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Arts & Culture

Transcaucasian Trail

Armenia

A Taste of the Wild Side: Finding Local Flavor in Armenia’s Edible Highlands

Holy card from the collection of Emilio Cueto

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Cuba

The Surprising History of Cuba’s Patron Saint

Nicknamed “Cachita,” the 15-inch-tall wooden figurine of the Virgin Mary unites Cubans across class and race lines

Dish with copper-red glaze, and a Xuande mark in cobalt oxide on the base, China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen Ming Dynasty, Xuande reign (1426-1435)

What a Mark Rothko Painting Has in Common With a Ming Dynasty Dish

This one vibrant color, rich in symbolism, unites two works across five centuries

The Last Living Carver of Mount Rushmore Reflects on the Monument at 75

The 95-year-old looks back at the colossal effort that went into making the American masterpiece

Gemasolar Thermasolar Plant, 37.560755°, –5.331908° This image captures the Gemasolar Thermosolar Plant in Seville, Spain. The solar concentrator contains 2,650 heliostat mirrors that focus the sun’s thermal energy to heat molten salt flowing through a 140-metre-tall (460-foot) central tower. The molten salt then circulates from the tower to a storage tank, where it is used to produce steam and generate electricity. In total, the facility displaces approximately 30,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year.

Art Meets Science

These Photographs From Space Show What Humans Have Done to the Earth

In new book, vivid satellite images of the planet evoke what astronauts call “the overview effect”

Woman in E by Ragnar Kjartansson, 2016

Why a Woman Is Playing the Same Guitar Chord Over and Over Again at the Hirshhorn

The absurdly comedic work of Iceland’s top performance artist Ragnar Kjartansson

These women in traditional dress are preparing for a street performance in Havana. Despite laws guaranteeing racial equality, black Cubans are generally poorer than whites. And with fewer relatives abroad, they typically receive less in remittances.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Cuba

There’s Much More to Cuba Than Cigars and Vintage Cars

The country’s most celebrated blogger discovers her homeland anew while working as a tour guide

"Bird," 1990, David Hammons, painted metal, wire, basketball and feathers.

This $1.4 Million “Bird” Makes an African-American Art Collection Soar to New Heights

With his first major contemporary acquisition, the Detroit Institute of Arts’ new director is reinvigorating the museum

Rick Bayless, whose innovative Chicago restaurants blazed the trail toward wider acceptance of south-of-the-border cooking, has much in common with the celebrated Julia Child.

Rick Bayless Preaches the Gospel of Modern Mexican Cuisine

The trail-blazing Chicago chef and cookbook author wins the second annual Julia Child Award and makes a donation to the Smithsonian

A rare book depicting the sea monk by Guillaume Rondelet (1507-1566) in the Smithsonian Libraries dates to 1554.

Renaissance Europe Was Horrified by Reports of a Sea Monster That Looked Like a Monk Wearing Fish Scales

Something fishy this way comes

Ray Bolger's widow, Gwendolyn, donated the costume to the Smithsonian Institution after the comedian's death in 1987.

Smithsonian Will Stretch to Save Scarecrow’s Costume, Too

Turns out the Ruby Slippers were just the beginning of an epic journey of cultural preservation

During an initiation ceremony for the Afro-Cuban secret society called Abakuá in the Havana district of Regla, a young aspirant depicts Aberisún, an ireme, or spirit messenger.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Cuba

Venture Inside Cuba’s Secret Societies

From Masons to Santería priests, photographer Nicola Lo Calzo offers a glimpse into the island’s many subcultures

Are Pumpkin Beers, Thank God, Finally on the Way Out?

Some breweries are slowing production, as the trend may be fizzling

In her new book, the acclaimed Thunder & Lightning: Weather, Past, Present and Future, Lauren Redniss is intrigued by how people have coped with, survived, or failed in extreme weather situations.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

How the 2016 MacArthur Genius Award Recipient Lauren Redniss Is Rethinking Biography

The visual biographer of Marie and Pierre Curie turns to her next subject, weather, lightning and climate change

Stegosaurus and Ceratosaurus are among one of the most successful groups ever to have evolved.

Celebrate Dino Month With Three New Dinosaur Books

From PhDs to 4th graders, something for everyone

Zak van Biljon photographed Kennedy Lake in British Columbia using infrared film.

Art Meets Science

Looking at Nature Through Infrared Film Will Have You Seeing Red

See the world on a whole different spectrum

This Champion Pumpkin Weighs More Than a U-Haul

At the annual Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Weigh-In, a pumpkin weighing 1,910 pounds took the crown

The Curious George series has sold 10,000 times the initial print run.

When Curious George Made a Daring Escape From the Nazis

The authors of the children’s book series fled wartime France with the manuscript tied to their bikes

Marina Abramović, The Artist is Present, Performance, 3 months, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, 2010

What to Make of Marina Abramović, the Godmother of Performance Art

Is her body of work art, magic, theater or masochism?

A wave splashes over the Malecón in Havana.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Cuba

Homage to Havana

A Smithsonian director ponders the allure of Cuba’s capital city

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