Art & Design : NPR

National

Taller Chicago Skyscraper Proposed

July 27, 2005 • A 2,000-foot tower, proposed by developer Christopher Carley and designed by architect Santiago Calatrava, would rise above the lakefront... and give Chicago the nation's two tallest buildings.

Taller Chicago Skyscraper Proposed

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Law

Artists Take Up Fight Against China Knockoffs

July 27, 2005 • Some New England crafts artists are claiming their works have been copied in China and are being sold cheaply in nearby stores. They've filed suit against the Christmas Tree Shops, a New England houseware chain.

Artists Take Up Fight Against China Knockoffs

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Noli Novak: Portrait of a Stipple Artist

July 24, 2005 • The trademark illustrations in The Wall Street Journal look like engravings. But they're actually intricate pointilist portraits. Petra Mayer visits stipple artist Noli Novak at her New Jersey studio.

Noli Novak: Portrait of a Stipple Artist

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Using Science to Rescue Art

July 19, 2005 • Some artists paint realistic colors that match nature, and others elicit emotion with lurid, unnatural colors. But color fades, and that can ruin what the artist is trying to accomplish. A scientist at the Rochester Institute of Technology is working to bring the colors in great art back to life.

Using Science to Rescue Art

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Trinity and the Birth of the Atomic Bomb

Photographing the Dawn of the Nuclear Age

July 15, 2005 • Sixty years ago, a technician working on the Manhattan project took a rare color picture of the first atomic bomb test. Jack Aeby, now 82, remembers the moment he captured the blast on film.

Photographing the Dawn of the Nuclear Age

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Race

Mexican Stamp Honors Controversial Comic Figure

July 12, 2005 • Karen Grigsby Bates examines the international tension caused by a Mexican postage stamp that some Americans feel is racially offensive. The stamp celebrates Memin Pinguin, a beloved icon in Mexican popular culture for almost 40 years, with a story line that's part Dennis the Menace and part Little Black Sambo.

Mexican Stamp Honors Controversial Comic Figure

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The Story Behind Grant Wood's 'American Gothic'

July 12, 2005 • The painting is a touchstone of American culture, depicting an upright Midwestern family on the farm. Its story is the topic of Thomas Hoving's book American Gothic.

The Story Behind Grant Wood's 'American Gothic'

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National

Photo Walls: Bob Baker's Marionette Theater

July 5, 2005 • Father-daughter radio team Mal and Jennifer Sharpe continue their series on photo walls, those collections of pictures you often see displayed at small businesses. This time, they visit the Bob Baker Marionette Theater in Los Angeles.

Photo Walls: Bob Baker's Marionette Theater

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Music News

Ry Cooder Digs Through 'Chavez Ravine'

July 5, 2005 • Guitarist, composer and singer Ry Cooder is the latest in a string of artists to take up the story of Chavez Ravine — an impoverished Los Angeles neighborhood of immigrants. Years ago, Los Angeles officials picked the area as the new home of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Today, Chavez Ravine is the home of Dodger Stadium.

Ry Cooder Digs Through 'Chavez Ravine'

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Diversions

The Evolution of Venice, Calif.

July 4, 2005 • Venice Beach, Calif. turns 100 years old Monday. Farai Chideya takes a behind-the-scenes tour of Venice with the granddaughter of Arthur Reese, an African American designer who helped shape Venice's character.

The Evolution of Venice, Calif.

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Arts & Life

The Year's Best-Designed Products

July 1, 2005 • Robert Siegel talks with Bruce Nussbaum, editorial page editor of Business Week, about the magazine's annual Best Product Design issue. The 2005 winners include a sleek update on training wheels, the iPod shuffle and a toilet design that "recasts the whole concept of the toilet."

The Year's Best-Designed Products

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Opinion

National

New Design Bolsters Freedom Tower

June 29, 2005 • Architect Daniel Liebeskind's design for the new structure undergoes a facelift to include more safety precautions. Melissa Block talks with Paul Goldberger, architecture critic for The New Yorker.

New Design Bolsters Freedom Tower

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Taking a Tour of Los Angeles' Historic Neon Art

June 29, 2005 • Bright lights, big cities and neon... The signs that illuminate the landscape of many American cities were first seen in Los Angeles. Alex Cohen of member station KQED rides along on a tour that spotlights the neon landmarks of Los Angeles -- kicking off a Day to Day series featuring summer tours around America.

Taking a Tour of Los Angeles' Historic Neon Art

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Opinion

Analysis

Slate's Explainer: When Cartoon Voices Go Silent

June 29, 2005 • Actors behind two of the voices in the Winnie the Pooh cartoon series have recently died -- who will speak for Tigger and Piglet now? Slate contributor Daniel Engber explains what happens when the original voice of a cartoon character goes silent.

Slate's Explainer: When Cartoon Voices Go Silent

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National

Photo Walls: Cowboy Bowling at Pioneertown

June 23, 2005 • The father-daughter team of Mal and Jennifer Sharpe continue their exploration of "photo walls" -- collections of pictures of friends and celebrities often seen at small businesses. In this episode, they take us to Pioneertown, the site of an old cowboy movie set in the high desert of Southern California.

Photo Walls: Cowboy Bowling at Pioneertown

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