Today's Stories

What We Didn’t Understand About Yayoi Kusama

When she died last month, 37 years later, Ms. Kusama — in her life and her art — was obscured, paradoxically, by too much fame. - The New York Times

Would A NYT Lawsuit Win Against Anthropic Be A Disaster For Smaller Publishers?

“If the administration’s position was accepted, it would result in an unprecedented, uncompensated transfer of IP rights from news organizations to tech companies,” said Matt Topic, a lawyer at Loevy & Loevy who is representing The Intercept in the case. - NiemanLab

UK Loans Parthenon Pieces To Germany

The British Museum will lend two fragments of the Parthenon sculptures to an exhibition in Frankfurt, Germany, while Greece has rejected a request to lend nine Parthenon fragments from the Acropolis Museum for the same exhibition. - Greek Reporter

Officials Renew Calls To Close After Falling Ceiling Piece At Kennedy Center

A Kennedy Center Spokesperson called the partial ceiling collapse Friday “another example of the urgent need to close for renovation and revitalization, as our Chairman President Trump has championed.” - AP

The Lucas Museum’s Populist Bet

It would be easy to describe the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which opens Sept. 22, as “unconventional,” a description the museum’s leaders seem to favor, though “oppositional” also comes to mind. - Los Angeles Times

Other Industry Leaders Say Not To Worry About AI, At Least If You’re A Designer

In Britain, “the head of the Society of Garden and Landscape Designers said many people working in his industry were nervous about AI. He said design companies were more likely to use AI as ‘the intern in the office’ than as a replacement for skilled staff.” - The Guardian (UK)

Our Free Newsletters

Your eyes on the world through a culture lens

Bill Gates, Yes, That Bill Gates, Sounds A Strong Alarm Over AI

“He laid out five broad areas of concern: jobs, biotechnology, cyberattacks, psychosocial harms and whether humans will be able to maintain control over the systems they are building.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

Rob Reiner Wins A Posthumous Emmy For His Work On The Bear

“The award was Reiner’s third Emmy. He won his first in 1974 for best supporting actor in a comedy for his portrayal of Mike Stivic in All in the Family, and a second in 1978 for his work in the same show.” - The New York Times

Are Actors Who Support Gaza Getting Blacklisted In Hollywood?

Susan Sarandon certainly thinks so. “Sarandon said resistance to hiring outspoken critics of Israel ⁠remained particularly strong among major studios.” - The Guardian (UK)

Want To Hear What Anyplace In The World Sounds Like?

Try this site. Though many recordings are from the UK, Europe, and the US, “it’s still quite fun and soothing to set the globe to rotate automatically, and as the reticle nears points on the Earth, it transitions to those new sounds.” - The Verge

Marian Anderson’s Importance As A Groundbreaking Singer Means We Sometimes Forget Her Skills And Ambition

“Anderson (1897-1993) won renown as a true, rare contralto with a rich, resonant low range who could also soar into the soprano sphere. Yet from the start, just being an excellent singer was not enough.” - The New York Times

The ‘Cult Of Male Directors’ Must End

Venice only has two films directed by women this year - and one of those directors says that “the enduring cult of male genius is keeping down female film-makers.” - The Guardian (UK)

Who’s The Next Bond?

The interest levels, and rumors, are rather off the charts right now. After all, “in the last decade alone the UK has had more prime ministers, and twice as many people have walked on the moon than have played the British secret agent.” - BBC

Jacob’s Pillow Finally Has A Full Season Again

In the wake of a beloved production manager’s death in a tragic accident last year, questions remain about how staff and interns manage the intense dance festival workload. - The New York Times

When The Quebecois Version Of ‘The Simpsons’ Was Shut Down Last Year, The Protests Were Immediate And Intense

Dubbing is important in Québec; “The characters spoke in regional Quebec accents, including joual, the colloquial dialect associated with working-class Montreal, while U.S. people and places were swapped out for local references.” - CBC

Silo Started As A Book, And Then Apple Made It Into A Wildly Complex TV Show

“'This has been the most complicated thing I’ve ever worked on,’ said the showrunner Graham Yost, who has also been an executive producer on Justified, The Americans and Slow Horses. But, he added, ‘It’s been the best experience I’ve ever had.’” - The New York Times

What Happened To The Pieces Of Steel Salvaged From The World Trade Center?

“Everyone experienced the attacks on 9/11 as this really, really intense television event, and bringing a piece of steel from the World Trade Center ... allowed people to lay hands on these artifacts and to really feel this kind of deep expression of complex and lingering grief.” - NPR

When You’re Suddenly Very Famous, Fairly Young, Things Can Be Difficult

At least that was the experience of Maisie Williams - Arya Stark, to all of the many, many, many Game of Thrones watchers out there. - The Guardian (UK)

What’s So Horror-Filled About Consistency?

Well, OK, not consistency, but repetition. - The New York Times

It’s Not Just Physical Media

Landlines are making a slightly abashed return. “The phone itself is a sleek black with gold trim, and the cord connecting the receiver is all coiled up—just like the ones I grew up with back in the ’90s.” - Maclean's

By Topic

It’s Not Just Physical Media

Landlines are making a slightly abashed return. “The phone itself is a sleek black with gold trim, and the cord connecting the receiver is all coiled up—just like the ones I grew up with back in the ’90s.” - Maclean's

Why Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey Is Destined To Be Forgotten

It’s "a nearly three-hour barn burner, racing from event to event with whirlwind kinetic energy. … Nolan’s reluctance to take a pause should, actually, give us pause. After all, Homer’s poem doesn’t just involve a lot of waiting. It is a postwar tale about waiting.” - Boston Globe

What To Do With All Of Europe’s Empty Churches?

Sure, indoor pickleball courts can work, but there are many arts options. - The New York Times

Have We Wrecked Childhood?

This doesn’t sound like a very nice life, does it? It’s an existence in which you’re micromanaged and surveilled, given almost no freedom or privacy, and put under constant pressure while, at the same time, being seen as incompetent and lazy.  - The New Yorker

Twilight Of The Oxford Dons

These same dons disdained Britain’s provincial universities—known pejoratively as Redbrick—as well as academics in the U.S., whom they scorned for going about their business with “woefully unnecessary seriousness.” A don, by contrast, was effortlessly successful. - The Wall Street Journal

There’s A Difference Between Celebrating Innovation and Trying To Understand It

Journalist Nicholas Carr called the online world “the shallows” for the way it erodes concentration. But the paradox is that its depthlessness arrives as immersion. - The Walrus

Officials Renew Calls To Close After Falling Ceiling Piece At Kennedy Center

A Kennedy Center Spokesperson called the partial ceiling collapse Friday “another example of the urgent need to close for renovation and revitalization, as our Chairman President Trump has championed.” - AP

Other Industry Leaders Say Not To Worry About AI, At Least If You’re A Designer

In Britain, “the head of the Society of Garden and Landscape Designers said many people working in his industry were nervous about AI. He said design companies were more likely to use AI as ‘the intern in the office’ than as a replacement for skilled staff.” - The Guardian (UK)

Bill Gates, Yes, That Bill Gates, Sounds A Strong Alarm Over AI

“He laid out five broad areas of concern: jobs, biotechnology, cyberattacks, psychosocial harms and whether humans will be able to maintain control over the systems they are building.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

Are Actors Who Support Gaza Getting Blacklisted In Hollywood?

Susan Sarandon certainly thinks so. “Sarandon said resistance to hiring outspoken critics of Israel ⁠remained particularly strong among major studios.” - The Guardian (UK)

The ‘Cult Of Male Directors’ Must End

Venice only has two films directed by women this year - and one of those directors says that “the enduring cult of male genius is keeping down female film-makers.” - The Guardian (UK)

When The Quebecois Version Of ‘The Simpsons’ Was Shut Down Last Year, The Protests Were Immediate And Intense

Dubbing is important in Québec; “The characters spoke in regional Quebec accents, including joual, the colloquial dialect associated with working-class Montreal, while U.S. people and places were swapped out for local references.” - CBC

Want To Hear What Anyplace In The World Sounds Like?

Try this site. Though many recordings are from the UK, Europe, and the US, “it’s still quite fun and soothing to set the globe to rotate automatically, and as the reticle nears points on the Earth, it transitions to those new sounds.” - The Verge

Marian Anderson’s Importance As A Groundbreaking Singer Means We Sometimes Forget Her Skills And Ambition

“Anderson (1897-1993) won renown as a true, rare contralto with a rich, resonant low range who could also soar into the soprano sphere. Yet from the start, just being an excellent singer was not enough.” - The New York Times

With Freedom And Community, Music Has The Power To Transform Young Lives

“If you want to get a young person out of trouble, put a trumpet in their hands – then just watch what they do.” - The Guardian (UK)

Bad Bunny Finally Gets An Emmy, For The Super Bowl

The so-called “Primetime Emmys” happen next week, but Bad Bunny cleaned up with seven “creative Emmys” for his halftime show at the huge sporting event. - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

CD Sales Are Booming, Alongside Vinyl And Cassettes

“Despite the increased interest in physical media and the ongoing iPod revival, people are not leaving streaming in droves. Streaming revenue grew by 4.7 percent to $4.9 billion — dwarfing all physical media combined.” - The Verge

Cleveland Orchestra Musicians Authorize Strike

 The bargaining committee said it’s far apart from management with regard to compensation, repetitive stress injuries and gaining a voice in the orchestra’s artistic direction. - Ideastream

UK Loans Parthenon Pieces To Germany

The British Museum will lend two fragments of the Parthenon sculptures to an exhibition in Frankfurt, Germany, while Greece has rejected a request to lend nine Parthenon fragments from the Acropolis Museum for the same exhibition. - Greek Reporter

The Lucas Museum’s Populist Bet

It would be easy to describe the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which opens Sept. 22, as “unconventional,” a description the museum’s leaders seem to favor, though “oppositional” also comes to mind. - Los Angeles Times

What Happened To The Pieces Of Steel Salvaged From The World Trade Center?

“Everyone experienced the attacks on 9/11 as this really, really intense television event, and bringing a piece of steel from the World Trade Center ... allowed people to lay hands on these artifacts and to really feel this kind of deep expression of complex and lingering grief.” - NPR

Was Renoir Actually A Fairly Bad Painter?

The age-old question returns. “Surely Renoir would at least have benefitted from being slightly less prolific.” - Artnet

At Crystal Bridges, Renovation And Expansion Are The Order Of The Day

Of course, “while the museum and the Walton family espouse natural connections between art, community and general well-being (see also recent major investments in healthcare), the urge to collect continues apace.” - KC Studio

Another Long Dive On How The Bayeux Tapestry Made It Back To England

"Among the French, the mood is anxious. The tapestry’s early life is shrouded in mystery, but it seems to have led a fameless existence in Bayeux for hundreds of years.” - The New Yorker

In A World With Awards For Writing Badly About Sex, LitHub Has Tips For Doing The Opposite

“Even if you’re writing about stereotypically bad sex, your language should be fresh and surprising.” - LitHub

The Anthropic Settlement Is Turning Into Yet More Struggle For Authors Whose Works Were Stolen

Publishers and authors are wrangling, and third parties are getting into it, and in general, this isn’t great. - The New York Times

Remembering Gloria Steinem As A Writer

As she said, “It's one of the ironies of trying to be a writer and an activist at the same time that just when you feel you have the most to write about, you have the least time in which to write it.” - The New York Times

This May Not Be The Great American Novel, But It’s Got To Be The Great American Manuscript

That would be the 120-foot scroll of architectural tracing paper on which Jack Kerouac typed — single-spaced — his original draft of On the Road. He produced the whole megillah in three very caffeinated weeks. - AP

Why There Are Fewer English Majors In Universities Today

The decline of the English major offers a lesson in what young people want. Teenagers in the 2020s have a spiritual thirst that is unmet by a curriculum without order and greatness and charm. A field without a bible like the Norton doesn’t satisfy them. - Portico Quarterly

Bookshop.com Has Directed $50M To Indy Bookstores

The company launched in 2020 to offer shoppers a way of buying books online that supported independent bookstores and to divert sales away from Amazon and competing platforms. It operates both as a proprietary sales channel and offers affiliate sales for independent stores and influencers. - Publishers Weekly

Would A NYT Lawsuit Win Against Anthropic Be A Disaster For Smaller Publishers?

“If the administration’s position was accepted, it would result in an unprecedented, uncompensated transfer of IP rights from news organizations to tech companies,” said Matt Topic, a lawyer at Loevy & Loevy who is representing The Intercept in the case. - NiemanLab

Rob Reiner Wins A Posthumous Emmy For His Work On The Bear

“The award was Reiner’s third Emmy. He won his first in 1974 for best supporting actor in a comedy for his portrayal of Mike Stivic in All in the Family, and a second in 1978 for his work in the same show.” - The New York Times

Who’s The Next Bond?

The interest levels, and rumors, are rather off the charts right now. After all, “in the last decade alone the UK has had more prime ministers, and twice as many people have walked on the moon than have played the British secret agent.” - BBC

Silo Started As A Book, And Then Apple Made It Into A Wildly Complex TV Show

“'This has been the most complicated thing I’ve ever worked on,’ said the showrunner Graham Yost, who has also been an executive producer on Justified, The Americans and Slow Horses. But, he added, ‘It’s been the best experience I’ve ever had.’” - The New York Times

What’s So Horror-Filled About Consistency?

Well, OK, not consistency, but repetition. - The New York Times

Let Movies Be Movies Again, Hollywood

Don’t make a “verse,” like “The Monsterverse.” Just make a movie. They don’t all have to tie in together! - The Atlantic

Jacob’s Pillow Finally Has A Full Season Again

In the wake of a beloved production manager’s death in a tragic accident last year, questions remain about how staff and interns manage the intense dance festival workload. - The New York Times

CEO Who Turned Around Joffrey Ballet’s Finances To Step Down

“Since joining the Joffrey in 2013, (Greg) Cameron has brought financial stability to the organization, eliminating a budget deficit and establishing its first-ever endowment, which has grown to approximately $30 million. During his tenure, the operating budget more than doubled from $13 million to about $33 million.” - WBEZ (Chicago)

How D.C.’s Dance Place Fell Apart

This past May, Dance Place executive director André Mazelin abruptly fired artistic director Tariq O’Malley and eliminated his position. In July, at a town hall, former staffers, performers, and choreographers gave accounts of severe staffing, management, and interpersonal difficulties. (Mazelin himself resigned in August.) - Washington City Paper

Somebody Just Gave Boston Ballet $10M

The money was given by “an anonymous, long-time patron” of the organization who found themselves “inspired” by its transformation during Nissinen’s time there, according to the news release. - People

What Do You Get When You Cross Indian Classical Dance With A 1980s Video Game?

You get semi-improvised Bharatanatyam — normally a highly codified form — by three dancers basing their moves on a game of Ms. Pac-Man which they’re playing live onstage. - BBC (MSN)

The Star Who Injected Feminism Into Indian Classical Dance

“By the 1950s, Chandralekha was a legendary figure in (Bharatanatyam). However, she walked away from fame, rejecting the Brahminical and nationalist values that had come to shape it. ... When she returned to the stage in 1984, she brought with her a radically reimagined practice — sensual, iconoclastic and uncompromisingly feminist.” - Elle India

A Comedian And Content Creator Sees Shakespeare As His Future

The aim of this actor’s comedic videos, “he says, was to land on ‘something bigger and onto a new challenge’ - such as theatre acting.” - BBC

What Will Become Of Broadway’s Ed Sullivan Theatre Now That Colbert Has Left?

What will happen to the stage where Elvis’s swiveling pelvis was kept demurely out of frame, where the Beatles made their American debut, where Jackie Mason may or may not have flipped the bird at the host, where Topo Gigio found inexplicable fame? - Curbed

The Most Successful Work Of Art About 9/11? A Canadian Musical

“In the quarter-century since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the horror of that day has inspired novels, films, television shows, paintings and sculpture. But the most enduring artistic response has been … Come From Away, about a small town with a big airport where nearly 7,000 travelers were diverted.” - The New York Times

Michael Sheen’s Welsh National Theatre Takes On A Subject That, Shockingly, No One Has Done Until Now

That subject is the Welsh nobleman Owain Glyndŵr, who led a major rebellion against the English in the 15th century. Despite his fame, Sheen says, Glyndŵr’s story wasn’t taught in Welsh schools and nobody had ever staged it on a large scale before. - The Guardian

A Kentucky High School’s Production Of “Ragtime: Was Abruptly Cancelled. Then Broadway Spoke Up.

Last week the principal of Louisville’s performing arts high school told the cast and crew that the school district had cancelled their production due to community concerns about subject matter. The students posted a video online; it quickly tallied a million views — including by members of the current Broadway team. - Playbill

Georgia Ensemble Theatre In Metro Atlanta Quietly Shuts Down

“The company opened in 1992 at the Roswell Cultural Arts Center, served thousands of patrons over the years and collaborated with a ‘who’s who’ of area performers. On April 19 of this year, the Board of Trustees decided to close the company with no fanfare and no public statement.” - ArtsATL

What We Didn’t Understand About Yayoi Kusama

When she died last month, 37 years later, Ms. Kusama — in her life and her art — was obscured, paradoxically, by too much fame. - The New York Times

When You’re Suddenly Very Famous, Fairly Young, Things Can Be Difficult

At least that was the experience of Maisie Williams - Arya Stark, to all of the many, many, many Game of Thrones watchers out there. - The Guardian (UK)

Robin Morgan, Who Helped Found Second-Wave Feminism, Has Died At 85

“Morgan caused shock waves in 1970 when she published an essay in Rat, an underground newspaper. The article, titled 'Goodbye to All That,’ named specific men as sexists. ‘Goodbye to Hip Culture and the so-called Sexual Revolution,’ she wrote.” - The New York Times

How Errol Flynn Beat The Rap For Statutory Rape

Two credible allegations of sex with teenage girls would by themselves be enough to get Flynn cancelled today, especially since both complainants said that he forced himself on them. Unfortunately, that’s not how it played out in 1942 and ‘43 for Hollywood’s biggest star. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)

Just What Exactly Was Going On With Yayoi Kusama During Her Final Decade?

Those years seemed to be productive and were certainly profitable: she became the highest-priced living female artist, famous all over the world. At the same time, she stopped seeing visitors, fired longtime assistants and was reportedly bedridden. How, and with whom, was she producing her late work? - The New York Times

Singer Cassandra Wilson, 70

Wilson’s catalog showcased the full breadth of her native Mississippi’s musical heritage, drawing primarily from jazz but spanning every foundational American genre. - Los Angeles Times

Our Free Newsletter

Daily Focus on Culture, Ideas, Arts

AJ Premium Classifieds

Managing Director -Florida Studio Theatre working with Management Consultants for the...

Florida Studio Theatre invites applications for its Managing Director, a role for individuals with strong talent for running complex, multi-venue producing operations.

Artistic Director -Florida Studio Theatre working with Management Consultants for the...

Florida Studio Theatre (FST) is seeking a talented theater professional to lead the planning and execution of the organization’s core programming as Artistic Director.

AJClassifieds

Associate Professor of Acting

The Department of Theatre and Dance at UC San Diego http://theatre.ucsd.edu invites theatre artists to apply for a tenured faculty position within the Ladder Rank

Lead Event Technical Director

Lead Event Technical Director: oversee technical operations, crew leadership, safety compliance, and client coordination; requires rigging, carpentry, audio, lighting expertise in fast-paced performing arts venue.

Performing artists: share how GenAI is affecting your work

Theater, dance, and live music artists: how is generative AI affecting your work, income, and creative practices? SMU DataArts and artist Annie Dorsen want your voice in the first survey of its kind. Anonymous, open to all roles and career stages, through Sept 8, 2026. Take it here

The ‘Cult Of Male Directors’ Must End

Venice only has two films directed by women this year - and one of those directors says that “the enduring cult of male genius is keeping down female film-makers.” - The Guardian (UK)

Why Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey Is Destined To Be Forgotten

It’s "a nearly three-hour barn burner, racing from event to event with whirlwind kinetic energy. … Nolan’s reluctance to take a pause should, actually, give us pause. After all, Homer’s poem doesn’t just involve a lot of waiting. It is a postwar tale about waiting.” - Boston Globe

The Anthropic Settlement Is Turning Into Yet More Struggle For Authors Whose Works Were Stolen

Publishers and authors are wrangling, and third parties are getting into it, and in general, this isn’t great. - The New York Times

Is The Internet Dead?

“It’s no longer strange to think that AI might be everywhere, edging out all forms of human interaction: bots talking to bots, all the way down.” This is … not great. - The Atlantic

Trying To Revitalize A Tiny ‘Lost’ Town With Traditional Arts In North Carolina

“In the wake of Helene and the subsequent inland migration, the is teaching so-called Old World skills — like fiber arts and clay throwing — as essential tools in the modern age.” - The New York Times

Ancient Gold Treasure In Spain Stolen In Four-Minute Raid

“Thieves in Spain have raided the Treasure of Villena – a stunning collection of Bronze Age gold artefacts that has been described as the most important prehistoric trove in Europe – in the latest high-profile smash-and-grab heist on the continent.” - The Guardian

Artist Yayoi Kusama Has Died At 97

“Tenacious, obsessive and, in the eyes of her critics, relentlessly self-promoting, she became a pop-culture fixture, making brightly colored, instantly recognizable paintings, sculptures and installations that were exhibited at major museums and made her one of the world’s top-selling contemporary artists.” - The Washington Post (MSN)

Actor Tim Curry, Star Of “Rocky Horror” And “It,” Has Died At 80

“Though Curry would forever be the face that launched a thousand Time Warp dances …, he (was) far more than a one-trick pony over a career that spanned more than a half-century.” His roles ranged from Pennywise the Clown (Stephen King’s It) to Mozart (Amadeus, Olivier and Tony nominations) to King Arthur (Spamalot). -...

Trump Administration Threatens To Demolish Kennedy Center If Renovations Don’t Proceed

“Without those efforts,” wrote administration attorneys in a court filing, “the ⁠Center will deteriorate further into an unsafe, decrepit structure that will be required to be taken down, with a determination to follow on what to ​build on the site, such as a large outdoor amphitheater overlooking the Potomac River.” - The Guardian

Avoiding First-Ever Strike, Boston Symphony Management And Musicians Agree On Contract

In a tellingly worded statement, the union president said, “This groundbreaking agreement offers unprecedented artistic collaboration through all aspects of the artistic process. … It is also an innovative and transformative path forward for American orchestras, involving players as never before in the process of artistic decision making and planning.” - WBUR (Boston)

Dolly Parton Has Died At 80

“Known for her curvy physique, massive blond wigs and skin-tight outfits that served her self-deprecating wit, she was among the most beloved personalities in music and beyond — the rare celebrity whose appeal transcended generations, geography and politics.” - AP

Boston Musicians, Management Agree To A 48-Hour Contract Extension

Though the union didn’t answer questions — and management press releases can be pressure tactics of their own — the extension seems like a good sign as “the BSO announced Sunday that a ‘ratification vote’ is in the offing.” - Boston Globe

Subscribe to our newsletter

Join our 30,000 subscribers