“Vision is a grand illusion,” neuroscience speaker David Eagleman told an audience last week. Even though vision seems effortless, it’s not. It’s a construction of your brain. Your vision does not work like a camera, objectively taking in everything in front of you; vision is an internal model of what you think is happening out there. (Audience reaction at 1:55 is priceless!)

A seminal American artist, Patti Smith has produced a body of work spanning, and inspiring, generations. The New York Times T Fashion Magazine focuses on her photography in this cover story.