Art

A History of Disease, Faith, and Recovery in Rome

What happens when an epidemic strikes and that profoundly human urge to kiss and touch items thought to be sacred becomes part of the problem?

Art

Livestreams and Spirit in a Time of Pestilence

The emergence of spiritual circles online in the face of COVID-19 strikes me as the opposite of viral — a place to be still in the face of viral turbulence on the streets and in the air, and viral turbulence on social media and the broader internet.

Art

From Viruses to Algorithms, We Are Always Under Threat

What can we learn from the exponential unleashing of viral codes, as they circulate and duplicate beneath the surface of your cultural and physical world?

Art

The Pandemic’s Invisible Agent

Thin as one-thousandth the width of an eyelash, the malign virus appears to us in magnified images as a round glob of genetic material surrounded by a beady shell. The so-called crowns (corona in Latin) on its surface are its means of destruction.

Art

Introducing Our First Sunday Edition, Viral: 🦠From Pandemics to Popularity 🌐

Introducing our new Sunday edition, which will dive into both timely and timeless topics in a multifaceted way. For this first edition, we’ve chosen the theme “Viral.”

Art

Required Reading

This week, a lizard's sunny "Kusama Room," artists who choose isolation, some leading thinkers ponder the quarantine, saving the mail, rats during the pandemic, and more.

Music

Poppy Captures the Chaos of Pop

By committing to chaos in itself, Poppy captures a spirit of play, a sense that anything is possible.

Interview

Beer with a Painter: McArthur Binion

“I don’t come from art history, and even though I’m involved in the mainstream art world, I didn’t come from this.”

Art

Isaac Julien’s Political Memory

Western Union: Small Boats provokes our dread and desire.

Art

Egregious Renaissance Maleness, From the Inside Out

An up-close look at the codpiece.

Art

The Enigmatic Beauty of Leidy Churchman's Paintings

Churchman raises pointed philosophical and sociopolitical inquiries by coaxing viewers toward a position of otherness.

Art

What Do Artists Need to Make Their Work?

For artists and writers, self-isolation means doing what they have always done — which is work at home.