Smithsonian - 12.2019

Vol. 50 | No. 08 December 2019

MI

RA

ND

A^ B

AR

NE

S;
C
OV

ER

:^ E

DU

CA

TIO

N^ I

MA

GE

S^ /

U
NIV

ER

SA

L^ I

MA

GE

S^ G

RO

UP

VI

A^ G

ET

TY

IM

AG

ES

;^ ©

MI

NN

EA

PO

LIS

IN

ST

ITU

TE
O

F^ A

RT

(D

ET

AIL

)

December 2019 | SMITHSONIAN.COM 3

11 American Icon: Crossword craze

• Fill in the blanks
  14 Art: India’s Audubon
  16 Technology: Scooter wars


• Zeppelin revival
  24 Architecture: Frank Lloyd Wright
  28 National Treasure: Cloaked in blood
  30 Origins: Leave a message at the beep

features

Artist Amy Sherald, at the Hauser & Wirth gallery in New York

City, where her bold new works celebrate once-invisible subjects.

prologue

32

The Lost City

of Myanmar

Once known for its

harmony and religious

tolerance, the fabled

ancient town of Mrauk

U now fi nds itself at the

center of an ethnic con-

fl ict that’s threatening

eff orts at preservation

by Joshua Hammer

64

Blessed Is

the Hermit

In northern New

Mexico, the mountain

cave where an itinerant

Italian monk dwelled in

the 1860s still attracts a

handful of pilgrims

Photographs by Gabriel

Ellison-Scowcroft

Text by Jennie

Rothenberg Gritz

14

08 Discussion

92 Ask Smithsonian

You’ve got questions.

We’ve got experts

Cover: A 16th-century stone statue

of Buddha inside Shitthaung temple

in Mrauk U in western Myanmar.

44 Pioneers

Meet this year’s winners

46 Heidi Schreck

She debated the law of

the land on Broadway

by Neil Genzlinger

48 Alex Kipman

His holographic headset

could transform work

by Clive Thompson

52 Lil Nas X

The country rapper takes

his own road to fame

by Brittany Spanos

54 Sheperd Doeleman

and the Event Horizon

Telescope Team

They captured the fi rst-

ever image of a black hole

by Jay Bennett

57 Amy Sherald

Her portraiture is chal-

lenging expectations

by Tiff any Y. Ates

60 Ewelina Mamcarz

and Stephen Gottschalk

They found a cure for

“bubble boy disease”

by Jessica Ravitz

62 José Andrés and

World Central Kitchen

The famed chef and his

team serve millions in need

by Jane Black

SMITHSONIAN

AMERICAN

AWAR D S