art | The Smart Set

Girlhood

Marti Trgovich — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 11:54:14 +0000

If there’s ever been a time to dissect the experience of being a girl, it’s now: there’s girl math and girl dinner, “I’m literally just a girl” is a viral meme, pink bow emojis are rampant, you can dress like a ballerina and no one bats an eye, and No Doubt’s ’90s anthem “Just a […]

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The Obvious Solution

Dr. Ariana Brazier and Kelsey Smoot — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 18:35:41 +0000

Recently, a friend’s husband told me about a time when he booked a gig to appear in a national television commercial. Prudently, he made sure to get a fresh haircut and line up beforehand, predicting that whoever was working in hair and makeup on set would be ill-equipped to handle his thick 4c curl pattern. […]

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Circle of Angels

David M. Rubin — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 12:30:00 +0000

A foreshortened dove soars to us, wings outstretched. The pure white bird has dipped down to clear the trees, or perhaps has just condensed from cloud. Moving or frozen in space, the bird is perfectly centered above a hand holding a clamshell, gently pouring water. It is the embodiment of the Holy Spirit and is […]

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True at First Flight

J.R. Patterson — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 12:30:00 +0000

The omission of airplanes in much artwork is understandable. It’s not a question of talent, but of choice and visibility. When used in art, the most visible kind of planes — those used for war and commercial purposes — signal the glorification of aviation’s base functions — to kill and to carry. There is no […]

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The Flipside of a Dream

Matt Hanson — Thu, 10 Aug 2023 11:30:00 +0000

Alfred Hitchcock was born 124 years ago and has been dead for just over four decades, and we still can’t stop talking about him. He’s a household name with an instantly recognizable profile, and his films are required viewing for both movie nerds and newbies alike. Vertigo was recently voted the greatest film of all […]

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Beach Trip!

Edward Comstock — Mon, 10 Jul 2023 13:14:04 +0000

Storms beat on the rocky cliffs and were echoed By icy-feathered terns and the eagle’s screams; No kinsman could offer comfort there, To a soul left drowning in desolation. The Seafarer (Old English Poem) Well before the Bible told the story of Jesus calming the storm in the Sea of Galilee, and even before Odysseus’ […]

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[See:] Weed [Read:] Control

Gabriela Denise Frank — Mon, 12 Jun 2023 11:30:00 +0000

12. Like perfection or success, weeds are ideals, not units of measure. [See: every artist whose work was appreciated after they were dead. 13. Which is to say artists are opportunistic entrepreneurs searching for nooks and crannies to shelter their idea-seeds, knowing the right conditions will spur internal rupture: the hull cracks, the organism unfurls […]

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Under the (Magazine) Covers

Stan Tymorek — Thu, 02 Mar 2023 12:30:00 +0000

Since Tod Lippy had worked for other magazines before starting his own, you might think that’s how he learned what to do to make his new venture a success. But when asked about Esopus, the design and culture magazine he founded in 2003, he has said it’s the things he learned not to do that […]

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Pandemic Prêt-à-Porter

Maureen Stanton — Mon, 09 Jan 2023 12:30:00 +0000

A few years ago, in my 50s, I began to wonder what happened to my sense of style, and then the coronavirus shutdown brought the issue to the foreground. Working from home, formerly stylish people happily adapted to sweat-pants couture. Some people may never fully return to their once-dapper attire, but some, like me, left […]

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It’s Always Showtime In The Sky

Stan Tymorek — Thu, 03 Nov 2022 11:30:00 +0000

I had always thought that the only relationship between the weather and the cinema was that a rainy day was a good time to see a film. Then I read an excerpt from Virginia Woolf’s essay “On Being Ill,” in which she looks up at the sky while bedridden and sees: . . . this […]

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