hearth and home (12. 148)

We’ve received a happy status update regarding this rather spectacular temple to outsider art, Ron’s Place in Birkenhead outside of Liverpool, a flat hidden within an unassuming brick residence holding a scarcely seen gallery of hearths, altars and murals created by renter Ron Gittin, now catalogued and conserved. The landlord a permissive sufferer of such flourishes was however mostly ignorant of the extent of the artist’s embellishments (as well as his friends and family upon his unexpected death in 2019) that celebrated the multi-hyphenate’s interest in Antiquity and repository of his other creative pursuits. Let’s wish all property owners could be so tolerant of their tenants’ eccentricities and had faith for the next occupant’s inheritance. Much more at the links above.

open letter (12. 117)

Though sad to learn of the artist’s passing earlier this month, we very much appreciated learning of the extensive repertoire of Anna Banana (see also) and the movement that the helped pioneer and propel referred to postal or correspondence art focused sending and receiving smaller scale works via post. A spin-off of Fluxus in response to invitations to draw Tommy the Turtle and Petey the Pirate and antecedents that generally commercialised creativity, mail artists eschewed traditional markets and display spaces with their exchange that didn’t necessitate though often elicited reciprocation and expansion on a theme. As with the proliferation of zines, the genre and medium anticipated the loose collective of web communities that riff and remix the creation of others with established norms of attribution and curation. Much more from Hyperallergic at the link above.

l’ultima cena nell’arte (12. 087)

Fellow internet caretake and accomplished docent, Weird Universe, treats us to a grand tour of a museum in the border town of Douglas, Arizona that showcases collection of its curator of works inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic masterpiece, The Last Supper (see also). With interpretations ranging from the devotional to the irreverent, skewing to sci-fi and pop cultural with an array of items in place of Jesus and the apostles, it looks like a fun exhibition to visit. We liked this more traditional depiction from a different perspective showing a sleeping dog on the floor. Much more at the links above.

creative commons (12. 051)

Leading up to Public Domain Day in the United States (see previously) and other jurisdictions, Boing Boing is putting together a virtual Advents Calendar showcasing each significant work of literature, cinema and visual art whose copyrights expire 1 January 2025, protections terminate typically in America and the European Union (with some notable exceptions) seventy years after the calendar year when the author died—post mortem auctoris. Among those properties that become free to use however one sees fit include the pictured Chop Suey by Edward Hopper and Magritte’s The Treachery of Images, as well as writings from Virginia Woolf, Wittgenstein, Bertrand Russell, Erich Maria Remarque and Ernest Hemingway.

 synchronoptica

one year ago: the OED’s WoTY shortlist (with synchronoptica), assorted links to revisit, A Streetcar Named Desire (1947) plus Winchester Cathedral (1966)

seven years ago: a collection of UK WWII propaganda posters

eight years ago: Ancient Lights, more links to enjoy, Belgian brewing traditions added to UNESCO registry plus Vantablack

nine years ago: Vienna’s Schönbrunn palace

ten years ago: searching for Krampus, more unbuilt architecture, a pre-crime pilot, Alfred the Great plus the Carolinian dynasty

eleven years ago: launch codes and the Nuclear Football 

high concept (12. 024)

Though I would too defend Maurizio Cattelan piece of a banana duct-taped to a wall as legitimate art in the route of Duchamp or Warhol (and not an object with actual permanence like the hyper-realistic and satirical sculptures in the artist’s repertoire but rather a perishable piece of fruit and a roll of duct tape that need replacing with a certificate of authenticity and instructions on how to display the work—see also), the sale of a third edition (the first two were acquired by museums for a more reasonable sum of one-hundred and twenty thousand dollars) to an entrepreneur for just over six-million— well over its million dollar reserve price and paid in Bitcoin, one of the only lots for which the auction house would accept payment in that form—makes me think that the resurrection of the Trump regime, for all the obvious nefariousness, was also a vehicle to bring back the grift of crypto and NFTs. The main element of the work was purchased the morning of the auction from a local fruit vendor for 35¢, appreciating in value fifteen-million fold, by the end of the day. The two other copies were eaten while on exhibitions, as will this one, whose new owner is happy about the portable nature of the work that could be mounted anywhere.

synchronoptica

one year ago: an apparent breakthrough in general artificial intelligence (with synchronoptica) plus a counter-culture Thanksgiving tradition

seven years ago: more Thanksgiving greetings

eight years ago: another pause for Turkey Day 

nine years ago: recommended gift catalogues  

ten years ago: poetry and language

varietà antica (11. 976)

Via Pasa Bon!, we are directed to the Italian scientist Isabella Dalla Ragione who scours medieval archives, cloistered orchards and Renaissance paintings for produce that has disappeared from daily cuisine to bring some diversity back to the table in the form of gnarled but hardy and delicious apples, pears, peaches, quinces, grapes and other forgotten heirloom fruit. Dalle Ragione’s family home with its ancient grounds has become a showcase and incubator for this effort as the interviewer acts as a docent through a quite remarkable gallery of art works that display this culling of an overwhelming abundance of cultivars down to monoculture, hoping to reverse the trend. With a little detective work, an amazing catalogue of outmoded varietals emerge from generally overlooked details, instilled themselves with symbolism and hence the importance of accurate representation to convey the message. Much more at the links above.

so it goes (11. 973)

Illustrator Igor Karash reimagines the disassociation and chiaroscuro of Kurt Vonnegut’s classic Slaughterhouse-Five, following protagonist Billy Pilgrim’s time-jumps across a far-flung utopian planet, a mundane existence as a suburban eye-doctor and World War II Dresden during the fire-bombing. The commission coming as Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, Karash drew from his experiences of reluctant, ridiculous conscription and connections to a besieged land, finding Vonnegut’s message and mantra PEOPLE DO NOT LEARN FROM THEIR PAST particularly resonant—also drawing from his many readings of the author’s work, being available in translation in the Soviet Union by dent of his criticism of the West and anti-war message.

il giardino dei tarocchi (11. 937)

Messy Nessy Chic correspondent Francky Knapp turns our attention to artist Niki de Saint Phalle through her monumental landscaping project, one of her final works, that transformed a an ancient Etruscan quarry (preserving the ruins) into an esoteric park open to the public informed by figures in the tarot deck. The sculpture garden was inspired by de Saint Phalle’s visits to Gaudí’s Parc Güell and Parco dei Mostri (the sixteenth century sacred grove in northern Lazio filled with monstrous figures) and was begun in 1979 and opened in 1998. Mirrors and mosaics adorn the twenty-two greater Mysteries (the major arcana—see previously here and here) in this corner of Tuscany, and much more about the artist can be found at the link above and the garden’s website.

synchronoptica

one year ago: the coat of arms of Bill Clinton (with synchronoptica)

seven years ago: the passage of an interstellar comet, Trump in Korea, public sparkling water fountains in Paris plus AI suggests costume ideas

eight years ago: assorted links to revisit 

nine years ago: micromorts plus more links to enjoy

ten years ago: a condensed history of quarantines

pooped in peolsis desk (11. 934)

Inspired by a spurious claim (confessed in a group-chat) by one of the January 6 rioters and Trump’s latest hailing the insurrection on the US capitol as a “day of love” following praise for those patriots, a bronzed sculpture of an emoji-style faeces on the desk of then Speaker of The House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, will remain on view through 30 October opposite Congress. While the artist and intention remain unclear, apparently the installation was given official sanction by the National Park Service which vets public art on the Mall in DC. Much more at Hyperallergic at the link above.

8x8 (11. 908)

jianmen underground neutrino observatory: a tour of JUNO, the massive Chinese lab built to study the elusive particle—Damn Interesting’s Curated Links 

xoxo: Cabel Sasser’s talk on rediscovering a forgotten artist—more here from the presenter, see also

post on own site, syndicate elsewhere: more on the POSSE technique for retaining control of one’s work—see previously  

first draft: the Balloon Boy Hoax of 2009 illustrates the problems of for-profit journalism—see also 

saturday night soirées: the house parties of Charles Babbage (previously) boasted an impressive guest list, including Faraday, the Darwins, Dickens and more  

central casting: recalculating the Kevin Bacon Game with eigenvectors to reveal the most well connected film is Pulp Fiction—via Quantum of Sollazzo 

monsters and madonnas: the eerie, erotic photography of William Mortensen—labelled the “Antichrist of Hollywood” in the 1930s for his horror film inspired compositions  

strong thermal emission velocity enhancement: the rare atmospheric phenomenon called Steve (which science made a backronym) that sometimes accompanies geostorms

toichography (11. 873)

As much as an aficionado as I am of street art and knowing the disciplines of study and what things are called, I was surprised never to have encountered the above field from the Greek τοίχος for wall plus writing, and really enjoyed this recent episode from the always engrossing and enlightening podcast Ologies on the subject of all things pertaining to graffiti, public art and murals—both commissioned and non-commissioned—in this guided tour of the installations of the city of Philadelphia, considered the birthplace of the genre. It’s a funny, informative and thoroughgoing look at the nature of expression, the politics and policing thereof, and the place of sanction in common spaces and emphasises the importance of celebrating what’s in situ (see previously here and here) and local artists tied to their locale.  Take a field trip in your city to appreciate the murals and graffiti.

7x7 (11. 867)

urban glitch: a series of nostalgic, hyper-detailed paintings from Jeff Bartels 

ganz kleine nachtmusik: a previously unknown work by Mozart discovered in a Leipzig library archive  

promptographs: Mister François presents three hundred imaginative “secret car” models with the help of AI—Lamborghini school buses and Ferrari caravans  

warchitecture: the language of urbicide was developed to address the wanton destruction of Sarajevo’s build environment and continues in contemporary conflicts—see also  

do not show this travel pack to gdr or soviet officials: a 1989 British guide for West Berlin  

papyrological discovery: for his birthday in 480 BC, new lines of Euripides’ lost plays Ino and Polyidus uncovered—via Clive Thompson’s Linkfest (much more to explore there)  

8-bit garden: dissolving digital artwork from Karol Polak of Gdańsk

entspannt und achtsam (11. 846)

Labelled an imbecile and cretin during his lifetime, though the latter with some charity in the sense of a pious, holy fool, for his weak constitution and shy, withdrawn and compliant behaviour, Swiss artist assistance and apprentice Gottfried Mind really came into his own following the death of his master Sigmund Henderberger of Berne known for his sentimental pastoral scenes. Mind accidentally discovered his precocious virtuosity for the faithful feline study, usually drawn from memory with exacting detail, eventually earning him the reputation as the Katzen-Raffael—or the Raphael of Cats. Click through for more of the artist’s portfolio at the link above.

bulldozer exhibition (11. 845)

With the only officially sanctioned style of art for the USSR and satellites since the 1930s being that, like in the pictured mural from Dresden’s Kulturpalast Der Weg der Roten Fahne, of Soviet Realism—depicting idealised views of the state—all other movements of forms of expression were pushed underground. The unofficial showing which would become known as the titular event of non-conformist (see also), avant garde artists held on this day in 1974 in Moscow’s Bitsa Park was dispersed by a large police force that destroyed the paintings with earth-moving equipment and water cannons. The artists were arrested and visitors at the exhibit, including journalists and foreign diplomats, were attacked and fled. Extensive media coverage in the West of the incident embarrassed the government, who later relented and allowed, under controlled conditions, subsequent shows, regarded as an important turning point in freedom of expression. All the artworks were destroyed but a typical composition would have been like this abstract contribution from Lydia Masterkova, who left the Soviet Union for France after this event.

synchronoptica

 

one year ago: assorted links worth revisiting (with synchronoptica)

eight years ago: the Singularity and Point Omegá, reimagining Star Wars, the sugar lobby, GOP caring about women’s health plus more on augmented reality

 

ten years ago: the CIA’s stay-behinds

 

eleven years ago: too big to fail plus brilliant posters for Star Trek: TOS episodes

 

twelve years ago: attacks on US diplomatic missions plus more on international banking reporting obligations

222 west 23rd (11. 835)

The historic Queen Anne Revival accommodations in the Manhattan neighbourhood of Chelsea was originally a housing cooperative through the early 1980s before being gentrified into its present form, and the residential hotel was home to many up-and-coming luminaries until such time, including Jack Kerouac, Andy Warhol, Sherwood Anderson, Henri Chopin, Quentin Crisp, Ethan Hawke, Miloš Forman, Joan Baez, Leonard Cohen, Marian Faithfull, Bette Milder, Isabella Rosallini, Eddie Izzard, Jane Fonda and numerous others. In 2011, we learn, a lesser-known but long-term resident, Jim Georgiou and his dog Teddy, was evicted for failing to pay his rent and was temporarily unhoused. The following year during renovations on the building, he saw construction workers tossing out some of the old, white-washed and graffitied doors, which Georgiou managed to salvage and research, connecting them to the suites of different neighbours. After years of work, fifty-two doors were auctioned off, with the proceeds going to organisations that help New York City’s homeless in 2018.

9x9 (11. 791)

rhythm 0: in 1974 artist Marina Abramović subjected her unmoving body to a six-hour ordeal to see how an audience might objectify her 

 bang records: a documentary about the life and career of songwriter Bert Berns behind “Here Comes the Night,” “Brown-Eyed Girl,” “Hang on Sloopy” and many other standards  

back to obamacore: with hope and the end of history, the Harris-Walz campaign gives nostalgic vibes of 2008—via Web Curios 

gothamq loop: a prototype quantum network being tested beneath the streets of Queens  

geography and maps division: a mystery, featureless solid silver globe at the US Library of Congress—via the Map Room   

mice fancy: how a Victorian hobbyist breeding programme became a mainstay of the laboratory  

diversion tunnel: Margaret Bourke-White (previously) documents building of a dam in Montana in 1936  

diminished by its artsiness: studio pulls trailer for Megalopolis after realising the marketing team used AI to generate phoney tag-lines by famous film critics—via Super Punch  

the birth of coolth: Sentence First explores similarly constructed neologisms, including the statistical term shorth for shortest half—via Language Hat  

the confetti illusion: oranges are sold in red mesh bags to enhance their orangeness—via Marginal Revolution—see also

 synchronoptica

one year ago: paper dolls and digital avatars (with synchronoptica) plus bat men on the Moon

seven years ago: more from artist Lance Wyman, assorted links to revisit, anti-migrant riots in Rostock (1992) plus a collection of government sponsored cartoons

nine years ago: the birthday of Sean Connery plus adiaphora and cafeteria Christianity

ten years ago: the sacred, prognosticating chickens of Rome

eleven years ago: creative interpretations of film

the question (11. 777)

Handling our Sunday matinee programming, Fancy Notion has selected an existential short from the animation studio of Halas & Batchelor (see previously) that ponders the meaning of life through our hopeful and introspective protagonist who finds confusion and frustration when consulting dogmatists in the fields of religion, politics, the humanities about life’s big questions but finally finds a solution with another fellow peripatetic. The venerable collaboration lasting from 1945 to 1986 was responsible for the instructional colour stop-motion feature Handling Ships for the Admiralty as a training aid for new navigators, a number of World War II productions intended to raise morale and encourage thrift, like Dustbin Parade to promote recycling and Filling the Gap about planting a victory garden as well as anti-fascist propaganda films. During the 1960s and 1970s, the duo created cartoon series for American television networks including Saturday morning staples like Popeye the Sailor, The Jackson 5ive, The Osmonds as well as the music video for Autobahn by Kraftwerk.

*    *    *    *    *

 synchronoptica

one year ago:  a prayer app (with synchronoptica) plus a pioneering mushroomer

seven years ago: a look into the far distance future, removing racist statues plus feeding an army

eight years ago: a century of Russian history in photographs, assorted links to revisit plus the making of Cabaret

nine years ago: more links to enjoy

ten years ago: subterranean warehouses, the body-politic of Rome plus German intelligence agencies eavesdropping

anti-mimesis (11. 771)

Via Meanwhile, we thoroughly enjoyed perusing this gallery of images curated by Jonathan Hoefler (previously here and here) of actual instances of images that would now be mistook—absent other context or familiarity—as telling AI-generated missteps.
These pictures uncannily prevision the now acquainted superfluidity, reduplication, skewed perspectives, a-historicity, attention-grabbing and portrait-studio aesthetic that’s a buggy feature of computer-made art. What do you think it means that this thinking is becoming our default reaction? A picture broadly does not seem worth a thousand words any longer.  Much more at the links above.

*    *    *    *    *

 synchronoptica

one year ago: greenlighted (with synchronoptica)

seven years ago: Trump’s very fine people plus manipulative social media

eight years ago: the stave church of Goslar, early hominids and tolerance for smoke, safety and Helvetica Man plus assorted links worth revisiting

nine years ago: rent parties plus more links to enjoy

ten years ago: writers protest against the book market, the future of shopping plus the unfair labelling of weeds

i miss lorina bulwer well known by that name (11. 737)

Via Nag on the Lake we are referred to the rather sad and anguished life of needleworker Lorina Bulwer through her lengthy embroidered autobiographic tapestries created after becoming an inmate of a workhouse in Great Yarmouth and consigned to the Female Lunatic Ward. These samplers—see also—contain a message of protest for her station and predicament, likely institutionalised by her brother after the death of her parents, her life’s history with some possibly creative genealogy—these artefacts first coming to the public’s attention after being misattributed to Baroness Rosina Bulwer Lytton similarly falsely confined by her novelist husband. Click through at the link up top for a full transcript of the longest (over four metres) hand-stitched missive, in all capital letters and with no punctuation, which makes this quiet legacy all the more poignant.

ambrosia (11. 730)

The Olympic Committee issued an apology for a tableau during the Paris Olympic’s opening ceremonies that some claimed was deeply offensive to Christian communities and blasphemous—notably the shrillest outrage from US conservatives—for depicting The Last Supper with drag queens. Except it was not inspired by Da Vinci’s depiction of Jesus and his apostles, as the spectacle’s director explained—though few could hear it over the social media torrent—and the performance had to be regrettably recanted, but rather by Le Festin des Dieux, a seventeenth century work by painter Jan van Bijlert prominently displayed in the national gallery in Dijon. While the Dutch artist himself was referencing Leonardo’s earlier work and one sees what one wants to see, the mythology figures are patently recognisable, including Apollo, Pan, Mars, Minerva and Dionysus, the father of the Gallo-Roman goddess Sequana (and whose totem spirit, familiars are ducks), the deification of the Seine, sourced in Côte-d’Or is not far from Dijon.