DESIGN: Exhibits trace decades-old fashion, fabric trends

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ART: Troop reduction

Less is not more in a traveling show of Chinese warriors

Friday, Nov. 20, 2009

President Obama didn't visit the city of Xi'an on his trip to China, but he still has the chance to see some of its famous archaeological treasures. Some of the terra-cotta soldiers excavated from around the tomb of the first Chinese emperor plus related artifacts are on view at the National Geographic Museum in its first ticketed exhibition.

ART: Shonibare's headless extravagance

Costumed mannequins challenge racial and cultural stereotypes

Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009

"Off with their heads" could be the slogan of the theatrical art created by British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare. His signature mannequins are decapitated as if they had been sent to the guillotine, an apt image given his fascination with the era of Marie Antoinette.

PHOTOGRAPHY: Man Ray at Phillips

Friday, Nov. 13, 2009

Twenty-five years ago, New York's Museum of Modern Art mounted a controversial exhibit examining the relationship between modern art and "primitive" tribal cultures. The show was criticized for relegating non-Western art to a supporting role in the development of Western abstraction.

ART: Oppression as inspiration

South African and Russian printmakers look to past politics for creative spark

Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009

On the surface, the pairing of artworks by South African William Kentridge and Russian Oleg Kudryashov at the Kreeger Museum seems like a good match. Both artists go "against the grain," as the exhibit is titled, by bearing witness to the history of oppression within their native lands through sketchy scenes. Most of the approximately four dozen works on view are 1990s prints owned by Washington-area collectors.

Landscape groups announce eco-ratings

Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009

Architects from coast to coast are "greening" their buildings to attract tenants and higher rents while projecting an image of environmental responsibility.

ART: Persian, Turkish royalty pictured the future

Relied on illustrated books for guidance

Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009

Persian shahs, Turkish sultans and courtly circles during the 16th and 17th centuries consulted their horoscopes before making important decisions, seeking advice from a beautifully illustrated book called the Falnama. Pages from three of these albums are on view at the Smithsonian's Arthur M. Sackler Gallery for the first time to reveal an extravagant art of fortune-telling.

ART: Corcoran exhibit fuels image of oil dependency

Friday, Oct. 30, 2009

Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky's series of imposing color prints on view at the Corcoran Gallery of Art — simply called "Oil" — pays tribute to the freeways, suburbs, fast-food joints, cars, motorcycles and planes made possible by the fossil fuel.

ART: Canadian artist Jungen recycles familiar into fantastic

Reconfigures consumer goods to challenge cultural stereotypes

Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009

A whale skeleton introduces visitors to the newest exhibition at the National Museum of the American Indian, but the impressive specimen isn't a relic from nature. The bones turn out to be parts of cheap plastic patio chairs, just some of the everyday designs recycled into inventive art by Canadian Brian Jungen.

ARCHITECTURE: Chapel opens at Marine Corps museum

Timber and glass design aims for uplifting image

Friday, Oct. 23, 2009

Docent Raymond Perry of the National Museum of the Marine Corps and his wife Mary Jane will be renewing their wedding vows Saturday after 50 years of marriage. The couple will be the first to hold a ceremony in the newly completed Semper Fidelis Memorial Chapel just up the hill from the museum in Quantico, Va.