Three Impressionist paintings that give an insight into the complicated history of breastfeeding in the 19th century
The history of breastfeeding reveals uncomfortable truths about women, work and money. An unlikely place where the history of nursing is clearly visible is in Impressionist paintings. Although the art of Manet and his followers is best known for its…
Grenfell: Steve McQueen’s film is a silent, unflinching reminder of lives devastated by fire
Oscar-winning artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen’s new work, Grenfell, is on show at London’s Serpentine Gallery. The 24-minute film – which the artist captured by helicopter in December 2017, six months after the fire – rotates around the Grenfell Tower…
Contemporary Muslim artists continue to adapt Islamic patterns to challenge ideas about fixed culture
What is culture? In today’s globalized world, we are familiar with seeing various cultural objects and ornamentation outside of their original location or context. If culture is not fixed and bound to a particular location, how does culture move and…
The fascinating Cameroonian art of spider divination is on display at London exhibition
Tomás Saraceno In Collaboration: Web(s) of Life, which opened at London’s Serpentine South Gallery in June, explores how humans relate to spiders. It features installations of spider webs displayed and lit to be viewed as sculptures. There are also films:…
NFT art: the bizarre world where burning a Banksy can make it more valuable
A blockchain company has bought a piece of Banksy artwork and burnt it. But instead of destroying the value of the art, they claim to have made it more valuable, because it was sold as a piece of blockchain art….
AI is exciting – and an ethical minefield: 4 essential reads on the risks and concerns about this technology
If you’re like me, you’ve spent a lot of time over the past few months trying to figure out what this AI thing is all about. Large-language models, generative AI, algorithmic bias – it’s a lot for the less tech-savvy…
How the James Webb deep field images reminded me the divide between science and art is artificial
The first task I give photography students is to create a starscape. To do this, I ask them to sweep the floor beneath them, collect the dust and dirt in a paper bag and then sprinkle it onto a sheet…
50 years ago, an artist convincingly exhibited a fake Iron Age civilization – with invented maps, music and artifacts
Invented civilizations are usually thought of as the stuff of sci-fi novels and video games, not museums. Yet in 1972, the Andrew Dickson White Museum of Art at Cornell University exhibited “The Civilization of Llhuros,” an imaginary Iron Age civilization….
Van Gogh Museum at 50: Vincent van Gogh and the art market – a brief history
Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum turns 50 in 2023. The museum, dedicated to the art of one of the most famous artists in the world, attracts over two million visitors each year. You can listen to more articles from The Conversation,…
Why the Turner prize shortlist is a cultural barometer of our political times
The UK’s biggest prize for contemporary art is back. The 2023 Turner prize shortlist has been announced featuring British artists Jesse Darling, Rory Pilgrim, Ghislaine Leung and Barbara Walker. An exhibition of the artists’ work will go on show at…
