Researchers say long-lost Leonardo may have been found
At the start of the 16th century, Florence's leaders commissioned Leonardo, then at the height of his career, to paint a massive fresco celebrating the Florentine Republic's victory over the Milanese in a battle on the plains of Anghiari that took place on June 29, 1440.
Leonardo, who loathed war as "a most beastly madness," depicted a group of horses and riders furiously fighting.
He abandoned the project a year after he started, probably because a new experimental technique for frescoes failed. But some of his preparatory studies remain, as well as other artists' copies of the original fresco.
All traces of the original were lost more than 50 years later when Giorgio Vasari renovated the great Sala dei Cinquecento in Florence's Palazzo Vecchio and was ordered to paint a new fresco, "The Battle of Marciano," to accommodate the higher walls.
Read original article @ Reuters
See more photos @ Washington Post's The Style Blog
Are video games art? Draw your own conclusions
Are video games worthy of being counted, like movies and paintings, among accepted art forms?
The 120,000 Americans who work at creating games probably would argue yes. And many of the 100-million-plus who spend upward of $20 billion a year to play them would concur — if they ever looked up from their screens and joysticks long enough to think about it.
On the other side fall writers such as film critic Roger Ebert, who famously said several years ago that video games weren't comparable to great paintings, poetry, films and novels and could never be considered art.
The Smithsonian American Art Museum, which houses such masters as Georgia O'Keeffe and John Singer Sargent, steps right into the middle of the argument with a new exhibit, The Art of Video Games. It begins a six-month stay at the Washington museum Friday before going on a national tour. Read original article @ USA Today Life Section
The Smithsonian American Art Museum has the details:
"The Art of Video Games is one of the first exhibitions to explore the forty-year evolution of video games as an artistic medium, with a focus on striking visual effects and the creative use of new technologies. It features some of the most influential artists and designers during five eras of game technology, from early pioneers to contemporary designers. The exhibition focuses on the interplay of graphics, technology and storytelling through some of the best games for twenty gaming systems ranging from the Atari VCS to the PlayStation 3. Eighty games, selected with the help of the public, demonstrate the evolution of the medium. The games are presented through still images and video footage. In addition, the galleries will include video interviews with twenty developers and artists, large prints of in-game screen shots, and historic game consoles. Chris Melissinos, founder of Past Pixels and collector of video games and gaming systems, is the curator of the exhibition."Smithsonian Museums and Zoo Website
Academy of Art University and NASA Announce Design Partnership
This semester, Academy of Art University Industrial Design students will collaborate with the NASA Ames Research Center (Moffett Field, California) to design a user interface that will allow future astronauts in space to remotely operate a robot on Earth. A number of thesis level students have been chosen and will use a variety of design skills to complete the project, including storyboarding, task analysis, ideation, brainstorming, sketching and rendering. The students' work will be used to create the user interface elements, including icons wireframes and glyphs. Simultaneously the team is identifying opportunities for additional design disciplines to be integrated into the experience. Already the team is starting conceptual work on interior architecture, product design, and apparel.
Art Education Needs to be Protected
Why invest in arts education at a time when schools seem laser-focused on improving performance in reading and math skills?
Evidence shows that the arts matter. Arts have a positive impact on student achievement, motivation and engagement, critical and creative thinking, collaboration and team work skills.
Read Original Article @ The Boston's Globe: The Podium: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/blogs/the_podium/2012/03/arts_education_needs_to_be_pro.html
