Art & Design

Courtesy of Wim Noorduin/Harvard University
‘Nanogardens’ Sprout Up On The Surface Of A Penny
May 21, 2013 | NPR · 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.
 

Giant Renaissance Food People Descend Upon New York
May 19, 2013 | NPR · 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.
 

Heather Dewey-Hagborg
Litterbugs Beware: Turning Found DNA Into Portraits
May 12, 2013 | NPR · 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.
 

Getty Images
Banksy Mural May Be Coming To U.S. After All
May 12, 2013 | NPR · 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.
 

AFP/Getty Images
A Fresh Answer To Vermeer’s Mystery
May 10, 2013 | NPR · 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.
 

AFP/Getty Images
At The Met Ball, Those Are Some Crazy Dresses
May 7, 2013 | NPR · 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.
 

Courtesy Seward House Museum
Family Fights Sale Of Iconic Thomas Cole Painting
May 6, 2013 | NPR · 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.
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Ralph Steadman
A ‘Decadent And Depraved’ Derby With Hunter S. Thompson
May 4, 2013 | NPR · 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.
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Courtesy of Diana Zlatanovski/Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology
One Of These Shells Is Not Like The Others
May 3, 2013 | NPR · Diana Zlatanovski’s Typology series showcases the intricacy of collections, and the beauty of individual objects within the group.
 

Courtesy of Thames & Hudson
Things Come (Very, Very) Apart
May 1, 2013 | NPR · Photographer Todd McLellan dismantles common household objects, then meticulously arranges the parts to show the inner workings of everyday stuff.
 

 

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News

Developing: Explosion, Gunfire In Kabul
May 24, 2013 | NPR · Witnesses say the blast happened in the late afternoon and that the sound of shots followed. There’s no word yet on casualties.
 

Assad Regime Agrees To Attend Peace Conference, Russia Says
May 24, 2013 | NPR · Russia and the U.S. have been trying to set up talks aimed at ending more than two years of brutal fighting in Syria. What’s still unclear, however, is who would speak for the opponents of President Bashar Assad’s regime.
 

Reuters /Landov
Tornado In Moore, Okla.: Friday’s Developments
May 24, 2013 | NPR · Residents can now get into their devastated neighborhoods without passing through police checkpoints. Meanwhile, there’s word that insurance policies may cover less of the cost of damages than in past disasters.
 

Arts & Life

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Book News: Judge’s Comments Bruising To Apple’s Price-Fixing Case
May 24, 2013 | NPR · Also: Mary Karr on addiction and David Foster Wallace; Maria Semple calls Jonathan Franzen her “big daddy.”
 

Universal Pictures
‘Fast 6′: Silly, Speedy, And Certain To Cash In
May 23, 2013 | NPR · Fast 6 pits Dominic’s crew against a wily terrorist in a high-tech battle royale — but it has a devil of a time explaining why everyone should hop into their cars.
 

Laemmle Zeller Films
‘Plimpton!’: A Fond Look At A Man Of Letters
May 23, 2013 | NPR · An affectionate documentary portrays the Paris Review founder as a man devoted to illuminating how talent and creativity work — both for himself, and for the rest of us.
 

Music

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Igor Stravinsky’s ‘Rite Of Spring’ Counterrevolution
May 24, 2013 | NPR · Not long after his shocking ballet, the composer branched out into a broad range of styles, ushering in new musical trends far from the violent tone of his iconic Rite of Spring.
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Courtesy of the artist
First Listen Live: Queens Of The Stone Age, ‘…Like Clockwork’
May 23, 2013 | NPR · Josh Homme presides over a dense, textured, unpredictable sound that’s equal parts mystery, intensity, beauty and bluster. QOTSA performed …Like Clockwork in its entirety, plus an assortment of older material, in a sold-out show at The Wiltern in Los Angeles.
 

Getty Images
Duke Ellington: Highlights Of His Twilight
May 23, 2013 | WFIU · The great composer and bandleader was distraught over the 1967 death of Billy Strayhorn, his songwriting and arranging partner of 28 years. But Ellington took Strayhorn’s passing as an impetus, born of necessity, to increase his own productivity. Here are five examples.
 

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