PS Picks: Nigerian Creatives and the Art Scene in West Africa
PS Picks is a selection of the best things that the magazine's staff and contributors are reading, watching, or otherwise paying attention to in the worlds of art, politics, and culture.
Artists
You Can't Hurry Greatness
The careers of America's best songwriters suggest great art is the product of years of immersion in one's chosen field.
How AirBnB Threatens Urban Creative Space
The end result of an AirBnB'd neighborhood is not a profitable artist collective; it's an international bedroom community of "post-tourist" upwardly mobile workers.
Silicon Valley Is the Best and Worst Thing That Ever Happened to Art
When tech workers are considered the true “creative class,” artists don’t appear to win.
Making Art Tied to Fewer Cognitive Problems in Old Age
A Mayo Clinic study finds decades spent on creative work pay off.
How Do You Make a Living, Paleoartist?
Francie Diep talks to Jennifer Hall about illustrating animals that have been dead for a very, very long time.
Artists in the Antarctic
For years, the National Science Foundation has been sending professional creatives to the icy south in an attempt to promote understanding of the least-explored land on Earth. Is it working?
How Do You Make a Living, Art Curator?
Kristin Sancken talks to Noah Davis about the difficulties of being friends with artists, making money at the curation game, and why shameless is the new humble.
Are Artists Created in the (Testosterone-Rich) Womb?
New research suggests artists may begin their journey toward creative achievement before they are born.
Artists Working Solo Create the Finest Work
New research suggests we consider the amount of effort that goes into making a work of art when we're evaluating it—and take off points for collaborations.
Creating Art as a Second Job
A new NEA report suggests more than a quarter-million Americans have a side job as an artist or musician.
Sure, I Do Creative Work, but I’m No Artist
New research suggests the simple question “Are you a professional artist?” yields confusing, sometimes contradictory answers.
Do Artists and Musicians Live Longer Lives?
Historical research from the Netherlands suggests they outlived other members of their socioeconomic class in past centuries.
Study: Poets, Painters, Performers Report High Job Satisfaction
New research from Europe finds those in creative professions are relatively low-paid, more likely to be unemployed—and robustly satisfied with their work.
Why Thomas Kinkade's Art Touched So Many
Thomas Kinkade, the best-selling “Painter of Light,” has never enjoyed the academic scrutiny accorded other homespun artists — until now.
Fear Heightens Appreciation of Abstract Art
Does abstract art fail to evoke a profound emotional response? Try viewing it while you’re terrified.
Far West, Northeast Lead in Jobs for Artists
A new National Endowment for the Arts report finds jobs for artists are concentrated in specific states, including New York, California, Oregon, and Vermont.
Arrogance and Creativity Linked in New Study
New research links creativity with lower levels of honesty and humility.
Everyone's a Critic: Babies Prefer Pablo Picasso
A study of 9-month-old babies found they prefer the brighter paintings of Picasso to the subtle shadings of Monet.
Documentary Chronicles Art Saved from Dictator's Reach
The documentary 'The Desert of Forbidden Art' tells the story of the Igor Savitsky Museum, a remote refuge for Soviet-era art that ran afoul of Stalin's diktat.
Art Is in the Eye of the Human Beholder
New research finds even nonexperts can differentiate between masterful abstract art and similar works painted by a child or an animal. See for yourself with our enclosed art quiz.
Art and Alzheimer's: Another Way of Remembering
How the life and death of the Chicago painter known as Hilgos helped bring art — and a better quality of life — to Alzheimer's patients.
Jung and Polanski
Guest blogger Tom Jacobs says psychology provides some suggestions as to why so many artists transgress ethical boundaries.
If YOU Can Draw, Then YOU Should Be in School!
The case for making American universities into patrons of the arts.