In the trees with 90s ecowarriors: Olivia Laing on Janine Wiedel’s protest photos
The bestselling author, who joined the protest camp documented in the photographer’s new book, argues its spirit is more vital than ever
On my radar: Val McDermid’s cultural highlights
The bestselling crime writer on exploring the Belgian coast, deep-diving into the middle ages and an enlightening exhibition of female Scottish artists
On my radar: Alabaster DePlume’s cultural highlights
The musician on a dark version of Oklahoma!, amazing art from Palestine, and why jiujitsu works wonders for his state of mind
Remembering the Slip: the Manhattan street that birthed a generation of artists – then was demolished
The tiny downtown passage, where artists burned pallets for warmth, was home to Ellsworth Kelly and Agnes Martin
Lunar Codex: digitised works of 30,000 artists to be archived on moon
Collection to include images, objects, magazines, books, podcasts, movies and music from 157 countries
Wild about the garden: inside photographer Siân Davey’s sanctuary
The photographer transformed a neglected patch beside her cottage, attracting a variety of visitors whose lives she has caught in striking images
‘I see them as cautionary tales’: Kristine Potter’s darkly imagined American south
Inspired by the American murder ballad the photographer captures a strangely familiar psychogeography
Thunderclap by Laura Cumming review – a visionary examination of Dutch golden age art
With time-stopping attention to detail, the Observer’s art critic searches for redemption in the rubble of the catastrophic Delft explosion of 1654 – to miraculous effect
On my radar: Simon Schama’s cultural highlights
The historian and broadcaster on his favourite new sitcom, a moving art memoir, and why no one beats Anselm Kiefer
‘The real deal’: young UK graphic artist nominated for five ‘comic book Oscars’
Unflinchingly depicting her battles with depression, Zoe Thorogood, a 24-year-old from Bradford, has scooped most nominations for this week’s Eisner Awards
Dürer painted himself at centre of Renaissance altarpiece in revenge, research finds
Exclusive: Cambridge academic’s study of surviving letters shows pay row with wealthy patron
Art Monsters: Unruly Bodies in Feminist Art by Lauren Elkin review – when freestyle thinking goes too far
Elkin’s capacious survey of female artists who focused on the body might have worked better as a collection of essays
Claudia Mason obituary
Other lives: Bookseller and signwriter who lived for many years on a houseboat on the Thames
Art Monsters by Lauren Elkin review – daring to be different
In a blend of criticism and memoir, the author examines the life and work of trailblazing female artists from Vanessa Bell to Carolee Schneemann
Hell on earth – how a place of torture has haunted us culturally over time
From Bosch to Dante to Sartre, and from Hell’s Angels to Hell’s Kitchen to Hellraiser, visions of the infernal location and condition still resonate