It was an even uglier, more dishonest project than some of us had realized. (At least Elgin was heavily criticized for it at the time, even within Britain.) - Smithsonian Magazine
Until last month, guards starting at the Met had been paid $15.51 an hour, just above the $15 minimum wage for fast food workers in New York state. Now guards are paid a starting wage of $16.50. - The New York Times
Against the promise of his holdings of Aboriginal art, Gantner urged Shepparton to build a standalone gallery and for it to become a not-for-profit company independent of the council. Councils are “not natural operators of major arts facilities”, he says. - The Art Newspaper
The petroglyphs, at least 4,500 years old, in Big Bend National Park were ruined by "Isaac, Ariel, Norma, (and) Adrian," who carved their names on the rock on the day after Christmas. - Texas Monthly
This time around, the traditionalist lunatics have succeeded in taking over the asylum. Reactionary ideas hostile to the cosmopolitan, to Modernism, to modernity itself, are in the ascendant. - The Art Newspaper
Search out painters, sculptors, and other artists you like, and buy what you can. For fun. For your own space. For falling in love with art. "If a vaguely affordable picture speaks to me, the tips of my fingers seem to tingle and burn." - The Guardian (UK)
A study of composers during from 1750-1899 discovered that they were significantly more productive when they lived in close proximity to other composers. The most likely way of accounting for this is the inherent rivalry that arises when creative people encounter each other daily. - Ted Gioia
Deep in the red-dirt semidesert of interior New South Wales, composer Georges Lentz and architect Glenn Murcutt created the Cobar Sound Chapel, visually a cross between Peter Zumthor and James Turrell, with a 24-hour "digital string quartet" by Lentz on loop. - T — The New York Times Style Magazine
Yes, it's ultimately because of Alexander the Great, but not directly. Among the unusual facts about this story is that many Greeks in ancient India adopted Buddhism and that Indian Greeks were the first to depict Siddhartha Gautama in human form. - Psyche
The building in Virginia Beach is aging, not particularly attractive, difficult to find, and very leaky; not for the first time, there's serious talk of moving. (But the main alternative is the city's Visitor Center, which is in the median of I-264.) - The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk)
In March of 2021, the painting, which had been up for sale in Madrid and priced at a measly $1,800, was pulled from its auction after researchers determined that there was sufficient evidence to label The Crowning of Thorns as having been made by Caravaggio. - The Observer
As the price of metals has soared worldwide, people have taken to stealing streetlight wiring, plumbing valves, catalytic converters and fire hydrants. But the pilfering of sculptures for a quick buck has brought the crime to a new level of audacity and waste. - Los Angeles Times
Numerous recent studies show that exposure to nature and natural light can reduce pain, and that even a brief contact with the outdoors reduces stress. - Wired
The withdrawal from display at the National Museum of African Art of items taken from the Kingdom of Benin "comes as the Smithsonian completes a six-month, institution-wide examination of its collection practices that looks at this core activity from an ethical perspective." - MSN (The Washington Post)
