The artist is the creator of beautiful things. To reveal art and conceal the artist is art’s aim. The critic is he who can translate into another manner or a new material his impression of beautiful things. The highest as the lowest form of criticism is a mode of autobiography. Those who find ugly meanings…
And if they were in the habit of conferring honours among themselves on those who were quickest to observe the passing shadows and to remark which of them went before, and which followed after, and which were together; and who were therefore best able to draw conclusions as to the future, do you think that…
Light playing on water drops, dust or ice crystals in the atmosphere produces a host of visual spectacles – rainbows, halos, glories, coronas and many more. Some can be seen almost every day or so, some are once in a lifetime sights. Find out where to see them and how they form. Then seek and…
Today, 30 years into feminism, we have models who look not just weak and unsophisticated, but also dumb and victimized. Academic feminists haven’t complained because the models are supposedly playing a subversive role and subversion is inherently politically correct. Moreover, many of the young photographers are female. But now we?ve moved into ?fashion vérité? and…
Suddenly the cold white marble warmed up and flushed a deep golden brown, and the cold white pupils were suddenly swept by a wash of black. They turned to stare at the sculptor who was still kneeling in supplication. When he felt a warm hand upon his shoulder, he jumped back with alarm, but when…
Pygmalion is a legendary sculptor (whose role as King of Cyprus seems unimportant to most versions of the story) known for carving Galatea, a statue of a woman so beautiful he is no longer interested in real women. Moved by his devotion, the goddess of beauty Aphrodite brings the statue to life, and the artist…
—Virtual Punchcard Server (Facade.com) I found this and a great Tongue Twister Database (if by “database” you mean “long list”) via J-Walk Weblog. Similar:Do you remember Harry Monster counting with adorable little John-John? Watch this 2 min cl…https://twitter.com/ValaAfshar/status/15…AmusingRestoring the first websiteVery important bit of history. For a st…CybercultureI’m fairly satisfied with this version of a medieval…
Thanks to the fact that I write, my life is satisfactory: I can inhabit gloom and live in joy. When something unpleasant happens to me, provided only that is potentially of literary use, my first thought is ?How best can I describe this?? I thereby distance myself from my own displeasure or irritation. As I…
Evolutionary psychologists insist that wherever an intense pleasure is found in human life, there is likely some reproductive or survival advantage connected with it. Art has little practical value, but can deliver intense pleasure. Why? Aestheticians, please explain. —Denis Dutton —Let‘sNaturalize Aesthetics (Aesthetics Online) Dutton is the creator of the monumental Arts & Letters Daily,…
If Michael Jackson did not have all his surgery over the years, this is how he might look at the age of 45. —Michael Jackson Aging (ForArtist.com) Click the link to see the images… I’m too lazy to make thumbnails tonight. Similar:Rocky Horror Show Live 2012 — Stage Right GreensburgThrow toast at the actors and get…
—Canstruction Model of Independence Hall, birthplace of the American Revolution. Made out of cans. Thanks for the suggestion, Rosemary. Similar:The Myth of the Fake Geek Girl It’s not surprising, then, that being a…CultureThe Alternate (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 12) Odo helps a Bajoran scientist… Rewatching ST:DS9 As Odo squelche…EmpathyTrump Briefly Glanced at Eclipse…
—‘The other phone’s a little…’ (No Media Kings) Jim Munroe is a new media generalist — a writer, interactive fiction designer, and video filmmaker. I enjoyed his video “>interactive,” and was Googling just now for something or other, and came across this short film, with a very dry, understated punchline that made me laugh out loud.…
Controversial film-maker Leni Riefenstahl, who made the Nazi propaganda film Triumph of the Will, has died aged 101. | Riefenstahl became a favourite of German dictator Adolf Hitler in the 1930s, making films for his fascist regime. | Her most famous work was Triumph of the Will, a propaganda film showing a Nazi rally in…
[W]ith the Mona Lisa, the Madonna was among only a handful of paintings known to be authentic Leonardo works. | The thieves arrived just before 11am. They were flamboyantly dressed, polite and personable until the moment one of them presented a knife to a woman tour guide who had led them to the Madonna. —…
This is Dan Rather’s profile. Expanded to the nth degree. Taken to infinity. Overlayed on the back of Patrick Stewart’s head. It’s recombinant phrenology. The elements of phrenology recombined in ways that follow the rules of irrational logic, a rigorous methodology that follows nonrational rules. It is a structure for following your intuition and your…
—Manufactured Landscapes: The Photographs of Edward Burtynsky (Cowles Gallery) Rosemary Frezza first suggested the Washington Post’s current article on Burtynsky, but since that will expire soon she did a little hunting and found the Cowles Gallery link. There is really no quotable text in the gallery press release (“BURTYNSKY’s photographs, monumental both in scale and subject,…
“In the visual-effects community, ILM’s Hulk was seen as a major achievement: the life in the creature’s eyes, the way light played naturally off its skin, its synthesis into its surroundings, all were deemed first-rate. Film critics, however, panned not only the movie but ILM’s work. The monster didn’t look real. Case closed.” Devin Gordon…
“If you go out this Sunday evening and look up at the Moon, you will see not only our closest celestial neighbor, but a piece of art history as well. The rising full moon will appear exactly the way it did 114 years ago, when Vincent Van Gogh captured the scene in his famous painting…
“Set to gather at 7 p.m. at Grand Central Station for what promised to be an elaborate ‘mob ballet,’ the crowd of about 250 was greeted by a ‘huge’ police presence, according to the Mob Project’s anonymous organizer known only as Bill. | Bill said the mob moved to the Grand Hyatt next door instead.…
“Though it may seem like a more recent creation, the pixel first appeared in New Jersey in 1954, the same year that Elvis cut his first record and the transistor radio was invented. At Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study, mathematicians and engineers created the first computer graphic–and the first instance of digital typography–on a computer…