In Brief

Divers Denounce Japanese City's Shallow New Mascot

Late last year Shima, a city of about 50,000 located 100 miles east of Osaka in Mie Prefecture, unveiled a new municipal mascot.

Art

Glasgow Artists Flock to Detroit for a Creative Exchange

DETROIT — How do you start a relationship between two cities?

Art

African Artists Take a Seat at the Table

Boundary lines make up much of the Richard Taittinger Gallery’s current exhibit, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? — lines that, like borders, criss and cross, divide and obscure.

Comics

August's Creativity Lull

It's hard to be creative in August.

Art

Barbara Kasten’s Slippery Analog Photography

PHILADELPHIA — Talking about the limitations of photography, painter David Hockney said that art “must deeply involve an observer whose body somehow has to be brought back in.” At the time, he was pessimistic about the medium’s possibilities. Enter Barbara Kasten.

Art

The Intricate Designs of an 18th-Century Love Token

Today, as the art of handwritten notes gradually fades, one common way to court someone is to slide into his or her DMs.

Art

A Catalogue of Violent Design in the 21st Century

MoMA's online initiative Design and Violence was an 18-month experiment in addressing the brutality of 21st-century design.

Art

Revisiting a Jewish Ritual with Nicole Eisenman

Nicole Eisenman's painting "Seder" puts the viewer at the center of a formal Passover family gathering.

Art

Are You a Commuting Adjunct? There's a Magazine for You (Sort Of)

Last month, artist, writer, and editor Dushko Petrovich launched Adjunct Commuter Weekly, "the first magazine devoted to the lifestyle needs and shared interests of a rapidly growing and increasingly influential demographic."

News

Anish Kapoor Threatens to Sue Over Chinese “Cloud Gate” Copy

Yesterday we noticed that a copy of Anish Kapoor's "Cloud Gate" in Chicago is in the works in Karamay, China, promoted as a giant, stainless steel drop of oil.

Art

We’ve Always Been Here: A Portrait of the US by Two Black Artists

DES MOINES, Iowa — Divisions of race, class, and place haunt aspirations for equality and justice in the US.

Art

The Overlooked Asian Influence on Art of the Colonial Americas

The Asian influence on arts and crafts of the Americas goes back centuries earlier than most people think.