How High Can Low Art Go

Viral urban legends, David O'Reilly's Mountain Game, the moon's two faces and more in our weekly look at the web

Musician and artist Brian Eno once said it best: “high art” is, by definition, exclusionary. That understanding, coupled with his diverse body of artistic work—which is often deemed “low art” despite being shown at some of the most prestigious galleries around the world—led MoMA’s curator Kirk Varnedoe to invite Eno as the keynote speaker for “High and Low: Modern Art and Popular Culture” back in …

Box-Sized Death (Metal)

Viral urban legends, David O'Reilly's Mountain Game, the moon's two faces and more in our weekly look at the web

Every Wednesday through Friday, from now until 1 August 2014, death metal band Unfathomable Ruination will perform in an air-tight cube outside of London’s Gherkin until all the oxygen runs out. The cube also happens to be soundproof, so the real performance is the physical, near-death feat by the five-piece band. Onlookers can spy on the musicians’ entrances and exits, as well as the sound …

The Two-Faced Moon

Viral urban legends, David O'Reilly's Mountain Game, the moon's two faces and more in our weekly look at the web

The moon may be Earth’s closest neighbor and the only other celestial body that humans have set foot upon—but it’s still shrouded in mystery. For example, why do the near side and the far side of the moon look so different? There are two competing hypotheses, but in this piece for Slate, astronomer Phil Plait explains why he finds the more recently put forth reason …