The War In Gaza

Lorrie Moore, Maaza Mengiste, and many others signed a letter criticizing PEN America for not doing enough to highlight 'the scale and scope of the attacks on writers in Gaza’ … and drew a contrast with the organization’s forceful condemnation of the war in Ukraine." - The New York Times

How Private Equity Companies Are Wrecking The Music Industry

Private equity — the industry responsible for bankrupting companies, slashing jobs and raising the mortality rates at the nursing homes it acquires — is making money by gobbling up the rights for old hits and pumping them back into our present. The result is a markedly blander music scene. - The New York Times

Germany Adds Berlin’s Techno Scene To UNESCO Heritage List

A German nonprofit, Rave the Planet, hoped for years to add techno to the intangible cultural heritage list. Five other new German entries "include fruit wine and mountaineering a parade in Bavaria known as the Kirchseeoner Perchtenlauf, where attenders dress as furry monsters." - The Guardian (UK)

Everyone Needs An Oldies Station

“There’s considerable static between heaven and earth, and innocence is an oddity. We are all dancing as best we can, to the music we can hear, and we step on each other’s toes and end up with scrambled eggs dripping down our chins." - The Smart Set

To Write A Truly Great Fake Pop Song, You Need Real Songwriters

AI isn’t going to cut it, say the songwriters for the show Girls5Eva. "Though the tunes are ostensibly satirical versions of pop songs, there is no questioning that they are true bops in and of themselves” - and they’re written fast, because TV writing and filming is speedy. - Time

Ryuichi Sakamoto’s Last Performance

"Shot in just over a week in September 2022, Opus is a spare and intimate film. In stark black and white, the concert is just a man performing behind a grand piano. Off camera, though, there was a crew of over thirty people." - The Verge

How Did Thomas Ades Step Into The Classical Canon?

It’s not easy for contemporary composers, and Adès’s The Exterminating Angel is an expensive opera in a world that isn’t even supportive of classic, already successful operas. But a new production in Paris shows that its composer may now be firmly fixed in the canon. - The New York Times

Remembering America’s Most Notorious Art Heist

The legacy of the heist is always apparent to museum visitors who, decades later, still confront vacant frames on the gallery walls where paintings once hung. - The New York Times

Minnesota Sculpture Park Sells Sculpture For Scrap

"The artist, John Hock, said he thought it was a theft and reported it to the Chisago County Sheriff's Office.” (The Franconia Sculpture Park, unsurprisingly, has a different story.) - Minnesota Public Radio

Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth Will Be Filled With Every Woman

Actually, that’s spelled Everywoman, a sculpture that will adorn London’s public art playground. The deputy mayor: "The sculpture prize has entertained and brought out the art critic in everybody for 25 years, and I have no doubt these two very different pieces will continue that fine tradition." - The Guardian (UK)

Ceramics Artist Toshiko Takaezu Is Getting Attention Now, But Only After Her Death

One curator said, "This surging interest and recognition is in large part because of the incredible force of Takaezu’s extended network so deeply committed to her and her legacy,” and another said, "She knew she was ahead of her time.” Now her time seems to have arrived. - The New York Times

Reframing The History Of Modernism Outside Of Its Eurocentric Story

“The main issue is Eurocentric modernism and its history, which can be dealt with by redefining modernism and re-writing its history. How can this be achieved when Eurocentric modernism is persistent in its domination of the art world with all its institutions”? - Hyperallergic

Meet The Last Of Venice’s Artisan Gold-Beaters

Three hundred years ago, the city had around 300 battilori hammering out gold leaf using traditional techniques. Today, Marino Menegazzo's family workshop is the last, and one of only a few in all Europe. Here's a look at how he and his daughter do their work. - The New York Times

Spotify Promoting Audiobooks Using Some Music Industry Techniques

Combined with the promo page and countdown clock, the feature allows authors to engage in fandom in a way that is more typical of music than publishing. It’ll launch in mid-April. - The Verge

Historical Fiction Is Hot Right Now. Why?

Can historical fiction even be considered a genre of its own? Its many varieties share few common attributes other than that they all take place in the past. Even the simplest qualities are hard to pin down: for instance, how far back do you have to go? - The Drift

Libraries Struggle to Afford Access To E-Books, Which Are More Expensive Than Paper

While one hardcover copy of a novel costs the library $18, it costs $55 to lease a digital copy — a price that can't be haggled with publishers. And for that, the e-book expires after a limited time, usually after one or two years, or after 26 checkouts, whichever comes first. - ABCNews

Publishing Should Not Rely On Gig Workers

"Look a little more closely, and ‘growing pool of freelancers’ is a terrible euphemism for ‘jobs are disappearing and more and more of us are fighting for scraps by competing for freelance gigs.’” - LitHub

What We Keep When We Death-Clean Our Shelves

"What is a home for if not to fill it with books? What would I do without them? I can’t get rid of these stories, even though I’ve internalized them. They’re part of me. They’re mine, and the physical reminder of that needs to be here, on the shelf.” - Reactor

The Gender Of Crossword Puzzles

"What kinds of intellectual work is considered worthy of our attention? What boxes have women historically been permitted to fill?” - The New York Times

The Hollywood Strikes Slowed New Content, So AMC Turns To Horror

In a year where new content is trickling in, the cinema chain has turned to Blumhouse’s seemingly limitless horror library. Like A24’s “Lovers’ Series” in February, this one has some marketing power behind its (inaccurately titled) “Halfway to Halloween” push. - The New York Times

An Irish American Silent Film Was Pulled For Its Stereotypical Depictions

Then what happened to The Callahans and the Murphys? "Released in June 1927, the comedy initially received encouraging reviews.” Then things got ugly, and fast. - The New York Times

How Many Films Do You Know About Brazilian Americans?

Not many? Camila Mendes didn’t either. So the actor (Riverdale, Palm Springs) decided to produce one. - Los Angeles Times

Art House Films Rely Just As Much On Visual Special Effects As Blockbusters Do

VFX is for a lot more than explosions. “For every Kraven the Hunter or Argylle, there’s a Ferrari, Maestro or Killers of the Flower Moon, movies with sophisticated visual effects that the filmmakers hope you’ll never realize was an effect at all." - The New York Times

Argentina’s New Right-Wing Populist President Is Defunding The National Film/TV Agency

"Javier Milei is forging ahead with his administration’s plans to defund the country’s film-TV institute INCAA, which will adversely impact national film festivals such as the Mar del Plata and federal aid for national film releases, state-run cinemas and film schools, among others." - Variety

Who’s Putting Together A Bid To Buy TikTok? Trump’s Former Treasury Secretary

Steve Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs banker who founded his own private equity firm after leaving Washington, says he's gathering a group of investors to buy the video app if the Senate passes the House bill requiring its current owner, the Beijing-based corporation ByteDance, to sell it. - AP

Ballet Dancers Are Not All Anorexic (Anymore) And Other Myths Busted

A principal dancer and the director of Munich's Bavarian State Ballet explain that dancers are athletes as well as artists, they're thin because they're exerting themselves for at least eight hours every day, and "ballet is a competitive sport in an artistic guise." - South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)

Attributing The Provenance Of The “Just Ken” Dance

Dance makers of Hollywood are seeking recognition for their craft by pressing the Motion Picture Academy to add an Oscar for Best Choreography. That is understandable. But they must first recognize their own. - ArtsMeme

ABT Chooses A New Chief Exec — From National Ballet Of Canada

Ballet Theater’s leaders said they chose Barry Hughson, executive director at the National Ballet of Canada since 2014, because of his extensive experience in the field. He has held top positions at Boston Ballet and Atlanta Ballet, among other organizations. - The New York Times

Ballet Ireland Drops An Ohad Naharin Piece Because He’s Israeli

"'We stand by the right to freedom of artistic expression, and despite our belief that art should not be drawn into politics, we feel the time is not right to be performing this work,' said Anne Maher, artistic director and CEO of Ballet Ireland," of Naharin's Minus 16. - The Irish Times

Cincinnati Ballet Gets A New Leader After a Year Of Upheaval

Artistic director Jodie Gates left after just 14 months on the job, followed six days later by then-president and CEO Scott Altman announcing that he would leave at the end of 2023. -Cincinnati Enquirer

“Bayadère” Is Awash In Cultural Appropriation. Should It Be Canceled?

Like so many of the 19th century ballets, it has been subject to some controversy in recent years. Set in a fanciful Hindu temple, choreographed by a Russian to music by an Austrian (Ludwig Minkus), it is accused of colonialist attitudes and insulting stereotypes. - Dance Australia

From Screen To Stage With The Broadway Writer Of The Notebook

Adapting the rom-com classic for Broadway wasn’t simple. But playwright and TV writer Bekah Brunstetter knew how to write tight. “Every single second matters because you don’t want an audience going in there and noticing the book. It wants to be so effortlessly woven into the song.” - Slate

Climate Protesters Interrupt Broadway Play

The play: Enemy of the People. The protesters: Shouting “No theatre on a dead planet.” The actor: Jeremy Strong, who stayed in character. - The New York Times

Pasadena Playhouse’s First Latinx Commission In Its History

The playwright is Hollywood showrunner Gloria Calderón Kellett (One Day at a Time, With Love). She says, "Latinos are 20% of the United States population, and still only 5% , and I can’t even imagine what the numbers are for theatre.” - MSN (Los Angeles Times)

As The Vancouver Fringe Fest Turns 40, It’s Searching For Help

Rising costs and a commitment to paying artists better, organizers say, are leaving the vital theatre festival in the red. And, they say, it’s not just Vancouver - theatre fests across the country need infusions of cash to survive. - CBC

Off-Broadway Stagehands Seem Ready To Sign Up With A Union

Specifically, some, or many, say they want to become part of IATSE - a stagehands and construction crew union across the country. Said the head of sound for the play Titanique, "There’s no reason why theatre can’t be something that we love to do and we can support ourselves doing it."- American Theatre

The Terrible Willy Wonka Glasgow Experience That Went Viral Is Becoming A Musical

Have we all been deeply punked? Was this the plan the whole time? Hm: "The show's lead producer, Richard Kraft, has assembled a team of writers and producers for the project titled Willy Fest: A Musical Parody.” - BBC

Pianist Byron Janis, 95

In 1944, Janis became Horowitz’s first student and made his orchestral debut with conductor Arturo Toscanini’s NBC Symphony Orchestra. At 18, he was signed by RCA Victor Records as its youngest artist. - The Hollywood Reporter

Shigeshi Negishi, Inventor Of Karaoke, Dies At 100

Negishi “was in his 40s when he came up with the idea of prototyping a mass-produced, coin-operated karaoke machine, branded 'Sparko Box,' after a colleague at the consumer electronics assembly business he ran in Tokyo criticized his singing." - NPR

After His Oscar, The Question Remains: Will Miyazaki Retire?

Hayao Miyazaki was the oldest person ever nominated for an Oscar for best animated feature - and then, in a surprise moment (Spider-Man: Into the Multiverse was tipped to win), the oldest to win. Now, “rumours are swirling that he will return to work yet again." - The Guardian (UK)

Billy Porter Would Like His Flowers – And Payment – While He’s Here

Porter says, "The world has a difficult time understanding that fabulous and serious do coexist." - The Guardian (UK)

Why Director Ava Duvernay Isn’t On Social Media

"After a decade on Twitter I’d had every possible insult hurled my way. The most awful abuse you can think of. It stopped affecting me. I became desensitised. It’s hard to hurt me now – there’s nothing I’ve not heard. Still, I’m not on there any more.” - The Guardian (UK)

The Frida Kahlo You Probably Didn’t Know About

Yes, we know she was intelligent and gifted, leftist and patriotic, long-suffering physically and emotionally. She also scorned the New York elites feting Diego, had to terminate a pregnancy in Detroit, and absolutely despised the French Surrealists who championed her work. - Artnet

AJ Premium Classifieds

Managing Director – Stages

The Managing Director co-leads the company in partnership with the Artistic Director and reports directly to Stages’ Board of Directors.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts seeks VP of Programming & Production

Reporting to the President and CEO, the VP of Programming and Production oversees and coordinates the design and implementation of all programming across all the Center’s stages

Atlas Performing Arts Center seeks Executive Director

The next Executive Director (ED) will energize, inspire, and lead the dedicated stakeholders of the Atlas Performing Arts Center in pursuing its mission to serve the arts, artists, and the greater Washington, DC community.

Austin Symphony Orchestra (TX) seeks CEO/Executive Director

The multi-faceted responsibilities of this position call for an individual with demonstrated leadership skills and extensive management experience.

AJClassifieds

Seeking Artistic Director

The AD oversees and maintains the artistic excellence of the organization, ensuring that the Fountain continues to be seen as one of the premier theaters in Los Angeles while advancing the national reputation of the organization.

Play On Shakespeare seeks a Marketing Director

Play On Shakespeare partners with artists and organizations across the globe to deliver and advocate for these translations through theatrical productions, podcasts, publications, and film.

Director, Office of the Arts, Harvard

Director works with a team of professional artists and arts adminitrators to create the conditions for facilitating student engagement in the extracurricular arts.

Director of Artistic Operations

The Knights are a collective of adventurous musicians dedicated to transforming the orchestral experience and eliminating barriers between audiences and music.

Managing Director

Six Points Theater seeks its first managing director.

Oregon Shakespeare Festival Seeks Executive Director

The Executive Director will be responsible for leading the business operations of OSF with a particular focus on financial management, contributed revenue growth, audience development, and general administration.

Director, National Museum of African Art

Smithsonian InstitutionWashington D.C. About National Museum of African Art Founded in...

Director of Marketing and Communications

Orchestra Lumos seeks an exceptional marketing and communications professional to join the Orchestra at one of the most creative and developmental periods in its history.

Shakespeare Theatre Company Seeks Executive Director

The Executive Director will be a visionary and strategic leader and manager, with a collaborative approach to establishing goals and solving problems.

Vice President of Communications, Marketing, & Sales

MIDLAND CENTER FOR THE ARTS (MIDLAND, MI) is in search of a Vice President of Communications, Marketing, & Sales

Ryuichi Sakamoto’s Last Performance

"Shot in just over a week in September 2022, Opus is a spare and intimate film. In stark black and white, the concert is just a man performing behind a grand piano. Off camera, though, there was a crew of over thirty people." - The Verge

The London Book Fair Map Shows Power’s Relationship To Geography

"Everything radiated outward from this central core across two carpeted floors, in diminishing order of importance: the slightly smaller publishing houses, then the ones whose best years are behind them, then the niche ones, then the flatly obscure." - The New York Times

Ranking U.S. States By Arts Vibrancy

"Key insights: States with higher proportions of rural population tend to have lower levels of arts vibrancy – with some notable exceptions. States ranking higher on arts vibrancy generally have lower poverty rates; but having low levels of poverty doesn’t guarantee a top arts vibrancy ranking." - SMU Data Arts

Salonen To Leave San Francisco Symphony: “I Do Not Share The Same Values”

“I have decided not to continue as Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony, because I do not share the same goals for the future of the institution as the Board of Governors does,” Salonen said in a statement. - San Francisco Chronicle

Post-Pandemic: Broadway Attendance Down, Also Movies, But Pop Concerts And Orchestras Up And Museums Mixed

The Philadelphia Orchestra is averaging 78 percent attendance so far this season, compared with 63 percent before the pandemic. The New York Philharmonic is averaging 85 percent attendance this season compared with 74 percent. - The New York Times

Street Art, Graffiti, or Advertising? How L.A. Decides Which Is Which

"How to keep murals thriving while keeping them from intruding illicitly into neighborhoods, how to keep businesses from simply ginning up wall-sized ads and calling them art, how to distinguish legal from illegal handiwork, and, frankly, good from bad. It’s a seesaw we’re still riding." - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)

Public Libraries Must Pay A Higher Price For E-Books Than Consumers Do, And It’s Squeezing Their Budgets

"While one hardcover copy of (Robin) Cook’s latest novel costs (a) library $18, it costs $55 to lease a digital copy — a price that can’t be haggled with publishers. And for that, the e-book expires after a limited time, usually one or two years, or after 26 checkouts." - AP

A Cross Between A Baseball, An Armadillo, And The Sydney Opera House: Design For Vegas’s Major League Stadium Is Revealed

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and HNTB designed the planned 33,000-seat arena for the team currently known as the Oakland A's, which is moving to Nevada. Ingels himself describes the structure as a "spherical armadillo." The stadium will be on the Strip, on the current site of the Tropicana. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)

Starchitect Bjarke Ingels Talks About His “Spherical Armadillo” For Las Vegas

"I mean, it’s not like we tried to make it look like an armadillo." On comparisons to the Sydney Opera House: "I’ll definitely take it as a compliment. I think it’s one of the most beautiful buildings on Earth. And I think, in all fairness, this is a very different building." - The Athletic

Gabriel García Márquez’s Final Book Is Being Published. Should It Be?

During the '00s, Gabo went through several drafts of Until August and planned to publish it. But by 2012, afflicted with dementia and unable to finalize the book, he asked that it be destroyed. A decade later, his sons decided it could be salvaged. Were they right to try? - The New York Times

The World’s Largest International Comedy Festival, Montreal’s Just For Laughs, Is Cancelled For 2024

"Groupe Juste pour rire Inc. said that it is seeking protection from its creditors as it begins formal restructuring under Canada’s Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. … The company plans to continue operations in what it called a scaled-down format as it restructures (and) hopes the festival will return in 2025." - AP

Pritzker Prize For 2024 Goes To Riken Yamamoto, Known For Innovative Housing Projects

"Across a five-decade career, Yamamoto has dedicated himself to fostering community in Japan’s rapidly expanding cities. From housing projects that coax residents into spontaneous interactions to a glass-walled fire station that invites passersby to peer inside, his architecture appears intent on 'blurring boundaries between its public and private dimensions.'" - CNN
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