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Arts & Culture / Art & Artists

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Seven Must-See Art-Meets-Science Exhibitions in 2013

Preview some of the top-notch shows—on anatomy, bioluminescence, water tanks and more—slated for the next year

The clocks in each clip document the time throughout the 24 hour movie.

A 24-Hour Movie That May Be the Biggest (and Best) Supercut Ever

Christian Marclay’s The Clock, now on view at MoMA, puts YouTube mashup artists to shame

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Slice of Life: Artistic Cross Sections of the Human Body

Artist Lisa Nilsson creates elaborate anatomical illustrations from thin strips of paper

Beehive ginger

Flower Power, Redefined

In a new book, Andrew Zuckerman embraces minimalism, capturing 150 colorful blooms on white backdrops

Karen Cusolito Lights Her Artwork on Fire

Meet the artist who burns her creations to amazing effect

As the goddess of love, beauty and sexual pleasure, Aphrodite inspired cult worship and challenged artists to render her in suitably magnificent form.

Bringing the Color Back to Ancient Greece

The white marble statutes we revere were originally dressed in eye-popping pigments

For author Camille Paglia, her first moments of beauty occurred in a church and a movie theater.

Why Camille Paglia is Alarmed About the Future of Art

Is the rise of secularism behind the general malaise in the fine arts?

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George Washington and Abigail Adams Get an Extreme Makeover

Conservators at the National Gallery Art restored Gilbert Stuart portraits of our founding figures, making them look good as new

Christopher Bonanos of New York chronicles the rise and fall of Polaroid.

Why Polaroid Inspired Both Steve Jobs and Andy Warhol

Beloved by innovators and artists alike, the camera company dissolved into history once it lost its beloved CEO. Apple should take note

Photo of the painting “Flowers in a blue vase” by Vincent van Gogh. The discoloration is located on the right side of the bouquet.

In a Van Gogh Painting, the Flowers Are Changing Color

Scientists have figured out why some of the “Flowers in a blue vase” became discolored over time

Incredible Photos of the Artist Who Makes Himself Invisible

Look closely at these photographs. Shut down by the Chinese government, Liu Bolin has mastered the art of disappearing

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Is Ai Weiwei China’s Most Dangerous Man?

Arrested and harassed by the Chinese government, artist Ai Weiwei makes daring works unlike anything the world has ever seen

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Ai Weiwei on His Favorite Artists, Living in New York and Why the Government is Afraid of Him

The Chinese government has long tried to contain the artist and activist but his ideas have spread overseas and he’s got plenty more to say

Jean Jacoby's Corner, left, and Rugby. At the 1928 Olympic Art Competitions in Amsterdam, Jacoby won a gold medal for Rugby.

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

William Shatner, who turned 81 in March, still seems possessed of boundless energy and bluster.

What William Shatner Would Put on His Gravestone

The modern-day Renaissance man, known for his work on the stage and the screen, provides insights from the Tao of Captain Kirk

Woody Guthrie, shown here in the 1940s, created great lines in songs and drawings.

Happy 100th Birthday, Woody Guthrie!

New songs by the American folk legend keep turning up, a century after his birth

Barbara Kruger photographed in her New York studio.

Barbara Kruger’s Artwork Speaks Truth to Power

The mass media artist has been refashioning our idioms into sharp-edged cultural critiques for three decades—and now brings her work to the Hirshhorn

While grotesque, the faces in Louis-Leopold Boilly’s The Grimaces (1823) were carefully studied from life. The figure with a twisted mouth at the upper left is a self-portrait.

A Serious Look at Funny Faces

A history of caricatures exposes the inside jokes

Photo by Jim McGuire for the Memories album

Finding Doc Watson on Film

Searching for folk music on movies can be surprisingly difficult

Pollock’s studio in East Hampton, New York, is now the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center.

Sharing Pork Chops With Jackson Pollock

Richard Field was an undergrad with gumption when he visited the painter at his Long Island home. Nearly 60 years later, Field recalls the memorable affair

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