Shall We Play a Game?
"Historian Jon Peterson traces the route from Prussian military headquarters to Gary Gygax’s basement."
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1,000 years of Japanese swords
From weapon to icon – a riveting history lesson in the many meanings of the samurai sword that’s also just plain cool to see - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon
The US Pavilion Wants Your Money
An unusual funding call for Alma Allen’s Venice exhibition, a sculpture at LACMA creates controversy, and join Hyperallergic’s event with Jeremy Frey.
Was It Worth It?
"I didn’t think about those nachos even once. I had never experienced anything like it. Is this, I asked my friends, how it feels to be normal?"
The Productive Writing Routines of Haruki Murakami, Stephen King, and Virginia Woolf, Explained
Just days ago, Haruki Murakami’s Japanese publisher announced that his sixteenth novel will come out this summer. A brief section of The Tale of KAHO, translated into English by Philip Gabriel, appeared in the New Yorker in 2024. The full book will run to 352 pages, making it a
Photoshopping the package
I bought a snack food the other day, and was disappointed to discover that the thing inside the container had little in common with the picture on the front. It was pallid, lifeless and drab. The marketer who decided to improve the picture was making a choice, one with
The Psychology Behind Why Some Homes Feel Good But Most Don’t: Interior Design Principles Explained
Though it may have enjoyed occasional waves of pop-cultural prestige over the years, interior design remains an overlooked art. That is to say, few bother to appreciate, or even to notice, its similarities with other, more “serious” forms of human endeavor. Watch the recent
Remembering Roberto Clemente’s 3000th Hit
This story by Kevin Guilfoile about his aging father (who worked for the Pirates and the Baseball Hall of Fame) and the mystery of what happened to the bat that Roberto Clemente got his 3,000th hit with is one of my favorite things that I’ve read over the past few months. [My
Five great book critics writing today (and where to find...
Five great book critics writing today (and where to find them) .
The US Venice Pavilion Wants Your Donations
The American Arts Conservancy, the nascent nonprofit executing Alma Allen’s 2026 pavilion project, said it received no financial support from institutions.
The US Pavilion Is Taking Online Donations
The American Arts Conservancy, the nascent nonprofit executing Alma Allen’s 2026 pavilion project, said it received no financial support from institutions.
Lina Lapelytė Fills Hamburger Bahnhof with 400,000 Wood Blocks for Communal Building
"We Make Years Out of Hours" invites the public to remake structures from 10-centimeter blocks. 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 Lina Lapelytė Fills
This is interesting: Talkie is a vintage LLM , trained...
This is interesting: Talkie is a vintage LLM , trained on “historical pre-1931 English text”. “The training data for the base model is entirely out of copyright (the USA copyright cutoff date is currently January 1, 1931).”
DACA Artist Uses Thread to Weave Immigration Stories
Arleene Correa Valencia transforms bark paper and embroidery into a tender reckoning with the reality of being undocumented in the United States.
The Box LA, Beloved Risk-Taking Art Space, Closes After 19 Years
The gallery was known for its fearless, playful programming and support of unconventional work and exhibitions.
Some Cool Movie Explosions
Listen, sometimes you just want to watch things blow up. But safely and without consequence (although Arnold Schwarzenegger did somehow become the governor of California). So, can I interest you in three minutes of movie explosions ? The 80s and 90s were really a golden age for
The Mysterious Life of Fluxus Dame Alison Knowles
Even a book by a leading expert on the avant-garde artist can’t tell us much about her personal life.
Miniature Model and Giant Buddha
This week: a miniature model at MCNY, a giant Buddha on the High Line, Greater New York, and more.
“A half-century after it was published, The Soul...
“A half-century after it was published, The Soul of a New Machine does a better job challenging AI hype than most current criticism .” I thought something similarly (about the web) when I read Kidder’s book 25 years ago, during the aftermath of the dot com bust.
The Revolutionary Tapestry of Nigerian Modernism
The first show on the subject in the UK offers an ambitious, if uneven, look at how artists forged a postcolonial identity
Do I Belong in Tech Anymore? “Why am I here? Does...
Do I Belong in Tech Anymore? “Why am I here? Does any of this work actually matter? And if I stop caring about the quality of my work… will anyone notice?”
“British energy major BP on Tuesday reported that...
“British energy major BP on Tuesday reported that first-quarter profits more than doubled from a year ago , following a surge in oil and gas prices driven by the Middle East conflict.” Oh, surprise surprise.
I Love Boosters
Boots Riley made his directorial debut with the totally weirdo (complimentary) movie Sorry to Bother You in 2018. He’s been quiet since then, but he’s back with a new comedy, I Love Boosters . This looks great . From a review on Letterboxd : Maximalist social commentary
7 Artists Discuss the Power and Urgency of Textiles
"We live with so many hard things," says Sheila Hicks, "that we're crying for softness." 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 7 Artists Discuss the
On the Propaganda of Early Nazism, and How We See it in...
On the Propaganda of Early Nazism, and How We See it in America Today . “Unlike other political systems, fascism was not meant to be intellectualized or discussed; it was meant to be experienced.”
The First Tomato to Know Everything
"On gray literature and Webster’s Timeline History books."
The Era of AI Malaise . “The AI has learned to...
The Era of AI Malaise . “The AI has learned to code. The AI is building itself. Will I have a job tomorrow? Will the market crash? Why does OpenAI need a bunker? Do I need a bunker? Maybe I should have a bunker.”
Mexican Cultural Workers Denounce Pedro Reyes Sculpture at LACMA
A letter signed by 80 people, including Carmen Argote and Cuauhtémoc Medina, says the museum ignored the contentious history of a similar artwork rejected by Mexico City in 2021.
Early 2026 Art Books From Yale University Press
Biographies of Anni Albers and Dorothea Tanning, The Met's blockbuster “Raphael,” Edward Steichen and his flowers, and more books for art lovers. Shop the annual sale this May.
It’s the Age of Electricity and America...
It’s the Age of Electricity and America Isn’t Ready . “Our grid is too old and our supply of electricity too small. If we don’t meet this moment, we will face an impoverished future of more expensive, less reliable energy, and slower economic growth.”
An Occasion for Unselfing: Iris Murdoch on Imperfection and How to Be More Unselfish
"The self, the place where we live, is a place of illusion. Goodness is connected with the attempt to see the unself... to pierce the veil of selfish consciousness and join the world as it really is."
Elizabeth Kolbert’s profile of EPA head Lee Zeldin...
Elizabeth Kolbert’s profile of EPA head Lee Zeldin . “In a little more than a year, Zeldin has transformed the E.P.A. from an agency devoted to protecting human health and the environment into one that, more or less openly, sides with polluters.”
From Micro to Mega, Jon McCormack’s Striking Photos Reveal Nature’s Patterns
The idea for 'Patterns: Art of the Natural World' emerged from a period of quiet reflection. 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 From Micro to Mega,