Art & Design

This life-sized porcelain image of the Virgin Mary was brought over from Italy in 1884.

The Madonna Of 115th Street Gets A Long-Awaited Makeover

8:41am November 01, 2015

by Jacki Lyden

The Blessed Mother at New York City's Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church has presided over her flock since 1884, and she's just gotten a makeover, complete with a designer gown of gold-embroidered satin.

Vermeer's 1663 work, Woman in Blue Reading a Letter, is back on display at the National Gallery after its first visit 20 years ago.

Arts

Vermeer's 'Woman In Blue' Returns To D.C., Hoping For Better Luck This Time

1:42pm October 29, 2015

by Susan Stamberg

During the National Gallery's first Vermeer exhibit 20 years ago, the federal government shut down twice, and a major blizzard hit the East Coast. But The Woman in Blue Reading a Letter is undeterred.

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Fans Offer Legos To Ai Weiwei After Company Refuses To Donate Its Toy Bricks

9:28pm October 26, 2015

by Jim Zarroli

The Internet has exploded in support of Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei after Lego refused to donate its toy bricks for an upcoming exhibition in Melbourne, Australia.

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Visitors look at Ai Weiwei's "Trace" installation — part of the @Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz series — last year on Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay.

Fans Flood Artist Ai Weiwei With Offers Of Legos

4:53pm October 26, 2015

by Jim Zarroli

The Chinese artist says the Danish company that makes the toy bricks has refused to sell a bulk order for an exhibition on free speech. Ai says Lego is bowing to pressure from Chinese authorities.

"A photo of me once hung in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, sixteen inches high."

Books
Arts

In 10,000 Snaps Of The Shutter, A 'Photographic Census' Of A City

7:13pm October 24, 2015

by NPR Staff

Brandon Stanton left a life in finance for an entirely different quest: to snap the portraits of 10,000 people. The project eventually became Humans of New York, a blog and the basis for two books.

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Ceramics artist Ron Nagle says his greatest gift is his sense of humor -- "basically because I'm a melancholy person," he says.

Arts

Pottery Winner: An Artist's Dark, Funny Oeuvre Gets Major Show

12:35pm October 24, 2015

by Karen Michel

Ceramics artist Ron Nagle uses unconventional materials and bright colors to make odd, miniature marvels with punderful titles. His work has helped make modern ceramics a star at art museums.

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In Back to the Future Part II, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) slips on his Nike sneakers and rides a Mattel hoverboard in front of a Texaco gas station.

Arts

'Back To The Future Part 2': Designing A Future For 30 Years Ago

2:02pm October 20, 2015

by Andrew Limbong

In the classic movie Back to the Future Part II, Michael J. Fox's Marty McFly travels forward 30 years to Oct. 21, 2015. Is life like the movie predicted? Maybe. But was it ever supposed to be?

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Art Installation To Welcome Pope Francis To Philadelphia

6:44am October 20, 2015

by Marisa Peñaloza

A Philadelphia artist has been commissioned to welcome the pope with a public art display. She's reinterpreting one of the pope's favorite pieces of art: a baroque painting of the Virgin Mary.

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Stacks of bowls in the company's signature colors, like "sand" and "light grey whale."

Arts

Cooper Hewitt Honors Colorful California Ceramics Company

9:57pm October 15, 2015

by Mandalit del Barco

Heath Ceramics' tiles and tableware are the darling of midcentury-design fans. Now, the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is honoring the company for its aesthetics, values and business model.

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Arts

Big Themes, Tiny Frames: An Art Show Writ Small

6:23pm October 15, 2015

This weekend, The Mini Show opens at The Lodge, an emerging gallery on a gritty street in Los Angeles. It'll feature teeny, tiny paintings.

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