Art & Design

"All you have to do is walk in or stand on the balcony and watch people move, and you'll recognize the genius of the people who built Grand Central," says Metro-North President Howard Permut.

Arts

Grand Central, A Cathedral For Commuters, Celebrates 100

11:26am February 12, 2013

by Jeff Lunden

The largest railroad terminal in the world opened its doors for the first time in 1913. And while Grand Central Terminal, in the heart of New York City, no longer serves long-distance trains, it is still a vibrant part of the city's ecosystem.

Queue Listen Now

The Garment District's factories and wholesale and retail shops, including Spandex World on West 38th Street, employ about 7,100 people.

New York's Grimy Garment District Hatches Designers' Dreams

8:07pm February 07, 2013

by Padmananda Rama

As Fashion Week opens in New York on Thursday, all eyes will be on the Lincoln Center catwalk. But the real business of fashion will be happening a short distance away in the city's Garment District, the resource-rich laboratory that has launched the careers of countless designers.

Queue Listen Now

An anonymous artist started placing the hand-painted gnomes on the bases of utility poles all over Oakland.

Painted Gnomes Allowed To Roam On Oakland Utility Poles

7:55pm January 31, 2013

by NPR Staff

Over the past year, small, elfin creatures started springing up all around Oakland, Calif., on the base of utility poles. The local utility had vowed to remove them but now says the paintings can stay.

Queue Listen Now

The silken tassel on this skull cap, woven in Aleppo around 1800, recalls a more prosperous and tranquil time in that now-beleaguered Syrian hub.

Arts

From Aleppo, An Artifact Of A Calmer Age

11:57am January 29, 2013

by Susan Stamberg

The ongoing violence and tumult in Syria's largest city belie a richer, more prosperous past. One small object — a finely woven hat — offers evidence of life in a thriving cultural hub.

Queue Listen Now

Ai has likened Cube Light to the storm-shaken chandelier in Sergei Eisenstein's 1928 film October, which he says represents the instability of a government on the verge of collapse.

Arts

In 'According To What?' Ai Weiwei Makes Mourning Subversive

4:48pm January 24, 2013

by Melissa Block

A Washington showcase of work by the Chinese dissident artist reveals his preoccupation with the tragic 2008 Sichuan earthquake: To create one of the pieces, Ai ran afoul of Chinese authorities, asking for help collecting the names of children who died when their schools collapsed.

Queue Listen Now

Science
Arts

Edward Tufte Wants You to See Better

1:03pm January 18, 2013

Data scientist Edward Tufte (dubbed the "Galileo of graphics" by BusinessWeek) pioneered the field of data visualization. Tufte discusses what he calls "forever knowledge," and his latest projects: sculpting Richard Feynman's diagrams, and helping people "see without words."

Queue Listen Now

Arts

Starbucks Joins Designer Trend With Rodarte Collaboration

9:06am January 07, 2013

by Kaomi Goetz

The coffee giant recently partnered with the Rodarte fashion house to offer a holiday collection. It's the latest example of high-end designers teaming up with mass-market retailers to make money while showing their work to a broader audience.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

Re-Creating The 'Lost Carving' Of An English Genius

7:06pm January 06, 2013

by NPR Staff

David Esterly's life was changed in the 1970s when he came across wood carvings done by Grinling Gibbons more than 300 years earlier. Esterly became a wood carver, and even re-created one of Gibbons' pieces that was destroyed in a fire.

Queue Listen Now

"The Peter's Rock Church in Marianna is no everlasting monument; it has been left to rot, its windows broken, its steeple fallen over. Still, I found it beautiful. Kneeling in the cemetery, listening to the insects hissing, watching as a dog wandered past

Looking For Lost Memories In The Delta

8:14pm January 05, 2013

by Claire O'Neill

Photographer Eugene Richards explains why, 40 years after his first visit to the Arkansas Delta, he decided to go back.

Queue Listen Now

Lou Nasti runs a factory in Brooklyn that makes animatronic Christmas displays. He's been at it for almost 44 years.

Arts

At A Real-Life Santa's Workshop, Christmas Comes Early

3:16pm December 20, 2012

by Neda Ulaby

An unassuming brick building in Brooklyn houses a factory that makes animatronic puppets, elves and polar bears for the holiday season. NPR's Neda Ulaby drops by Mechanical Displays Inc. to talk with Lou Nasti, who's been at it for almost 44 years.

Queue Listen Now