“We began evacuating the artefacts while the roof was still ablaze and the firefighting operation was still under way,” said the director of one museum. “We could hear the roof collapsing. We were constantly wading through water.” - The Guardian
In fact, the missing glands on the bovine in this 19th-century floor mosaic had been gouged out by excessive tourist traffic some time ago, and the restorers (and the landlord) declined to replace them. Here’s why. - Smithsonian Magazine
The theft of the fruit from the jokester artist’s piece Comedian happened this past Saturday at the Pompidou Center’s outpost in Metz, France; the duct tape was left behind. No suspect has yet been identified, and museum staff promptly replaced the banana. - ARTnews
Unlike Patti LuPone, Cynthia Erivo, Andrew Scott and others, Rosamund Pike waited until the performance (her Olivier-winning turn in Inter Alia) was over: after the curtain call, she came onstage alone and made a brief speech about why seeing an audience member using a phone during a show is so distracting. - The Guardian
If the National Science Foundation does stop funding social scientists, experts told me, our 5,000-foot-view of American life will get foggier. The NSF, through the SBE division, is the primary funder of the “big three” social-science surveys, which have enabled the work of several generations of academics, economists, and policy wonks. - The Atlantic
Computers talk to computers, producing information to train computers to sound more like humans or to better engage them. Humans type into the box, scroll, and wait. - The Atlantic
Ballet has a reputation for upholding rigid body standards. In recent years, though, the art form has been rethinking its relationship to diversity in areas like race and body type. - The New York Times
A new book makes the case that when it comes to evolving forms and styles in American architecture, a new generation of firms is drawing inspiration from not just place and local architectural heritage, but the place a building like the Girls Inc. Youth Farm will play in the community. - Fast Company
Teaching people to read and building a world where they can do so are different problems. Throwing our phones in the lake can’t bring about that world, but designing the conditions for reading will. - The New York Times
Sarah Wynn-Williams, whose bestselling memoir, Careless People, details her years working at Facebook, was due to appear in conversation with the investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr and academic Tim Wu. Instead, Wynn-Williams sat on stage for the hour-long discussion without speaking or responding. She was unable even to nod or shake her head. - The Gaurdian
AI music has gone viral before and charted before, but song generators are now good and fast enough that they can flood the zone, creating tracks that slip past the safeguards of major streaming platforms and distributors. Spam-filtering systems can do only so much to stem the flow. - The Atlantic
Why so much dance on TV lately? “Where the goal is to quickly get and then hold the viewer’s attention, energetic movement is a straightforward strategy. Dance’s graphic elements immediately catch the eye, and they can make that gaze linger.” - Dance Magazine
