When Artists Lose Their Archives
I couldn't afford my storage unit anymore. After it was auctioned off, I found out that parts of my lost work were being sold online.
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How Edo (Tokyo) transformed from a city on the brink of...
How Edo (Tokyo) transformed from a city on the brink of ecological collapse 400 years ago to “one of the most sustainable and efficient cities in history” . 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
Brooklyn “Wall of Tears” Lists Names of Children Killed in Gaza
Local artist Phil Buehler said he unveiled the memorial display to help people “see something that they otherwise can't see.”
The Unruly Politics of Glitter
In the visual arts, glitter has been used to make the presence of such marginalized identities impossible to overlook.
“ Printing Films is a collection of vintage films...
“ Printing Films is a collection of vintage films that showcase the technologies and processes of printing, journalism, and typography.” 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
Does It Have to Mean Something to Be Great?
Joanne Greenbaum’s cacophonous symphony of individual marks, shapes, and colors coheres without obscuring the individuality of each element.
Why don’t filmmakers just film on location instead...
Why don’t filmmakers just film on location instead of using visual effects? Lots of reasons, including not disrupting communities, control of weather & sun position, or can’t get permission. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
Oliver Sacks on Despair and the Meaning of Life
"The meaning of life... clearly has to do with love — what and whom and how one can love."
The Story Behind Dylan Thomas’s “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” and the Poet’s Own Stirring Reading of His Masterpiece
"Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
Mona Lisa’s Face Redacted in Latest Trove of Epstein Files
The decision to cover the world’s most famous portrait feels particularly misguided as the DOJ faces accusations of releasing sensitive victim information.
Dying Mothers, the Birth of Handwashing, and the Bittersweet True Love Story Behind ‘Frankenstein’
This essay is adapted from Traversal. “Death may snatch me from you, before you can weigh my advice,” Mary Wollstonecraft wrote in the philosophical novel she wouldn’t live to finish, addressing a daughter she was yet to have. “Always appear what you are, and you will not pass
Through Vivid Color, Martin Wittfooth Revels in Surreal Worlds
Martin Wittfooth's enigmatic painting meld flora and fauna to consider interconnection and nature's endurance. 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
Dan Sinker writes about the transformative experience of...
Dan Sinker writes about the transformative experience of seeing a work by Jenny Holzer when he was 14 . “Truisms was a revelation. Art could be just words. Art could be just at home slapped on a POST NO BILLS wall as it could in a gallery.” 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
Yes to Life, in Spite of Everything: Viktor Frankl’s Lost Lectures on Moving Beyond Optimism and Pessimism to Find the Deepest Source of Meaning
"Everything depends on the individual human being, regardless of how small a number of like-minded people there is... on each person... creatively making the meaning of life a reality in his or her own being."
Venom in His Veins
"Bill Haast, the Florida man who tried to milk medical miracles from deadly snakes."
“How did medieval French handwriting become...
“How did medieval French handwriting become ‘the Nazi font?’ And why did Hitler make it illegal?” TIL that Hitler gave a speech to the Reichstag about how much he disliked blackletter fonts. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
Do you remember Oddpost? It was an early email web app...
Do you remember Oddpost? It was an early email web app that used dynamic HTML to mimic the design and functionality of a desktop mail app, 2 years before Gmail launched. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
Tinder Hasn’t Worked, So I’m Putting Myself...
Tinder Hasn’t Worked, So I’m Putting Myself on Zillow . “I realize that my late-’80s construction might not land me in the “trending” section right away…” 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
The Forest-Like Interior of Coral Takes the Grand Prize in the CUPOTY 7 Photo Contest
Close-up Photographer of the Year announces the winner of its 7th edition. 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 The Forest-Like Interior of Coral Takes
Why the Future of Movies Lives on Letterboxd
"If Rotten Tomatoes has become a tool of Hollywood’s homogenizing marketing machinery, Letterboxd is something else: a cinephilic hive buzzing with authentic enthusiasm and heterogeneous tastes."
The Art World After Epstein
How can art institutions reject corrupt funding, the Washington Post lays off its art critic, art books to read this month, and our weekly community columns.
How selfish are we?
An age-old debate about human nature is being energised with new findings on the tightrope of cooperation and competition - by Jonathan R Goodman Read on Aeon
Voluntary stories
The narrative we run in our head is a choice. It might or might not be based on objective reality and verified history. Doesn’t matter, it’s still a choice. There are millions of ways we can remind ourselves about the events of our lives and the systems we live in. But in this
Discover Khipu, the Ancient Incan Record & Writing System Made Entirely of Knots
Khipus, the portable information archives created by the Inca, may stir up memories of 1970s macrame with their long strands of intricately knotted, earth-toned fibers, but their function more closely resembled that of a densely plotted computerized spreadsheet. As Cecilia
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
In this edition: Bezos, paper, scissors; feast or famine; one reason to stay here; any way you slice it; the real Winter Olympics, and more.
The Largest Historical Dictionary of English Slang Now Free Online: Covers 500 Years of the “Vulgar Tongue”
“The three volumes of Green’s Dictionary of Slang demonstrate the sheer scope of a lifetime of research by Jonathon Green, the leading slang lexicographer of our time. A remarkable collection of this often reviled but endlessly fascinating area of the English language, it
The Reason of Emotion: Bruce Lee’s Unpublished Writings on Willpower, Imagination, and Confidence
"You will never get any more out of life than you expect."