The Japanese believe Ikigai is the secret to a harmonious existence. The concept literally means “a reason for being,” but it has also grown to represent a certain lifestyle followed in Japan. Ikigai allows us to pursue sincere fulfillment. It keeps us motivated in times of disarray, a kind of existential fuel that makes waking up in the morning less of a chore, and more a voluntary action.

From Banksy to Mr. Brainwash, contemporary street artists have dominated headlines with their auction prices. According to reports by websites such as ArtPrice, street art is one of the most “dynamic sub-sections of the contemporary art market.” Intrigued, I decided to research just how expensive these works were, but chose to limit my scope to living artists.

Dylon Thomas Burns moves with steady precision. When I arrived at the Clinton Hall beer garden for our interview in Williamsburg, he was already at the bar waiting for me, his paint-stained palms clutching a happy hour menu. At 6pm, it was his first break of the day.

Lolita is as cute as it is complex. The fashion subculture began in Japan in the 1980’s, but has since become a contemporary phenomenon, reminiscent of its various sources of inspiration. Exaggerated lace, frills, tulle, and bows adorn bell-shaped dresses, fusing influence from Victorian England, Rococo France, and the Japanese Kawaii craze that emerged in the late 1970’s. But Lolita flourishes most in present-day Tokyo.

Ukiyo-e has become the defining art form of Japan’s Tokugawa Period. The genre blossomed in the archipelago from 1603-1867, but subsequently experienced a Western revival due to a 19th-century trade agreement between the United States and Japan. A blend between the realistic narratives of the Kamakura period and the decorative style of the Momoyama period, Ukiyo-e broadly refers to the practice of woodblock printing or painting, often depicting folklore, women, erotica, kabuki actors, sumo wrestlers, or other scenes from history and everyday life.

I never understood the dynamics of the art market. Soaring prices, a few prominent galleries, and a rotating selection of the same artists indicate that the relationship between gallery, artist, buyer, and value, would obfuscate any everyday consumer. When it came to street art and graffiti, which focuses on accessibility, questions about how galleries manage to maintain relationships with artists, make sales, and identify trends within the market still remained. To understand the financial side

“Are there still masterpieces being made today?” director Nathaniel Kahn asks Sotheby’s VP Amy Cappellazzo in his documentary The Price of Everything. “I mean, yeah,” she replies. “What kind of question is that? That’s like asking me if I believe in the future.” Chronicling the months leading up to a Sotheby’s Contemporary auction, The Price of Everything explores commercialization through the perspectives of key players within various areas of the art world. Its title – sourced from Oscar Wilde

One month. That’s how long Madelyn could afford her apartment on 103rd and Central Park West before she headed back the same direction. Four Friday nights in a row, I dragged my listless body up five incredibly steep flights of stairs, before reaching her doorstep, panting to the point of quasi vomitation, and knocking. We would go to art galleries, get smoothies, pass bowls on her firescape. Sometimes, we would get beer, Corona or Heineken, deli sandwiches, or, order Grubhub, and then argue wit

I. A flier that reads: OLDIES NIGHT AT THE GOLDEN DOVE, 4th AVENUE AND 96th ST BROOKLYN—FIRST 50 IN LINE GET FREE ENTRANCE. July 1984, and after hours of convincing from her friend Linda, my then twenty-four-year-old mother, who in fact is not actually my mother just yet, reluctantly agrees to spend her Saturday night in a dark dance club; one that lacks even the tiniest bit of elbow room. While Linda makes the rounds, conversing with every possible six-foot tall Italian who may or may not have connections with the mob, my mother stands in back by the crowded bar, listening to the music blare around her. In contrast to the darkness, she is dressed in all white—down to the open-toed platform shoes, with her dark hair flowing below her waist, (a detail that she never fails to mention when she recounts this story.) She scans the room for a familiar face, or just a face that holds her interest for more than a second, before giving up on the prospect of meeting anyone worthwhile. When she finally decides to go home, she finds Linda, then rushes through the narrow door as if her life depends on it. She is standing by the entrance, searching for her car keys in her seemingly bottomless pit of a handbag, when she hears his voice.

Living in New York City has made me privy to the plight of a recent species now commonly referred to as “hipsters.” This city has become a blur of obscure coffee shops, man buns, cyclists, Doc Martens, and of course, let’s not forget gentrification. It is easy to jeer at those with crazy-colored hair and “vintage” clothing as they walk out of a Whole Foods, but I realize that being anti-hipster is essentially the same as being hipster. What exactly is a hipster, you ask? The truthful answer is

Due to my forced Roman-Catholic upbringing, the mention of St. Patrick’s Day often evokes vague memories of being taught far too many lessons about the Holy Trinity. It is safe to say I can’t see a shamrock without remembering how St. Patrick was brought to Ireland to convert the pagans. My memory fails me, however, in remembering the shift from a holy day of obligation to the self-indulgent boozefest now colloquially called “St. Patty’s Day.” Every time someone says “kiss me, I’m __% Irish,” (