Rau’s trials — with real witnesses and arguments, followed by symbolic judgments — have put Gisèle Pelicot’s rapists, mining companies in the Congo, and the Russian jurists who prosecuted Pussy Riot in the dock. But when Rau invited controversial billionaire Peter Thiel for a tribunal, stakeholders rebelled. - The Guardian
How much do we want the internet to be television? A good gimmick for social-media content doesn’t automatically translate to interesting TV, a medium that many of us enjoy precisely because it doesn’t live or die by an algorithmic social-media feed. - The New Yorker
A new generation – of concert-goers as well as performers – are essential to classical music’s future. Would a Ryan Wigglesworth born today still become a musician? Are the networks and resources still in place? Wigglesworth thinks not. It’s a problem he’s navigating first-hand with his own children. - The Guardian
Our reigning cultural ideology has been poptimism—the idea that if a lot of people like a work of art, then it has to be good. Now sloptimism, which holds that if there’s a lot of art out there and people are engaging with it then how bad can it be? - The New Yorker
Emma Dante, who will receive the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at this year’s Venice Theatre Biennale, led a revival of interest in dialect plays in Sicily in the ‘00s, and she’s staged works in Neapolitan and Apulian as well. Then, last year, she up and moved to Rome. - The New York Times
This year’s event has a record number of participants, and is set to break even after operating at a loss for the last two years. The motto “L.A. is a theater town” is emblazoned on posters and T-shirts all over the festival, featuring thousands of artists in nearly 500 live performances. - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
For decades, the beautiful game depended on the human eye: a scout on the sideline, attentively watching, waiting for that something special. That process, however, is becoming increasingly data-driven. - The Conversation
As seen in a viral video posted to Instagram on Tuesday, Wembanyama and his sister Eve, who also plays professional basketball, but in Europe, were spotted in Gramercy Park, one of just two private parks in New York City, sketching a statue of Edwin Booth. - ARTnews
The great Barcelona architect despised flying buttresses, especially in 20th-century neo-Gothic architecture, calling them “crutches” for a building that couldn’t support its own weight. To keep the walls and towers of his masterpiece church standing tall, he relied on an even older architectural feature, one that dates back to antiquity. - BBC
What used to be a novelty has now become a core staple of symphonic programming in the United States: live soundtracks, performances in which an orchestra plays while a movie screens overhead. - The New York Times
A huge share of STEM and economics faculty across the UC system is now in open revolt—demanding that California’s public universities at least look at standardized-test scores before offering admission. - The Atlantic
It was an AI-manipulated version of the band’s 2019 single “Angels Above Me,” sped up with a tweaked lead vocal and a dance-music kick drum. Stick Figure wasn’t mentioned anywhere, but someone was making thousands of dollars off its viral success. - Los Angeles Times
“He focused on kinetic sculpture … and the geometric optical illusions of Op Art, infusing them with regional influences” — he was Argentine, though he spent his adult life in Paris — “and often overtly political content, … pioneer(ing) a form of socially conscious, audience-friendly sculpture and vibrantly colorful, politically engaged painting.” - The New York Times
Millions have already been spent on planning and architectural design for a new home for the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, and total costs for the project were capped at a projected €1 billion (which few people believed). Now the mayor says the money simply isn’t there. - The Violin Channel
What most respondents considered negative was the effort itself. One visitor called it “un-American.” Another criticized the idea of “having Americans call in and snitch on each other.” One person wrote, “Hey Donald Trump! Trying to erase history doesn’t mean it didn’t still happen!” - AP
