Opinion
The (New) Handgun Aesthetic
OAKLAND, Calif. — We've all seen the moment in movies when the hero, villain, or unwitting victim has to stare down the barrel of a gun.
AX Mina
AX Mina is an artist and culture writer exploring contemporary spirituality, technology and other sundry topics. She co-produces Five and Nine, a podcast about magic, work, and economic justice, and serves on the board of the Rabkin Foundation.
Opinion
Literature and Publishing in Developing Contexts
I was recently sent an article about the potential of e-books in developing countries. It's one year old, but with the rise of e-books and the growing popularity of Kindles (including on airplanes taking off and landing), it seemed worth revisiting.
Art
Chinese Artist Draws with Smoke
OAKLAND, Calif. — Stare up at the ceiling of any bar or night club that's been around since before indoor smoking was banned and you'll doubtless see traces of smoke on the ceiling. Though a symbol of the ephemeral, smoke leaves lasting marks over time, whether that be buildings or lungs or anything
Art
Curating at the Airport: The SFO Museum
SAN FRANCISCO — If our first impressions of a city are often framed by the airport, then SFO makes up for its lack of architectural grandeur with its own unique museum and culture.
Opinion
Bringing Collections to Life
OAKLAND, Calif. — Floating around the web right now is The Whale Warehouse, a terrific look behind the scenes of Los Angeles's Natural History Museum. Produced by KPCC Los Angeles's AudioVision, it brings to life the collections in a new way, with a tour of a "warehouse down the street from a meatpa
News
East Africa Has Its First Major Art Auction
Love them or hate them, auctions often signal a milestone, whether it's for new media art or work from a specific region. Recently, Circle Art Agency, a Kenyan arts organization, hosted the first major art auction in East Africa. With 47 works from 43 artists, the auction was incredibly successful,
Art
Artists Auction Their Facebook Profiles
Organized by Bailey, Mathé and Hunt, a one-day event placed artists' social media profiles up for bidding.
Opinion
Seeking New Ways to Document and Share Culture
How can we document culture? Two recent articles shed light on different ways to document often unheard or at least less-heard voices and perspectives.
Opinion
The Comical Side of Science
OAKLAND, Calif. — Science is always painted as a subject diametrically opposed to art, but some of the best scientists have talked about their thinking process as one that's very creative in scope.
Art
When in Rome, Blog Like a Roman Foodie
OAKLAND, Calif. — Travel presents so many opportunities to stimulate the senses, from new color palettes to new sounds and languages. But in my opinion, you've not experienced a culture until you've engaged that other sense — taste — and savored its foods, until you've watched how people cook and st
Opinion
The Found Poetry of Google Autocomplete
Could our collective searches generate beauty? I, and presumably 60,000+ others, have been intrigued by Google Poetics, a Twitter account consisting of found poetry from Google search terms.
Art
Mapping San Francisco's Literary History
OAKLAND, Calif. — San Francisco has become a city of gadgets, but it's always been a city of letters. The town was central to the Beat movement in the 50's, and the recent, city-wide SF Lit Crawl shed light on its wide variety of independent bookstores.