Whitney Biennial Sneak Peek
Impressions from the leading survey of American art, Chicago's DePaul Art Museum shutters, arts leaders react to Mamdani's pick for culture commissioner, and more.
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The Uncanny Valley
It used to be an obscure oddity, now we all need to understand it. 18 years ago, I posted this image: …and I still can’t get it out of my head. Sorry. Why do we have such a creeped-out reaction to images that aren’t quite right? A robot that looks too much like a person, […]
The First Robot Movie: Watch a Newly Discovered Georges Méliès Film from 1897
Metropolis, Forbidden Planet, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Wars, Blade Runner, The Terminator, Short Circuit, RoboCop, Ghost in the Shell, The Iron Giant, WALL‑E, Ex Machina: there is a parallel history of cinema to be told entirely through its robots. That such a history must
The Longreads Questionnaire, Featuring Rebecca Solnit
The author of The Beginning Comes After the End talks about jackrabbits, her own “informational hypervigilance,” and the one word she won’t stop using.
Download 60,000 Works of Art from the National Gallery, Including Masterpieces by Van Gogh, Gauguin, Rembrandt & More
As a young amateur painter and future art school dropout, I frequently found myself haunted by the faces of two artists, that famously odd couple from my favorite art history novelization—and Kirk Douglas role and Iggy Pop song—Lust for Life. Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin,
First Impressions From the 2026 Whitney Biennial
Here’s what we liked, what we didn’t like, and what we’re still working through.
Rendered in Handmade Pigments, Rupy C. Tut’s Warriors March Toward Belonging
For Rupy C. Tut, painting is an act of devotion. 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 Rendered in Handmade Pigments, Rupy C. Tut’s Warriors March Toward
Magdalena Abakanowicz Sculpted the Collective Body
Her organic sculptures convey a quiet power, the faceless anonymity of multitudes transformed into a collective oneness.
LLMs are getting pretty good at unmasking pseudonymous...
LLMs are getting pretty good at unmasking pseudonymous users — their success rate is “far greater” than humans alone can manage.
70 Shows to See in NYC This Spring
Our guide this season's blockbuster shows and hidden gems in New York City is out.
Can Diya Vij Make NYC More Affordable for Artists?
Arts leaders speak about the tough challenges the new culture commissioner will face in the job.
A Sojourn into the Stephen King Archive: ‘The Dark Half’
"Typescript drafts on view in the newly opened archive reframe the horror maestro’s relationship with his alter ego, Richard Bachman."
The Man Who Broke Into Jail
"In Nashville, a criminal-justice activist commits a baffling crime."
“ Imagine what it was like for women in colonial...
“ Imagine what it was like for women in colonial North America . Life was different depending on where you lived, your background, and how much money you had.”
Plan to Close DePaul Art Museum Faces Community Backlash
Over 2,000 faculty and students have called on the Chicago school to reverse its decision, which came after budgetary concerns and layoffs in December.
Everyday Traces of NYC’s SWANA Diaspora
An exhibition at NYPL offers a window into life within this paradox where invisibility and visibility are two sides of the same coin.
HyperCard Changed Everything
This video traces the history of Apple’s HyperCard from Vannevar Bush’s idea of the Memex to the Mother of All Demos to the Xerox PARC Alto to Bill Atkinson , the inventor of HyperCard, who said: HyperCard is a software erector set. It lets people put things together without
Does Your Country Need Regime Change? A Quiz. “Is...
Does Your Country Need Regime Change? A Quiz. “Is your country a notorious bad actor in the Middle East? Has your leader deployed the country’s military domestically against civilians who were protesting peacefully?”
Takashi Murakami Remixes Monet
As part of his show called Hark Back to Ukiyo-e: Tracing Superflat to Japonisme’s Genesis , currently on display in LA, Takashi Murakami painted his own version of Claude Monet’s Woman with a Parasol - Madame Monet and Her Son . The painting is paired with Murakami’s copies of
Masayoshi Matsumoto Meticulously Transforms Balloons into Expressive Critters
Taking balloon animals to the next level. 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 Masayoshi Matsumoto Meticulously Transforms Balloons into Expressive
Remember the “scroll lock” key on your...
Remember the “scroll lock” key on your keyboard? What the heck was it for? And why is the same scrolling mechanic showing up in streaming service interfaces?
Pablo Neruda on How to Hold Time
“Time is a river that sweeps me along, but I am a river,” Borges wrote. “Time is a fire that consumes me, but I am the fire.” Most of us are not Borges. Most of us are drowning in bewilderment at where the time goes, burning with the urgency of being alive while waiting to
New Rembrandt Painting Discovered
A painting from 1633 called Vision of Zacharias in the Temple has been newly identified by Rijksmuseum researchers as an authentic Rembrandt van Rijn . It had been decades since the painting was examined — art historians have access to all kinds of new techniques and
Can You Draw All 50 States From Memory?
Per Betteridge’s law of headlines and also the map above, my answer is clearly no. You can try it yourself here …you draw them one at a time and it adds them to the map automagically. I’m going to blame my trackpad use a little, but I’m not sure I would have done much better
‘Architectural Fantasies’ Chronicles Elaborate Creations by Self-Taught Artists
A new book by Jo Farb Hernández, featuring photos by Fred Scruton, highlights artist-built environments around the U.S. 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
Escaping the Trap of Efficiency: The Counterintuitive Antidote to the Time-Anxiety That Haunts and Hampers Our Search for Meaning
"Productivity is a trap. Becoming more efficient just makes you more rushed, and trying to clear the decks simply makes them fill up again faster... Since finitude defines our lives… living a truly authentic life — becoming fully human — means facing up to that fact."
Call for Applications: 2026 Craft Archive Fellowship
The Center for Craft will award up to four $5,000 fellowships to support research on underrepresented craft histories, culminating in an article on Hyperallergic.
Recent advances in science have revolutionized our...
Recent advances in science have revolutionized our understanding of the Maya , e.g. there’s evidence that “more people lived in the classic-era Maya lowlands than on the Italian peninsula during the peak of the Roman empire…”
“ Boredom is the price we pay for a life rich with...
“ Boredom is the price we pay for a life rich with meaning . Recognizing this makes the feeling more endurable.”
Poisonous Objects
"Two exhibitions in Los Angeles respond to the racist monuments to Confederate soldiers that have been erected all over the United States."