Today is what would have been Philip Johnson’s 104th birthday. Philip Johnson was a renowned architect whose work covered the 20th century and many of its architectural styles. Coincidentally, questions of 20th and 21st century architecture have been appearing in the news recently, as Vanity Fair has published results of
From May 1st until August 7th, the Brooklyn Museum has been presenting the exhibition American High Style: Fashioning a National Collection. The exhibit is a celebration of the Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection, which is being combined with the costume collection of the Metropolitan Museum, which is holding its own counterpart
This morning on NPR’s Morning Edition, there was a segment on a test that could predict—with an accuracy rate of 77%—whether or not an individual would live to be a centarian. The test is based on a comparison of the DNA of those who lived to one hundred,
Ever find yourself daydreaming or doodling only to feel guilty for not paying attention? Well, maybe your guilt has been misplaced. The New York Times recently published an article called “Discovering the Virtues of a Wandering Mind” with the premise that daydreaming might not be so bad for you after
This morning the NYTimes Home section ran a front page article on Thomas Jefferson’s gardens at Monticello, focusing on both the gardens themselves as well as the gardening philosophy of the founding father who designed them. In the article, reporter Anne Raver speaks extensively with Peter Hatch, the director of
Although photography has been around since the late 1800s, its prevalence in today’s society has been a recent rise. With the advent of digital cameras and a more celebrity-oriented society, everyone can be paparazzi. Exposed, a collection of photographs by Sophie Calle, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Walker Evans, Andy Warhol and many
Earlier this month the UK publication Jewish Quarterly awarded Adina Hoffman with the Wingate Prize 2010 for her new book, My Happiness Bears No Relation to Happiness. Given out annually to an author whose work “stimulates an interest in themes of Jewish concern while appealing to the general reader,” this
This morning the NYTimes arts section had an article on Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival, held in Chicago this past weekend. Celebrating the profound musicianship and influence of blues-based rockers from Buddy Guy to Derek Trucks, the festival underscored the importance of the guitar in in an age when the
For many, Shakespeare is synonymous with summer (or vice versa), with performances nationwide filling outdoor stages and parks for productions of his most popular plays. The Shakespeare Center in Los Angeles may have cancelled their summer show this year, but in New York, Central Park is the location of choice
This summer, the Yale Center for British Art is presenting the exhibition Art for All: British Posters for Transport. The show is based around Henry S. Hacker’s collection of promotional posters designed in the primarily 1930s for the London Underground and British Railway system. The works are exceptional examples both