Just as it is with a medical doctor, discretion is part of Suzanne Siano’s business model — she does not reveal to anyone what works she has inspected or conserved. Some of the paintings in the Grand Palais booths were familiar to her as former patients, but she was mum on which ones. - The New York Times
“By suggesting that some works may be construed as hate speech and requiring visitors to sign a waiver, the sign not only misrepresents the purpose of the exhibit but also undermines the intent of the artists and the curatorial process." - Hyperallergic
Lianhuanhua, read by children and adults alike, are palm-sized books with two or three lines of text and one image per page, and they became hugely popular in the early 20th century. But their storylines, often traditional tales, frequently incorporated magic and the supernatural — anathema to Mao Zedong Thought. - History Today
The report concluded that while the AI boom will substantially enrich giant tech companies, creators’ rights and income streams will be drastically reduced unless policymakers step in. - The Guardian
While the people of France supported the effort in the immediate aftermath—within days of the fire, there were donations of more than $900 million—the years that followed were beset by pushback, controversy and outrage. - The Wall Street Journal
Music executives say Swift has raised the bar for the concert industry, not just with ticket and merchandise sales, but conceptual ambition, stage production, wardrobe and news-cycle penetration. - The Wall Street Journal
"People often think of these musical memories as fixed snapshots of the past. But recent research my team and I published suggests music may do more than just trigger memories – it might even change how you remember them." - The Conversation
"They obtain scores and parts, consult with conductors and concertmasters, check the music for accuracy, ensure that page turns are realistic, and make corrections as necessary. … Can you get the mute out fast enough? Who’s going to need more time to turn a page?" - San Francisco Classical Voice
Lynne Charles, artistic director of English National Ballet School, has developed a method she calls 4Pointe. "There are all these methods ... but there’s no pre-pointe teaching ... the balance as you go through your foot. I’ve developed exercises for specific parts of the foot and put them in a specific order." - Bachtrack
"Why would anyone want to be a critic? As I’ve admitted before, it wasn’t in my case an aspiration but a series of accidents that only in retrospect seem inevitable." Charles McNulty explains how it happened as well as the principles that shape his criticism. - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
"In the last two years, even as auction prices have generally come down, 'there’s been a growing recognition for this medium by institutions and museums,' Michael Bouhanna, head of digital art and NFTs at Sotheby’s, said. 'It’s in a more educational phase.'" - The New York Times
With the estimated cost of the project having risen by 50% to C$600 million, the museum's board decided to end work on the design by Herzog & de Meuron and to seek a new architect. - CBC
Culture secretary Angus Robertson predicted the new funding for culture earmarked for the coming financial year would be 'transformational" for the arts industry. Finance secretary Shona Robison said that she aims to allocate an additional £20 million for the following fiscal year. - The Scotsman
"One thing voting for awards has taught me is that virtually every outside assumption about how the process works is wrong, (especially) any attempt to extract an overarching meaning from the results. … Fortunately, there’s an easy way to explain the process. … All you have to do is watch Conclave." - Slate (MSN)
"Nearly 500 journalists are on strike at The Guardian and its sister paper, the Sunday-only Observer, to protest the planned sale of The Observer to a small digital startup. … Says (star reporter) Carole Cadwalladr, 'The sale of The Observer to a loss-making startup is potentially the death of this historic brand." - NPR
