Cafe Art

Hal Lasko, better known as Grandpa, worked as a graphic artist back when everything was done by hand. His family introduced him to the computer and Microsoft Paint long after he retired.

The American Heritage Lyceum Philharmonic (Youth Orchestra) and its director, Kayson Brown, approached us with this idea. We loved it. It combined two of the things we are working to accomplish -- inviting people to classical music and inspiring young musicians.

A mind boggling magic trick. Can you figure it out?

The former book editor whose fascination with one material has gone to artistic extremes.

This amazing sculpture is made out of 714 metal balls which move under the command of a combination of codes, electronics and mechanics. This kinetic sculpture needs a surface of six square meters in order to function properly. The 714 aluminum balls are individually controlled by a computer stepper-motor, and they are hung with very thin steel wires which have a diameter of under 0.2 millimeters.

Artist and TED Fellow Aparna Rao re-imagines the familiar in surprising, often humorous ways. With her collaborator Soren Pors, Rao creates high-tech art installations -- a typewriter that sends emails, a camera that tracks you through the room only to make you invisible on screen -- that put a playful spin on ordinary objects and interactions.

Keith Barry shows us how our brains can fool our bodies -- in a trick that works via podcast too. Then he involves the audience in some jaw-dropping (and even a bit dangerous) feats of brain magic.

This guy was hanging out in Yoyogi park in Harajuku, Tokyo, on a Sunday afternoon. He has clearly practiced a lot! I loved the music he played during his performance. My friends and I were completely mesmerized. He has a very expressive face too, with a charming smile... it really sells the show in the end. Made me feel like a little kid.