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

Art & Design

Friday

Mark Rice-Ko: Where Food and Rothko Meet In Delicious Harmony

After coloring, styling and photographing the rice, chef and food stylist Caitlin Levin made coconut rice. "It taste the same," she says. Henry Hargreaves hide caption

toggle caption
Henry Hargreaves

The Salt

Mark Rice-Ko: Where Food and Rothko Meet In Delicious Harmony

Troubled artist Mark Rothko famously hated the rich and glamorous. These were the same people who were expected to see his art in New York's Four Seasons restaurant in a project commissioned back in the 1950s; he never completed the work. Recently, two modern artists decided to interpret these Rothko works in colored rice for the rest of us.

Wednesday

Street Art Brings Life To A Miami Neighborhood

Greek artist B. calls his mural "a sea of objects." It was added to Wynwood Walls in 2011. Greg Allen/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Greg Allen/NPR

Street Art Brings Life To A Miami Neighborhood

Just a few years ago, Miami's Wynwood was known as a rough neighborhood of warehouses and shoe factories. Today, it has become the center of Miami's art scene, known for its galleries, studios and street murals. Many attribute that transformation to the work of developer Tony Goldman.

Street Art Brings Life To A Miami Neighborhood

Listen · 5:26
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/166099114/166434232" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

Friday

Tuesday

Saturday

Friday

The Art Of Chinese Propaganda

A 1967 poster declares, "Beloved Chairman Mao, we are loyal to you forever." Courtesy of the Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Center hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of the Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Center

The Picture Show

The Art Of Chinese Propaganda

A treasure-trove of Mao-era propaganda posters is housed in an unmarked basement museum in Shanghai.

The Art Of Chinese Propaganda

Listen · 4:34
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/164785930/164819140" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Saturday

The Story Of Steadman, Drawn From His 'Gonzo' Art

Among his many accomplishments, Ralph Steadman illustrated Hunter S. Thompson's 1971 novel, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, about a journalist's reporting trip turned hallucinogenic bender. Courtesy of Itch Film hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of Itch Film

Fine Art

The Story Of Steadman, Drawn From His 'Gonzo' Art

Illustrator Ralph Steadman became known for his collaborations with "gonzo" journalist Hunter S. Thompson, but their partnership wasn't always easy. The documentary For No Good Reason looks at Steadman's life, art and relationship with the eccentric writer.

The Story Of Steadman, Drawn From His 'Gonzo' Art

Listen · 4:29
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/164107798/164233813" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

Day Of The Dead, Decoded: A Joyful Celebration Of Life And Food

Skeletons: Skeleton imagery pervades this holiday. In pre-Columbian times, the Day of the Dead was celebrated in August. It now takes place on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2, coinciding with the Catholic holidays of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. Karen Castillo Farfán/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Karen Castillo Farfán/NPR

The Salt

Day Of The Dead, Decoded: A Joyful Celebration Of Life And Food

The ancient Latin American holiday welcomes ancestors back to the earth for one day each year. Each element on the altar symbolizes a connection between the world of the living and the dead, so naturally, food and drink play a big part. Here we've deconstructed the altar and its meaning.

Wednesday

What Does 'Power' Look Like?

The photos in his series Congo Democratic "trace some aspects of the individuals and institutions that have been in power in the Congo," writes photographer Guy Tillim. Here, presidential candidate Jean-Pierre Bemba enters a stadium in central Kinshasa flanked by his bodyguards during an election rally. Guy Tillim/Courtesy of Prix Pictet hide caption

toggle caption
Guy Tillim/Courtesy of Prix Pictet

The Picture Show

What Does 'Power' Look Like?

And how do you capture it? Renowned photographers from around the world submitted their ideas to an annual contest for sustainability. See photos that show the power of nature and the human quest for power — as well as the power of the human spirit.

Tuesday

Cambodia Vs. Sotheby's In A Battle Over Antiquities

The United States and Cambodia are locked in a legal battle with the auction house Sotheby's over this 1,000-year-old statue of the Hindu warrior Duryodhana that may have been looted from the Cambodian temple complex at Koh Ker. Courtesy of the U.S. Attorney's Office hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of the U.S. Attorney's Office

Asia

Cambodia Vs. Sotheby's In A Battle Over Antiquities

A 1,000-year-old statue, a vine-and-moss-covered temple complex and a country's turbulent history lie at the heart of a legal battle pitting the Cambodian government against Sotheby's auction house. Officials say the statue was looted from an ancient Khmer temple; Sotheby's says that's not provable.

Cambodia Vs. Sotheby's In A Battle Over Antiquities

Listen · 5:04
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/163007250/163499505" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Sunday

How A Texas Postman Became An Hermès Designer

One of Kermit Oliver's designs for Hèrmes Jason Sheeler hide caption

toggle caption
Jason Sheeler

How A Texas Postman Became An Hermès Designer

Kermit Oliver works for the U.S. Postal Service. He's also the only American artist to ever design scarves for Hermès. As writer Jason Sheeler got to know Oliver, the story only got bigger.

How A Texas Postman Became An Hermès Designer

Listen · 10:15
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/163273742/163334311" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

To Shrink Rents, S.F. Considers Shrinking Apartments

The development firm Panoramic Interests is building about two dozen "micro-apartments" in San Francisco. The company is poised to offer even smaller units if the city approves a proposed new minimum size of 220 square feet. Artist's Rendering of Smartspace Unit Courtesy of Panoramic Interests hide caption

toggle caption
Artist's Rendering of Smartspace Unit Courtesy of Panoramic Interests

National

To Shrink Rents, S.F. Considers Shrinking Apartments

KQED

Many single people find it nearly impossible to find an affordable apartment in San Francisco. In an effort to cut rents, city supervisors are weighing a proposal to reduce the minimum allowed size for a studio apartment to 220 square feet — not much bigger than a large parking space.

To Shrink Rents, S.F. Considers Shrinking Apartments

Listen · 4:21
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/163174623/163191164" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

Picasso, Monet Paintings Among Those Swiped From Dutch Museum

There's an empty space today where a Henri Matisse painting had been hanging at the Kunsthal museum in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Seven paintings were stolen Tuesday, including works by Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet and Paul Gauguin. Peter Dejong/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Peter Dejong/AP

The Two-Way

Picasso, Monet Paintings Among Those Swiped From Dutch Museum

Seven works by famous artists were stolen by thieves who broke into the Rotterdam museum around 3 a.m. The thieves set off an alarm, but managed to escape before police arrived.

Monday

'Beauty Is Embarrassing': Giant Puppets, Painted Words, And What Art Is All About

A giant LBJ puppet head is one of Wayne White's creations in the documentary Beauty Is Embarrassing. Beauty Is Embarrassing hide caption

toggle caption
Beauty Is Embarrassing

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Beauty Is Embarrassing': Giant Puppets, Painted Words, And What Art Is All About

You may think you don't know the work of artist Wayne White, but if you watched videos or Pee-Wee's Playhouse, you probably do. In a new documentary, he talks about creativity and being a tough fit for the art world.