"In its arrangement of spaces, carefully judged details and tactile material qualities, (the John Morden Centre) is a model for how to create a sociable setting for life in older age – a beacon of optimism after a decade of swingeing cuts to social care." - The Guardian
"Pokémon-hungry crowds descended upon the museum for the van Gogh–inspired merchandise that placed the brand’s most popular creatures in the context of van Gogh’s most recognizable works — including Sunflowers (1889) and The Bedroom (1888) — but the real treasure was limited-edition trading card, Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat." - ARTnews
Calling for “a national conversation” about halting the spread of depressing architecture, he said: “We need to fearlessly demand interestingness. We need to rebel against the blandification of our streets, towns and cities, and make buildings that nourish our senses. Human beings deserve human places.” - The Guardian
"A recent announcement by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of the return of 19 antiquities to Italy disclosed charges against veteran New York antiquities dealer Michael Ward, who has operated a gallery on the Upper East Side for nearly four decades." - Artnet
The decision to retire was the product of a year’s worth of rumination, Ann Philbin explained, and now, at 71, she is ready to move forward. - Los Angeles Times
"He’s very smart, really rigorous, and really inflexible," says former-boss-turned-colleague Rem Koolhaas of Joshua Ramus, "which in certain conditions is extremely useful." Says Harvard architecture dean Sarah Whiting, "Joshua is incredibly invested in how something gets pulled off ... the underbelly and the technical side." - The New York Times
"Brand was sitting at home on Friday night watching football when the doorbell rang and a man in a van asked for help to unload some merchandise. 'I asked him, 'what are we going to unload?'. He said with a smile, 'well, the paintings of Medemblik',' Brand recounted." - Yahoo! (AFP)
A.I.-centric handwringing concerns the potential to generate images with hidden, subliminal messages. The supposed danger is that brands will start producing carefully doctored images that subtly embed their logos. Previously, the existential threat was A.I.’s looming global takeover; now the concern is that it will be used to control and manipulate the masses. - Artnet
A plaster version of The Burghers of Calais, now thought to be worth £3 million, is one of 1,750 works owned by the museums of the city of Glasgow and now described as "unlocated." The sculpture was last on display in 1949, when it was damaged. - The Guardian (AFP)
Both venues were evacuated on Saturday after the threats came in. Heightened security will remain in place at least through the opening of Paris+ (an Art Basel fair) on Thursday. - Artnet
As smartphones go, this integration of AI signals a new era, one created with tech that is intuitive to the kind of ferocious simulation the next generation is being engineered around, where a picture is no longer worth a thousand words but a thousand tiny fictions. - Wired
One visitor to New York and MoMA from North Carolina: "I was in here for a long time. ... And I turned around and was like, 'Is this real?'" - Hyperallergic
The museum has 12,000 "human remains," many of enslaved people and Indigenous people, and it plans to take them all off display as urgent ethical - and legal - questions are changing museum policies worldwide. - The New York Times
