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Painting and sculpture

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Photo of an abandoned brick building with graffiti on its walls broken windows and overgrown plants in the foreground.

Painting and sculpture

idea

Works of urban graffiti are not vandalism, but public monuments

They might appear to have little in common with statues or obelisks, but graffiti images serve a vital public function

by Rafael Schacter

Person in a hat with feathers admires a colourful painting in a gallery.

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

An elderly woman in a patterned beanie holding a red card with holes punched into it in front of her face.

Artists and art history

film

Circles possess a defiant beauty in the abstract works of Howardena Pindell

Directed by César Martínez Barba

Two people view a famous painting in a gallery; it’s the Mona Lisa in an ornate frame.

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 a serene rural landscape with cows grazing at sunset, a church spire, trees and fields in the background.

Human evolution

idea

Why it took us thousands of years to see the colour violet

The colour violet was largely missing from art before the Impressionists, and is seen differently by different cultures. Why?

by Allen Tager

Colourful illustration of a surreal scene featuring a circus, a marching band, dancing animals, a tree with legs, a crowd huddled in a circle, naked figures, and various unusual objects scattered around.

Altered states

film

Cacophony flanked by the abyss – one artist’s take on life itself

A film by Sumito Sakakibara

Etching of a man sitting on a milestone marked “Paris” with a broom, barren trees and distant houses in the background.

Painting and sculpture

idea

Looking at portraits with an eye to evolutionary psychology

Why our understanding of Jean-François Raffaëlli’s ‘Roadman’ portrait can use a little help from evolutionary psychology

by Dan Sperber

Pastel painting of a smiling man with a moustache and a cat on his shoulder, set against a yellow background.

Neurodiversity

idea

When the mind is dark, making art is a thrilling way to see

For aphantasic artists with no mind’s eye, creating paintings is a way to experience the mental pictures they can’t see

by Adam Zeman

A woman holds a square mirror that blocks her face; it reflects rocks and grass. There is blue sky and clouds in the background. The only element in focus is the reflection on the mirror.

Painting and sculpture

film

Losing her eyesight, a painter’s art evolves with the way she sees the world

Directed by Liberty Smith