Today, Steve Albini, the musician and producer of important albums by Nirvana, PJ Harvey, the Pixies and many others, passed away in Chicago, at the all-too-early age of 61. In tribute, we’re bringing you this classic 2013 post from our archive. Journeyman record producer
Rupert Friend, Jason Schwartzman, and Wes Anderson star in an Anderson-directed commercial for Montblanc pens. You know the drill: it’s twee, it’s charming, it’s art-directed to within an inch of its life. Me personally? I love it. Tags: advertising · Montblanc · video · Wes
Artist Shey "Ri Acu" Rivera Ríos has received an outpouring of support from faculty and students after their work was deemed “sacrilegious.”
Staff at the private contemporary art museum, founded by billionaires Mitchell and Emily Rales, say they want fair wages and an improved work environment.
It’s Time to Tax the Billionaires . In 2018, “for the first time in the history of the United States, billionaires had a lower effective tax rate than working-class Americans”. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
Bodily Autonomy takes advantage of humor and hyperbole to demonstrate a very real world in which biosurveillance is prevalent overtly and covertly.
In a gallery such as Serpentine, defined by both Britishness and blue-chip status in the art world, how much can categories be suspended?
Aliyyah Abdur-Rahman’s Millennial Style considers the political utility of Black abstraction and related forms to refute false narratives of progress.
The late artist left a legacy at the school when he gave a lecture in 1981 and drew one of his iconic motifs on a wall.
“'I always joke that my dad was the OG avocado toast guy, because he would put it on white sandwich bread.'”
As someone who reads almost exclusively on an ereader (a Kindle Paperwhite ), I have been intrigued by Craig Mod’s recent evangelism of the BOOX Palma , a pocket-sized e-ink device that he’s been using as an ereader. In the latest issue of his Roden newsletter , he explains why
Following their lauded 2018 monograph , South African artist and activist Zanele Muholi has released a second book collecting the most recent additions to their series Somnyama Ngonyama, Hail the Dark Lioness. Volume II features 80 self-portraits shot in Muholi’s signature
"We are increasingly trading our privacy for a sense of security. Becoming a parent showed me how tempting, and how dangerous, that exchange can be."
Hackers can reprogram NES Tetris *from within the game* , which may lead to new high scores. The hack involves “reading the game’s high score tables as machine code instructions”. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
After launching last month, the Delta game emulator has been one of the most popular apps in Apple’s App Store . It allows you to play NES, GB, SNES, N64, and DS games on your iPhone or Mac. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
This year’s show features art by MFA, MA, and BFA students working across a variety of disciplines. On view May 15–29 in the Bronx.
Attempting to thwart ticket scalpers, Billie Eilish is selling supposedly “untransferable” tickets for her new tour. 404 Media has the details on how these tickets can actually be transferred . 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
Greenery abounds in the large-scale murals of Italian artist ONIRO , who often focuses on themes of interconnectedness and balance, especially between humans and the natural world. In “Coltivazione del Sé,” or “self-cultivation,” a human form emerges from the leaves and
I love these (haunting? are they haunting?) photos of Cate Blanchett taken by Jack Davison for this 2022 profile in the NY Times Magazine . When the magazine asked the photographer Jack Davison to create the art for this story, he took inspiration from Cate Blanchett’s
I’d missed that Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend now has a graphic novel adaptation . 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
In 2019, artist and engineer Tega Brain gave some kids the opportunity to create targeted advertising relevant to their particular interests: Bushwick Analytica . Politicians and marketers now use data and targeted advertising to try to change our behaviors and influence our
“To be a Flower is profound Responsibility,” Emily Dickinson wrote. From the moment she pressed the first wildflower into her astonishing teenage herbarium until the moment Susan pinned a violet to her alabaster chest in the casket, she filled her poems with flowers and made of
The Cheese-Making Magic of Alka-Seltzer, Explained . You can make a creamy nacho cheese sauce at home using Alka-Seltzer — its ingredients react to form an emulsifying agent. Plop, plop, Cheez Whiz, oh what a trick this is… 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
When you decide to buy something, there are many key factors involved. Customer experience has become one of the most relevant aspects to consider when designing a retail journey, whether physical, digital, or both. It’s time to define how retail spaces will evolve in the next
A short essay on freediving . “In the mindful state of freediving, I don’t panic. I find stillness. Centeredness. Calm. I am belonging in the moment. I’ve retrained my mind to be underwater.” I love mind vs. body stuff like this. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
Now obsolete, the term zoophytes once referred to organisms that exhibited both animal and plant characteristics. It’s also an apt title for a poetic exhibition of sculptures blending beastly and botanical forms by the late Claude (1925-2019) and François-Xavier Lalanne
The students put their own spins on landscape photography to coax out questions of race, power, sexuality, and sustainability.
Meet Hypatia of Alexandria, a rare female – and moderate secular – public intellectual, who was murdered by religious zealots - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon
"How bots, mercenaries, and table scalpers have turned the restaurant reservation system inside out."