Watch ‘Every NYT front page since 1852.’ It’s very good

Brooklyn data artist Josh Begley’s new work offers some context in a time where every bit of news might feel historic.

Every NYT front page since 1852 shows the front page of the New York Times through history. With five rows of nine newspapers, viewers travel at high velocity through the last 150 years of America’s news. The viewer starts at the beginning of the 55-second video, when the paper is all text, and advances through the first pictures, then larger black-and-white photos and finally today’s predominantly photo-oriented front pages.

What’s striking about the piece is that it captures the inevitability of change, with what must have been huge news items flashing perpetually across the screen, framed by the constancy of institutions, as much as the world morphs and evolves across the page, the masthead up top remains unbroken.

Begley is talented. His past works include Archives + Absences, an app that sends you a push notification with the name of every person killed by police, and Best of Luck with the Wall, a video showing the length and terrain of the U.S.-Mexico border.