With our attempts to cultivate nature, humankind causes the rising of a next nature, which is wild and unpredictable as ever. Wild systems, genetic surprises, autonomous machinery and splendidly beautiful black flowers. Nature changes along with us.
China’s high-speed train from Qinghai to Xizang worried environmentalists well before its launch in July 2006. Concerns increased after a photograph of Tibetan wildlife near a high-speed train appeared in hundreds of papers – until Web viewers began to argue it had been doctored. The paper that first printed the image has now apologized.
Source: Wall Street Journal. See also: The Photoshop Reporters. Thanks Tinkebell.
Super Mario and Rene Magritte mashed up for Dadaist delight. Available as a T-shirt. See also The surrealist were telling the truth.
Very nice bench, designed to use plants as a building material. Buy them here
Recently, two new inventions have been developed. One, the mosquito-buzzer produces a 5 or 6 KHz buzz, which is (or should be) only audible for people under 25 years old. A perfect invention to chase street-kids or youth away from public spaces. The recent phenomena of removing irritating retired/elderly people from the street, hasn’t been tackled yet. Watch this video for a proper demonstration.
Another natural invention is quite astonishing too; there have been some successful tests with spreading citrus smell in detention-centers to make ‘prisoners’ feel more happy and cleaner. The Dutch producer gives the following answer to the question:
“Are prisoners voluntarily exposed to your smelly gas?”
“Well, well, well, smelly gas, that’s a bit too much. Daily, 4 liters of citrus smell are spread out in a detention center in Rotterdam, that’s a very low dose. And the effects are astonishing. The prisoners sing and whistle all day long”
See articles in De Volkskrant and in pzc.
This is the peculiar image of the week, sorry Koert ; ) Excuse my crap quality.
Tired of looking out on a grey wall and in dire need of a green touch? Then Föhn le fenêtre has got just what you need. The concept is simple enough: artist Karel Verhoeven offers you his services and in return you’ll get a lovely green view: he’ll decorate your windows with flowers, plants or thistles, which you can choose from a catalogue of 32 plants. What’s interesting about this project is that the selected plants are all part of the Ghent Altarpiece by the brothers Van Eyck. So not only will you get a greener view, you’ll also be the proud owner of a unique piece of art, not to forget that you’ll be supporting an artist.
Visit his stall at Vooruit during the game is up! and read more on www.liquidcactus.be. (reservations can be made from Wednesday 5 March on 0485/14.29.35)
That shiny sparkling stone you got from your lover… is that a diamond? Lab manufactured diamonds are getting exceedingly good. They have the same color, clarity, cut and carat as minded diamonds and —since they are created in a laboratory— you can be sure they are ‘conflict free‘. The one in the picture (below) is from Israel (speaking of conflict free zones) and can be bought here. Of course, if you really want something exclusive for your lover, you should forget about diamonds altogether and get some biojewellery.
The Nanputo Temple in Xiamen (Southeast China) is an oasis of quietness, religious practice and leisure for Chinese amidst the hustle and bustle of one of the fastest growing economies is the world. From all over the country, pilgrims and tourists come to the temple to pray, enjoy climbing the numerous stone steps up the rock and enjoy their view over the city. They don’t want to have their experience of this harmonious environment spoilt by ugly things like trashcans, would you? But you have to leave your coke bottles and soymilk packages somewhere, so what do you do? Of course, you design a trashcan that beautifully mimics the trees surrounding it!
Ask a child to draw a mountain and you will get something like the Matterhorn. The shape of this famous mountain, situated on the Swiss-Italian border in the Alps, is one of the most iconic pictures of nature; almost a caricature of itself. The summit of the Matterhorn was first reached in 1865. Today, it is a popular destination for climbers. Each summer, guides take a large number of people up the route, which is equipped with fixed ropes. The climb is difficult, but possible for skilled mountaineers. Because of the scale of the trek, dangers like falling rocks, naïveté, and overcrowding, though, several climbers die each year. At Disneyland in California, the Matterhorn has been reproduced as a bobsled attraction. Passengers board sleds, ascend to the top of the mountain, and then speed down through ice tunnels, finally splashing into a small lake. Both the real mountain and the amusement park ride seem to turn our vision of nature into a cliché.
From our Fake for Real series. See also: Summit of the Mount Everest on Tour, Ceci n’est pas une Montagne.
PacMan’s skeleton is our peculiar object of the week. It was created by Le Gentil Garcon, in collaboration with Fransois Escuilia, palaeontologist, from the comparative observation of human and various predatory animal skulls. Obviously, popping pellets requires big chompers and strong bones.
Recently, I had some free time to return to my old passion of landscape painting. But somehow things seemed to have changed in the wilderness.
Who likes clouds anyway? Especially for the people still living in the suburbs of Venray (small town in the Netherlands), artist Helmut Smits made this billboard depicting a clear blue sky.
“ROYAL PINE”, “VANILLAROMA”, “NEW CAR SCENT”, “WILD CHERRY”. Which of these smelly little trees doesn’t fit in the row? After careful consideration I decided the “NEW CAR SCENT” is the most honest one of all, so that is what I bought (although I have to admit my car is an occasion).
Oh and.. this is not some witty media art project, you can buy the trees here.
Let’s talk about hyperbreasts. Have you ever wondered why men like women with large breasts? Historically large breasts are presumably sexually attractive for men because they represented a womans capability of breast feeding an infant (read: large breast evolutionary means your off-spring will survive). Of course, in a world of supermarkets and overconsumption this is no longer relevant. Large breast have lost their functional benefit in the survival of the fittest and have become pure decoration.Besides the change from necessity towards entertainment we can see another evolutionary process in play: Nowadays plastic surgeons routinely sculpt breasts in any ordered size or shape. Large breasts are no longer a born feature, they can be bought. As a result, large breasts become a symbol of wealth.
What if we extrapolate these developments towards the future? Once large breasts become default, it will no longer be a distinguishing feature. Some women might want to move on to the next level in order to attract men and equip themselves with hyperbreasts; softer, bigger, better than the real thing.
Agreed, these ‘wealthy’ breasts are entirely unpractical in everyday life. Men who fancy these type of women should not expect them to do any cleaning in the household and no child will dare to suck on them. They might even be a burden for the women who wear them, but -similar to the feathers of a peacock- thats all part of the evolutionary trade off, no?
Made of electroluminescent (EL) sheets, Makoto Hirahara’s Bright Blind simulates a window where none exists.
In all other respects, the artificial blind functions in exactly the same way as a regular blind – ie turning the plastic stick controls the brightness, etc.
Peculiar image of the week, by Richard Barnes.
