Fine Art

Artist Noah Davis founded The Underground Museum to bring world-class art to a neighborhood in Los Angeles — for free. He was just 32 years old when he died from cancer in 2015.

Arts

He Died At 32, But A Young Artist Lives On In LA's Underground Museum

7:50pm August 29, 2016

by Neda Ulaby

When Noah Davis founded the museum, he wanted to bring world-class art to a neighborhood he likened to a food desert, meaning no grocery stores or museums. Davis died a year ago Monday.

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The Chichu Art Museum, designed by celebrated Japanese architect Tadao Anda, is built mostly underground. Open courtyards and skylights bring in natural light. The island is internationally known for its works of modern art and architecture.

How Art Transformed A Remote Japanese Island

9:00am August 27, 2016

by Ina Jaffe

The population of Naoshima has fallen to 3,000. But this year, its art will attract 800,000 tourists from around the world. "The level of our sophistication has gone up considerably," says a resident.

Gabriel Barcia-Colombo on the TED stage.

Arts

Can Slow-Moving Art Disrupt Our Hectic Routines?

8:49am August 26, 2016

by NPR/TED Staff

Early in his career, video artist Gabriel Barcia-Colombo noticed the way people breeze past works of art. He describes how his deliberate, slow-moving installations encourage people to stop and think.

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Former corrections officer Robert Fletcher says he bought this painting from artist Peter Doig in 1976.

Artist Peter Doig Says He Didn't Paint This, And A Judge Agrees

6:15pm August 23, 2016

by Andrew Limbong

A retired corrections officer says he bought the painting from Doig in 1976, but Doig (now a famous artist) says that wasn't him. So the retiree lawyered up and went to court.

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A wealthy American living in Paris, Romaine Brooks had the freedom to paint whatever and however she wanted. Don't let her sober, 1923 Self-Portrait fool you — Smithsonian curator Virginia Mecklenburg says in the 1910s and 1920s, Brooks and her circle o

Arts

Painter Romaine Brooks Challenged Conventions In Shades Of Gray

11:36am August 17, 2016

by Susan Stamberg

A wealthy American living in Paris, Brooks had the freedom to paint whatever and however she wanted. In a subtle but powerful palette, she depicted androgynous women and melancholy nudes.

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Opera binocs. Food by Chef John N. Novi.

At This Experimental Culinary Event, The Cutlery Is High Art

1:21pm August 16, 2016

by Natalie Jacewicz

Three Michelin-star chefs will cook for 60 guests in a one-night voyage of victuals in California. We talked to an artist creating the virtuoso flatware for the event.

(Left) Eleven elemental maps providing an overview of the construction of the painting. (Right) Detail of zinc map.

Science
Arts

X-Rays Reveal Hidden Portrait Under Painting By Edgar Degas

2:20pm August 05, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

A team of researchers in Australia used a special mapping technique to expose a striking painting of another woman under the French Impressionist's Portrait of a Woman.

This Baby Shower Greeting Card Tells It Like It Is

5:27am August 02, 2016

The message on the front: "A baby is the sweetest gift." But press the button inside (where it says "A gift that keeps on giving") and the card cries — for three hours. There's no way to turn it off.

World News

Will This 'David' Go Under Cover?

5:35am July 29, 2016

An important vote is expected soon in Russia. St. Petersburg residents will decide on dressing a 16-foot replica of Michelangelo's David. A woman complained the naked statue "warps children's souls."

A Jan Davidsz de Heem still life with ham, lobster and fruit, circa 1653

Science
Arts

#FoodPorn, Circa 1600s: Then And Now, It Was More About Status Than Appetite

3:09pm July 25, 2016

by Tove Danovich

A new study of old masters finds that capturing and showing off decadent and expensive meals is a decidedly old-fashioned practice. Like today's Instagrammers, it was all about projecting an image.