“Sherman was a squeaky-clean regular on the covers of Tiger Beat and Sixteen magazines, often with hair over his eyes and a choker on his neck. His face was printed on lunchboxes, cereal boxes and posters that hung on the bedroom walls of his adoring fans.” - AP
The 37-foot-tall living sculpture, created in 2000, is designed to nurture more than 50,000 flowering plants and will be seeded in August with the hope that it will be fully established by April, when architect Peter Zumthor’s new poured concrete building is scheduled to open to the public. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
"The Venice Biennale has long been a mirror of the profession. This year, we tried a different format: Could a biennale shift from being a mirror to a tool? Could it become not a polished celebration of current architecture, but a place where we confront the urgency of adaptation to a planet in flux?" - Bloomberg
The author Percival Everett is fond of noting that he considers reading to be a subversive act. “No one can control what minds do when reading; it is entirely private,” he once said. This, to me, is the best argument for why a man should read. - The Atlantic (MSN)
“For those communities willing to share this with visitors (through ceremony or education at cultural centers), don’t neglect the opportunity. And if you’re asked to join — the only answer is yes. … So, to travelers, take note: every culture has its own form of traditional movement, a few of which are highlighted below.” - Vogue
Germany’s smaller opera houses allow up-and-coming artists to hone their craft, giving onstage experience to generations of performers. Smaller houses also allow audiences to get to know a much larger repertoire than what’s usually programmed at leading institutions. - The New York Times
Before the fire, the museum contained over 20 million items, including unpublished documents from Empress Maria Leopoldina, ethnographic objects from Indigenous Brazilians, significant specimens of the country’s biodiversity, fossils and rare minerals. The blaze destroyed about 85 percent of the museum’s collection. - The New York Times
In creative fields such as design, writing and content, teams that paired AI with human input consistently outperformed those using either alone. "When the task requires creativity and the generation of novel ideas, human-AI collaboration tends to deliver the best outcomes," the study concludes. - Entrepreneur
“On Monday, the Italian government announced it will cut the country’s VAT on art sales from 22% — the highest in the European Union — to just 5% percent … now the lowest.” A recent study estimated that the reduction could see galleries, antique dealers, and auction houses in Italy generate €1.5 billion in three years. - ARTnews
More than 50% of exhibition executives polled in a new survey believe that the “traditional cinema experience” has less than 20 years remaining as a viable business model. - Variety
The brain continues to develop and mature into one’s mid-20s, but like a muscle it needs to be exercised, stimulated and challenged to grow stronger. Technology and especially AI can stunt this development by doing the mental work that builds the brain’s version of a computer cloud. - The Wall Street Journal
A court has determined that it was legal for Anthropic to train its AI tools on copyrighted works, arguing that the behavior is shielded by the “fair use” doctrine, which allows for unauthorized use of copyrighted materials under certain conditions. - Wired
They are memes generated by artificial intelligence and adored by Gen Alpha and the youngest of Gen Z — and if you’re older than that, they almost certainly baffle you. But that’s okay: Chimpanzini Bananini, Ballerina Cappuccina, Cappuccino Assassino (her boyfriend), and Shrimp Jesus were never intended to make sense. - The Guardian
The statues, from the city’s cathedral, became the city’s property in 1948 and were subsequently moved to Franco’s summer palace at his wife’s request. The dictator’s family held onto them after he died and claimed ownership, a claim the court has now voided. - ARTnews
“Jennifer Bielstein is leaving her role after seven years on the job, opening one of the top leadership positions in Bay Area theater as the industry continues to absorb pandemic aftershocks. … In Houston, she'll be managing director to another Bay Area expat — Artistic Director Rob Melrose.” - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
