Arts

Nobel Ignominy Literature, Lust and Lies at the Swedish Academy

The Swedish Academy will not be awarding a Nobel prize in literature this year. And a closer look at the swamp of scandal in Stockholm raises doubts as to whether it can ever be rehabilitated. Von Georg Diez

Literature, Lust and Lies at the Swedish Academy - Christian Aslund / DER SPIEGEL

Saudi Arabian Comic Writer 'I Represent the Younger People'

In an interview with DER SPIEGEL, 34-year-old author Fahad Al Saud discusses his new comic, the first in Saudi Arabia to feature a female superhero. Von Susanne Koelbl

Interview with Exiled Iranian Empress Pahlavi 'We Wanted to Create Progress in Iran'

The collection of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art was to be shown in Berlin in December, but Iranian officials declined permission to send the artworks out of the country. SPIEGEL spoke with former Empress Farah Pahlavi, who assembled the collection in the 1970s. She's been living in exile for 38 years.

'We Wanted to Create Progress in Iran' - Jerome Bonnet / DER SPIEGEL

East-West Story The Parallel Lives of Two World-Class Dancers

Joy Womack is from California, Sergei Polunin from a poor city in Ukraine. One went East to pursue a career in ballet, the other West. For both, talent has proven to be a double-edged sword. Von Samiha Shafy

The Parallel Lives of Two World-Class Dancers - Davide Monteleone/ VII

Oktoberfest's Cathedrals Artist Captures Places of Beer Worship

Photographer Michael von Hassel takes haunting photographs of Oktoberfest's cavernous beer tents once all of the millions of annual visitors have gone home. Von Antje Blinda

Artist Captures Places of Beer Worship - Michael von Hassel

Haphazard and Uninspired Why Berlin Is World's Most Boring Museum City

As far as major cities go, few other places are in possession of so many treasures that are so poorly exhibited as Berlin. It's as though cultural institutions here go out of their way to keep people from visiting. Von Ulrike Knöfel

Why Berlin Is World's Most Boring Museum City - DPA

Head-On Collision Photography Legends Test Drive Google Glass

Elliot Erwitt and Bruce Gilden are street photography legends who use Leica cameras and black and white film as their weapons of choice. When they meet Google Glass for the first time, it feels like a head-on collision between old masters and new technology. Von Matthias Krug und Hilmar Schmundt

Photography Legends Test Drive Google Glass - Natan Dvir / DER SPIEGEL

Bad Fit Why Germany Doesn't Cut It in International Fashion

Berlin Fashion Week is underway, but A-listers are keeping their distance. The event has failed to put the German capital on the clothing map. A closer look at the career trajectory of designer Kostas Murkudis provides some insight into the reasons why. Von Mareike Nieberding

Why Germany Doesn't Cut It in International Fashion - REUTERS

Bach to the Future Fans Want to Rebuild Composer's House

In the city of Goethe and Schiller, classical music fans want another famous former resident to be honored in Weimar. They're seeking to rebuild the home of Johann Sebastian Bach, who composed some of his most important works in the city. Von Karoline Kuhla

Fans Want to Rebuild Composer's House - www.bachhausweimar.de

Literary Sensation The Rise of a Danish Immigrant Poet

Since his rise to fame, Islamists have threatened to kill 18-year-old Danish poet Yahya Hassan. They are angered by the portrayals in his writing of his immigrant family background, which he describes as backwards, hypocritical and blinded by religion. Von Tobias Rapp

The Rise of a Danish Immigrant Poet - DPA

Monuments Men The Soldiers Who Saved Europe's Art from Hitler

The story of a special Allied unit dubbed the "Monuments Men" has inspired a Hollywood film set to premier early next year. But who were these men who saved countless European cultural treasures from being lost or destroyed by Nazi forces? Von Yvonne Schymura

The Soldiers Who Saved Europe's Art from Hitler - AP/U.S. National Archives

Return of the B-Boy Breakdancing Sees Global Resurgence

Breakdancing, an artform invented by New York street gangs in the 1980s, is seeing a renaissance on a global scale. Today's battles may be big-budget spectacles with flashy acrobatics, but they still prize one thing above all else: style. Von Lukas Eberle

Breakdancing Sees Global Resurgence - Johann Sebastian Hänel/ DER SPIEGEL (Fotomontage)

Hooked on Tagging When Graffiti Becomes a Dangerous Addiction

Two young Hamburg graffiti artists recently suffered serious accidents in the space of just four days. Both sustained very severe injuries, a typical outcome in a risk-taking subculture in which some have paid for their passion with their lives. Von Bruno Schrep

When Graffiti Becomes a Dangerous Addiction - Johannes Arlt/ DER SPIEGEL

The Poet-Photographer Jewish Museum Showcases Work of Fred Stein

You might not know the man behind them, but you surely know his images. Fred Stein fled Germany and became a talented photographer of both street scenes and the famous. His first major German retrospective opens Friday at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. Von Kaspar Heinrich

Jewish Museum Showcases Work of Fred Stein - Estate of Fred Stein

Ready for Takeoff A New Panoramic Camera Ball

Designed by a Berlin-based inventor, a new camera ball takes panoramic shots when thrown into the air. The Panono's 36 cameras capture everything in every direction, but image quality remains an issue. Von Hilmar Schmundt

Polanski on Polanski The Director Discusses His Life Tragedies

Roman Polanski turned 80 in August, and his new film "Venus in Fur" will be released this month. He discusses his childhood in the Krakow ghetto, the murder of his wife Sharon Tate and his abuse of a 13-year-old girl in 1977. "We all just tried to forget about it," he says. Von Philipp Oehmke und Martin Wolf

The Director Discusses His Life Tragedies - AP/dpa

Hair Apparent World Beard Competition Crowns Winners

Held in Germany this year, the 2013 World Moustache and Beard Championships featured extravagant facial hair in 18 different categories, including "Full Beard Garibaldi" and "Goatee Fu Manchu."

World Beard Competition Crowns Winners - DPA

Nazi Plunder 1,500 Modern Artworks Found in Munich Flat

The spectacular discovery of modernist masterpieces in a squalid Munich apartment is the latest twist in a story that began almost 80 years ago. Many of the works appear to be among those confiscated by the Nazis as "degenerate art," and it remains unclear what will become of them.

1,500 Modern Artworks Found in Munich Flat - Corbis

Tale of Two Cities Exhibition Spotlights Berlin-Vienna Connection

Berlin and Vienna both played key roles in the transformative artistic period of the early 20th century. A new exhibition traces the cities' parallel development with show-stopping works from Gustav Klimt, Otto Dix and Egon Schiele.

Exhibition Spotlights Berlin-Vienna Connection - Berlinische Galerie

MoMA Retrospective The Strange Brilliance of Isa Genzken

One of the most important artists of her generation, sculptor Isa Genzken's works of cryptic, haunting beauty sprang from a life fraught with addiction, mental illness and a grisly family history. Now, the Museum of Modern Art in New York is paying tribute to the Berlin artist with a retrospective. Von Ulrike Knöfel