Selfie-takers in museums epitomise ‘possessive modes of looking’ that are a symptom of a history of art rooted in the conflict between how the art system (museum, art market) ‘alienates’ the work of art, against art’s ‘constituent alterity’, its ‘infinite capacity… to generate experience over time’ – or, in other words, its freedom. - ArtReview
Today’s libraries are a direct legacy of the Roman impulse to transcend practicality and invest arenas of knowledge with a sense of scale akin to that of churches – temples to a different creed – with their imposing porticoes and columns, their elaborate ornaments and staircases, their rows of desks and lofty shelves. - Psyche
As the oddly mismatched mega-companies who currently produce, own, and distribute TV shows and movies fumble to align themselves on basic issues, it has become clear that the only goal these corporations have in common is to gain market power and then exploit it; that is, to monopolize. - The Ankler
The London museum has said its pay-what-you-will scheme will extend for one more major show - Franz Hals. They've done it for two earlier shows, and research shows 20 percent of pay-what-you-will visitors were seeing a special exhibit for the first time. - The Guardian (UK)
In the fight over the Internet Archive, "it’s rarely this nasty, but free vs. expensive is a struggle that plays out continuously against all forms of media and entertainment. Neither side has the upper hand forever. "- The New York Times
That's already an option in the U.S., but will the rest of the world bite? Disney+ needs money after a series of declines in membership, and disappointing film results as well. - BBC
"Given how he’s become an exalted landmark on the high road of culture, it’s easy to forget that there’s always been a secret smugglers’ path to a more salacious and subversive Shakespeare, one well known and beloved by artists and theater people." - The New York Times
At the Met Museum, 68 Pueblo potters and cultural leaders organized a new exhibit. "The objects were all selected by members of the Pueblo Pottery Collective and the labels highlight Pueblo peoples’ voices and perspectives, rather than the traditional museum label style." - The New York Times
Lisa Edelstein "recently was paid 97 cents in residuals for the two episodes of Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce which she wrote and starred in." Ninety. Seven. Cents. - Variety
"For centuries, and no matter how much it has changed, Europe, for us, has meant art and architecture, science and philosophy, fashion and fame, sex and perfume — and some connection to the past." - The New York Times
The state of Florida under Ron DeSantis certainly has come to resemble a parody of itself, and, well: "Students in a Florida school district will be reading only excerpts from William Shakespeare's plays for class rather than the full texts under redesigned curriculum guides." - NPR
For instance, there's the Wild Boar, or the Crystal Palace dinosaurs: "Scientifically, they’re wildly inaccurate. But in every other way, they’re perfect: endlessly surprising, vividly alive; an enduring memorial to our Victorian ancestors’ hunger for knowledge." - The Observer (UK)
Perhaps it's time to revive the film of the stage version? But early on, "there was good reason to think that a film version could be viable, at least before the bottom fell out for movie musicals around the end of the 1960s." - Variety
Memes are a form of currency that go far, far beyond the original spark. And though Last Voyage of the Demeter might as well not be in theatres at all, at least we can all enjoy multiple levels of Dracula memes. - Vulture
