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)
"Thieves hacked art dealer Todd Kramer's digital wallet and made off with at least 15 artworks — including five from the high-profile Bored Ape Yacht Club collection — worth an estimated $2.2 million." Then someone took Kramer's tweet about the robbery and made that into an NFT. - Artnet
Sicily’s regional archaeological museum said Wednesday it had signed an agreement with the Acropolis Museum in Athens for a once-renewable, four-year loan of the small white marble piece it has, in exchange for a loan of a statue and vase. - Seattle Times (AP)
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland trained the software on topographical scans of paintings (rather than the high-resolution digital images more commonly used) and found that it could match painting to artist with 96% accuracy. - The Art Newspaper
The legislature's collections include nearly 4,000 items dating from the 17th century to the present day. Notable among them is the Keiskamma Tapestry, nearly 400 feet long, which depicts South African history from early indigenous peoples through the end of apartheid and the first democratic election. - Bloomberg
Above all else, the popularity of Immersive Everything spoke to the way in which a year-long period of cultural life existing mostly on tech platforms rewired how people think about culture, giving “art” a permanent cyborg makeover. - Artnet
The glass floor of the bridge is slippery, and locals have learned to be careful. Warning signs posted by the city didn't help. So now the walkway will be replaced... - The New York Times
In the hope that improved aesthetics will lead to wider adoption, solar technology companies and their designers are creating panels with decorative patterns, various colors and shapes that can be installed on building façades, and even solar-energy-generating textiles. - Fast Company
