Visual Arts
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
April 2013 |
By Ron Rosenbaum
PHOTOS: Life Along the Borders
The recent book On Borders features the work of photographers who captured images of boundaries both literal and metaphorical
April 2013 |
By Paul Bisceglio
How Much Water Is in a Cloud and More Questions From Our Readers
Imaginary numbers, Roy Lichtenstein and much much more
April 2013 |
By Smithsonian magazine
What Major World Cities Look Like at Night, Minus the Light Pollution
Photographer Thierry Cohen tries to reconnect city dwellers with nature through his mind-blowing composite images—now at New York City's Danziger Gallery
March 29, 2013 |
By Megan Gambino
Now You Know the History of G.I. Joe. And Knowing Is Half The Battle
The evolution of the All American Hero from artist's mannequin to action figure
March 29, 2013 |
By Jimmy Stamp
Events March 29-31: Parasitic Wasps, Joseph Henry and Victorian Portraits
This weekend, learn about wasps that live inside their prey, meet Smithsonian's first secretary from 1846 and see living rooms from 150 years ago
March 28, 2013 |
By Paul Bisceglio
Butterflies, Baseball and Blossoms: Tours for Your Spring Vacation
Two custom tours come fully loaded with insider information, digital postcards and step-by-step directions
March 27, 2013 |
By Leah Binkovitz
An Artist’s Ode to Plankton, Set to Puccini’s ‘La Boheme’
Instead of singing to Mimi, the poet Rodolfo serenades a giant stalks of human-sized plankton wrapped in plastic pollution
March 27, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
The Minivan Turns 30
Celebrate the birthday of the iconic car that changed the way families drove
March 26, 2013 |
By Jimmy Stamp
Beyond Chinua Achebe: Five Great African Authors You Should Read Right Now
Two curators from the African Art Museum recommend recent African authors who have joined Achebe in shaping the world's understanding of the African experience
March 26, 2013 |
By Paul Bisceglio
The Otherworldly Calm of Wolfgang Laib’s Glowing Beeswax Room
A German contemporary artist creates a meditative space—lined with beeswax—at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.
March 26, 2013 |
By Megan Gambino
Events March 26-28: Student Sit-Ins, Environmental Art and Female Historical Perspectives
This week, re-enact an event that encouraged civil rights, turn water bottles into art and see American history through women's eyes
March 25, 2013 |
By Paul Bisceglio
PHOTOS: Portrait Gallery Announces Winners of its Outwin Boochever Competition
Winners of the triennial National Portrait Gallery competition used everything from rice to glitter to thread to capture themselves and the people around them
March 22, 2013 |
By Leah Binkovitz
The Debate Continues Over How to Rebuild New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward
Five years in, the merits of Make It Right's housing project are under new scrutiny
March 22, 2013 |
By Jimmy Stamp
A Refreshing Take on Fashion Television: A Q&A with L.A. Frock Stars’ Star Doris Raymond
A new series brings high-end style to vintage wear
March 22, 2013 |
By Emily Spivack
Caleb Cain Marcus’ Photos of Glaciers on a Disappearing Horizon
With a surprisingly light touch, the New York City-based photographer instills feelings of solitude in his images of massive glaciers
March 21, 2013 |
By Megan Gambino
Events March 22-24: Flying Lessons, the Garrison Dam and Dream Folk-Rock
This weekend, have your kids learn the science of flight, hear the history of a displaced North Dakota tribe and listen to local folk-rockers Kindlewood
March 21, 2013 |
By Paul Bisceglio
Projection Chic: Jane Jetson Tries on Clothes in the Future
As we move closer to the Jetsonian vision of choosing outfits, privacy has gone out of fashion
March 20, 2013 |
By Matt Novak
A Partial History of Headphones
Modern headphones have their origin in opera houses, military bases and a kitchen table in Utah
March 19, 2013 |
By Jimmy Stamp
This Mountain Is What Curiosity’s Whole Mission Is About
Since August, Curiosity has been inching toward Mars' Mount Sharp
March 18, 2013 |
By Colin Schultz
