Arts
Creative achievements in literature and the visual and performing arts
Inside the Unnerving Reality of Modern Slavery
The number of people currently in slavery is estimated to be upwards of 27 million — double the number of slaves taken from Africa during the transatlantic slave trade
August 17, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Through the Lens of Cosmo Covers: Remembering Helen Gurley Brown
With her magazine, the longtime editor sold sex as well as the latest, often provocative fashions
August 17, 2012 |
By Emily Spivack
Aircraft Design Inspired by Nature and Enabled by Tech
In 2050, Airbus hopes to fly you around in a see-through jet shaped like a bird skeleton, with morphing seats, spa treatments, and virtual entertainment
August 16, 2012 |
By Sarah C. Rich
Part 2: Who Are the Nominees for the Contemporary Artist Award?
This week's look at five more names from the prestigious short list and where to see their work
August 15, 2012 |
By Leah Binkovitz
Yesterday’s Tomorrows: How a Smithsonian Exhibit I Never Saw Changed My Life
Meet the historians who pioneered scholarship of retro-futurism
August 15, 2012 |
By Matt Novak
The Scene of Deduction: Drawing 221B Baker Street
From pen-and-ink sketches to digital renderings, generations of Sherlock Holmes fans have undertaken to draft a version of the detective's famous London flat
August 14, 2012 |
By Jimmy Stamp
Q&A: Jayson Musson Breaks Down Coogi Sweaters
With the '80s and '90s status-symbol clothing a bargain on eBay, the Brooklyn artist buys, disassembles and reconstructs them to make abstract "paintings"
August 13, 2012 |
By Emily Spivack
Click Around This High Definition 360° Panorama of Mars
NASA’s Curiosity rover has been on the surface of the red planet for a week today, and this interactive panorama makes you feel like you’re actually there. We know that saying gets bandied about a lot, but it really, really does. As space writer Amy Shira Teitel notes, “how are these things popping up so fast!” By [...]
August 13, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Happy Birthday to Alfred Hitchcock, the Master of Suspense
The master helped director shape both modern cinema, and the minds of a generation
August 13, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Events August 14-17: Green Jobs, Julia Child’s 100th Birthday and Live Jazz
This week at the Smithsonian, learn about emerging green jobs, celebrate Julia Child's birthday and unwind with a tribute to Thelonious Monk
August 13, 2012 |
By Leah Binkovitz
As the Olympic Games Conclude, a Look Back at U.S. Opening Ceremony Outfits
The photos tell the story here, as Team USA has always had an eccentric taste in its uniforms
August 10, 2012 |
By Emily Spivack
The LEGO-like Building Blocks of the Olympic Slalom Canoe
How a three-time Olympic competitor designed an innovative new whitewater system using underwater bricks
August 09, 2012 |
By Sarah C. Rich
Events August 10-12: Date Night, Super Science Saturday, The Story of the Earth
Start the weekend off with a date night at the Freer Gallery, then enjoy Super Science Saturday at the Udvar-Hazy Center and learn about the Earth with author Robert Hazen.
August 09, 2012 |
By K. Annabelle Smith
The History of the Exclamation Point
Everyone likes to complain that we're using too many exclamation points these days. Here's where the punctuation came from.
August 09, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
New Tech Identifies that Special ‘Je Ne Sais Quoi’ That Makes Paris Paris
Science provides an answer on what details in an urban street scene clue people in on what city it is from.
August 09, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
The American Art Museum Announces Nominees for Contemporary Artist Award
We help you sort out who's who from the museum's recent announcement, in a series of three posts
August 08, 2012 |
By Leah Binkovitz
Artists Bring Dinosaurs Back to Life
A forthcoming book showcases the best of modern dinosaur art
August 08, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
The Swimsuit Series, Part 5: Olympic Athletes, Posing
Vintage styles cycle in and out of favor among medal-winning racers
August 08, 2012 |
By Emily Spivack
Facial Recognition Software Makes Art from Random Noise
English developer Phil McCarthy took the tendency for humans to see faces in just about anything, called pareidolia, and abused it with a computer program that can do a pretty good impression of an angsty teenager taking first year digital art classes. McCarthy’s creation takes random computer-generated polygons and “then feeds the results through facial recognition [...]
August 07, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
The Architecture of Memory
Memorization may seem like a brain-based skill, but it has as much to do with our bodies and our buildings
August 06, 2012 |
By Sarah C. Rich
