Art enthusiasts, rejoice!
Keith Haring's "Fiorucci Walls" will be displayed at the New York City Center for a limited time. The mural was commissioned in 1983 by Milan-based designer Elio Fiorucci, who asked Haring to turn his store into a work of art. The artist turned the designer’s 5,000-square foot store into a canvas. A panel of the mural survived in Fiorucci’s storage after the installation came down in 1984.
Image credit: New York City Center
All images licensed, © Arseniy Kotov
Photographer Arseniy Kotov is dedicated to documenting the changes in Russian life and architecture since the fall of the USSR, a commitment that brought him to the coldest European city last February. Located about 110 miles from the Arctic Ocean, Vorkuta is a small mining town that once held one of the largest and most grueling forced labor camps during Stalin’s reign. Often plagued by temperatures as low as -45 degrees Celcius, the city now has one of the fastest dwindling populations in all of Russia.
During Kotov’s visit, he toured various housing complexes built for workers, many of which were abandoned when the mines closed. One building in particular, though, is evidence of how desertion continues to unsettle the once-thriving city, an ongoing problem that Kotov captured in a stunning series. His photographs frame the dilapidated, five-story structure that’s entirely subsumed by feet-long icicles and mounded snow. Relics from former residents and the chipped, blue paint peek through the frost, much of which clings to the stairs and banisters and climbs the walls.
Kotov tells Colossal that often, buildings are transformed into similarly chilling caves when pipes burst due to lack of maintenance, leading to splashes of hot water, subsequent high humidity, and then ice growth on every surface. At the time of his visit, one family remained in the Severniy-district building, which was still connected to the central heating system that runs through Russian cities, making it easier to pass through some of the walkways thanks to warmth from the radiators. Although Kotov wasn’t able to meet the sole occupants, he did hear that they moved not long after his tour, saying:
As I know, locals said that after one week as I visited this building, he and his wife were resettled to another apartment, and this whole building was cut off from all the communications (water, heating, electricity). This is a usual story in Vorkuta: as less and less people are left, it becomes unprofitable to heat an entire building, and people are gradually moved to others where there are more inhabitable apartments. Local authorities call it a “managed compression strategy.”
Many of Kotov’s photographs are compiled in Soviet Cities: Labour, Life & Leisure, and his second book, which is full of images he captured while hitchhiking around the country, is slated for release in November. Prints are available from Galleri Artsight, and you can follow Kotov’s sightings and travels on Instagram.
All images © Enoch Ku, shared with permission
Suit-inspired landscaping, overgrown shrubs, and misaligned stripes are just some of the scenes that comprise Enoch Ku’s Ordinary Sacramento, an ongoing project documenting the visual language of the Californian city. Ku is adept at identifying humor and quirkiness among the otherwise mundane urban landscape, framing a street sign or bike rack in a playful manner. Generally taken during a quiet moment, the compositions are evidence of the photographer’s keen sense of awareness and ability to observe what others might not.
Prior to launching Ordinary Sacramento, Ku worked as an actor and wedding photographer, two jobs that required him to rush from one place to the next. The pace of that lifestyle, in addition to the performative nature of the work, sparked his desire to slow down and document the world through a different lens. He explains:
In an Instagram world of stylized photos, highly processed photography, advertisements, and emotional conditioning, I want to convey and elevate the beauty of the ordinary and mundane… Staying silent, going slow, and being present is going against the grain, and I want to encourage people that they can choose that. The world is a beautiful and funny place.
Prints of Ku’s photographs are available on the Ordinary Sacramento site, and keep an eye on his Instagram for his first book, My Neighborhood Rosemont, CA (우리 동네 로즈먼트), a visual love letter that’s slated for release later this year. (via Ignant)
Bilenkin Classic Cars is a Russian restoration shop that decided to enter the lucrative restomod scene, only to come up with a Volvo P1800/Volga M21-inspired body and interior set on BMW's rear-drive E92 platform. The offspring of that marriage debuted at the 2015 Dubai Auto Show, the same place where I saw the locally produced quad-turbo V16 Devel Sixteen prototype just two years later. Talk about a colorful event!
Described by the company as "enchanting, old-fashioned, yet easy to use and maintain," this retro gran turismo combines the wildest trim options I've ever seen with the safety and comfort of a BMW 3 Series produced from 2005-2013. Of course, the best thing is that you can still order one today, knowing that by rolling around in your Bilenkin Vintage, you'll become the member of a family about as exclusive as the David Brown Automotive Speedback GT Owners Club, all while keeping a much lower profile than certain people driving bright red one-off Ferraris.
Long before we learned that Volvo's factory racing team Cyan was willing to build up to 10 completely re-engineered P1800 models with racing-derived four-cylinders and refined interiors, the Russian pioneers had this to say about the benefits of their cars' German origins:
"Despite its retro appearance, Vintage is a modern premium-class car, equipped with factory-certified crush avoidance features, a high-end audio system and the original BMW iDrive system," said Bilenkin Vintage in a press release. "You will be pleasantly surprised by both the appearance and the powerful, clear sound of the carefully chosen high-end audio we use in Vintage. This automobile offers a brilliant combination of modern comfort and safety standards, along with the style and quality of iconic creations of a bygone era."
The thing about Vintage is that you may choose the two-tone paint or perhaps a single custom shade, so there's always more to figure out.
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The Rolls-Royce factory at Goodwood is famous for creating one-off interiors for its most valued connoisseurs. However, be it inside or out of a Phantom, there are certain color combinations and patterns the Rolls-Royce team will continue to argue against very politely until the customer gives in without feeling defeated. Regardless, the end result is always rather special, as they tend to know their craft.
At Bilenkin, the rules appear to be even more flexible.
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If we can believe the engraving on the dial, at least nine Vintage restomods left Bilenkin Classic Cars already, including one with a complete sightseeing tour of Paris, as well as a scene of the car being filmed in racing trim, layered into its veneer.
Established players in the luxury segment such as Bentley may have options like tweed fabrics, 3D-machined wood inlays and diamond quilting featuring 400,000 stitchings in the bullhide, yet with 80,000 Continental GTs out of the gates already, you may want to choose something a bit more extravagant. How about an old BMW made to look like the lovechild of a classic Volvo, and the most iconic executive car of Mother Russia?
Got a tip? Send us a note: tips@thedrive.com
In a tongue-twisting episode of Map Men, comedians Jay Foreman (previously) and Mark Cooper Jones spell out the history of British location names that don’t really sound their spelling might indicate.
As you can hear, no letter in the English alphabet is safe from being pronounced in dozens of different ways. Including, not at all. Thankfully, there are some general rules you can stick to, and because we’re nice, we’ll help the un-British amongst you through a couple of basics. …The only way to be absolutely sure of pronouncing British place names correctly is to live here long enough to learn every single one of them one at a time. Sorry.
The roots of these city names lie in Germanic Anglo-Saxon, Old Norse, Norman French, and Celtic. The last syllable of the name usually reveals its origins, for example, cities with names ending in “ham” (Buckingham), “hurst” (Woodhurst), “ley” (Exely), “bury” (Aylesbury), “ford” (Oxford), “port”(Maryport), “mere” (Ellesmere), “stead” (Hampstead), “ton” (Preston), “stow” (Chepstow), “wick” (Chiswick), or “wich” (Sandwich) are all of Anglo-Saxon origin. The same goes for the others.
The oldest place names here are of Celtic origin. This is where you’ll find all the place names with words like Tre, Loch, Bryn and Aber. …You can tell a place was named by the Vikings if it ends in thwaite, thorp, kirk, or by. …But the final thing that would make its place names truly unpronounceable, was time.
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The post Why the Names of British Locations Often Sound Different From The Way They Are Spelled first appeared on Laughing Squid.
Continue reading "The Best Non-Alcoholic Spirits for Building a Sober Bar" »
The How to Cook That channel with Anne Reardon has been debunkingfakevideos for a while now. This video debunks a few videos but also talks about the deeper problems that YouTube's Algorithm presents and how it is driving out content creators and feeding large media corporations with sinister results.
What does this mean for the future of Youtube and online content?
An incredibly talented six year old girl named Miumiu, who lives in Beijing, China, performed an absolutely flawless bossa nova cover of the classic Frank Sinatra (and Kaye Ballard) song “Fly Me to the Moon” on classical guitar while singing sweetly in a soft soprano voice.
Thank you for your encouragement. I will continue to study hard. To fulfill my dream to be an excellent guitarist. Please forgive me for my poor English. This is not my native language. I’ve tried my best to do it well.
The little guitarist also performed a cover of “Moon River” as originally sung by Audrey Hepburn.
Here’s Miumiu performing with a band at an incredible five years old.
via The Awesomer
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The post Talented Six Year Old Girl Performs a Flawless Bossa Nova Cover of ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ on Classical Guitar first appeared on Laughing Squid.
Russian artist Vyacheslav Pakhomov created the perfect chair that one can sit on to instill fear in people. Kidding, it’s an elegant chair that features a scorpion design. The chair is made from premium oak wood with leather-covered cushions for the seat. Each chair costs around $4,700, as Awesome Inventions detailed:
The scorpion’s claws serve as the armrests, the back as the seat, and its curling tail as the massive headrest. Furthermore, the backrest has segmented cushions to resemble the eight-legged crawler’s narrow, segmented tail. It also features the venomous stinger at the end of its curved tail.
The chair is made from premium oak wood with leather-covered cushions for the seat and the high backrest. It measures 6.5 feet tall, 2.6 feet wide and 3.4 feet deep.
image via Awesome Inventions
JesseAmazing
Tiki Pop is a beautifully illustrated hardcover book by Sven Kirsten (previously), published by Taschen, that explains how Tiki culture became almost synonymous with the mid-20th century in the United States. This new combined style permeated into all avenues of American pop culture and has made an impression that’s lasted through modern times.
Urban islands and bamboo hideaways set the stage for a pop culture phenomenon like no other. In mid-century America, the imaginative appeal of Tiki penetrated fashion, music, eating, drinking, and architecture.
via The Awesomer
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The post ‘Tiki Pop’, A Beautifully Illustrated Book About How Tiki Culture Became Embedded Into Mid-20th Century Style first appeared on Laughing Squid.
Once upon a time, a pop culture figure with a hard-to-spell name would change it to something easier for the public to deal with. That doesn't happen so much now, so we have celebrities with names that are more challenging to spell. Can you spell Jake or Maggie Gyllenhaal's name without looking at it? An online celebrity name spelling test will try your memory, and give you a flow diagram of how other people diverged from your guess while you do it. Note: you can only take the test once, and if you dump out of it to go to the results, you can't go back. The diagrams in the results page will spell out the correct answer and other people's wrong answers. I failed every one, because I never tried to learn any of the names- I rely on copy/paste to spell names correctly. I've never even heard this filmmaker's name pronounced. -via Kottke
Motion graphics artist Andreas Wannerstedt designs short animated loops that present invented machines performing mesmerizing tasks. His videos are often inspired by real-world interior design, and incorporate elements such as rose gold, dark wood grains, and tropical Monstera leaves. The works are published under a series of iterations titled “Oddly Satisfying” which he posts to his Instagram and Vimeo accounts. You can see additional projects by the Swedish designer on his website. (via Vice)
Danish artist HuskMitNavn (which translates to “Remember My Name”) is a painter, muralist, and compulsive doodler who creates clever three-dimensional drawings. The simple constructions are made from paper and pen, and depict cartoon characters in humorous situations like Mario avoiding an arsenal of tumbling barrels thrown by a looming Donkey Kong.
“It’s a long (and ongoing) process coming up with the 3D drawings,” HuskMitNavn tells Colossal. “I have been making so many drawing on flat paper my whole life and one day a few years ago I just started to experiment with the paper to see if could add another dimension to it. The idea is to make it very simple only using A4 size paper and a pen. No scissors or glue. I want everybody to join in and also try to 3D drawings at the kitchen table.”
HuskMitNavn has an upcoming solo exhibition titled TEGN at Nikolaj Kunsthal in Copenhagen from August 29, 2018 through January 2019. You can a variety of the artist’s cross-media work on his website and dozens more of his ripped drawings on Instagram.
The Auralnauts have finished up their epic comedic retelling of the first six episodes of Star Wars with episode 6, The Last Laser Master. Follow Laser Master Duke Dirtfarmer and his friends in the fight against the Empire and its fearsome planet-killing weapon: Laser Moon II.
You can watch the five other episodes — including Jedi Party, The Friend Zone, and Revenge of Middle Management — in this playlist.
For snackier Auralnauts fare, see How to make a blockbuster movie trailer, some Bane outtakes from the Dark Knight Rises, and the Star Wars throne room scene minus the John Williams score.
Tags: movies remix Star Wars video
In a prescient Ted Ed lesson written by educator Leonora Neville and animated by Remus Buznea and Kyriaki Kyriakou, narrator Addison Anderson recounts the history of the Byzantine Empire, specifically how the society flourished artistically, technologically, mathematically and scientifically under the rule of Constantin. It also was during this time that the famous Hagia Sophia temple was built, the working class thrived in a variety of professions and women such as Anna Komnene, were respected as great intellectuals. It was the subsequent actions of Constantin’s nephew Alexios Angelos IV, who spawned a revolution by promising great riches to eager crusaders if they deposed his uncle and put him into power that took down the empire. Angelos never made good on his debt.
But their advances couldn’t protect the Empire forever. In 1203, an army of French and Venetian Crusaders made a deal with a man named Alexios Angelos. Alexios was the son of a deposed emperor, and promised the crusaders vast riches and support to help him retake the throne from his uncle. Alexios succeeded, but after a year, the population rebelled and Alexios himself was deposed and killed. So Alexios’s unpaid army turned their aggression on Constantinople.
The post How the Advanced Byzantine Empire Was Felled by an Inept Leader Who Owed Money to Crusaders appeared first on Laughing Squid.
To honor the rich architectural history of an 18th-century Scottish farmhouse, a home has been built within what’s left of the existing stone walls. Designed by Lily Jencks Studio and Nathanael Dorent Architecture, the 200-year old ruins now act as the frame for ‘Ruins Studio’ – a futuristic home.
Jesseah, this is a fun video
In a crunchy episode of the Bon Apétit series Gourmet Makes, Senior Food Editor and pastry chef Claire Saffitz spent a creative three days brainstorming how to create a gourmet version of the very popular Cheetos Crunchy Cheese Snack. On the third day, after a number of false starts and ingredient changes, Saffitz successfully came up with a recipe that closely resembled that of the cheesy snack, although one co-worker thought she exceeded her goal.
Don’t take this the wrong way. It’s almost too classy to be a Cheeto. You’re in the Pirate’s Booty world of cheesy puffy things. It’s a great place to be.
The post Pastry Chef Spends Three Days Attempting to Create a Gourmet Version of Crunchy Cheetos appeared first on Laughing Squid.
Have you ever seen a slide saxophone? Or a Conn-o-sax? Those are just a couple of the rare saxophones in the collection of Dr. Paul Cohen, who plays, writes about, and collects unusual saxophones. Here he shows off his instruments to saxophone players from the United States Army Field Band.
The saxes range from tiny little things to the huge 6.5-foot contrabass sax that will make your chest rattle. Dr. Cohen even has some custom-made and one-of-a-kind instruments, such as the saxophone with no keys that you play in the manner of a bugle. You could make an entire band out of saxophones! -via Metafilter
Motivational speaker Simon Sinek gave a talk to members of the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce), during which he spoke about how acting with contemplated consistency is far more productive than acting with impetuous intensity, using examples such as going to the gym, brushing one’s teeth and laying people off. An animation by Jocie Juritz humorously illustrated these very points.
Sick of endless ‘re-orgs’, lay-offs and away days? Why do workplaces always go for quick wins and flashy paint jobs over steady, consistent change? Animation is the process of making small, repetitive, consistent actions, over and over, until you suddenly find you have created something you are proud of. Simon Sinek’s wonderful talk is about applying that positive attitude to work and life.
The post Why Acting With Contemplated Consistency Is More Productive Than Acting With Impetuous Intensity appeared first on Laughing Squid.
But the saddest thing of all, however. You absolutely cannot un-saw a tree.
Author John Green of the Vlogbrothers shared the somber story of the Broccoli Tree, a lone tree that once sat upon Lake Vättern in south central Sweden. Everyday, a photographer named Patrik Svedberg would pass this tree on his way to work and take a picture of it. Svedberg eventually named the tree and decided to share these photos on Instagram. The tree became very popular, so much so that the tree became an actual destination, bringing its fans under its its overhanging branches. Unfortunately, it also brought those who sought to alter the tree, do damage to the tree or cut down the tree for their own pleasure. Only when it was too late did Svedberg realize that sharing photos of his beloved broccoli tree directly led to the tree’s inevitable destruction.
To share something is to risk losing it especially in a world where sharing occurs at tremendous scale and where everyone seems to want to be noticed even if only for cutting down a beloved tree. If you’d never photographed the broccoli tree, it might still be there for you to see on your commute every day. It might still provide shade to the real people who live with you on the southern bank of that lake, but then again the faraway people who loved your pictures of the broccoli tree were real too. They took shelter under its canopy as well. … If we hoard and hide what we love, we can still lose it. Only then we’re alone in the loss. You can’t unsaw a tree but you can’t unsee one either.
The post The Broccoli Tree, A Somber Parable About the Risk of Sharing Something You Love on Social Media appeared first on Laughing Squid.
The word “cute” is woefully insufficient in describing the squee-inducing impression of these needled felted wool sculptures by Ukraine-based designer Hanna Dovhan (previously here and here). Her latest pairs of hand-made mustachioed donuts, mushrooms, croissants, and veggies are all designed to rest in a tender embrace or to simply hold hands. You can see more by following her on Instagram or in her Etsy shop Woolsculpture.
Copenhagen-based artist Johan Deckmann examines the complications of life through clever titles painted on the covers of fictional self-help books that appear to tackle life’s biggest questions, fears, and absurdities. A practicing psychotherapist himself, Deckmann thoroughly recognizes the power of language in therapy and possesses a keen ability to translate his discoveries into witty phrases. “I like the idea of distilling words to compress information, feelings or fantasies into an essence, a truth,” he shares. “The right words can be like good medicine.”
Deckmann often takes his pieces beyond simple language and into the realm of visual puns, such as an LP cover titled “The very best of the voices inside my head” or the juxtaposition of smaller and larger suitcases labeled “Baggage” and “Emotional Baggage.” All of the pieces have the faded color and worn texture of 1970s era self-help guides that were popular at the time.
Deckmann’s books have been exhibited around the world since he began the series in 2015, including a solo show last March at Andenken Gallery in Amsterdam. You can follow more of his recent work on Facebook, and on his website.
In 2013, a rather crazy-eyed but beautiful orange cat named Rijka clung tightly to the vacuum cleaner with her front paws and proceeded to lick at the suctioned air moving through the device. While doing so, however, the determined tabby would get her face stuck in the hose for a moment, calmly remove and continue on, happily undeterred.
Andrey Lebedev filmed this of his cat Rijka playing with a vacuum cleaner. It has since gone viral, but this is the original footage.
via reddit
We've featured a number of large mural artworks on Neatorama before, but this one titled "Floating World" by Ray Bartkus is different. Drawn on the side of a building in Marijampole, Lithiuania, the artwork is meant to be viewed as its reflection on the water.
View more over at Bartkus' website.
Image @cambojones2020 and @rottnestfastferries
We've posted about the quokka on Neatorama a couple of times before. If you haven't seen it before, however, its worth visiting instaquokka, an Instagram page dedicated to "the happiest animal on Earth." Instant mood lifter!
Seriously, folks - quokkas can't look sad or grumpy even if they tried. No wonder they love taking selfies!
Image @abzhudson
Image @bonan_chen
Image @felixtravelbook
Image @nataliaeire
This is me at the end of the day! Image @sarahannea
Check out instaquokka for more of the lovable marsupial.
If you didn't speak English as a native, you'd be tempted to figure out new words by pulling them apart into smaller words you know. Then you'd be really wrong. This method wouldn't work for "placate" if you are learning British English, as they pronounce it differently. This is the latest from John Atkinson at Wrong Hands. See more of his "phonetically defined" words here. -via Nag on the Lake
JesseGotta love science
We know that strawberries are red, or at least they should be, so that's what we see. Professor of Psychology Akiyoshi Kitaoka (previously at Neatorama) created this image of strawberries that contains no red pixels at all. This is an example of color correction in our brains. We essentially filter out colors that make no sense to us in order to see things as they should be. Carson Mell isolated the colors found in the strawberries, and none of them are red.
@social_brains I isolated a few of the colors that appear most "red" in the strawberries and put them on the white background to the right. pic.twitter.com/GJJ9PJqNxt
— Carson Mell (@carsonmell) February 28, 2017
It's easier to see the color of the berries in this image. Cover the strawberries with your hand to get a better look at the color bar at the bottom.
@carsonmell@social_brains I drew three rectangles on top to also show the effect. pic.twitter.com/PaSxflmGJv
— Tim Hutton (@_tim_hutton_) February 28, 2017
An article at Motherboard explains what's going on in your brain when you see a picture like this.
"If you imagine walking around outside under a blue sky, that blueness is, in some sense, color-contaminating everything you see," explained Bevil Conway, an expert on visual perception from the National Eye Institute. "If you take a red apple outside under a blue sky, there are more blue wavelengths entering your eye. If you take the apple inside under a fluorescent or incandescent light without that same bias, the pigments in the apple are exactly the same but because the spectral content of the light source is different, the spectrum entering your eye that's reflected off the object is different."
Since all this color contamination from light sources isn't really useful (it would be super confusing if a ripe banana looked yellow in the morning but green at midday, for example), our brains have evolved to color correct. It allows the colors we see to look the same no matter the lighting.
-via Digg
(Image credit: Akiyoshi Kitaoka)
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