Epstein in the Shadow of de Sade
Ed Simon on how the intellectual elite absolves abusers of their crimes, Marigold Santos's loving epiphytes, and Damien Davis in conversation with Hakim Bishara.
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A Tour Inside the Chelsea Hotel: Once Home to Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Leonard Cohen & More
We’ve all stayed at the Chelsea Hotel, though most of us have done so only in our minds, through such cultural artifacts as Leonard Cohen’s “Chelsea Hotel No. 2,” Bob Dylan’s “Sara,” Nico’s “Chelsea Girls,” Andy Warhol’s eponymous film that includes the Nico song, or Patti
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
In this edition: Twin Cities resistance, psychedelic self-reinvention, guardians of the ranch, a file of fragments, and Pantone’s political white.
“Hide competitive stats”
I’ve been playing an online wordgame for a few months, and after each round, it shows me how well I’m doing against the 10,000 other people who are also playing. It didn’t take long for me to realize that the stats weren’t improving my mood (a really good play had me ranking
How the Golden Gate Bridge Was Built: A 3D Animated Introduction
Built during the depths of the Great Depression (from 1933 to 1937), the Golden Gate Bridge became the longest and tallest suspension bridge in the world. During its construction, workers battled harsh conditions — strong winds, thick fog, and the risk of plunging into the San
The Trial of Gisèle Pelicot’s Rapists United...
The Trial of Gisèle Pelicot’s Rapists United France and Fractured Her Family . “‘Look at the Pelicot family.’ They had been ‘confronted with the impossible dilemma,’ he said. ‘How to make suffering coexist.’”
When Coyotes Threatened Livestock on Central Texas Ranches, the Solution Was to Unlock an Ancient Ability in Dogs
"Killing the predators is not nearly as effective as the intimidating presence of well-trained guardians, a role some breeds have played for 5,000 years."
How the Great Zen Master and Peace Activist Thich Nhat Hanh Found Himself and Lost His Self in a Library Epiphany
"To live, we must die every instant. We must perish again and again in the storms that make life possible."
Watch How Ancient Egyptians Carved Hieroglyphs
In a video for the V&A Museum, stone carver Miriam Johnson hand-carves a pair of hieroglyphs “using both sunken relief and raised relief techniques”. The video has minimal narration; mostly it’s just a master craftsperson quietly tapping away at the stone — and getting bits of
An appreciation of Flickr’s URL structure ....
An appreciation of Flickr’s URL structure . “It was a beautiful and predictable scheme. Once you knew how it worked, you could guess other URLs.”
Aunia Kahn’s Lush Portraits Depict a Playful Inner Landscape
The Detroit-based artist finds joy in color and pattern. Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Aunia Kahn’s Lush Portraits Depict a Playful Inner
Toy Story 5 joins the fight against screentime for kids...
Toy Story 5 joins the fight against screentime for kids . “Toys are for play, but tech…is for everything.”
Art Movements: Marilyn Minter Wins Again
The feminist artist received an international award from Anderson Ranch. Plus, new top staff at university museums, and the V&A goes to the zoo.
Marigold Santos Takes Root
She uses epiphytes — plants that grow on other plants without harming them — as a framework for the expansive ways diasporas form.
Keeping a Critical Eye on the Art World With Damien Davis
Join us on March 2 for a virtual conversation between artist and Hyperallergic contributor Damien Davis and Editor-in-Chief Hakim Bishara.
In-browser puzzle game : “Enclose the horse in the...
In-browser puzzle game : “Enclose the horse in the biggest possible pen!”
The Marquis de Sade of the Upper East Side
Like the infernal French nobleman, Jeffrey Epstein’s story represents cruel and oppressive politics that were seeded in aristocracy, tended in capitalism, and are now harvested in fascism.
Brooklyn Fine Art Print Fair Returns to Powerhouse Arts This Spring
Over 50 exhibitors, hands-on programming, and a juried print exhibition make up the fair’s expanded second edition. April 9–12, 2026.
Required Reading
This week: movie poster art, the typist behind Henry James’s novels, Gisèle Pelicot’s new memoir, indie rock in “Heated Rivalry,” and are we in an arts and crafts renaissance?
Les Wexner Claims Naivety in Epstein Deposition
The billionaire retail tycoon continues to deny any knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein's sex crimes, but not everyone is buying it.
A data analysis of how women’s clothing...
A data analysis of how women’s clothing doesn’t actually fit women . “That leaves millions of people — over half of all adult women — who are excluded from standard size ranges” in their 20s and beyond.
How Finland Defeated Fascism in the 1930s
In the 1930s, a radical conservative political group almost succeeded in overthrowing Finland’s democracy : Called the Lapua movement, it was a far-right group of Finns who sought to overthrow the republic, marginalize communists, and install an authoritarian government. They
A Newly Updated Monograph Surveys Four Decades of Ai Weiwei’s Career
This spring, TASCHEN releases 'Ai Weiwei. Updated Edition,' with a new decade's work included. Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article A Newly Updated
A list of all the media (movies, books, TV shows, plays,...
A list of all the media (movies, books, TV shows, plays, etc.) consumed by Steven Soderbergh in 2025 .
Einstein, Gödel, and Our Strange Experience of Time: Rebecca Goldstein on How Relativity Rattled the Flow of Existence
"Is there anything we know more intimately than the fleetingness of time, the transience of each and every moment?"
The Brattle theater is playing what they call the...
The Brattle theater is playing what they call the Ultimate Double Feature : “we play the first movie up until the point when the characters enter a cinema to watch a different film”, then play the entirety of that 2nd film, then finish up the 1st film.
You know who else had a Greenland obsession?...
You know who else had a Greenland obsession? “Greenland appears to have been a lifelong preoccupation of Adolf Hitler’s.”
Fries Vansevenant’s Neo-Constructivist Collages
I love these collage illustrations of various celebrities and famous characters by artist/designer Fries Vansevenant : Han Solo & Luke Skywalker , Notorious BIG , Heath Ledger’s Joker , Beatrix Kiddo , David Beckham . There are more on his Insta . Tags: art · design · Fries
The Courage to Be Yourself: Virginia Woolf on How to Hear Your Soul
"Beyond the difficulty of communicating oneself, there is the supreme difficulty of being oneself."