“A White House statement said the order would ‘ensure taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda’, and included quotes from politicians and right-wing media criticising the broadcaster. VOA, still primarily a radio service, … says it currently reaches hundreds of millions of people globally each week. - BBC
Looking again at how the myth of the Mona Lisa emerged, I believe that her fame is due not just to the painting’s display of artistic ingenuity – but to the troubling vampirism and gender ambiguity that 19th-century critics saw in Leonardo’s work. - The Conversation
Folk tales offer a kind of fabular impersonality, where an author’s voice is lost in a wider fiction machine or culture of storytelling. That form of multi-voiced impersonality played a big part in some of the most influential 20th-century fictions. - London Review of Books
What do we talk about when we talk about the ‘Art World’ in 2025? It definitely doesn’t describe everyone who makes art, or buys art, or goes to a gallery. ‘Art World’ suggests a degree of gatekeeping, and maybe that’s ok. - Dazed
Red-chip art comes in many guises, but certain visual patterns predominate: super-flat cartoons, a street art/graffiti aesthetic, and multi-colored chrome. A crypto component is always welcome. - Artnet
Obviously, there's no single answer as to why people seem to be struggling with cognitive skills, but one key indicator is the sharp decline in reading and the world's changing relationship to the way we consume information and media. - Futurism
"If the PRC's developers have unfettered access to data and American companies are left without fair use access, the race for AI is effectively over," the company wrote in its policy proposal. "America loses, as does the success of democratic AI." - Futurism
One order signed Friday night calls for the agencies — some of which are focused on minority business enterprises, museum and library services, and homelessness prevention — to “be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.” - Washington Post
At the heart of the stunning decision appears to be Disney boss Bob Iger’s determination to avoid the wrath of Trump and the MAGA movement, which has put the entertainment giant in their crosshairs, rather than standing by the company’s creatives. - Status News
This past Sunday, at the music center at Strathmore, near Washington, 22 students who had lost their chance to play tuned up with the military band veterans for the concert that was not meant to be heard. - CBSNews
Gemini 2.0 Flash will uncomplainingly create images depicting celebrities and copyrighted characters, and — as alluded to earlier — remove watermarks from existing photos. - TechCrunch
"The solid bronze severed head of Melbourne’s decapitated King George V statue was reported to have briefly reappeared in public, gracing the stage during a performance by Irish rap group Kneecap.” - Irish Times
"'Creating is my way of life; perhaps it’s a form of self-defense. Sculpting is healing, a form of struggle, and therapy all at once,’ Meliksetyan explained. So long as he draws breath, Meliksetyan has never considered abandoning his art.” - Hyperallergic
According to the NYT, all is well: “The expansion is about as sensitive and deft as one could hope for. At moments, as in a voluptuous new marble staircase and airy auditorium, it approximates poetry.” - The New York Times
“Throughout the years, we've certainly had vocal audience members or community members who've questioned some programming choices. … But what we have never encountered is elected officials trying to dictate what we should and should not be showing.” - NPR
