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The Tao of Tea, Beyond Pottery and Something in the Air
- Smithsonian magazine, September 2006, Subscribe
The Tao of Tea
In his 1906 Book of Tea, historian Okakura Kakuzo called Japan's favorite beverage, and the ritual of making it, "a religion of the art of life." Japanese tea bowls (an 18th- to 19th-century vessel) are at the Freer Gallery through January 1.
Not Just Presidents
Teenagers in giant photographs by Chicago-based Dawoud Bey (his 4- by 3-foot Michael, 2001) bring fresh, even funky energy to the hallowed National Portrait Gallery. On view with other recent portraits until January 7.
Something in the Air
Satellite imagery of man-made and natural air pollutants (Saharan dust travels to the Middle East and Europe) shows how the atmosphere links us all. At the Museum of Natural History until November 30.
Beyond Pottery
"It stops me from being bored," says sculptor Ruth Duckworth, explaining why, at 87, she still spends most days in her Chicago studio. Her modernist ceramics (a 1992 wall sculpture) are at the Renwick Gallery until January 15.
Home Sweet Home, 2050
In the future—according to French designer Matali Crasset—houses might have glowing plastic igloos that generate far-out light and music shows. Tour this living room at the Cooper-Hewitt in New York City by September 24.
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