Palo Santo Wood

Soothing scents from the Amazon's most fragrant stick

Also known as “holy wood,” Palo Santo wood sticks have been used for centuries by indigenous Amazonians hoping to ward off evil spirits. As we recently discovered, they also lend a more practical service by freshening up your house with the slightly sweet smell they emit when lit. Unlike traditional incense sticks, the little logs burn slowly allowing them to be used many times. The …

Dark Sun

Ari Marcopoulos documents NYC's incognito surfing community in his upcoming solo show

Photographer Ari Marcopoulos, who got his start as an assistant to Andy Warhol, documents the diverse and often gritty subcultures of American youth. His new solo exhibition, “Dark Sun”—opening tonight at Nike’s Bowery Stadium in NYC—casts an eye on the lesser seen community of surfers who call America’s largest urban metropolis home. Shot on 35mm over just two weeks, Dark Sun takes a raw look …

Susan Hiller

"Paraconceptual" art in Susan Hiller's new comprehensive book

Both intimate and cosmic in scope, as described by critic Lucy Lippard, Susan Hiller’s ruminative multimedia works are the result of a career change from anthropology to art forty years ago. The U.K.-based artist, thinking of her discipline as “value-free,” experiments with sculpture, photography, painting and more, letting the subject dictate media to give her abstract theories form. A through-line in Hiller’s works is what …