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Art & Design NPR explores the visual arts including design, photography, sculpture, and architecture. Interviews, commentary, and audio. Subscribe to the RSS feed.

Art & Design

Wednesday

Culture

'Child Prodigy' Film Revives Question: What Is Art?

My Kid Could Paint That follows the painting and controversy over four-year-old Marla Olmstead's abstract works. Some critics believe her parents encouraged, if not altered, her work.

'Child Prodigy' Film Revives Question: What Is Art?

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Saturday

Exhibit Honors Young Artist Whose Star Was Rising

Known for his colorful, short movie "portraits," contemporary artist Jeremy Blake was a rising star in the art world until his suicide this summer. This weekend, the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington opens an exhibition of his visually arresting work.

Exhibit Honors Young Artist Whose Star Was Rising

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Friday

Culture

Chuck Close Celebrated in Dance and Print

Fresh Air

Artist Chuck Close is the subject of a new book and a portrait in dance. He has been called "the most methodical artist that has ever lived in America" and the "reigning portraitist of the Information Age."

Chuck Close Celebrated in Dance and Print

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Thursday

Culture

Arabic-Speaking Youth Get Their Own Superheroes

Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa is creator of The 99, an Islamic-themed superhero comic about 99 teenagers. Each of the youngsters has their own blessed stone providing him or her with a super-power. Al-Mutawa talks about the comics, based on one of the 99 traits of Allah.

Arabic-Speaking Youth Get Their Own Superheroes

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Thursday

Culture

CBS Giving TV Musicals Another Shot

There's a new drama on the fall TV schedule about a casino in which the characters break into song. After the 1990 musical series Cop Rock became the most notorious flop in TV history, CBS won't dare call "Viva Laughlin" a musical.

CBS Giving TV Musicals Another Shot

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Culture

Letters Paint Nuanced Picture of Van Gogh

A new exhibit on the work and letters of Vincent Van Gogh offers a more detailed look at the painter. Painted with Words is based on letters Van Gogh wrote to friend Emile Bernard.

Letters Paint Nuanced Picture of Van Gogh

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Tuesday

Culture

Finger Painting on the Big Screen

Los Angeles Times columnist Meghan Daum talks about her recent column, "Art as Child's Play," in which she examines the work of 4-year-old painting prodigy Marla Olmstead. A new film, My Kid Could Paint That, revives the question: What is art?

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Thursday

Law

Law Decides Who Owns a Dead Star's Image

A new California law allows famous people to pass along the rights to their image as part of their estates. As a result of the retroactive law, an archive of Marilyn Monroe shots owned by her favorite photographer now belongs to the wife of her acting coach.

Law Decides Who Owns a Dead Star's Image

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Monday

Restoring a Campus-Full of Frank Lloyd Wright

Florida Southern College is home to the largest collection on a single site of buildings designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. But the 12 buildings and covered walkways are crumbling, and the college has embarked on a long and expensive project to save them.

Restoring a Campus-Full of Frank Lloyd Wright

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Friday

Movies

The Arc of a Prodigy

A new documentary, My Kid Could Paint That, charts the rise and fall of Marla Olmstead, who was hailed as a painting prodigy at the age of four before questions were raised about the authenticity of her work. Filmmaker Amir Bar-Lev explores the controversy.

The Arc of a Prodigy

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Thursday

Books

The Art of War: An Illustrated '1776'

Paintings from the Revolutionary War provide historians with as much insight as the written word, author David McCullough says. In a new illustrated version of his best-seller 1776, he catalogues a sometimes flawed but earnest visual record of America's birth.

The Art of War: An Illustrated '1776'

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Saturday

Education

Schools Weigh the Value of Art Collections

Financial pressures are forcing colleges and universities to consider selling highly valued art works to a solicitous buyer behind the building of a new museum in Arkansas.

Schools Weigh the Value of Art Collections

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Friday

Thursday

Culture

Modern Prehistoric Spectacle: Dinosaurs on Stage

Massive, scientifically accurate "dinosaurs" have begun stomping around U.S. sports arenas, thanks to the wizardry of 21st century puppetry techniques and robotics. The $20 million theatrical spectacle Walking With Dinosaurs, based on a BBC television series, travels to New York from Washington this weekend.

Modern Prehistoric Spectacle: Dinosaurs on Stage

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Monday

Museum, Artist Go to Court Over Massive Installation

The major exhibition now at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art has been covered with yellow tarp and closed to the public for nearly two months, due to a dispute between the museum and Swiss artist Christoph Buchel. The artist is known for creating life-sized installations that visitors walk and climb through.

Museum, Artist Go to Court Over Massive Installation

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