To the right is a picture of Hans Holbein’s painting, The Ambassadors. Upon first glance, it doesn’t look like anything terrible special. After further reflection, however, you may notice a strange figure near the bottom center of the painting. You might be surprised to learn that it is a skull. The skull can only be…

When Michelangelo created David he didn’t think of building something; instead he thought of “taking away.” Or, as he said, “the more the marble wastes away, the more the sculpture grows.” In many respects, unlearning what you have learned might feel like “a waste.” That’s the wrong way to think of it. Think of it…

This past spring I had the pleasure of visiting Paris with my family. One of the highlights of the trip was a visit to the Rodin Museum. To my surprise, I came away enjoying Rodin’s “Burghers of Calais” far more than his most famous piece “The Thinker.” When Rodin created the piece for the city…

The Saint Ignatius church in Rome was originally designed to include a cupola. For financial reasons, the feature was never built. In moment, sparked by Divine intervention perhaps, Church officials hired Andrea Pozzo to paint a fake dome on the ceiling over the altar. Today, more than 300 years later, many visitors are shocked to…

I recently came across a sign similar to the one to the right. You know what I'd like to see? A sign encouraging people to keep playing as they continue to age. Instead of thinking — and acting — like an adult, I believe we need to think more like children. To do this it…

If you had the chance to listen to one of the world's best violinists for free, would you? Probably not if he or she were playing in a subway station. A few years ago Joshua Bell, one of the world's top violinists, played for over three hours in a subway station in Washington, D.C. He…

Of all the types of painting, I most enjoy the impressionist artists. According to this fascinating article, I'm not alone. Many other people, ages 13 to 90, also enjoy impressionist paintings. The reason? The blurry images leave something to our imagination. In essence, we can create our own interpretation. It's a wonderful metaphor for the…

Read the following three quotes from Pablo Picasso: "To blossom forth, a work of art must ignore or rather forget all the rules."  "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up."  "It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like…

The future won’t be either black or white—it will be black and white. In the field of architecture and design, people are often use to choosing between form or function. In the future, as a result of advances in nanotechnology, this age-old debate will become less relevant. As proof, I submit this article discussing a…

This past fall I had the opportunity to give a presentation on unlearning at the Theatre Communication Group's annual Fall Forum in New York City. Before my presentation I had the pleasure of listening to Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan Lori Parks speak. I especially appreciated her final statement to the audience: "Entertain all your far…