Machines Cannot Replace Human Boredom

Katherine Behar’s automated office machines simply pantomime labor, just like many bored office workers after they’ve fulfilled their daily email quota.

A Romp Through the History of Beauty

Asking the question of how beauty is sold or how beauty trends change would be more effective in The Cult of Beauty than aiming for both and answering neither.

Eavesdropping at the Dallas Art Fair

It’s said you can’t rush a Dallas collector through a sale, and it’s the Southern style to wait for a preview to end before closing.

Required Reading

This week, women of color in architecture, shady government comic books, a beloved cherry blossom tree’s last bloom, and much more.

A Thoroughly Modern Baroque Master

A suite of paintings by Italian Baroque master Guercino at England’s Waddesdon Manor seems to herald the coming of Christ and a modern future.

A View From the Easel 

“At times I just sit and have a tea and go into my thoughts for a while; I don’t allow myself to do this at home or anywhere else.”

How Do Artists See Themselves?

Self-portraits by Van Gogh, Francis Bacon, and more explore not just how these artists saw the world but also what “selfie” culture says about us.