On the Arts: A Year-End Review
A brief guide to everything published this year.
The Boulevard Montmartre on a Winter Morning (1897) by Camille Pissarro
It’s nearly the end of the year, making it a good time to reflect on the content I’ve published since launching On the Arts in late May.
Below is a list of every article published on the site, organized chronologically. In terms of popularity, the three most viewed posts were What is the Demoscene?, Istanbul’s Blue Tile Paradise, and How Wittgenstein Watched Movies.
Winter as Reading Season – David Foster Wallace on the necessity of quiet time in order to read. Winter is a quiet time, making it ideal for getting through that stack of books.
The Meaning of Melancholy – An interview with Hans Maes on the varied meanings of the ancient concept.
How to Write a Proper Haiku – Haiku is a deceptively simple form of poetry. Learn what a “proper” haiku is and how to start writing one yourself.
Do biographies need to start at the beginning? – Brainstorming alternative forms to the predictably linear narratives of most biographies.
What is the Demoscene? – An interview with Filipe Cruz on the influential but still obscure art form, which has influenced computer art, video games, cinema, and more.
Link List: 20 Articles + Websites About the Arts – A wide-ranging collection of links on ballet, ugly architecture, Soviet Control rooms, Hokusai, and nifty CSS tools.
The Vertical Beauty of Hong Kong – An interview with photographer Romain Jacquet Lagrèze, a French photographer based in Hong Kong.
How do you actually create AI art? – How does AI art creation actually work in practice? A guide to the process of actually using an AI art generator, for anyone that hasn’t already done so.
What are liminal spaces? And why are they so popular? – “Liminal spaces” have become trendy in recent years, especially on TikTok, Tumblr, and YouTube. But what makes a space liminal? And why are they so popular lately?
Plastic palm trees and inflatable pineapples – Just where did all those gimmicky plastic bananas and piña coladas come from? An interview with Max Ryynänen on the “tropical kitsch.”
Gore Vidal Was Everywhere and Now He Is Nowhere – When he was alive, Gore Vidal was one of the best-known writers in America. Today, a mere decade after his death, most have forgotten his work. What happened?
Modern Culture is Too Escapist: Part 1 – In this first part of a three-part series, I argue that the arts today are too focused on escaping the world, rather than enhancing it.
The Necrologs of Bulgaria – What is the best way to remember the dead? In Bulgaria, they put up small posters called “necrologs.”
The Paradox of the Garden of Eden – The Garden of Eden is, paradoxically, not actually a garden. An interview with Professor David Fenner.
The Sea Has Always Looked the Same – Stand on an empty beach and cover your entire vision with the water. The image you’ll see is almost exactly what people saw thousands of years ago.
Istanbul’s Blue Tile Paradise – Discussing the hidden mosque of Rüstem Pasha, which is covered in thousands of hand-painted tiles.
What Does Wabi-Sabi Really Mean? – Explaining an over-used and often misunderstood idea in Japanese culture.
From Gothic Invaders to Mall Goths – How an ancient Germanic tribe gave its name to a modern subculture.
How to Start Learning About Aesthetics – A guide to learning about aesthetics, the philosophical study of art, beauty, and the senses.
Are wind turbines ugly? Could they be beautiful? – How to make ugly things appear less ugly – or appear like something else entirely.
How Wittgenstein Watched Movies – After lectures, the philosopher would ask a friend, “Could you go to a flick?”
The “Scenic Route” in Google Maps – Taking the most beautiful path from A to B, not merely the quickest one.
Art Nouveau vs. Art Deco: What's the Difference? – Art Nouveau and Art Deco are often confused with each other. Learn how to tell the difference between the two.
See you next year!