“You are seated, waiting for the show to begin. Through your special glasses, you can see … four actors (entering). They come close to your chair and look directly at you. ‘Don’t panic,’ Ian McKellen tells you. But Ian McKellen isn’t really there. Neither are the other three actors.” - The New York Times
A gallery specialising in art once owned by members of the Third Reich’s leadership, including works personally owned by Adolf Hitler, has prompted conversations about how Nazi-era art circulates, how it should be contextualised and who engages with it. - The Art Newspaper
Unlike creators, a performer does not have the benefit of a personal product (or several) that persist over time like a symphony or novel or painting. - Nightingale Sonata
When I am photographing humans, I want to hear about their lives and aspirations. I care about their aesthetic sensibilities, what they are wearing, how they want to present themselves. Photographing an object feels different. I still savor the aesthetics of my subject, but my appreciation extends back to the object’s creator. - The New Yorker
Nobody currently with the museum who was interviewed for this article would agree to be named, but some former members went on the record, as did Suda herself — extensively. Perforce the story is told largely (though not entirely) from her side, but it is quite a tale. - Philadelphia Magazine
It now contrasts with portraits of other former presidents, including Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, which all hang alongside wall text highlighting events during their time in office. Clinton’s notes his impeachment. - Washington Post
“This isn’t A.I.’s problem. This is our political system’s problem. If you get a massive increase in productivity, how does that wealth get shared around?” If A.I. abundance does materialize, that will be a central question. - The New Yorker
The truth is—and this may come as a surprise to some of you—the English language does not exist. English is an entirely borrowed language. There was Anglo-Saxon, and overlays of Norse from the Vikings, then the French invasion brought some upper-class words. - Harper's
The 85-year-old contemporary dance pioneer has accepted a five-year appointment with the company. She will begin with restaging her 2015 work Canto Ostinato and will develop a full-length work, scheduled to premiere in 2027, to “honor a milestone birthday of one of (her) most enduring musical collaborators,” presumably Philip Glass. - BroadwayWorld
“I want it to be a theatre where theatre people can come and see a show and that generates a kind of warmth,” he says. “You’ll often find actors in the bar afterwards.” - The Times (UK)
In contemporary European literature, a book these days is often the beginning of a familial feud. With thinly disguised autobiographical accounts of family strife undergoing a sustained boom across the continent, it can increasingly lead to family reunions in courtrooms. - The Guardian
Search traffic to news sites has already plunged by a third in a single year globally, with the rise of AI overviews and chatbots, as well as changes to the search algorithms that have been the lifeblood of some media companies since the rise of the internet. - The Guardian
“The real reason I’ve left (the U.S.) is deeper than politics: it’s the culture. The culture creates the politics. … The relentless commercialisation, rising tides of xenophobia, the strident acrimony of social discourse, the violence, and the increasingly hysterical tenor of life in the USA have simply worn us down.” - The Saturday Paper (Australia)
“Clements joined the Guardian arts team in August 1993, succeeding Edward Greenfield as the paper’s chief music critic. His appointment was clinched by a personal recommendation to the editor from the late Alfred Brendel. … For the next 32 years, Clements ranged across all fields of classical music … and often beyond.” - The Guardian
“(He) rose to prominence in 1968 with the publication of … Chariots of the Gods, … (which) was followed by more than two dozen similar books, spawning a literary niche in which fact and fantasy were mixed together against all historical and scientific evidence.” He became the first winner of the Ig Nobel Prize. - AP
