Incredibly Detailed Shadow Sculptures by Diet Wiegman Artist Diet Wiegman manages to sculpt mounds of irregularly shaped structures that are transformed into an intricately detailed silhouette when a light shines on it from a precise angle. Similar to the light and shadow sculptures of artistic duo Tim Noble and Sue Webster, Wiegman leaves audiences in awe with his puzzling ability to cast remarkably figurative shadows from heaps of seemingly abstract sculptures. An oddly configured work that branches out unpredictably is, in fact, meticulously sculpted to cast a shadow that realistically resembles Michael Jackson. The King of Pop is resurrected with a simple spotlight aimed at the sculpture from a very specific angle. Perspective is everything in Wiegman's sculptures, as can be seen in the video below where his Michael Jackson shadow sculpture (known as Shadow Dancing) is slowly rotated in front of a fixed light and paused briefly when the image of Jackson is revealed. Diet Wiegman website via [Colossal, iGNANT, ALAFOTO]
Poetry for Everyday Life The sentence is only worth quoting because in 28 words it contains four metaphors. Economies don’t really gain traction, like a tractor. Momentum doesn’t literally get snuffed out, like a cigarette. We just use those metaphors, without even thinking about it, as a way to capture what is going on. In his fine new book, “I Is an Other,” James Geary reports on linguistic research suggesting that people use a metaphor every 10 to 25 words. George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, two of the leading researchers in this field, have pointed out that we often use food metaphors to describe the world of ideas. When talking about relationships, we often use health metaphors. When talking about argument, we use war metaphors. The psychologist Michael Morris points out that when the stock market is going up, we tend to use agent metaphors, implying the market is a living thing with clear intentions. Metaphors help compensate for our natural weaknesses.
Mindmapping, concept mapping and information organisation software Christopher Alexander - a theory of incremental design You probably know Christopher Alexander, at least indirectly. Christopher Alexander is an architect. But not a J2EE architect, you geek! Alexander is rather of the bricks & mortar kind – houses, bridges, buildings... I think that Alexander's work can still provide us with many insights. But before that, I would like to give you a broad overview of Alexander's previous work and its influence on the software design industry. Design Patterns Alexander was the one to come up with the concept of pattern – a proven, documented solution to a recurring network of problem “forces”. The pattern thing was a hot topic in the software community in the mid-nineties. The pinnacle of this quest was the publication of the “Design Patterns” book, by the so-called “Gang of Four” – Gamma, Helm, Johnson, Vlissides. However, from an Alexandrian point of view, Design Patterns are not complete: Design Patterns are more or less independent from each other. Extreme Programming What is the problem? Spaghetti building
The Desk - Short Film Dripped by Léo Verrier | Watch the Best Online Short Films A man can take on elements of fine art that he eats, in this deliciously well-designed French animation. Really cool short animation came online this morning out of France from Léo Verrier. Production was through Chez Eddy, which, looking through its cast of creatives, is home to some names we recognize like Celine and Yann as well as FX & Mat. This film features lovely art as well as an intriguing narrative. Inspired by Jackson Pollack, it is a loving tribute to traditional animation styles as well as art history. You’ll be surprised at the direction it takes you. Co-Founder of Short of the Week, Sondhi lives in Brooklyn working as a Curator for Vimeo.