Visual arts/museums

The inaugural show at the Metropolitan Museum's Met Breuer branch raises the question of what makes a finished work of art. Critic Lloyd Schwartz calls it "an astonishing gathering of masterpieces."

Commentator Maureen Corrigan reflects on the opening of the Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Gay Rights March, two events which overlapped recently in Washington, D.C.

After decades of domestic bliss, the comic strip character Blondie is venturing out into the work force. Commentator Maureen Corrigan tells us what she thinks of that development.

Independent producer Harriet Baskas takes us on a tour of the Max Factor Museum of Beauty, which gives this history of the cosmetics maker's rise.

Contributor Ilene Segalove takes us on a tour of The Museum of Jurassic Technology, a Los Angeles museum of "unnatural history." The museum features exhibits of the bizarre and improbable, such as the "Deprong Mori," a South American bat that uses X-ray to fly through solid objects, or the way extreme ultraviolet rays appear to restore the flesh to a skeleton.

Critic-at-large Laurie Stone explores the work of the AIDS activist organization ACT UP, and the artist collective associated with them, Grand Fury. In light of the recent rise of inaccurate and hateful messages about people with the disease, Grand Fury launched a street art campaign throughout New York City to educate the public.