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How Wasps (And Their Nests) Help Date Ancient Painting

A nest built on top of a painting is probably younger than the painting, but a nest covered over with pigment is probably older than the painting. At one site, ancient people had painted a figure over the remains of one nest, and some time later, wasps built two more mud nests atop the painting. Radiocarbon dating those nests suggested that the painting is 11,300 to 13,000 years old. – Ars Technica

On The West Coast, Artists Are Turning Ocean-Spat Plastic Into Art

There’s a lot of plastic in the ocean – and a lot of demand for the nonprofit group Washed Ashore’s large-scale art, including at the Oregon Zoo, the Florida Aquarium, and the Oakland Zoo. The collective has taken “26 tons of garbage, all debris that washed up on the Oregon coast (the majority within 100 miles of Bandon), and built 70 large-scale sculptures and counting, including Octavia the Octopus, Edward the Leatherback Turtle and Daisy the Polar Bear.” – The New York Times

Stephen King Says He’s Uneasy About Woody Allen Being ‘Muzzled’ By Publisher

After Hachette canceled its original secretly arrived at plan to publish Allen’s memoir, the horror writer tweeted “The Hachette decision to drop the Woody Allen book makes me very uneasy. It’s not him; I don’t give a damn about Mr. Allen. It’s who gets muzzled next that worries me.”
That, not surprisingly, did not go over well. – The AV Club

Britain Isn’t Doing A Great Job Of Saving Its Victorian Buildings

That’s partly because of a craze for exploring abandoned buildings – and partly because the buildings were abandoned in the first place, attracting people who have done everything from kick down walls to set massive fires. “Buildings under threat need strong security. … They need maintenance. They need alarms and lighting. Most of all they need concerted imagination and help to be brought back into the community quickly.” – The Observer (UK)

After Fourteen Years Of Restoration Work, Egypt Reopens One Of Its Oldest Pyramids

The Djoser pyramid (built under the famous ancient architect Imhotep) was damaged in an earthquake in the 1990s, but restoration didn’t begin until the early 2000s. Interrupted by the “Arab Spring” and the removal of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the repairs also hit a crisis when Egyptian media revealed that the original façade was damaged and altered during renovation work. – France 24

San Francisco Ballet And Symphony Cancel All Performances For At Least Two Weeks

Why? Because they’re in city-owned buildings, and “San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced on Friday, March 6, that War Memorial and Performing Arts Center venues, including the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall, will be closed for all public events for the next two weeks over fears of the rapid spread of COVID-19.” – San Francisco Chronicle

Yorkshire Artists Invigorate Their Area With Radical Art Thanks To An Art History Professor

Why is Leeds University a hotbed for feminist art and artists? Well, it’s down to one woman: “Griselda Pollock, professor of social and critical histories of art at Leeds University. With a world reputation and 22 books to her name, she has just been awarded the 2020 Holberg prize for arts and humanities, worth £500,000. … She has been key over the past four decades to the region’s emergence as the UK’s leading feminist art hub. She now hopes the prize – of 6 million kroner, funded by the Norwegian government – means she has an international platform from which to continue her work, and consolidate her legacy. ‘I was afraid that once I retired, the waters would close over,’ she says.” – The Observer (UK)