scienceloveletters – Science Love Letters The day after 9-11 I sat in a philosophy class, existentialism. I liked the way bracelets slid up and down the teacher’s wrists as he raised and lowered his hands. They clinked against each other, tiny bell sounds above the sleeves of a conventional suit. “Fanaticism is the need to know and have all the answers.” Death to me meant nothing until Byrd was born, with his six pound body came the terrible slamming against a wall that leaves you crumpled and spent. Three weeks after Byrd was born my Grandma died. When you die you are gone. – GM What about your soul? What soul? What about god? There is no god in Judaism. – GM The philosophy professor with bracelets gave us a choice – to have everything safe and determined or to allow for discovery and freedom. Without an ending there is no plot. This summer, I made huge paintings of the St. The St. Materials: gouache
Peter Gentenaar: Paper Sculpture More than 100 of Peter Gentenaar’s ethereal paper sculptures were installed inside the Abbey church of Saint-Riquier in France. Gothic architecture + paper art = SWOON! I love how the curves and organic forms of the paper sculptures echo the beautiful vaulting and cluster piers of the church interior – look how the sculptures have ribbing just like the ribbed groin vaults! Gothic architecture, facilitated by the invention of the flying buttress, is characterized by the towering, luminous spaces created by the higher ceilings and huger windows that flying buttresses allowed for (compared to the engaged buttresses of Romanesque architecture). So the true lightness and airiness of the suspended paper objects reminds us how the seemingly light and airy walls are actually a monumental stone structure. Here is a link to Peter Gentenaar’s site translated into English. My interest in paper dates from the time I worked with it as a graphic artist…. Discovered via Upon a Fold. Naomi Bardoff
8 Insights About The Coming Era Of Interactive Design It’s all moving so quickly. Just yesterday, we were amazed by the miracle of making calls from our cars. Now we’re furious when our 4G cuts out while streaming an HD video on a four-inch touch screen, just because we’re 50 feet underground riding the subway. Connecting is a short documentary by Bassett & Partners and Microsoft that explores how our lives (and our gadgets) have and will change in a more connected world. As you watch, you’ll see a general consensus on a few really important points. Our phones demand too much attention, detracting from our real experiences. When you mix all of these ideas into a blender, you definitely spot some dichotomies--how can we pull our attention from our phones when the Internet is a superorganism of all mankind’s thought? But that doesn’t make any of the ideas wrong. [Hat tip: The Creators Project]
Harvard unveils massive Bauhaus collection online Design nerds better sit down for this: Harvard Art Museums just unveiled a 32,000-work-strong online collection of objects related to Bauhaus, no doubt last century’s most influential school of art and design (and host to the best costume parties.) Originally based in three German cities, Bauhaus closed its doors under Nazis pressure in the ‘30s, after which founder Walter Gropius immigrated to Boston and served as chairman of Harvard’s architecture school until retirement. The release of this collection marks the beginning of a broader celebration in 2019, marking the 100th anniversary of the school’s founding. The repository, filled with works by Bauhaus teachers and students, as well as those inspired by Bauhaus pedagogy, is deliciously searchable. You can go straight to items pertinent to Gropius and prominent Bauhaus protégés like Marcel Breuer or Josef and Anni Albers, or narrow things down by topic, medium, date, and more.
Mia Pearlman - Cloudscapes MAELSTROM is a giant multilevel mobile, 12 feet in diameter and 11 feet high, with 6 independently rotating (360°) layers of cut paper. An upside-down whirlpool, it echoes both the East River currents and the cloud formations visible through the windows. MAELSTROM utilizes the actual internal weather system of Smack Mellon to generate its movement, air currents produced by the rotation of four ceiling fans and hot air blown by the heating system. On a deeper level, this work evokes the inevitable reminder of the nearby skyline: 9/11. SITE 92 >> Phase II January 12 - February 24th, 2008 Smack Mellon 92 Plymouth Street @ Washington Dumbo, Brooklyn For more info: Smack Mellon ARTFORUM Critic's Pick Watch a video about Site 92
Cinemagraphs I really enjoy the Cinemagraphs by Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg. At a first glance you might not even be aware of that something in the picture is moving, while everything else stands still. Though their pictures aim to capture the most delicate parts of life, fleeting moments of time, the beat of a city or the breath of a human. In their Cinemagraphs they come alive and live forever whereas a photo is frozen and a video is a linear description of time and can only be engaged through the act of pressing play. A picture says a thousand words but the Cinemagraph take you there. All images © Jamie Beck & Kevin Burg
Musée Atger - Université de Montpellier Avec ses mille dessins et quelque cinq mille estampes, le Musée Atger, niché au cœur des bâtiments historiques de la Faculté de médecine, est le plus ancien musée de Montpellier. Sa présence inattendue en ces lieux résulte de la générosité et du choix délibéré du collectionneur montpelliérain Xavier Atger (1758-1833), amateur éclairé et passionné d’œuvres d’art. La vitalité intellectuelle de l’Ecole de médecine où s’est constitué une bibliothèque exceptionnelle au début du 19e siècle, explique ce choix : la bibliothèque universitaire Historique de Médecine assume d’ailleurs depuis l’origine la gestion et la conservation du musée. Mais Atger veut aussi, dans une vision humaniste de la médecine partagée par les professeurs de l’école, permettre aux étudiants de s’ouvrir à l’art et en particulier d’étudier le dessin, technique essentielle dans leur formation et surtout moyen inégalé d’exercer leur esprit d’observation.
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