It is now a common belief that something has gone horribly wrong with the Internet, but as with anything so hard to define, the contours of its fault lines are blurry. Solutions, naturally, have proved even more elusive. - The Nation
For the Victorians the word “utopian” did not carry the negative connotations of impossibility, naïveté, and dunderheadedness that it does for us now—the writers and thinkers who used that word were for the most part engaged in actual utopian projects, whether literal or literary (or both). - 3 Quarks Daily
The idea that art is only art when it shows evidence of the artist’s handicraft is, at this point, so ludicrous that it barely needs addressing. People who say that anyone can make AI art are the latest in a long line of people who said the same thing about some of the most important art of the 20th...
Reid’s accomplishments at the museum included launching an 8-year, $320 million expansion and renovation, designed by architect Rafael Vinoly, that transformed the institution by upgrading and enlarging its galleries and giving the museum a central atrium. - The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)
The arts is celebrating going back to normal – live events are back on; streaming is being turned off – but for many of us it’s as though the industry has their fingers in their ears and their backs turned on those who aren’t safe to participate. It’s infuriating and painful to watch. - The Guardian
What harm is done by letting conductors into our chamber music? More than you’d suspect. Collaborative pianists — we only recently stopped calling them “accompanists” — have struggled to acquire a modicum of dignity for their vocation. - The Critic
The Greeks used Laurus nobilis, or “bay laurel,” as a remedy for rashes from other plants and boiled it down for antiseptic and first aid applications. But the use of crowns crafted from laurel sprigs emerged for different reasons. - The Conversation
Littlefeather, "the Apache activist and actress who refused to accept the best actor award on behalf of Marlon Brando at the 1973 Oscars," has died at 75. - The New York Times
One duo says it can be done. "We’re about understanding the evidence and showing how a case can go from what should have been innocence to guilt, based on one eyewitness or a forced confession." - Los Angeles Times
Or, at least, some authors who should. "You would think that in this, post-Squid Games, post-BTS world, the Academy would attempt to reclaim relevance by reading and engaging with works outside their comfort zone, by reading outside of Europe and North America." - LitHub
Mary Mattingly creates "prescient environmental projects that address current crises and potential cataclysms: What might the good life look like if cities that depend on precarious supply chains became more self-reliant? How could public parks help relieve urban hunger?" - The New York Times
Before TikTok, Instagram "became a destination for an endless variety of beautiful, funky, far-out and vibrant images — of food, national parks and everything else — turning into one of the internet’s premier visual repositories." Then, a pivot to video. - The New York Times
