Visual Arts
Events March 19-21: Poetry Lessons, Nam June Paik Films and a Native Ballet
This week, unlock your inner poet, see films by the first video artist and take in the history of the Osage people performed in dance
March 18, 2013 |
By Paul Bisceglio
The Perils of Wearing Clothes
From toxins in textile dyes to torturous corsets, beauty has a long history of coming at a high cost
March 18, 2013 |
By Emily Spivack
A New Meaning to Green Urban Design: Dyeing the Chicago River
The story behind how the Windy City gets its yearly watery makeover
March 15, 2013 |
By Jimmy Stamp
Fresh Off the 3D Printer: Henry Segerman’s Mathematical Sculptures
A research fellow at the University of Melbourne has found a sneaky way to convert math haters to math lovers. He turns complex geometries into art
March 15, 2013 |
By Megan Gambino
Mid-21st Century Modern: That Jetsons Architecture
The artists and animators working on "The Jetsons" were inspired by the futurist architecture popping up around Los Angeles
March 14, 2013 |
By Matt Novak
Events March 15-17: Three Movies, the Persian New Year and Native Story Time
This week, see free films, celebrate the Persian New Year by jumping over fire and hear children's stories from different Native communities
March 14, 2013 |
By Paul Bisceglio
Why the Department Store Brought Freedom for the Turn of the Century Woman
Harry Selfridge, a London department store owner, may have opened the doors to more than just his retail store when he gave women a chance to power shop
March 13, 2013 |
By Amy Henderson
Who Really Invented the Smiley Face?
It's supposedly the 50th anniversary of the original design of the iconic image, but its history since then is surprisingly complex with millions of dollars at stake
March 13, 2013 |
By Jimmy Stamp
Eclipses Look Even More Gorgeous From Outer Space
With roiling red Sun and the black disk of Earth, eclipses don't get much prettier than this
March 12, 2013 |
By Colin Schultz
Poetry Matters: Women’s Work: Toward a New Poetic Language
For Women's History month, curator David C. Ward considers the steady ascendency of poets from Emily Dickinson to today's Eavan Boland
March 12, 2013 |
By David C. Ward
The Northern Lights—From Scientific Phenomenon to Artists’ Muse
The spectacular aurora borealis is inspiring artists to create light installations, musical compositions, food and fashion
March 12, 2013 |
By Megan Gambino
Events March 12-14: Missions to Mars, the Civil War in Art and a Meditation on Imaginary Landscapes
This week, meet the scientist behind the Mars rover, learn the civil war's influence on contemporary art and watch films by European media collective Flatland
March 11, 2013 |
By Paul Bisceglio
One Law Firm Really Wants the Met to Change Its Admission Policy
Law firm sues over recommended admission fee--twice
March 08, 2013 |
By Angela Serratore
An Early History of the Parachute
It wasn't a military expert or an aviation pioneer, but a Russian actor who developed the first viable parachute
March 07, 2013 |
By Jimmy Stamp
The (Natural) World, According to Our Photo Contest Finalists
From a caterpillar to the Milky Way, the ten finalists in the contest's Natural World category capture the peculiar, the remarkable and the sublime
March 07, 2013 |
By Megan Gambino
Events March 8-10: An Old School Southern Film, an International Women’s Day Celebration and a Classical Concert
This week, watch Bette Davis in the 1938 hit Jezebel, join performance art that honors African women and listen to one of the world's best pianos
March 07, 2013 |
By Paul Bisceglio
The Aughts: When People Wore Their Causes on Their Sleeves, Literally
It was a decade of Uggs and excess but also styles meant to further the greater good
March 06, 2013 |
By Emily Spivack
Snowy Day, But Smithsonian D.C. Museums Open, Zoo Closes
Bad weather threatens the metro area, but the Smithsonian museums Will Open, National Zoo is Closed
March 06, 2013 |
By Leah Binkovitz
Buy a Handbag, Burn a Forest
Brazilian deforestation is tied to producers of luxury Italian leather goods
March 05, 2013 |
By Angela Serratore
Hot Air Balloon Travel for the Luxury Traveler of the 1800s
Visionary designers of the 19th century believed that the future of air travel depended on elaborate airships
March 05, 2013 |
By Jimmy Stamp


