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Due To “Memory Issues,” Johnny Mathis Retires After Seven-Decade Career

“A statement posted to Facebook reads: ‘As many of you may already be aware, Johnny Mathis is approaching his 90th birthday this year. So, it’s with sincere regret that due to Mr. Mathis’s age and memory issues which have accelerated, we are announcing his retirement from touring and live concerts.’” - The Guardian

It’s Not Only Gérard Depardieu Who’s On Trial In France This Week

“He faces two counts of sexual assault. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison and a fine of €75,000. … For many in France, the case marks a cultural reckoning. Can a nation famed for its culture of seduction — and long criticized for shielding male artists — hold one of them accountable?” - AP

Scott Nickrenz, Violist And Chamber Music Director, Has Died At 87

As a musician, he was a founding member of the Lenox and Vermeer String Quartets and the Orpheus Trio. Over the years he directed and curated chamber programming at BAM, the Spoleto Festivals, the New World Symphony, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. - The Strad

Angelina Jolie’s Creative Atelier

Jolie, the Oscar-winning actress, humanitarian and object of global fascination, was not the red-hot center of attention. Which is just how she wants it. “I like to see what other people make,” she said. “That’s part of my creativity.” - The New York Times

Gérard Depardieu Sexual Assault Trial Begins In Paris

“Depardieu, 76, is accused of having groped a 54-year-old set dresser and a 34-year-old assistant director during filming in 2021 of Les Volets Verts (‘The Green Shutters’). The actor faces up to five years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros ($81,000) if convicted.” - AP

Maybe Paul Gauguin Was Not The Syphilitic Colonialist Child-Molester People Had Thought He Was

Biographer Sue Prideaux has found materials indicating that the artist did not have syphilis at all, his lover was well over the age of consent at the time and was free to stay with or leave him as she wished, and he actively campaigned against injustice and corruption in the colonial government of French Polynesia. - The Guardian

Fred Eversley, Sculptor In “Light And Space” Movement, Dead At 83

“Whereas (most Light and Space) artists focused in their work on perception and transcendence, Eversley” — a former aerospace engineer — “was more interested in portraying scientific subjects: black holes, dead star matter, and parabolas, whose arc-like forms generated a career-long inquiry for him, in particular.” - ARTnews

Art Advisor Lisa Schiff Sentenced To 2.5 Years In Prison For Art Fraud

Authorities say that Schiff defrauded clients of her art advisory business out of roughly $6.5 million in connection with the purchase and sale of about 55 artworks. - Artnet

The New Yorker Parts Ways With Its Art Critic

Jackson Arn, who joined the magazine in 2023, was accused of making inappropriate overtures to some of the attendees and appeared intoxicated at the celebration, according to the two people, one of whom witnessed his actions. - The New York Times

Canadian Actor Writes About Her Two-Week Detention At U.S. Border

“I told them I would pay for my flight home and asked when I could leave. No answer. Then they moved me to another cell – this time with no mat or blanket. I sat on the freezing cement floor for hours. I realized they were processing me into real jail.” - The Guardian

Edgar Allan Poe’s Life Was A Mess. He Wrote To Compensate

Through all his binges and bankruptcies, through every setback and depressive spell, he kept making art because he knew that’s where the best of him lay. - Washington Post

“Emotionally, Socially, Incredibly Stupid”: Re-Examining The Pharma Mogul Who Created The Barnes Foundation

Blake Gopnik: “I’m not sure that we really understood the contradictions at the heart of Albert Barnes, the fact that he could be just an incredibly smart man and a man who was emotionally, socially incredibly stupid, a man who could be incredibly generous and just absurdly vituperative.” - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)

What Actor Gemma Chan Has Been Doing With Her Fame Since Crazy Rich Asians

Movies, music, cats, and … football. “I’ve supported Arsenal for nearly all of my life, since I was 4. I try to go several times a year to Emirates Stadium. There’s often moments of crushing disappointment that you become very familiar with.” - The New York Times

Sofia Gubaidulina’s Place in The Musical World

Gubaidulina’s work is not the kind of thing you put on during morning yoga. She makes sounds of struggle and disorder; of awaiting some signal from beyond with hushed anxiety; of the strenuous attempt to bridge the gap between humans and the divine. Transcendence, if and when it arrives, is hard won. - The New York Times

John Feinstein, Star Sports Commentator And Bestselling Author, Dead At 69

A full-time sportswriter for The Washington Post for 14 years and steady contributor thereafter, he became known to national audiences through regular appearances on NPR and ESPN. Feinstein wrote or co-write more than 40 books, including the bestseller A Season on the Brink, about basketball coach Bobby Knight. - The Washington Post (MSN)

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