Beauty and aesthetics
![The African American singer and pianist Nina Simone is pictured alone, singing against a spotlight that resembles a moon in the darkness. She has her eyes closed.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/6480d07d-981e-4611-931d-058f5877eefe/rt-final-gettyimages-1479828218.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Emerging therapies
idea
Could that tingle down the spine be a way to rediscover joy?
In new research, scientists have looked into the potential benefits of giving people with depression the aesthetic chills
by Shayla Love
![A person in a witch hat observes a colourful, abstract painting featuring multiple characters, including a central nude figure, in a museum.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/5611e3e8-feae-429e-b262-4f0d569b64cb/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Beauty and aesthetics
idea
Why art seems more beautiful when you can see yourself in it
Research suggests that people find artworks more aesthetically pleasing when they’re personally relevant to them in some way
by Matt Huston
![Two people in a badly taken selfie with thumb obscuring the subject](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/3381a071-ab28-4fbc-a2ac-416bfb69a4df/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Photography
guide
How to take better photos
Anyone can learn the principles that are essential to capturing quality images. Follow these tips and see the difference
by Paul Pope
![A black and white image of a girl in a white dress dancing behind her younger brother in a wheelchair, with trees and a road in the background. They are both smiling.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/e59e9b2b-27d4-481d-a4fb-47bf6f66c886/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Disability
film
‘I’ll always err on the side of beauty’ – a mother’s cinematic ode to her son
Directed by Kelly O’Brien
![Person with closed eyes holding a twig with small red flowers near their nose, appearing to smell it. They wear a ring and have a light purple eyeshadow.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/76cfbb70-9b0c-4924-8a21-45534db551cf/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Communication and language
idea
What is the secret to an evocative smell description?
Many languages have very few odour-related words, so conveying what a scent is like requires knowing your audience
by Giulia Martina
![Painting of a man and a woman in period clothing pose inside a room with a chandelier, a convex mirror, and an inscription on the wall behind.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/65025f71-dbaf-4202-abd9-4a17d1bdc278/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Philosophy of art
idea
To master the art of close looking, learn to hold time still
Visual literacy is a skillset that’s rarely taught, but it begins with learning how to look – and how to hold time still
by Grace Linden
![An ornate underground station with decorative arches, hanging lamps, and a yellow train arriving. Passengers are waiting and walking through the area.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/ba5cecba-859e-4674-af72-c9613cd9639c/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Architecture
guide
How to appreciate buildings
It’s easy to become blasé about the built world. Tune in more deeply and architectural adventures await around each corner
by Colin Ellard
![Person walking on a rocky landscape under a cloudy sky, carrying a backpack and a tool or instrument over their shoulder.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/1a71c4a3-242e-42ba-ba07-a3f534ef18ef/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Beauty and aesthetics
film
The quiet exuberance of wintering alone on an empty island off New England
Directed by Brian Bolster
![Abstract painting with vibrant red, yellow, and blue shapes against a dark, textured background. The colours and forms create a striking, dynamic composition.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/9292b699-b3b3-417f-87a6-a29c3dcb9c06/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Artists and art history
idea
Is the attunement of abstract art and music more than a metaphor?
How does the abstract art of Kandinsky and Klee imitate the meaning and emotion in the music of Shostakovich and Bach?
by Michelle Liu
![An elderly man admires a vibrant blue stained glass artwork depicting abstract figures, animals, and scenes.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/94d41a7d-24f0-458a-b5ef-1601236a46bc/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Beauty and aesthetics
idea
Beauty is not an ornament to the good life, it is at its heart
Why does the hand want to draw what the eye sees as beautiful? Why do we respond to beauty by creating the beautiful?
by Nick Riggle
![Collection of eclectic items including a head sculpture, framed art, a pink glass jar, and a green ornament on a reflective surface.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/6315bbe6-3e2a-4e0d-9861-7514b250a5f0/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Beauty and aesthetics
guide
How to curate (just about) anything
Sure, tidying up is a start. But it won’t get you to the kind of lived-in, personalised space that defines an ideal of home
by Glenn Adamson
![Abstract painting with flowing black, white, and red colours, creating a dynamic, wave-like pattern resembling a fluid motion.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/751d5734-326a-43d1-b51a-b31b3f437bbb/original.png?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Artists and art history
film
An artist’s serene moving paintings probe the surface of reality itself
Films by Susi Sie