Agenda | Phaidon

Samuel Wilkinson's Muse Music

The winner of the 2011 Design of the Year Award on the music that gets him in a creative mood

Massive Attack (left), the designer Samuel Wilkinson (right) and his energy efficient light bulb 'Plumen 001' which won him the Design of Year Award 2011

The man who made bikes beautiful again

Paul Budnitz puts a sense of style back into cycling

Better Buy Design - Noguchi Table

The perfect place to 'casually' arrange your favourite Phaidon books

Minimal design maximum impact

Rui Grazina’s new private house rises above (and below) challenging terrain

Rui Grazina's recently completed Private House in Barcelos, Portugal

Inside the mind of Antonio Ballester Moreno

Exploring the creative processes of artists featured in Vitamin P2

The artist Antonio Ballester Moreno (left) and his painting, Untitled (Expect Anything) (2011), Acrylic on Canvas, 200 x 25 cm (right)

First look inside A Room For London

Phaidon enters the artwork that's already the hottest ticket in the UK this year

Room for London by David Kohn Architects

Alex Hartley's Muse Music

The Cultural Olympiad artist on the music that gets him in a creative mood

Portrait of the artist Alex Hartley who has chosen this week's Muse Music (top left), the band Talking Heads who feature on his playlist (bottom left) and his work Dropper (2011) which has been positioned behind Victoria Miro gallery during his current exhibition in London

Design Awards 2012 - nominees announced

The Bouroullec Brothers, Foster + Partners and Zaha Hadid all included on this year's shortlist

Textile Field at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, fabric by Kvadrat

Agence SEARCH makes waves on the Seine

Up and coming French architecture practice completes swimming pool complex just east of Paris

Agence SEARCH, Aqualade (2011), Val-Fourré Public Housing Estate, photographed by Emile Dubuisson

Tallest building in Kuwait nears completion

Skidmore, Owings and Merill's Al Hamra Firdous Tower almost ready for business

The Al Hamra Firdous Tower is nearing completion

Unravelling before your eyes

Dutch artist Johan Rijpma's video sculpture uses sticky tape to fascinating and hypnotic effect

Johan Rijpma's 'Tape Generations' starts with one roll of sticky tape slowly unravelling

James Nares swings back in time

Early works of influential No Wave artist go on show in New York

Brian Griffiths' Muse Music

The sculptor on the music that gets him in a creative mood

Brian Griffiths' work The Body and Ground (Or Your Brittle Smile) (2010) (top left), the group Metronomy (bottom right), and portrait of the artist Brian Griffiths who has chosen this week's Muse Music playlist (right)

Let's hear it for the little guy

Isaac Cordal's tiny cement figures make a big comment on modern society

One of Isaac Cordal's cement figures stands alone

Make a date with On Kawara

Japanese conceptual artist's 'Today' paintings go on show in New York

On Kawara, canvases from the 'Today Series' (1966 - present)

Information overload, analogue style

Hungarian design collective NOMAD capture the rhythm of life on tape

Cubic kite takes flight in Jersey

Artist and architect's flying sculpture gets airborne - seemingly despite the laws of physics

Sash Reading and Heather & Ivan Morison's 'Three Cubes Collide' gets a final helping hand before it flies above the Jersey Beach

The 12 Days of Architecture: #12 Mexico City, Mexico

Institute of Technology and Advanced Studies by Landa Garcia Landa Arquitectos

Institute of Technology and Advanced Studies completed by Landa García Landa Arquitectos in 2005

The 12 Days of Architecture: #11 Reykjavik, Iceland

Churchyard Offices and Staff Housing for Gunfunes Cemetery by Arkibúllan

Churchyard Offices and Staff Housing for Gufunes Cemetery completed by Arkibullan – architects in 2007

The 12 Days of Architecture: #10 Maebashi, Japan

JIN Co. Office Building by Jun Aoki & Associates

JIN Co. Office Building completed by Jun Aoki & Associates in 2005

The 12 Days of Architecture: #9 Toronto, Canada

Renaissance ROM Gallerieis by Studio Daniel Libeskind with B+H Architects

The 12 Days of Architecture: #8 Casar de Cáceres, Spain

Casar de Cáceres Bus Station by Justo García Rubío

Casar de Cáceres Bus Station completed by Justo Garcia Rubio in 2003

The 12 Days of Architecture: #7 Victoria, Australia

Medhurst House by Denton Corker Marshall

Medhurst House in Victoria, Australia completed by Denton Corker Marshall in 2007

The 12 Days of Architecture: #6 Boston, USA

The Institute of Contemporary Art by Diller Scofidio + Renfro

Institute of Contemporary Art completed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro in 2006

The 12 Days of Architecture: #5 München, Germany

BMW Welt Building by Coop Himmelb(l)au architects

BMWWorld Marketing Coop Building completed by Himmelb(l)au in 2007

The 12 Days of Architecture: #4 Jinhua, China

Bridging Teahouse by LAR/Fernando Romero

Jinhua Architecture Park, Bridging Teahouse completed by LAR/Fernando Romero in 2006

The 12 Days of Architecture: #3 Karuizawa, Japan

Villa and Gallery by Makoto Yamaguchi Design

Villa and Gallery in Karuizawa completed by Makoto Yamaguchi Architectural Design in 2003

Everyday Icon #5 Santa Claus

From Mesopotamia to Pennsylvania - how the bearded guy came into being

Haddon Sundblom's painting of Santa Claus for Coca-Cola

The 12 Days of Architecture: #2 Årjäng, Sweden

Dragspel House by 24 H-architecture

Dragspel House completed by 24 H-architecture in 2004

The 12 Days of Architecture: #1 Wolfsburg, Germany

Phaeno Science Centre by Zaha Hadid Architects

Phaeno Science Centre completed by Zaha Hadid Architects in 2005

The Phaidon guide to art speak - White Cube

Decoding the language of art criticism

The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, Gallery Interior
Designed by Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa: SANAA (2007)

The Failsafe Gift Guide - chosen by Aaron Rose

The curator who's worked with Sofia Coppola, Spike Jonze and Sonic Youth recommends his Xmas best buys

Aaron Rose (left) and the cover of Boris Mikhailov's book 'Yesterday's Sandwich' which, Rose has chosen as one of his recommended reads

Tokujin Yoshioka creates a lasting impression

Japanese designer installs Water Block bench in front of Impressionist masterpieces at the Musée d'Orsay

Tokujin Yoshioka's 'Water Block' bench sits in the Impressionist gallery at the Museum d'Orsey in Paris

Failsafe Gift Guide - chosen by Massimiliano Gioni

One of the world's most important curators chooses his favourite Phaidon Christmas reads

Massimiliano Gioni chooses Ed Ruscha's 'They Called Her Styrene' as one of his failsafe gift guide books

Anish Kapoor's 'Tower of Babel' completed

As London Olympics 2012 beckons, its defining structure becomes Britain's largest piece of public art

The Failsafe Gift Guide - chosen by James Franco

The multi-talented actor, screenwriter, producer, author and artist chooses the perfect Phaidon reading list

Michele Howarth Rashman's Muse Music

The sculptor and creator of 'psychiatric knitwear' on the music that gets her in a creative mood

Artist Michele Howarth Rashman (top right) her sculpture 'He Calls Himself Margaret' (bottom right) and the musician Elliott Smith (left) who features on her playlist this week

A Christmas message from Banksy

Vandalised sculpture attacks child abuse scandals in the Catholic Church

Banksy's Cardinal Sin, photographed by Mark McNulty

The Failsafe Gift Guide - chosen by Judd Apatow

The Bridesmaids producer is today’s guest gift giver (so expect a lot of film books)

Film director Judd Apatow (left) and Phaidon's 500 Self-Portraits, one of his favourite books

What happens when Jenga meets genius

Herzog & de Meuron breaks new ground yet again with the Actelion Business Center in Switzerland

Herzog & de Meuron's Actelion Business Centre, Basel, Switzerland

A museum at one with nature

New York architects Ennead harness Utah landscape for new Natural History Museum

Interior view of the Natural History Museum of Utah. Photography by Stuart Ruckman

Why Clyfford Still's art stayed hidden for 30 years

Painter finally set to take his place alongside Rothko, Pollock and other abstract expressionist pioneers

Portrait photograph of Clyfford Still (left) and his work PH-455 (1949), Gouache on paper, 30 x 22 in (right)

Art's most iconic child stars celebrate 500th birthday

Raphael's famous cherubs venerated in forthcoming exhibition

500 years old and still a kid at heart. Raffaello Sanzio Raphael, Two Cherubs (detail of the Sistine Madonna), (c.1512 -1514), Oil on panel. 265 x 196 cm. Gemäldegalerie, Germany

Inside the mind of Xylor Jane

Exploring the creative processes of artists featured in Vitamin P2

Portrait of the artist Xylor Jane (right) and her work '13,831' (2007), Oil on panel, 31 x 37 in (left)

George Condo's Muse Music

The artificial realist painter and sculptor on the music that gets him in a creative mood

Portrait of the artist George Condo (left), his painting 'Uncle Joe' (2005) (top right) and Miles Davis (bottom right) who features on the artist's Muse Music playlist

Seoul's new suburb in the sky

Dutch architects pull off the impossible and make 'the middle ground' exciting

MVRDV architect's 'Cloud' design for Seoul's new Yongsan Dreamhub project masterminded by super-architect Daniel Libeskind

The Phaidon guide to art speak - Site Specific

Decoding the language of art criticism

John Baldessari's $100,000 bill board

Artist who once proclaimed "I will not make any more boring art" sticks to his promise

John Baldessari's The first $100,000 I Ever Made (2011) stands next to the High Line on 10th Ave & 18th St, New York

Roger Hiorns to bury Airbus under the UK

Turner Prize nominee creates modern-day 'long barrow' on two sites in the US and UK

A photo collage by Roger Hiorns of Untitled (Buried passenger aircraft) 1999-2011

Martin Boyce's Muse Music

The 2011 Turner Prize winner on the music that gets him in a creative mood

Portrait of artist Martin Boyce (2011) (top left), the band Happy Mondays who feature on his Muse Music playlist (bottom left) and an installation view of his work now on show at BALTIC for the Turner Prize 2011 (right) (photograph by Colin Davison)

Inside the mind of Ellen Altfest

Exploring the creative processes of artists featured in Vitamin P2

Ellen Altfest photographed by Vincent Dilio in her New York studio

Phaidon Store opens in Shoreditch

If you're in East London this weekend visit us at pop-up shopping mall Boxpark

Phaidon Store opens at Boxpark, London's first pop-up shopping mall, this Saturday

George Shaw's Muse Music

The 2011 Turner Prize nominee on the music that gets him in a creative mood

Paul Weller of the Jam at the Manchester Apollo Theatre (1979) (left) photograph by Howard Barlow, photograph of the artist by Jane Sebire (top right) and his work 'Tryst at a Recent Earthwork' (2011) (bottom right)

Let there be light!

The new Stuttgart City Library - possibly the best place in the world to flick through a Phaidon book

The New Stuttgart Library, designed by Li Architects

Reiulf Ramstad's peak practice

Mantra-abiding Scandinavian architect creates angular mountain retreat in Norway

Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter's Trollveggen, Møre og Romsdal, Norway

'Everything now is too chaotic' says Dieter Rams

Legendary German designer calls for a return to simplicity

Dieter Rams at work in his studio in Kronberg near Frankfurt, Germany

Inside the mind of Li Shurui

Exploring the creative processes of artists featured in Vitamin P2

Li Shurui's acrylic painting 'Lights No.112' (left) and the artist in her Beijing studio (right)

Danny Lyon adds his voice to global 'Occupy' protest

Spirit of social rebellion alive and well says campaigning photographer

Photographs from Danny Lyon's series The Bikeriders (1963) - Zipco, Elkhorn, Wisconsin (left) and Funny Sonny, Chicago (right)

In praise of... killing your own dinner

Our money is artist and author Tomi Ungerer to win a fight with any beast

Karla Black's Muse Music

The 2011 Turner Prize nominee on the music that gets her in a creative mood

Karla Black (left), her installation at this year's Venice Biennale (top right) and Feist (bottom right) featured on the artist's Muse Music playlist this week

Inside the mind of Lesley Vance

Exploring the creative processes of artists featured in Vitamin P2

The woman who inspired Picasso

How the raven-haired Dora Maar became Picasso's most politically charged muse

'Portrait of Dora Maar' painted by Picasso in 1937 (left) and 'Woman Dressing her Hair' in 1940 (right)

A brief history of the ‘ism’ in art criticism

Behind the scenes at The Art Museum – a series of stories inspired by the greatest art book ever published

Tracey Emin and Billy Childish, photographed by Eugene Doyen for 'Alive and Well and Dying in Chatham' (1982 - 1986)

The Failsafe Gift Guide - Elliott Erwitt's Snaps

Piers Secunda's Muse Music

The sculptural painter on the music that gets him in a creative mood

World's slowest roller coaster unveiled

Design duo Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth create the ultimate ride for the faint-hearted

Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth's 'Tiger & Turtle - Magic Mountain'

Everyday Icon #4 Lipstick

Another look at the often overlooked

Another victory at Melbourne's AAMI Stadium

Cox Architecture's new stadium wins Australian National Architecture Award

Cox Architecture, AAMI Stadium (2011), Melbourne, photographed by Dianna Snape

Why pick on the interpretation department?

Spare a thought for the people who write the wall texts in museums and galleries – it’s not easy

Elliot Erwitt's photographs from the series Museum Watching
Victoria and Albert Museum, London (1996) (left), Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin (1998) (right)

Welcome to Georgia

If more border checkpoints looked like this it wouldn't matter how long the queues were

J. Mayer H. Architects, Sarpi Border Checkpoint (2011), Sarpi, Georgia

Inside the mind of Milena Dragicevic

Exploring the creative processes of artists featured in Vitamin P2

Art's original 'undo' button

Behind the scenes at The Art Museum – a series of stories inspired by the greatest art book ever published

People watching with a difference

Michael Wolf’s Paris Photo photos of compressed commuters are a big hit with Martin Parr

Michael Wolf photographed commuters on the Tokyo subway for his series 'Tokyo Compression'

Mark Titchner's Muse Music

The belief-challenging artist on the music that gets him in a creative mood

Mark Titchner's work 'You Can't Hate Nature' (2009) (left), portrait of the artist (top right) and influential post punk band Swans (bottom right) who feature on the artist's Muse Music playlist today

Does this building really exist?

Richard Meier & Partners's new building on the shores of Lake Garda looks real enough, but is it?

Richard Meier & Partners, CGI rendering for Villa Cardone, Lake Garda, Italy

Chris Johanson's Muse Music

The painter and street artist on the music that gets him in a creative mood

Chris Johanson's 'Untitled, (My resolution is to be 45 percent less selfish)' (2009) (left), Chris Johanson (bottom right) and John Lydon, lead singer of PIL, who feature on his Muse Music playlist today

Danny Lyon comes to a radio station near you

Pioneer of photographic journalism to talk about his adventures this week

Danny Lyon, The Gary Rogues at the Dunes, Indiana. From the series Bikeriders (1963)

Marina Abramović's Halloween ball

Art world glitteratti turn out for party in Greenwich Village Jamaican bar Miss Lily's

Marina Abramović (right) and art critic and curator Rose Lee Goldberg and fashion designer Misha Nonoo (left)

Who needs critical acclaim?

Behind The Scenes At The Art Museum

Impression, Sunrise (1872) - Claude Monet

Arnaud Lapierre's mirror images

Up and coming design star enthrals Paris with zoetrope-like installation

Arnaud Lapierre's Mirrors Installation in Paris (October 2011)

Berlin's new design showcase

Qubique show at Tempelhof airport introduces furniture design to next generation

Edmund de Waal's Muse Music

The ceramic artist on the music that gets him in a creative mood

Edmund de Waal (top left), his piece 'A Change in the Weather' of 2007 (right) and the artist Ali Farka Touré (bottom left) who features on De Waal's Phaidon playlist

Cutting edge architecture

Is this residential building in Japan the sharpest building in the world?

Eastern Design Office's 'On the Corner', Youkaichi City, Japan

Brutalist architecture - the remix

Belgian architecture photographer Filip Dujardin creates new monuments - from existing buildings

“And you’re sure it’ll stay up, yeah?” - Filip Dujardin from the series, 'Fictions'

Richard Harrison's Muse Music

The abstract painter on the music that gets him in a creative mood

Richard Harrison (bottom right), his painting 'Moments in Fog' (2008) (left) and Brian Eno (top right) the musical genius whose varied body of work Harrison has been inspired by over the years

Attention wannabe space tourists - the holiday starts here

World's first commercial spaceport designed by Norman Foster+Partners opens

Spaceport America in New Mexico, designed by Foster + Partners, opened its' doors this week and is the world's first commercial spaceport

Everyday Icon #3 The BIC Biro

Another look at the often overlooked

Behind the scenes at The Art Museum

The hand that bites the master

Michelangelo, Genesis (1508-12), The Sistine Chapel

Kanye West plays impromptu gig at George Condo London opening

After hours show ends with celebrated artist hugging rapper

Invitations to the after-party of the private view for George Condo's new exhibition at the Hayward Gallery were on the back of playing cards featuring Condo's artworks. Right, Kanye West mid-performance

Mushroom Trifolati

A recipe from The Silver Spoon

Self Generated Art

Behind the scenes at The Art Museum

Beijing's cool new designers

Meet the lady who filled Ai Weiwei's gallery with her crate furniture

Haroon Mirza's Muse Music

The Venice Biennale Silver Lion winner on the music that gets him in a creative mood

Haroon Mirza (top left), 'The National Apavillion of Then and Now' at Venice Biennale 2011 (right) and Kraftwerk (bottom left)

The Don Draper with soul

Robert Montgomery’s anti-capitalist art subverts advertising’s tried and tested tricks

Stars shine at White Cube opening

YBAs, models and rock stars mingle at new gallery launch

Michael Stipe, Thomas Dozol, Sam Taylor Wood and Aaron Johnson (l-r) at the opening of the new Bermondsey White Cube

Frieze starts tomorrow!

Curator Sarah McCrory reveals the highs and lows of squeezing a bunch of hermit crabs, two yachts, one daily TV show and quite a few paintings into a London park

One of our nuns is missing

Behind the scenes at The Art Museum

Filippino Lippi, Expulsion of the Devil by St Philip (1487-1502)

The revolution will, after all, be televised

South London artists LuckyPDF have located their practice at the forefront of internet technology. So why are they hosting a daily TV show at Frieze art fair this week?

James Early, John Hill, Ollie Hogan and Yuri Pattison of LuckyPDF

When Picasso faked it

Behind the scenes at The Art Museum

Pablo Picasso, 'Portrait of Dora Maar' (1937) (left) and 'Woman with Pears (Fernande)' (1909) (right)

My other Caravaggio’s a yacht

Can Christian Jankowski really sell a boat as an artwork at this week’s Frieze art fair? Let’s ask him

Christian Jankowski, The Finest Art on Water (2011)