The museum calls it “narrative art,” defined as art “created to tell stories through images.” George Lucas and his wife, Mellody Hobson, have also described their collection as “the people’s art.” - Los Angeles Times
“The Gate Theatre, which has punched above its weight ever since it was founded above a Notting Hill pub in 1979, is to close permanently next month. The announcement comes four years after the theatre had what it described as a ‘devastating’ 100% cut to its Arts Council England funding.” - The Guardian
Sophistication, one begins to think, is a thing won against the grain of privilege—a substitute for it, a social sleight of hand. A “classy” entertainer is almost never someone from the upper classes; sophisticated people are mostly smart people passing as rich people. - The New Yorker
The suit, one of four recently brought by contractors alleging nonpayment, claims the museum “actively promoted, contracted, and labeled the construction as a ‘private, non-profit development’ to bypass the rigorous administrative, registration, and bonding mandates of the California Public Contract Code, Civil Code, and Labor Code.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
Hungary’s new government has scrapped plans for a New National Gallery that was to form part of a development in Budapest’s City Park (Városliget) aimed at elevating the capital’s cultural standing. - The Art Newspaper
In 1957, undercover police bought a copy of the poetry collection which featured “Howl” at City Lights bookstore in San Francisco — and proceeded to arrest owner Lawrence Ferlinghetti and manager Shig Murao for selling obscene material. Their trial set a major precedent in First Amendment case law. - BBC (MSN)
We appreciate that each of us is a link in a millennia-long chain of language, connected to people over the centuries by the words they bequeathed us. Following where, and through whom, that chain has passed is the business of etymology. - Psyche
What this administration cannot capture directly of the country's culture, it destroys with chaos, making life intolerable for people who persevere in the audacious belief that things like "the increase and diffusion of knowledge" actually matter. - Washington Post (Yahoo)
That language has been removed from the website, and the marker in the cemetery has been replaced by a new sign that omits wording critical of slavery and the Confederacy. - Washington Post
“He played a leading role in developing the independent dance scene through the 1970s and early ‘80s, before going on to direct Ballet Rambert for six years from 1986, and then the Richard Alston Dance Company from 1994 to 2020.” - The Guardian
"Mayor Roberto Gualtieri presented the recently restored ‘Painted City’ fresco and ‘Great Mosaic’ that were discovered in an underground gallery during excavations in the 1990s of the Baths of Trajan on the Oppio hill near the Colosseum.” The sites are opening on a trial basis, only on weekends, strictly for small groups. - AP
“Many performances will be staged at multiple venues, bringing the NSO to new places and making the shows more accessible to the broader D.C. region than ever before. With so many venues to choose from, we put together a guide.” - The Washington Post (Yahoo!)
“Inspired by the bravery and patriotism of Apple and Google, we are changing the name of South Park to SOUTH AMERICA,” creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker said in a statement. “We especially want to thank our parent company Paramount – a Skydance Capitulation.” - The Guardian
“The Eiffel Tower closed Monday due to strikes over outrage that female workers were allegedly ordered to leave and stay out of sight to comply with a special request from a traditional Hindu delegation that visited the monument over the weekend.” - ARTnews
“In her decision, ... Judge Annalisa Torres said that Netrebko and her team failed to prove that Peter Gelb ‘acted with actual malice when he made the allegedly defamatory statements.’ Additionally, the judge concluded that Netrebko’s team were unable to prove that ‘Gelb’s 2024 and 2025 remarks’ were made in retaliation for the lawsuit.” - OperaWire
