Light pervades the world, and when it is not light, darkness emerges and is combated by electric illumination. Despite this globally shared human experience in which spaces appear …
Few tales of artistic triumph can rival the story of Zeuxis. As first reported by Cicero and Pliny, the painter Zeuxis set out to portray Helen of Troy, but when he realized that a …
The act of bearing witness can reveal much, but what about the figure of the witness itself? As contemporary culture is increasingly dominated by surveillance, the witness—whether …
Database Aesthetics examines the database as cultural and aesthetic form, explaining how artists have participated in network culture by creating data art. The essays in this …
Exploring the significance of metaphor in modern art “Where do the roots of art lie?” asked Der Sturm founder Herwarth Walden. “In the people? Behind the mountains? Behind the …
Analyzing how 1980s visual culture provided a vital space for women artists to theorize and visualize their own bodies and sexualities In 1982, the protests of antiporn feminists …
A wide-ranging and challenging exploration of design and how it engages with the self The field of design has radically expanded. As a practice, design is no longer limited to the …
On the occasion of its 100th anniversary in 2015, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts asked some of the finest writers, photographers, and illustrators working today to muse about …
