Modern African-American art gets the spotlight

“In Conversation: Modern African American Art” comes to the Peabody Essex Museum just as interest in art by black Americans is — belatedly — bubbling to the surface in New England’s art museums. Prompted by the opening of its Art of the Americas Wing, the Museum of Fine Arts, in particular, has spent several years …

‘At-Risk’ Teens Produce Interesting Artwork As Teacher Aims To Reduce Graffiti

It appears that this California teacher has truly reached his students. In an effort to avoid doling out detentions for graffiting at the alternative high school where he teaches, Reddit user RedPenVandal allows his students to draw at their desks. The doodles, which he posted in an album on Reddit, are both beautiful and inspiring. In a Reddit …

Inflatable Art: The Most Incredible Pop-Able Sculptures Around The World

There’s something playful about anything inflatable. Blown-up objects remind us of a birthday party balloon animals, childhood bounce houses and bubbles of Bazooka Joe. Yet when artists work with inflatable sculptures, these tokens of childhood morph into high art. This year, Paul McCarthy’s balloon sculpture sat like a watchdog over New York’sFrieze Art Fair, Christo created …

James Franco’s ‘Psycho Nacirema’ Exhibit Reimagines Hitchcock’s Iconic 1960 Thriller

James Franco is going ‘Psycho’ for his most recent art exhibit, on view at London’s Pace Gallery this week. For the cinematic-inspired show, the actor performs his best Janet Leigh impersonations in a lofty reimagination of Alfred Hitchcock’s epic 1960 film. That’s right, the ever-reaching Franco dons a blonde wig and screams his lungs out in a shower, …

First African-American Woman Ph.D. Graduate in Computer Science at University of Michigan

  “Bittersweet.” That’s how Kyla McMullen describes what it feels like to be the first African-American woman at the University of Michigan to graduate with a doctorate in computer science. “I don’t think there’s anything special about me,” says McMullen, with a modest laugh. She explains that while it is gratifying to be recognized as a …

Stolen Matisse Recovered After Missing 26 Years, ‘Le Jardin’ Worth $1 Million

When a $1 million stolen Matisse painting is recovered after 26 years missing, we’d say that is cause for celebration. The work in question, Henri Matisse’s 1920 painting, “Le Jardin,” was stolen from Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm during an early morning robbery on May 11, 1987. The bold burglar reportedly smashed into the …

Picasso Exhibit Arrives In Toronto (Video)

Over 150 masterpieces by Pablo Picasso will be displayed at the Art Gallery Of Ontario (AGO) in Toronto. For the first time since 1964, works from Picasso’s private collections will be displayed for the public at the AGO beginning May 1 and running through August 26. These works are on loan from the Musée National …

Asian Teens Wearing Fake Braces As Status Symbol: Report

The Huffington Post  |  By Ron Dicker Posted: 01/02/2013 12:35 pm EST  |  Updated: 01/02/2013 1:14 pm EST Defying Western stigma and school-age angst over wearing braces, some Asian teens are reportedly buying fake braces as a status symbol. This orthodontia oddity has flourished in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, according to outlets. Kids are forking over $100 …

Ty Pennington To Host New HLN Series

NEW YORK — Ty Pennington is doing some traveling again, this time for the HLN television network. HLN said Wednesday that Pennington, who stars in “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” will host a monthly series called “American Journey.” It will focus on people with unusual lifestyles, and debuts Saturday, Jan. 12. Each episode will air multiple …

Bobby Womack Alzheimer’s: Soul Singer Reveals Battle With Degenerative Brain Disease

01/02/13 12:15 PM ET EST NEW YORK — Bobby Womack has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member told the BBC in a recent interview the diagnosis comes after he began having difficulty remembering his songs and the names of people he’s worked with. A spokeswoman did not immediately …

Together – never; except in an exhibit of their graphic designs at the Art Museum

Caroline Tiger, For The Inquirer Posted: Friday, November 30, 2012, 2:53 PM Reporters are always asking Paula Scher and Seymour Chwast when they’re going to collaborate. That’s what happens when you’re famous, married, and working in the same industry. Scher and Chwast are firm: Never. “It’s not so much our lack of interest than it …

Dave Brubeck Dead: Legendary Jazz Pianist Dies At 91

AP  |  By PAT EATON-ROBB  | Posted: 12/05/2012 11:55 am EST Updated: 12/05/2012 9:18 pm EST HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Jazz composer and pianist Dave Brubeck, whose pioneering style in pieces such as “Take Five” caught listeners’ ears with exotic, challenging rhythms, has died. He was 91. Brubeck died Wednesday morning at Norwalk Hospital of heart …