Visual Arts
The History of the Flapper, Part 2: Makeup Makes a Bold Entrance
It's the birth of the modern cosmetics business as young women look for beauty enhancers in a tube or jar
February 07, 2013 |
By Emily Spivack
Events Feb 8-10: Foreign Film, Valentine’s Workshop and Russian Chamber Music
This weekend, catch Iranian star Leila's Hatami's latest, craft a little love and hear from the National Chamber Ensemble
February 07, 2013 |
By Leah Binkovitz
The Privacy Wars: Goggles That Block Facial Recognition Technology
For designers, the battle over what it means to be private in a very public world is a new frontier to be conquered
February 06, 2013 |
By Jimmy Stamp
The Year’s Most Outstanding Science Visualizations
A juried competition honors photographs, illustrations, videos, posters, games and apps that marry art and science in an evocative way
February 05, 2013 |
By Megan Gambino
Bangs, Bobs and Bouffants: The Roots of the First Lady’s Tresses
Michelle Obama's modern look has a long history
February 05, 2013 |
By Amy Henderson
Honey, I Blew Up the Bugs
Italian artist Lorenzo Possenti created 16 enormous sculptures of giant insects, all scientifically accurate, now on display at an Oklahoma museum
February 04, 2013 |
By Megan Gambino
Events February 5-7: Tachyons, Middle Eastern Landscape and Ai Weiwei
This week, hear about the one thing in the world that may be faster than light, consider Western media's depictions of the Middle East and discuss Ai Weiwei's art
February 04, 2013 |
By Paul Bisceglio
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
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
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
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
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
Events January 29-31: Ancient Chinese Artifacts, Opera Masters and Rock-and-Roll Trivia
This week, see chinese artifacts once collected in a New Jersey apartment, learn about two of opera's greatest composers and show off your rock knowledge
January 28, 2013 |
By Paul Bisceglio
Museums Delay Opening Due to Weather
Smithsonian museums in the Washington, D.C. area as well as the National Zoo will open at noon Monday, due to inclement weather
January 28, 2013 |
By Leah Binkovitz
American Myths: Benjamin Franklin’s Turkey and the Presidential Seal
How the New Yorker and the West Wing botched the history of the icon
January 25, 2013 |
By Jimmy Stamp
