Beauty and aesthetics

Creativity and the arts Spirituality and transcendence

Architecture Artists and art history Beauty and aesthetics Celebrations and festivals Creativity Dance Film Imagination Laughter and comedy Music Painting and sculpture Philosophy of art Photography Play Poetry Stories and literature The nature of reality Theatre and performance Traditional arts

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A man wearing glasses and a brown jacket who is Charlie Watts playing drums in a TV studio.

Music

idea

True musical virtuosos are minimalists who put roll before rock

Musicians like Muddy Waters and Charlie Watts played fewer notes than showoffs like Jeff Beck, but they were the right ones

by Mike Edison

A young man turns his head with his hand to reveal a unique gold ear accessory.

Technology and media

idea

Let’s use bold, beautiful hearing aids to celebrate deafness

Hearing aids have always been designed to be concealed, yet they’re a beautiful affirmation of deafness – and should be seen

by Jaipreet Virdi

Two people in a badly taken selfie with thumb obscuring the subject

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

Person walking on a rocky landscape under a cloudy sky, carrying a backpack and a tool or instrument over their shoulder.

Beauty and aesthetics

film

The quiet exuberance of wintering alone on an empty island off New England

Directed by Brian Bolster

Two people viewing the Mona Lisa painting in an ornate frame, displayed against a dark wall in a gallery.

Beauty and aesthetics

idea

What happens if we make the Mona Lisa more symmetrical?

The Golden Ratio and symmetry are two universal rules of beauty. The problem is they conflict with one another

by Manil Suri

Painting of hunters with dogs walking through a snowy village; people skate on a frozen lake in the background, and a small group warms by a fire.

Philosophy of art

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When art transports us, where do we actually go?

Artworks have the capacity to transport us into other worlds. But where exactly do we go when we are immersed in art?

by Harri Mäcklin

An ornate underground station with decorative arches, hanging lamps, and a yellow train arriving. Passengers are waiting and walking through the area.

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

Abstract painting with flowing black, white, and red colours, creating a dynamic, wave-like pattern resembling a fluid motion.

Artists and art history

film

An artist’s serene moving paintings probe the surface of reality itself

Films by Susi Sie

Person standing by a lake with mountains in the background, next to an empty bench.

Compassion and empathy

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Empathy is, at heart, an aesthetic appreciation of the other

Empathy is an aesthetic practice that relies on our capacity to delight in, and respond with reverence to, the world around us

by Susan Lanzoni

Photo of a dark ocean at night with two lightning strikes illuminating the cloudy sky.

Wonder and the sublime

idea

Is the sublime a hopelessly old-fashioned Euro-Romantic ideal?

The sublime is not only for the Romantics, nor just about gender or overcoming nature. It’s in the thrills-and-chills of emotion

by Robert Clewis

Collection of eclectic items including a head sculpture, framed art, a pink glass jar, and a green ornament on a reflective surface.

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

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.

Disability

film

‘I’ll always err on the side of beauty’ – a mother’s cinematic ode to her son

Directed by Kelly O’Brien