Visual Arts

These Tattoos Honor Lost, Not-So-Loved Species

To overcome how people tend to care only about cute endangered animals, Samantha Dempsey designed and distributed temporary tattoos of ugly extinct species

Oceanographer Gareth Lawson, who studies pteropods, was able to identify Kavanagh’s sculptures to species, such as this Limacina helicina.

The Gorgeous Shapes of Sea Butterflies

Cornelia Kavanagh's sculptures magnify tiny sea butterflies—ocean acidification's unlikely mascots—hundreds of times

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Top 10 Biggest Roadside Foods in America

Where is the world's biggest pistachio?

Planet of the apps: The Cooper-Hewitt will release the code behind Planetary, enabling everyone to adapt the software.

How Does a Museum Acquire an iPad App for its Collections?

The Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum is making its first foray into design that you can’t actually see

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Cosmic Portraits Created From Hubble Space Telescope Images

Sergio Albiac generates images of people by collecting their head shots and replacing pixels with snippets from pictures of stars and galaxies

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Nobel Prize Winners Are Put to the Task of Drawing Their Discoveries

Volker Steger photographs Nobel laureates posing with sketches of their breakthrough findings

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The End of the World Might Just Look Like This

Artist Ron Miller presents several scenarios—most of them scientifically plausible—of landscapes imperiled and of Earth meeting its demise

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When Lettuce Was a Sacred Sex Symbol

For nearly 3,000 years lettuce was associated with the Egyptian god of fertility, Min, for its resemblance to the phallus

The city of Shanghai presents A True Story (above), an impressive work of mosaïculture, at Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal 2013.

Horticultural Artists Grow Fantastical Scenes at the Montréal Botanical Garden

Take a peek at some of the living artwork entered in an international competition in Quebec this summer

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This Incredible Art Installation Makes It Rain, Everywhere But On You

"Rain Room," on display at MoMA, is an indoor downpour that detects the presence of people and adjusts to keep them dry

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The Vibrant Patterns of Portuguese Men-of-War

Beachgoers despise the stinging animals, but photographer Aaron Ansarov finds surreal beauty in them

Designer Kate McLean creates detailed smell maps of cities around the world, such as this map of the the “Smelliest Block in New York.”

Mapping the Smells of New York, Amsterdam and Paris, Block by Block

Designer and cartographer Kate McLean charts the sweet scents and pungent odors that fill a city's olfactory landscape

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What Animal Sounds Look Like

Mark Fischer, a software developer in California, turns data from recordings of whales, dolphins and birds into psychedelic art

Designer Kate Jenkins goes for a mix of realism and humor in her crocheted works of art. Here, the poppy seed bagel looks quite delectable until you notice the lips on that lox.

Look, But Don’t Eat: Delicious Crocheted Dishes

This British designer crochets pizzas, veggies and cakes that look almost realistic enough to eat

A side view of Lathyrus odoratus L. 2009-2012. By Macoto Murayama

Macoto Murayama’s Intricate Blueprints of Flowers

The Japanese artist depicts blossoms from various plant species in fastidious detail

Artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg and her DNA-derived self-portrait.

Creepy or Cool? Portraits Derived From the DNA in Hair and Gum Found in Public Places

Artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg reconstructs the faces of strangers from genetic evidence she scavenges from the streets

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Want to See How an Artist Creates a Painting? There’s an App for That

The Repentir app reveals an artist's creative process by allowing users to peel back layers of paint with the touch of their fingertips

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Contributors

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What Modern Art Looks Like As Yummy Dessert

Pastry chef Caitlin Freeman uses inspiration from modern art to whip up cakes, cookies and other desserts

Cai Guo-Qiang reviews one of his gunpowder drawings at the Grucci fireworks plant.

Meet the Artist Who Blows Things Up for a Living

With ethereal artworks traced in flames and gunpowder, Cai Guo Qiang is making a big bang

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