archive

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

The Picture Show

'Nanogardens' Sprout Up On The Surface Of A Penny

This microcorsage is sized perfectly for Abraham Lincoln's jacket lapel on the back of a penny.

Engineers have figured out a way to get crystals to form rose and tulip sculptures, each smaller than a strand of hair. The gardens sprout up on a penny dipped in a salt solution. The technique is similar to 3-D printing and could one day be used to make any complex shape.

Summary

Sunday, May 19, 2013

The Salt

Giant Renaissance Food People Descend Upon New York

Autumn

May 19, 2013 Giuseppe Arcimboldo was a 16th-century artist who liked to play with his food, transforming it into the building blocks of many of his fantastical portraits. Artist Philip Haas has taken those portraits out of museums, reinterpreting them as colossal statues that interact with the natural environment.

Summary

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Litterbugs Beware: Turning Found DNA Into Portraits

Self portrait by Heather Dewey-Hagborg. Portrait generated from her own DNA.

May 12, 2013 A dropped cigarette butt, a chewed-up piece of gum, a stray hair. Artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg uses DNA from trash she's picked up around New York City to generate 3-D portraits of those who left it behind.

Summary

The Two-Way

Banksy Mural May Be Coming To U.S. After All

A man inspects a plastic cover placed over Slave Labour, an artwork attributed to Banksy, in London. This piece of art was put up for sale in Miami last February, but the ensuing outrage led to the auction's cancellation. The mural is now part of an exhibition in London, and is is expected to move to the U.S. afterward.

May 12, 2013 The stencil of a young boy sewing the Union Jack is the centerpiece of an exhibition in London, after which it will head to the U.S. where it is to be part of a private collection. Organizers say Slave Labour is not being put up for sale, but residents of the London neighborhood from which it disappeared want it back.

Summary

Friday, May 10, 2013

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

A Fresh Answer To Vermeer's Mystery

The Procuress, painted by Johannes Vermeer in 1656, hangs in a Dresden, Germany, museum in 2004. While this particular work is not in question, Benjamin Binstock argues that other pieces attributed to the Dutch master are by an apprentice and a member of his household.

May 10, 2013 The work of the Dutch master Johannes Vermeer has long puzzled the art world. Some of his pieces just don't quite fit. They're a little off. What gives? Author Benjamin Binstock has an idea, an idea that commentator Alva Noë finds appealing.

Summary

Tuesday, May 07, 2013

Monkey See

At The Met Ball, Those Are Some Crazy Dresses

Beyonce, complete with thigh-high boots to match.

May 7, 2013 The Met Ball brings out some of the highest of fashion, and Monday night, it brought boots of fire, lots of skin, and a new hair color for Anne Hathaway.

Summary

Monday, May 06, 2013

Fine Art

Family Fights Sale Of Iconic Thomas Cole Painting

Thomas Cole completed Portage Falls on the Genesee in 1839.

May 6, 2013 While serving as governor of New York, William Seward received a Thomas Cole landscape painting as a gift for his work on the Erie Canal. Since then, its value has exploded and its caretakers are looking to sell. On Tuesday, Seward's great-great-grandson will be in court to try to stop them.

Transcript

On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

Saturday, May 04, 2013

A 'Decadent And Depraved' Derby With Hunter S. Thompson

When illustrator Ralph Steadman accepted an assignment with writer Hunter S. Thompson at the Kentucky Derby, he never imagined the weekend that would ensue. Here, Steadman depicts the race's winner, a colt named Dust Commander.

May 4, 2013 Illustrator Ralph Steadman had never heard of Hunter S. Thompson before he flew to Churchill Downs on assignment to cover the Kentucky Derby. But after an unforgettable, booze-ridden weekend with the writer, Steadman's life was never the same.

Transcript

On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

Friday, May 03, 2013

The Picture Show

One Of These Shells Is Not Like The Others

Haliotidae Haliotis shells collected by L.H. Snyder on Aug. 5, 1939, off an island in what is now Kangwon province in North Korea. Some Haliotis species are now critically threatened with extinction.

May 3, 2013 Diana Zlatanovski's Typology series showcases the intricacy of collections, and the beauty of individual objects within the group.

Summary

Wednesday, May 01, 2013

The Picture Show

Things Come (Very, Very) Apart

Chainsaw

May 1, 2013 Photographer Todd McLellan dismantles common household objects, then meticulously arranges the parts to show the inner workings of everyday stuff.

Summary

Monday, April 29, 2013

Architecture

How One Family Built America's Public Palaces

The elaborately tiled City Hall subway station in New York City — still extant but now closed to the public, alas — used the Guastavino touch to convince wary city dwellers to head underground for a train trip.

April 29, 2013 The National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., has a new exhibit about the soaring tile vaults built by a famous father-son team. The Guastavinos came to this country from Spain in the late 1800s, and left their mark on some of America's most important public spaces.

Transcript

On Morning EditionPlaylist

Sunday, April 28, 2013

When Sculpting Cedar, This Artist Is Tireless And Unsentimental

Oddychajaca, 2011

April 28, 2013 Ursula von Rydingsvard is 70 years old, but she still spends eight hours a day working massive blocks of cedar into sculptures. "I don't want the cuteness associated with the wood," she says, "or even the nostalgia."

Transcript

On Weekend Edition SundayPlaylist

Friday, April 26, 2013

The Picture Show

A Photographer And His Friend, 'That Tree'

April 30, 2012. "That Tree" is an ancient Bur Oak growing on the edge of a cornfield near Platteville, Wis.

April 26, 2013 For one year, photojournalist Mark Hirsch took one photo a day of a towering bur oak on the edge of a cornfield in southwest Wisconsin. Over time, he says, his relationship with the project changed: "The longer I spent down there, the greater my appreciation for what a unique force [this tree] was."

Summary

Thursday, April 25, 2013

The Salt

Masterpiece In A Mug: Japanese Latte Art Will Perk You Up

Cat

April 25, 2013 You think clovers and hearts are impressive? Wait till you get a load of these Japanese latte drawings. A culture that values the beauty of the ephemeral has brought us a new level of art in foam.

Summary

NPR thanks our sponsors

Become an NPR Sponsor

Podcast + RSS Feeds

Podcast RSS

  • NPR: Culturetopia
     
  • Arts & Life
     
  • Art & Design