Arts
Creative achievements in literature and the visual and performing arts
Are Punch and Judy Shows Finally Outdated?
For a wife-beating, baby-squashing scofflaw, Mr. Punch has done pretty well for himself
February 04, 2013 |
By Linda Rodriguez McRobbie
This Japanese Theater Company Has a Robot Actress
No, it’s not Brent Spiner. It's an honest-to-goodness robot
February 01, 2013 |
By Lauren Kirchner
Andy Warhol’s Having a Really Big Few Months
When Andy Warhol famously said that “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes,” he couldn’t have been talking about himself. Two and a half decades after his death, he shows no sign of leaving the spotlight
February 01, 2013 |
By Lauren Kirchner
Drone Couture: Designing Invisibility
While scientists work toward perfecting the invisibility cloak, one designer has already developed a line of clothing that makes people invisible...to robots
February 01, 2013 |
By Jimmy Stamp
Lemurs Are the Most Endangered Mammals on the Planet, And This Adorable Baby Is Their Future
The vast majority of lemur species are facing extinction, but this baby Coquerel's safika is trying to help
February 01, 2013 |
By Colin Schultz
The Uncertain Promise of Freedom’s Light: Black Soldiers in The Civil War
Sometimes treated as curiosities at the time, black men and women fighting for the Union and organizing for change altered the course of history
February 01, 2013 |
By Leah Binkovitz
A Nike Shoe, Now a Part of the Smithsonian
The Flyknit racer is currently in the collections of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
February 2013 |
By Leah Binkovitz
New Books, Reviewed: Animal Emotions, Deconstructing Detroit and the Science of Winning
Taking a closer look at some of the newest releases in non-fiction
February 2013 |
By Chloë Schama
An Illustrated Guide to the World’s Creation Myths
Each culture has its own version of how the universe began. Artist Noah MacMillan brings this “visual vocabulary” to life
February 2013 |
By Leah Binkovitz
The Psychology Behind Superhero Origin Stories
How does following the adventures of Spider-Man and Batman inspire us to cope with adversity?
February 2013 |
By Robin Rosenberg
Lost and Found Again: Photos of African-Americans on the Plains
What would otherwise be a local-interest story became a snapshot of history integral to the American experience
February 2013 |
By Joseph Stromberg
Listen to Doc Watson Picking Away at his Banjo
A new release from Smithsonian Folkways highlights the talent of a bluegrass master
February 2013 |
By Leah Binkovitz
Most of What You Think You Know About Grammar is Wrong
And ending sentences with a preposition is nothing worth worrying about
February 2013 |
By Patricia T. O’Conner and Stewart Kellarman
The Story Behind Banksy
On his way to becoming an international icon, the subversive and secretive street artist turned the art world upside-down
February 2013 |
By Will Ellsworth-Jones
New X-Ray Technology To Reveal Secrets Beneath a Rembrandt Masterpiece
By 1984, conservators had discovered that there was, indeed, another figure hidden beneath the Old Man in Military Costume, but they haven't been able to see who it is
January 31, 2013 |
By Lauren Kirchner
The Making of a Millennial Jazz Musician: Elijah Jamal Balbed
After being put in "baby jazz" in high school, Balbed has made a name for himself in the Washington, D.C. scene
January 31, 2013 |
By Joann Stevens
Events February 1-3: Maya Angelou, Black History Month Festivities and a Teen Poetry Slam
This week, meet world-renowned Civil Rights poet Maya Angelou, celebrate Black History Month and watch Washington D.C.'s most articulate teens battle in rhyme.
January 31, 2013 |
By Paul Bisceglio
Louis Armstrong’s New Orleans
Jazz is synonymous with the Big Easy, and there’s no bigger name in the history of the genre than Satchmo
January 31, 2013 |
By Nina Fedrizzi
