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Jessica Jacolbe

Jessica Jacolbe

Jessica Joyce Jacolbe is a writer from Brooklyn whose work on arts and culture has appeared in Garage, Motherboard, and Catapult. Her minor cogitations can be seen on Twitter: @jessjoycej
Kathak

Indian Classical Dance and the Power of “Oneness”

Kathak is a classical form of Indian dance. Its practitioners use movement and gesture to tell stories, transcending gender and selfhood.
Portrait of a woman looking at the camera

On Hyphens and Racial Indicators

The AP dropped hyphens from expressions of heritage such as "Asian American." Some scholars are asking, with or without hyphens, aren't we all "American"?
A woman looking annoyed with something on her smartphone

On Brands’ Bad Social Media

The phenomena of brands trying to tweet like teenagers might be new, but brands have been trying to seem cool for decades.
A Wes Wilson band poster, 1967

When Posters Went Psychedelic

Posters were originally a method of advertising and promotion, but in the 1960s, a new crop of psychedelic signs became emblematic of the counterculture.
'Ohne Titel' by Wassily Kandinsky, 1923

Art Is Good for Your Brain

The field of neuroaesthetics uses neuroscience to understand how art affects our brains, both when we're making it and when we're viewing it.
The cover of Jessica Hagedorn’s 1990 "Dogeaters"

The Filipino Novel That Reimagined Neocolonial Gender

Revisiting an essential Asian American work, beloved for its synthesis of neocolonialism, postmodernism, and central queer and female characters.
A film still from The Eighties by Chantal Akerman

A Feminist Vision of the Musical

Chantal Akerman’s The Eighties proves that a musical set in a mall can be a significant feminist work.
Letitia Elizabeth Landon

The Life of Forgotten Poet Letitia Elizabeth Landon

She was known as the "female Byron." So why doesn't anyone read L.E.L. anymore?
Untitled, 1981, by Jean-Michel Basquiat

How Basquiat Used His Surroundings as a Canvas

Jean-Michel Basquiat created art that commented on New York City, while also contributing to its architecture and style.
A teenager listening to a record through headphones

The Nostalgic Quality of Our Parents’ Music

Behind the curious phenomenon of "cascading reminiscence bumps."
The Guerrilla Girls

The Guerrilla Girls Are Back for Hollywood

These anonymous activists have been stirring things up in the art world since the 1980s, and they've just released another thought-provoking poster.
Barbara Hammer

A Legendary Filmmaker’s Notes on Teaching

Experimental filmmaker Barbara Hammer was also a teacher, and wrote about how she kept the "artist-self" alive while working her day job.
Astronauts Anne McClain during her ASCAN EVA Skills 3 Training. Photographer: Lauren Harnett

How Women Helped to Develop the First Spacesuit

NASA recently cancelled an all-female spacewalk, citing a lack of spacesuits. Ironically, women played a key role in creating the very first spacesuits.
Claire Denis at the Venice Film Festival in 2009

The Corporeal Cinema of Claire Denis

French filmmaker Claire Denis is known for creating visceral viewing experiences that push the boundaries of cinema.
H.A. Thomas & Wylie's interior view of the Hoffman House bar

The Painting That Changed New York City

Classical nudes were once reserved for learned men in elite spaces. Then a hotelier hung Nymphs and Satyr in a public bar, shaking up NYC's bourgeoisie.
Me and My Parrots by Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo’s Forgotten Politics

Museum exhibitions of Frida Kahlo's work tend to focus on her personal style and persona. But Kahlo was intensely political, as were her paintings.
Janet Collins

The History of African-American Casting in Ballet

Ballet has been slow to accept African-American dancers in major companies, and those who make it tend to be offered limited roles.
from Suite Vénitienne by Sophie Calle

Love, Obsession, and Sophie Calle

The conceptual artist Sophie Calle creates art that urges us to ask, is attention the same as love?
James Joyce in front of a flowery background

James Joyce’s NSFW Love Letters

The often explicit letters James Joyce wrote to Nora Barnacle contain the same mass of contradictions as his famous literary works, like Ulysses.