Goethe on the Psychology of Color and Emotion

Goethe on the Psychology of Color and Emotion

Color is an essential part of how we experience the world, both biologically and culturally. One of the earliest formal explorations of color theory came from an unlikely source — the German poet, artist, and politician Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who in 1810 published Theory of Colors (public library; public domain), his treatise on the […]

Where The Walls Still Talk

Where The Walls Still Talk

Tales from the legendary hotel-slash-commune that housed Jackson Pollock, Dylan Thomas, Arthur Miller, Bob Dylan, Robert Mapplethorpe, Patti Smith, and Sid Vicious—told by residents like Rufus Wainwright, Betsey Johnson, R. Crumb, and Andy Warhol. Wll vanish before the city’s merchant greed, Wreckers will wreck it, and in its stead More lofty walls will swell This old […]

These Intricate Tibetan Sand Paintings Are Swept Away Upon Completion

These Intricate Tibetan Sand Paintings Are Swept Away Upon Completion

Tibetan Buddhist monks have created sand mandalas for over 2,500 years, as it remains one of the religion’s most beautiful and symbolic traditions. Each mandala has a center point that is surrounded by a circle, a perfectly symmetrical design of specific meaning, and an accompaniment of various religious deities and symbols. They are created as […]

Languages Are Products of Their Environments

Languages Are Products of Their Environments

The characteristics that make each language unique may actually be adaptations to the acoustics of different environments. Language is a universal hallmark of humanity, but it sounds different in different parts of the world. On most Pacific islands and throughout Southeast Asia, words use more vowel sounds than consonants, and they’re spoken in simple syllables, […]

St. Mark’s Place: is this America’s coolest street?

St. Mark’s Place: is this America’s coolest street?

It is easy to feel nostalgic for the array of creative and political figures who made their mark on the East Village street, but its golden age is always ‘now’ Many thoroughfares could credibly lay claim to the title “America’s hippest street”: Alberta Street in Portland, South Congress Avenue in Austin, Valencia Street in San […]