The Arts
NPR Topics: Arts & Life
09/07/2010 04:30 PM
Why The Priest Fainted: An Ode To Eggplant
This fruit commonly used as vegetable is perhaps less loved in the U.S. than in India and the Mideast, where food writer Monica Bhide grew up. But after years of presenting different renditions to American friends and family, she's found ways to woo the eggplant skeptics -- including these spice-laden recipes and tips.
09/07/2010 12:49 PM
A German 'Soul Kitchen' That's More Than A Restaurant
The Turkish-German filmmaker Fatih Akin is a star of European cinema, known for gritty dramas about the immigrant experience in Germany. But his newest movie is a somewhat lighter film, filled with greasy food and heavy music.
09/07/2010 09:00 AM
Journalist Lawrence Wright's 'Trip To Al-Qaeda'
A new HBO documentary details Wright's experiences writing his Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Looming Tower. Wright explains what he learned while interviewing sources for his book -- and talks about the challenge of maintaining objectivity while researching modern terrorism.
09/06/2010 09:00 PM
Investigating The Real Detective Charlie Chan
The fictional, aphorism-spouting Chinese detective is best known today as a stereotypical relic from a less sensitive time. Yunte Huang tells the story of the real man who inspired the caricature in Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History.
09/06/2010 07:00 AM
Gary Shteyngart's Nerd Passion For 'Zardoz'
Writer Gary Shteyngart may have no idea what Zardoz is about, but that doesn't stop him from knowing the science-fiction novel by heart. For a nerd like him, nothing compares to the post-apocalyptic world full of floating heads and immortal beings.
09/05/2010 04:53 AM
Jokes To Tell Your Parents For Rosh Hashana
When Sam Hoffman and Eric Spiegelman's video of Hoffman's 60-something mother telling an off-color joke on YouTube went viral, they knew they had something special. The success of their subsequent website, OldJewsTellingJokes.com, and their upcoming book have proved them right.
09/04/2010 10:00 AM
'Phantom Tollbooth' Creators Reunited By An 'Ogre'
In the early 1960s, writer Norton Juster and illustrator Jules Feiffer created The Phantom Tollbooth, which quickly became a kid-lit classic. Now, 50 years later, the two have finally collaborated once more -- this time, on a picture book called The Odious Ogre. They speak to NPR's Liane Hansen about their partnership and their new project.
09/04/2010 02:37 PM
Pulitzer-Winning Cartoonist Paul Conrad Dies
Paul Conrad took on U.S. presidents from Harry Truman to George W. Bush, mostly in the Los Angeles Times, where he worked for 30 years. He was fierce in his liberalism and expressed it with a stark, unmistakable visual style.
09/04/2010 01:27 PM
Victory At Marathon Saved A Lot More Than A Race
The story's a classic: An outnumbered band of Athenians pushes back the mighty Persian army. But the battle of Marathon, 2,500 years ago in ancient Greece, left a legacy that extends far beyond the name of a famous race. Historian Richard Billows explores the legendary battle in his new book, Marathon: How One Battle Changed Western Civilization.
09/04/2010 12:00 PM
Next Week: Franzen Talks About 'Freedom'
Jonathan Franzen's new novel, Freedom, is being called a "masterpiece of American fiction." He was recently on the cover of Time magazine -- the first living author on its cover in more than a decade. Next weekend, Franzen will join us to talk about Freedom, the story of a contemporary American family in St. Paul, Minn.
Yahoo! News: Arts
09/08/2010 04:14 AM
Artists, protesters target Blair book party (Reuters)
Reuters - Former British premier Tony Blair has been forced to postponed a party at the Tate Modern art gallery celebrating the launch of his autobiography because of threats from anti-war protesters, his office said on Wednesday.
09/08/2010 03:31 AM
Blair postpones book party at Tate Modern (Reuters)
Reuters - Former premier Tony Blair has postponed a party at the Tate Modern art gallery celebrating the launch of his autobiography because of threats from protesters, his office said on Wednesday.
09/07/2010 03:06 PM
The United States Picks Allora & Calzadilla for the 54th Venice Biennale (ARTINFO)
ARTINFO - After almost a year of speculation, the Puerto Rico–based multimedia duo Allora & Calzadilla has been announced as the United States' representatives to the 2011 Venice Biennale, marking the first time that an artist pair or collective has been picked by the nation to fill the prestigious role. The selection was made by the Indianapolis Museum of Art, which the U.S. State Department has entrusted to organize next year's pavilion; Lisa Freiman, the chair of the museum’s contemporary art department, has been tapped as the commissioner of the pavilion. She will also curate the presentation.
09/07/2010 02:22 PM
Daniel Libeskind's German War Museum Rumbles To Its Finish, With an Arrow in Its Heart (ARTINFO)
ARTINFO - Dresden's Museum of Military History has existed in a variety of incarnations over the years, each mirroring the successive regime that shaped its image. Established in 1897 in a stately neoclassical building that once housed an arsenal, the museum became a celebration of German military might under the Nazis. Its location outside the historic center of Dresden allowed the building to survive the Allied bombing campaign at the end of World War II; thereafter it proudly displayed Communist tanks and submarines under East German rule. In 1989, Germany's Bundeswehr — or Federal Defense Force — was unsure how the museum would fit into the newly unified German state, deciding to simply shut it down.
09/07/2010 01:24 PM
First Quicksand, Now a "Complex Situation" Delay New York's African Art Museum (ARTINFO)
ARTINFO - Half a decade after it shuttered its exhibition space in Long Island City, the Museum for African Art announced on Friday that it would delay opening its new Upper East Side building by at least five more months as a result of construction delays. Slated to open in April 2011, the Robert A. M. Stern-designed museum will not be inaugurated until at least September 2011, according to he museum’s director, Elsie McCabe Thompson.
09/07/2010 10:32 AM
Jerry Hall to Auction a Pregnant Nude Portrait and Other Art at Sotheby's (ARTINFO)
ARTINFO - As if the action-packed fall art season wasn't sexy enough already, Jerry Hall — world-famous supermodel, actress, and the alleged subject matter of Mick JaggerÂs hit love song, “Miss You”— will be selling her collection of contemporary art at Sotheby’s next month. The 14 artworks, which attest to Hall’s glamorous life amidst the avant-garde 1970s and 80s in New York, will be auctioned to coincide with London’s Frieze Art Fair.
09/07/2010 08:53 AM
Egypt Cracks Down on Arts Officials After Van Gogh Theft (ARTINFO)
ARTINFO - Egyptian authorities have been unable to recover the $50 million van Gogh that was stolen in broad daylight from Cairo's Mahmoud Khalil Museum last month, but they have certainly wasted no time in finding scapegoats for the embarrassing theft. Eleven people in the country's arts establishment, including a senior culture minister and the head of the museum, are now set to be tried in court on charges of negligence in protecting the painting.
09/07/2010 08:51 AM
Sistine Chapel Threatened by Too Much Love (ARTINFO)
ARTINFO - It appears that the millions of sweat-stained tourists who invade Rome's landmarks every year are a nuisance to more than just the locals — they're even starting to disturb God. At least, that is, the depictions of God on the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel, which showed signs of damage during a routine cleaning this summer. According to Vatican Museums director Antonio Paolucci, the harm has been caused by the 4.5 million people who visit the site each year.
09/07/2010 06:00 AM
An Imperial Stamp, Protected by a Dragon, Sells for $1.3 Million at a Hong Kong Auction (ARTINFO)
ARTINFO - Yesterday, ARTINFO ventured into the world of numismatics, discovering a strange and exciting land of niche collectibles. But today we are being even bolder, delving into what some might argue is an even narrower, more specific pursuit: timbrophily! Stamp collectors the world over received a jolt of excitement on Saturday when Hong Kong postage auction house Phila China brought the hammer down on a toasty timbrophilic lot at $1.3 million, a new record in the already-sizzling Chinese stamp market.
09/06/2010 11:27 AM
Jerry Hall's art collection on auction block (AP)
AP - Model Jerry Hall plans to auction some of her art collection next month, including a famous portrait by Lucian Freud that shows her nude when she was eight months pregnant, Sotheby's said Monday.
NPR Topics: Art & Design
09/07/2010 11:22 AM
What Did One NASA Guy Say To The Other?
NASA is one of the newest members to Flickr Commons, where you can now find archival photos for public use.
09/07/2010 08:54 AM
A Photographer's Unlikely Passion For Trays
Almost accidentally, John Cyr has expertise in an esoteric subject: photographers' developing trays. Read: Nerd alert!
09/03/2010 01:13 PM
It's the Bee's Knees! (No, Really)
Up close and personal with gold-plated bees.
09/02/2010 09:12 AM
'America By Car': A Case For Drive-By Shooting
Now 76 years old, Lee Friedlander might be slowing down. But his latest series suggests the opposite; America By Car is about freedom and velocity.
09/01/2010 11:56 AM
Who Is Elmo Tide?
Various art blogs have asked the question but found no answer. In an exclusive but completely uninformative interview, the mysterious photographer speaks up.
09/01/2010 08:14 AM
'The Most Ridiculously Awesome Sign In All Of Chicago' And Other Sundry Photos
Shawn Hazen is not a Chicago type, but he does love Chicago type -- as in typefaces. He has a whole website dedicated to his font findings in the Windy City.
08/31/2010 12:15 PM
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08/31/2010 08:05 AM
Photographing The Funnier Side Of Agriculture Culture
Arnhel de Serra's view of England's agriculture culture is good for a chuckle.
08/30/2010 12:57 PM
3:15
What does your 3:15 look like?
08/30/2010 06:04 AM
Photo Students Raise Money With A Cookbook
Renowned photographers have submitted their favorite recipes for an unusual student fundraiser.