Art Beat

20 Years After the Fall, Nostalgia Builds for East German Design

Nostalgia for the East -- or 'ostalgie,' a portmanteau combining the words ost ('east') and nostalgie ('nostalgia') -- has taken hold in contemporary, unified Germany.

Preview: ‘Ancient Paths, Modern Voices’

By Arts Desk

Coming soon on the NewsHour, Jeffrey Brown reports on "Ancient Paths, Modern Voices: A Festival Celebrating Chinese Culture," a festival currently taking place at Carnegie Hall in New York.

Conversation: Jonathan Lethem

By Arts Desk

In Jonathan Lethem's new novel, "Chronic City," two friends travel through a Manhattan that is both very recognizable -- from the billionaire mayor to the burgers at a local diner -- while also surreal, looking for truth.

Around the Nation, Friday Roundup

Here are some of this week's arts and culture headlines from public broadcasters around the nation.

Winning Faces in Modern Portraits

By Arts Desk

Every three years, the National Portrait Gallery holds a contest showcasing the best efforts in the country in portraiture. Out of 3,300 entries to the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, an exhibition of the top 49 is now on display.

Christie’s Art Sale Underwhelms Buyers

In the first autumn auction held Tuesday evening at Christie's in New York, total sales fell short of pre-sale estimates -- only $65.6 million instead of $68.6 to $97.1 million -- making for a slow start to the U.S. art…

A Mission to Save a Cultural Legacy, One Deli Sandwich at a Time

By Arts Desk

Last month, writer and journalist David Sax visited the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue in Washington, D.C., to kibbutz about a favorite, salivating subject: the delicatessen.

Weekly Poems: a Double From the ‘Mets Poet’

Frank Messina, also known as the "Mets Poet," is the author of four books of poetry, including "Full Count: The Book of Mets Poetry," released in April, and "Disorderly Conduct," published in 2002.

Burtynsky’s ‘Oil’: Refining Art from the Crude

Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky's recently opened exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery of Art takes a large-scale look at something most of us never see, but use or benefit from nearly everyday of our lives: oil.

Ben Folds Turns Orchestras Into Rock Bands

By Arts Desk

While it might not appear to be the case, Ben Folds concedes he wasn't entirely comfortable playing the piano in front of an orchestra at first. That's because growing up in North Carolina, playing percussion in orchestras, he never dreamed…