Artists and art history

Painting of a crucifixion scene with a large crowd, a detailed medieval cityscape with mountains and a lake in the background.

A lesson from the Son of Man’s manhood

Renaissance artists paid uncommon attention to Jesus’ nether regions. What does this breach in modesty reveal about art?

by Sam Dresser

A large rock with carvings and natural indentations surrounded by green foliage.

TRADITIONAL ARTS

The lost art of making a petroglyph

Inspired by 6,000-year-old rock art in Norway, I decided to create a new carving closer to home

by Rémy Noë

Photo of a hand using a black marker to redact text on paper several words are boxed to be emphasised.

POETRY

Reignite your creative fire with blackout poetry – the art of framing what’s already there

Directed by Andrew Lavers

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

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

Directed by César Martínez Barba

Abstract blue and white line drawing of multiple nude female figures, seen from various angles, arranged in a pattern.

ARTISTS AND ART HISTORY

A minotaur shifts shapes and sexes in this ferociously original animation

A film by Chaerin Im

The artist Marina Abramović in a long, white dress stands in an abandoned building, lit by studio lights. The walls are rundown and the floor has tracks for camera equipment. The woman faces forward, with her hair in a side braid, and the atmosphere is dramatic and moody.

ARTISTS AND ART HISTORY

In a single, unbroken shot, Marina Abramović surveys her artistic evolution

A film by Art21

A hand-drawn pie chart titled “Why I Do Not Read Lips,” with segments like “Honey, it’s not game night – no charades please,” “Too much eye contact, I have my limits,” and “Olive juice my ass.”

CREATIVITY

This artist’s clever work moves Deaf culture from the margins to centre stage

Directed by Chiemi Karasawa

MUSIC

How to listen to, and enjoy, classical music

Whether you’re a newbie or an aficionado, these ways to navigate and approach the genre will enrich your experience

by Lawrence Kramer

Abstract illustration of a person with eyes closed, wearing glasses, surrounded by cosmic elements on a blue and black background.

POETRY

Enter a dreamy French surrealist poem, where love and reality never quite touch

Directed by Emma Vakarelova

A painting of a man and woman holding hands indoors with a small dog at their feet. The room is richly decorated.

PHILOSOPHY OF ART

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

Abstract painting with bold red, blue and yellow shapes on a textured dark background.

ARTISTS AND ART HISTORY

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

Hand-drawn cinema facade with film listings. One person in red is entering through the door. Building exterior has detailed brickwork and a tree.

PHILOSOPHY OF ART

Is the concept of originality in art a bit, well, unoriginal?

Directed by Drew Christie

Photo of a large spider sculpture silhouetted against a city skyline with cranes and a historic building in the background.

POETRY

A conversation with my spider Maman and Louise Bourgeois

Woman made of braided steel, monster I call Maman: why am I so scared of you? An imagined conversation with Louise Bourgeois

by Pascale Petit

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

BEAUTY AND AESTHETICS

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

Black and white photo of a man and woman sitting at a café table in conversation, looking thoughtfully to the side.

FILM

How to find great films to watch

Bored with Hollywood and Netflix? Becoming an adventurous and informed explorer of the cinema world is in everyone’s grasp

by Geoff Andrew

Rock art painting with red pigments on a weathered stone surface showing abstract shapes and natural cracks.

ARTISTS AND ART HISTORY

The art of Ice Age children offers a tactile sense of the past

Small hands in dark caves: Ice Age art reveals the role of artistic expression and child’s play in ancient societies

by Izzy Wisher