Art & Design

• Litterbugs Beware: Turning Found DNA Into Portraits

  A dropped cigarette butt, a chewed-up piece of gum, a stray hair. Artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg uses DNA from trash she's picked up around New York City to generate 3-D portraits of those who left it behind.

• Banksy Mural May Be Coming To U.S. After All

  The stencil of a young boy sewing the Union Jack is the centerpiece of an exhibition in London, after which it will head to the U.S. where it is to be part of a private collection. Organizers say Slave Labour is not being put up for sale, but residents of the London neighborhood from which it disappeared want it back.

• A Fresh Answer To Vermeer's Mystery

  The work of the Dutch master Johannes Vermeer has long puzzled the art world. Some of his pieces just don't quite fit. They're a little off. What gives? Author Benjamin Binstock has an idea, an idea that commentator Alva Noë finds appealing.

• At The Met Ball, Those Are Some Crazy Dresses

  The Met Ball brings out some of the highest of fashion, and Monday night, it brought boots of fire, lots of skin, and a new hair color for Anne Hathaway.