Cindy Sherman: Before the Selfie
Before cell phones and selfies, American artist Cindy Sherman influenced the world with her monumental and ongoing series of self-portraiture.
How Fashion Magazines Talked in the 1930s
The Splashy language of fashion magazines prompted one linguist to look closer at the over-the-top dialect in Vogue and Ladies’ Home Journal of the 30s
The Utopian Roots of the Artists’ Retreat
The modern artist's retreat has roots in industrial-era utopian communes.
In Which We Get to the Bottom of Some Crazy-Ass Language
Strong language has a unique place in linguistics.
Walt Whitman: (Happy Birthday) Song of Himself
Happy Birthday, Walt Whitman, you old bard and…politician. Clearly you like to sing to yourself, but let us join ...
The Real Meaning Behind Russia’s Eurovision Controversy
The annual Eurovision contest often serves as a stage on which political tensions play out.
SFMOMA: The Brave New World of Art Museums
SFMOMA celebrated its 75th anniversary with a huge architectural expansion, only rivaled by its technological innovations.
The Real Reason Fine Art Costs So Much
To outsiders, art auctions can seem like a parody of bizarre spending by wealthy people. The origins of ultra-expensive art lies in the nineteenth-century.
The Delightful Language of Commencement
Commencement speeches have inspired, motivated and captivated many. Just what makes the words found in them so wonderful and life-affirming?
Geek Love: Our Modern Monster Story
The writer Katherine Dunn died last week at age 70. Anyone who ever felt like an outsider found a friend in her 1989 novel Geek Love.