Author Archives: Emad Taha

Art movement

Just look at this two-wheeled ride that’s a mashup of a funky electric bike, an electric car and a space capsule. Electric four-wheeler I say because it has four sets of wheels – two at the front and two at the back in close proximity. Something akin to the wheel configurations of a truck’s rearContinue reading “THIS FOUR-WHEELED FUTURISTIC ELECTRIC-HYDROGEN HYBRID BIKE ACTUALLY RIDES ON TWO WHEELS”

From identifying disputed artworks to reconstructing lost masterpieces, artificial intelligence is enriching how we interpret our cultural heritage. Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and computer vision are revolutionizing research — from medicine and biology to Earth and space sciences. Now, it’s art history’s turn. For decades, conventionally trained art scholars have been slow to takeContinue reading “How AI is expanding art history”

In the Jan. 22, 1945, issue of Life — after an article about the ongoing Battle of the Bulge and a picture of a seamstress finishing the ballgowns for Eleanor Roosevelt’s fourth inauguration, captioned with exactly how the first lady’s bust, waist and hip sizes had changed over a dozen years — the magazine devoted a nine-page photographic essayContinue reading “Design Through the Decades: The 1940s”

All year, Design Through the Decades has examined where iconic designs came from, how they informed later work and how they’re still being used in our homes today. In terms of context, we’ve certainly seen that what goes around comes around — maximalism and minimalism, chromatic and monochromatic, natural and synthetic, out of this worldContinue reading “Design Through the Decades: The 2010s”

Design in the 20th century ran the gamut, from the “less is more” minimalism of Mies van der Rohe to the “less is a bore” maximalism of Robert Venturi, and from the “more for less” prescience of R. Buckminster Fuller to the “less and more” paradox of Dutch collective Droog. Where design is headed in the 21st century is too soonContinue reading “Design Through the Decades: The 2000s”

Homes throughout history have adapted to the latest technology, whether it was with kitchens big enough for a Kelvinator in the 1910s or with living room storage walls for a radio and phonograph in the 1940s. The growth of the web in the 1990s had more people looking for a place to put their personal computer. Cory ConnorContinue reading “Design Through the Decades: The 1990s”

Pomo, jumbo, faux: No matter where you stand on the 1980s’ postmodernism, McMansions and decorative paint finishes, you have to admit that design in the decade didn’t play it safe. Whether it was with their hair, shoulder pads or homes — whichexpanded 12% as lot sizes decreased 4% — Americans took it to the max. Previous: DesignContinue reading “Design Through the Decades: The 1980s”

Astronauts tell of experiencing a profound shift in perspective upon gazing at our precious blue-green planet afloat under a paper-thin membrane in the vastness of space — appreciating the interconnectedness of our fragile world and the imperative to keep it from harm. Earthrise, Blue Marble and the other awe-inspiring photos the astronauts beamed back had a similarContinue reading “Design Through the Decades: The 1970s”

U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong’s one small step for a man 50 years ago this month was a giant leap for design. As excitement built toward the momentous moon walk on July 20, 1969, architecture took a futuristic turn, and furniture and lighting acquired a sci-fi quality. Since television was in 90 percent of U.S. householdsContinue reading “Design Through the Decades: The 1960s”