Arts
Creative achievements in literature and the visual and performing arts
Old-Timey Olympians Show How Things Have Changed
Clendenin's photos evoke the feeling that for all the changes seen by the modern Olympic games, the athletes themselves could easily be transposed across time.
August 01, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Packing List Series, Part 2: An Artist’s Illustrated Guide
With a watercolor sketchbook guide, Adolf Konrad drew on his talents to record his belongings
August 01, 2012 |
By Emily Spivack
Could a Whale-Powered Bus Be the Future of Transportation?
Visionary postcard artists illustrated around 90 fanciful cards between 1899 to 1910 that imagined what the future held in store for France in the year 2000.
July 31, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Sherlock Holmes and the Tools of Deduction
Sherlock Holmes’s extraordinary deductions would be impossible without the optical technologies of the 19th century
July 31, 2012 |
By Jimmy Stamp
Curator Talk at the American Art Museum on African-American Art Exhibition
Virginia Mecklenburg offers a Wednesday lecture on the artists from "Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era and Beyond"
July 31, 2012 |
By Leah Binkovitz
Teaching Molecular Biology with Watercolors
Molecular biology professor David Goodsell is just as skilled with a microscope as with a paint brush and creates festive hand-drawn watercolors to illustrate the inner workings of bacteria, viruses and human cells.
July 31, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
When LBJ Ordered Pants From the White House
Johnson liked his Haggar slacks slack—and colorfully described a special custom-cut
July 30, 2012 |
By Emily Spivack
Is This the Oldest Cave Art on the Planet?
Underneath a massive rock slab which rests on dozens of narrow stilts researchers have found the world's oldest stone axe, and a vast collection of painted artwork.
July 30, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
More Great Books and Where Best to Read Them
A continuation of last week's list of the author's favorite reads
July 27, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
Science Proves: Pop Music Has Actually Gotten Worse
Science confirms what you've always suspected: music these days is worse than it used to be.
July 27, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
How Aldous Huxley, 118 Today, Predicted the Present Far More Accurately than George Orwell
One of the pillars of science fiction would have turned 118 today.
July 26, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
The Deerstalker: Where Sherlock Holmes’ Popular Image Came From
The literary detective's hunting cap and cape came not so much from the books' author as from their illustrators
July 26, 2012 |
By Sarah C. Rich
The Long Journey of Chief Joseph’s War Shirt
Important Native American artifact seen in Smithsonian portrait fetches $877,500 at Nevada auction
July 25, 2012 |
By Emily Spivack
Hollywood’s Next Heist Movie Should Be Shot Here
No one knows exactly what's hidden in a giant warehouse in Sweden, but everyone agrees that it's really, really valuable.
July 25, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
When the Olympics Gave Out Medals for Art
In the modern Olympics’ early days, painters, sculptors, writers and musicians battled for gold, silver and bronze
July 25, 2012 |
By Joseph Stromberg
Today’s the Shared Anniversary of Ruin Porn Poster Children Detroit, Machu Picchu
July 24th marks double jackpot for the intrepid explorers of years past as well for as fans of the latest photographic trend, "ruin porn."
July 24, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Olympic Games at the Smithsonian
Before you settle into your couch to watch the Olympics, get down to the Smithsonian for exhibits, games and more.
July 24, 2012 |
By Leah Binkovitz
Q&A: Archaeologist Unearths 600-year-old Bra in Castle
Though in tatters, the undergarment looks thoroughly modern. But was it comfortable!?
July 23, 2012 |
By Emily Spivack
Events July 24-26: Animal Migrations, Belly Dancing and the Invention of Klingon
This week at the Smithsonian, learn how animals find their way across continents, try out belly dancing and pick up a new language with the creator of Klingon.
July 23, 2012 |
By Leah Binkovitz
Great Books—and the Best Places to Read Them
Reading while traveling can serve as a sensory supplement to one's surrounding environment. Here's a list of some of my favorite books and where to read them
July 21, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
