the stone door (12. 630)

We appreciated the extra insight into the influence and craft of Leonora Carrington through a review of her 1977 surreal novel about World War II narrated with the voices of the displaced and disappeared trying to return to a home and past that no longer exists through characters who vanish from the page as it unfolds—all stories are true; begin. A virtual witches bottle of dreams, the occult and a metaphysical, parasocial relationship between episodic interlocutors, one nameless and unclear who is trapped—much like Carrington’s art—behind the titular barrier, and an attempt to reconcile the rituals that limn the protagonists’ progress that correspond with the occult beliefs of the Nazis and not necessarily the spells of liberation that they sought after with magic just as likely to be found in transformative bureaucracy that made exiles, reducing individuals to stateless persons and statistics. Much more from LitHub at the link above.

11 x 11 (12. 622)

ped x’ing: an urban hawk takes advantage of a crosswalk signal to shield it from view as it stalks its pigeon bounty—via Clive Thompson’s Linkfest  

whispering gallery mode: peacock plumage can be induced to emit lasers—via the New Shelton wet/dry  

pix: US government going after Brazil’s native digital payment platform—calling it an unfair barrier to trade—meanwhile only President Lula da Silva is standing up to Trump’s tariff bullying  

showrunner: Amazon investing in AI start-up Fable that allows subscribers to make their own TV shows  

pro-somnolence: the technique of cognitive shuffling to quiet the mind and get back to sleep 

manifesto antropófago: a 1928 counter-colonialism and counter-appropriation movement venturing out of São Paulo 

the candy factory: the unique artists’ commune in New York City founded by Ann Ballentine—via Messy Nessy Chic  

query-agnostic adversarial triggers: feline-related textual asides cause marked increase in AI error rates  

one year ago, america was a dead country, now it is the hottest country anywhere in the world: Trump escalates trade war with Canada as Carney suggests they may miss the deadline  

living batteries: cable bacteria thriving in muddy harness chemical gradients to create and electrical circuit and get oxygen in an anoxic environment  

starling network: Benn Jordan saved a .PNG image to a bird by turning a drawing into audio which could be mimicked and reproduced, see also—via Waxy

afuera adentro (12. 602)

Via Messy Nessy Chic, we are directed to self-taught outsider artist Martín Ramírez whose remarkable output is sourced to the last fifteen years of his life remanded to a mental institution in Auburn California in the 1950s and 1960s. Coming to the US from Jasico for work during the Great Depression, Ramírez was picked up for vagrancy and committed as a catatonic schizophrenic. Withdrawn and hardly speaking to anyone, Ramírez took up drawing and a psychologist by the name of Dr Tarmo Pasto recognised his talent as well as the potential for an expressive outlet, supplying him with art materials and organising public shows of his works that fuse migration and memory with iconography of his personal journey and elements of both Mexican and American culture. Appearing in galleries and selling for six-figure sums, in 2015 the US postal service issued a stamp bearing the design of his 1954 piece “Untitled (Tunnel with Cars and Buses).” Much more at the links above. 

synchronoptica

one year ago: St Christopher (with synchronopticæ), how location data compromises security and intelligence, every map of China is inaccurate plus SCOTUS orders Nixon to release the tapes (1974)

8x8 (12. 601)

field office: Trump withdraws the US from UNESCO for a second time 

vidi, quod aperuisset agnus: the Four Horsemen in art  

shoulder-top secretary: indirect communication, etiquette filters and letting the parrot speak for one  

symphonies of glass and steel: a century on, the spirit of Art Deco has shifted from enlightenment to oppression through the lens of a new property listing  

interlockers: chunky sandals that mimic zig-zag paver blocks 

game genie: a 1990 video game cheat cartridge for the Nintendo Entertainment System and its landmark legacy establishing reverse-engineering (see also) as fair-use and in-play premiums

velvet sundown: responding to the public backlash of AI slop on the internet, some companies are deplatforming or at least threatening to demonetise such tedious content crowding out everything else  

anamorphic sculpture: Thomas Medicus’ 2014 Emulsifier—the term, in the main, refers to the cinematography technique for translating the widescreen to narrower native aspect ratios 

national governing body: US Olympic Committee bars trans individuals from the teams in order to conform with Trump’s directives about protecting women on the anniversary of the 2001 found of the American Paralympics

8x8 (12. 594)

; ): the correct use of the semicolon—see also  

if you try to humanise the place, you will lose your mind: a journalist reflects on her unconscionable trip to Dubai  

dream logic: the surreal illustrations of Garrett Davis  

bubble house: space age, Mid-Century Modern brownstone off Central Park on the market for the first time in half a century—see also  

the sounds of summer: the soundtrack of nostalgic memories of the season by prolific composer Joe Hisaishi (久石 譲) reimagined as a short visual film  

jumbotron: Coldplay concert kiss-cam incident (and memes) underscore the practice’s awkward history  

kiss of death: US vice president flew to Montana for a secret meeting with News Corp head Rupert Murdoch, aged 94, to discuss reporting of Trump—maybe he dies soon like when Vance had an audience with the Pope—or fawning MAGA fan Truss with the Queen  

the only free cheese is in a mousetrap: the Ukrainian equivalent of the English idiom there is no such thing as a free lunch

télégraph aérien (12. 575)

Having previously learned about the invention of the optical or semaphore communications system of Claude Chappe, we appreciated this retrospective and chance to revisit the contentious innovation that informed public perception and art movements into the nineteenth century. Hailed as a great advancement, the tachygraphic network that was being introduced just as the French Revolution was beginning in 1792 as a series of relay towers throughout the countryside and in metropolitan areas was by turns regarded as an achievement, condemned as an eyesore and viewed with suspicion. The cellular masts (or windmills) of their day, their addition to the tops of buildings, profane and sacred, was considered despoiling aesthetically—numerous examples of paintings from that period feature them prominently, sort of like the scaffolding that encased the Statue of Liberty during the eighties that become as iconic and emblematic as the unobscured monument—and the coded messages (the arrangement of the blades or wings corresponded to ninety-eight numbers) to be deciphered and passed on the next operator) were taken as something sinister, prompting the destruction of some towers either as signs of witchcraft (compare to the attacks on the 5G masts during COVID either as its cause or a government conspiracy to implant microchips in the population to control it) or to hinder accelerated responses to quell uprisings, the government privileged with this speeded up reaction not available to the protesters. A group of investors in Bordeaux were jailed, though ultimately acquitted, for bribing operators to transmit stock market figures from Paris hours ahead of when the gains and losses would be available to the competition—an abuse for the sight-lines that was never envisioned. Much more from Hyperallergic at the link above.

kreuzigung (12. 560)

The first Master of Stage Craft (preferring his neologism Spielgang to the more orthodox term Theaterstück—I was later disabused of my own made up version of Spielstück for a play which is not a real word but understandable) at the Bauhaus and artistic and copyright lawyer by trade, we appreciated this introduction to dramaturge Lothar Schreyer through his retelling of the Passion staged only a few times in 1920 in a bleak post-war setting. The only well-documented directorial work, owing to the complexity of the performance that necessitated a programme with translation key for the audience, like many expressionist productions of that time, there are only scant records which mostly are preserved in the form of bad reviews by the trade press, Schreyer was later caught up in the allure of the Christian and Völkisch mysticism of the Nazi party, despite his contributions being labelled as degenerate art (see below), and continued panning of his plays prompted his replacement, Oskar Schlemmer, to take on the leading role at the institute. More from the Public Domain Review at the link up top.

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchropticæ), bracket orthography plus Forrest Gump (1994)

thirteen years ago: moons of the year, confusing job application instructions plus a typeface comparison

fourteen years ago: land octopuses  

silent running (12. 521)

We appreciated the chance to revisit the works of graphic designer Edward Wadsworth, best known as a forerunner of the art movement known as Vorticism which saw a practical—though possibly not as effective as hoped—application in transferring dazzle camouflage designs for the Royal Navy fleet during World War I (see previously)—through the medium of his woodcuts. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark’s fourth studio album was inspired in concept and cover art by a 1983 gallery showing of Wadsworth’s works. Conscripted as a sub-lieutenant himself, Wadsworth’s monochromatic pieces reflect the same maritime and industrial themes and abstractions to decode and encode. Much more from John Coulthart’s Feuilleton at the link up top.

el arte peruano en la escuela (12. 512)

We enjoyed learning about the career and works of illustrator, textile designer and educator Elena Izcue through her 1930 inclusion of Incan and other pre-Columbian works into the curriculum of Lima’s National School of Fine Arts, much to the displeasure of some of her fellow academics aired with a very public debate—detractors finding nothing redeeming in native culture and a surrogate for a larger question of Peruvian identity. In the face of this resistance and aesthetic judgement, Izcue’s insistence and advocacy ultimately led to appreciation and a syllabus that included a set of workbooks she produced drawn from the motifs of Indigenous ceramics and fabrics and archaeological finds. Much more from Public Domain Review at the link up top.

7x7 (12. 438)

kanzlermehrheit: Bundestag selects Friedrich Merz chancellor after secure a majority in the second round of voting, averting a constitutional crisis  

rococo and its discontents: McMansion Hell on Trump’s gaudy transformation of the White House—via Kottke 

fuzzy maths: an unsure calculator that produces a range of histograms to assess one’s unknown factors—via Pasa Bon!—from home economics decisions to the Drake equation

reaction time: a car brake engaged by one’s eyebrows  

top billing: the movie poster and album cover art of Dick Ellescas that fuses Art Deco and Mod  

architektonisches gesamtkunstwerk: the Junkerhaus of Lemgo articulated over the decades whilst the jilted artist awaited his betrothed who would never return—via Messy Nessy Chic—more here 

habemus papam: first round of voting fails to produce consensus—plus live chimney cam

10x10 (12. 405)

hug, marry, kill: internet roasts muttonhead JD Vance for his audience with Pope Francis—more here  

kegsbreath: US defence secretary poised to be replaced and other news and developments from Superpunch—see more  

trump slump: populist politicians over the globe are distancing themselves from MAGA  

yolo: search data for Anglophone texting abbreviations  

oh aunt jess: Angela Lansbury in fine art—via Miss Cellania  

technics: an obstacle course for LEGO walkers  

zwiebelfisch: a treasury of printers’ terminology, as in the German for a character misprinted with a dif𝚏erent font, and more including wayzgoose 

one if by land, two if by sea: Heather Cox Richardson speaking at the two-hundred fiftieth anniversary of the midnight ride of Paul Revere  

education for death: Walt Disney’s 1943 film on how fascists are made 

a good book can help us weather the storm: Francis’ defence of literature for spiritual and mental enlightenment—see also this papal playlist

infinite quilt (12. 395)

Via fellow internet caretaker and peripatetic, Messy Nessy Chic, having keep this tab open all day as a screen-saver and palette-cleanser, we would be remiss not to share this mediative botanical recursion that slowly zooms through a continuous and unending landscape of branches, leaves, roots and reefs which this halting gif-capture does not do justice. This Webby award winning collaboration from artists Sophia Schomberg and Nikolaus Baumgarten, the title Arkadia/Arcadia refers to the utopian ideal of pastoralism in harmony with Nature, a vision both bucolic and unspoilt by those humans who lightly manage it.

minotaure (12. 374)

The French Surrealist-oriented magazine in print from 1933 to 1939 was originally intended to be a general review of the plastic arts: poetry, architecture, theatre, ethnography, mythology and psychoanalytic studies but the publisher’s association with André Breton and others in the movement, ensuring a steady supply of contributions, shifted the focus. Illustrators and writers included Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Max Ernst, Dalí, René Magritte, Yves Tanguy and Frida Kahlo (see above—the pictured cover is by Diego Rivera for the Mexican supplement) and the publication’s high quality and high standards attracted the patronage of several sustaining sponsors. The title character was very much en vogue at the time with Picasso already having established several studies on the theme with the metaphor of the labyrinth representing the mind and the marauding Minotaur analogous to the irrational impulses with vanquishing Theseus a symbol for the greater self-knowledge of the Surrealist and psychoanalysis movement.

synchronoptica

one year ago: invasive species (with synchronoptica), a rare 1995 hybrid eclipse plus making US election day a holiday

seven years ago: Swedish house gymnastics, tokusatsu gifs plus giving a banana a passport

eight years ago: a cradle that mimics a car ride plus the first pizza delivery

nine years ago: Julia Child’s home in Provence, an ode to a departed feline friend plus quotes paired with fine art

ten years ago: a Nazi summer camp, assorted links to revisit plus the first petroleum company

la a note to follow doge (12. 346)

Releasing yet another executive order aimed at whitewashing the country’s past, Trump’s “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” is aimed at museums and other cultural institutions to remedy what MAGA regards a concerted effort by the radical left of revisionism geared to deepen societal divides and promote national shame. The Smithsonian has been politicised and weaponised, ordered to halt exhibits and articles featuring “race-centred ideology,” calling examination of marginalisation effectively anti-American, with vice president Vance deputised with the power to review all publications, projects and presentations to ensure compliance. One wonders when Americans might have their fill of liberty—it seems like a line has already been crossed yet new horrors come. The order also implies that like with earlier dictates that there are only two genders, that race is a biological reality, rather than a social construct playing into the pseudoscience that justifies eugenics and segregation and directs the administration’s secretary of the interior to begin reinstalling and rededicating Confederate and racist statues and monuments toppled or taken down in the course of the Black Lives Matter movement. Attempts to erase the past follow the wholesale assault on present postures diversity, inclusion, equity and access is a regression of decades of struggle against hate and oppression but unlikely to determine the future shape of society.

synchronoptica

one year ago: a biblical epic (with synchronoptica) 

seven years ago: an earlier Trump portrait plus GDPR compliance

eight years ago: the basement level kiosks of Bulgaria, more long German words plus mapping facial measurements

nine years ago: more state flags that could use an update,  the Sir Vival auto plus garlic dreams

ten years ago: telepathic technology plus redefining the kilogramme

10x10 (12. 325)

isolated dictatorship: Canadian MP urges citizens to avoid travel south of the border  

sykkelinfrastruktur: an amazing bike tunnel in Bergen  

incel camino: a new make and model for the Swasticar for all the domestic terrorists 

four of swords: Hyperallergic’s tarotscope for the coming of Spring  

fabio and the goose: Bobby Fingers (previously) reconstructs the encounter of harlequin novel author and pin-up’s encounter with a migrating bird whilst on a rollercoaster  

arbour day: tree planting activities cancelled over anti-DEI posture  

cats in outlines: the strangely gratifying effect of felines freezing in place 

sorry—not sorry: a study of apologies gleaned from reality television 

scylla and charybdis: the millennia-long aspirations to link Sicily with the mainland may soon come to pass  

pin: an unnerving psychosexual horror Canadian horror film from 1988

10x10 (12. 306)

i don’t belong here: reactions of first time listeners to Radiohead’s “Creep” 

auragraphs: a look at the psychic paintings of Flora Marian Spore, received visions from departed relatives—see previously  

overton window: why some find humour in embracing fascism—see also, see previously  

all in the wrist: a memorable mnemonic device for learning the carpal bones from Michelangelo’s Snowmen—see also  

i’m just gonna dance all night: a joyful behind the scenes peek at SNL writers’ room from a decade ago—via MetaFilter

orbital group: astronomers find Saturn has one-hundred twenty eight additional natural satellites

the pen is mightier than the sword: the end of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest (previously) after forty-two years—via Miss Cellania

persona non grata: US state department expels the South Africa ambassador, buying into Musk’s false narrative of confiscating land from white plantation owners 

the medium is the message: Alan Turing and other Cambridge academics obsession with ghosts and spiritualism 

hootie & the blowfish: an oddly effective mashup with The Smiths

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links worth the revisit (with synchronoptica), the first AI lab, Geoguessr savants plus serendipitous directories

seven years ago: The Inland Printer, Trump’s fabricated trade imbalances with China and Canada, the Anthropocene era’s golden spike plus more links to enjoy

eight years ago: embodiment and Singularity, LEGO tape plus Australian war time propaganda

nine years ago: more Liartown, USA, English as the official language plus Sir Thomas Moore

ten years ago: the Comic Code plus further crusading misadventures

♀ (12. 293)

Courtesy of our faithful chronicler, we learn that on this day in 1914 suffragette and activist Mary Raleigh Richardson walked into the National Gallery and attacked The Rokeby Venus by Diego Velázquez with a meat cleaver in protest of the arrest and incarceration of movement leader Emmeline Pankhurst the day prior. After slashing the canvas, apprehended and sentenced to the maximum allowable for vandalising a work of art of six-months, Richardson issued a statement to the press: “I have tried to destroy the picture of the most beautiful woman in mythological history as a protest against the government for destroying Mrs Pankhurst, who is the most beautiful character in modern history,” her actions further embellished in the papers in violent terms and framed as a callous murder of a actual person—an enduring problem when most female eponyms bestowed on places are not for actual figures but rather goddesses and deifications and more defamed by the omission, see also here and here. Velázquez’ 1651 work, successfully restored after the attack but again vandalised in 2023 by Just Stop Oil activists, was rather singular as one of the few nudes to come out of Spain during the Inquisition (Richardson also objected to the way gentleman gallery-goers leered at the image) and the motif, often copied, gave rise to the psychological, depictive departure known as the Venus Effect (cf, titular planetary symbol) with the goddess contemplating her reflection with back turned to the audience, seeing her face though not directly behind her, the intuitive framing often used in cinema to better frame an actor looking in the mirror.

🟨▲⚪️ (12. 276)

Having been exposed to the avant-garde artistic performance directed by Oskar Schlemmer beforehand, we enjoyed this omnibus posting on the touring troupe put together for the Triadic Ballet to help spread the ethos of the Bauhaus movement from 1921 to 1929 through its various revivals and re-interpretations of choreographed geometry, privileging the form and function of dance to the level of appreciation for a well-conceived chair or building. Building off of multiples of three, the concept is to introduce and reinforce he unity of design across disciplines, as something transcendent despite and by dint of mass-production, the transformative power of art on industry. Much more at Colossal at the link above, including original costume designs and contemporary productions.

mothman and the man in the moon (12. 270)

Having come across his astronomical illustrations beforehand, we appreciated this monograph on artist and amateur astronomer and entomologist Étienne Léopold Trouvelot of French extraction who fled to Massachusetts because of his republican leanings after the coup d’état by Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte in 1851. Problems with raising silk-producing moths (previously) in his adopted home in North America revised his long time interest in studying insects, and unsuccessful in breeding domestic species, had shipment of spongy moth (Lymantria dispar, also known as the gypsy moth) egg masses sent over from Europe. The larvae Trouvelot was experimenting with unfortunately escaped into the wild, where this voracious, invasive species has been damaging woodland habitats ever since. The incident, realising the gravity of his actions, made Trouvelot return to sketching pictures of the heavens, eventually attracting the attention of the director of the Harvard College Observatory due to his prodigious and detailed output, ultimately leading to the publication of his pastel studies of the Sun, Moon and planets the opportunity to turn his hobby into a profession, contributing to a number of scientific papers.

nackte und naturnah (12. 221)

Via fellow internet caretaker Messy Nessy Chic, we are directed to a profile of Karl Wilhelm Diefenbach, whom whilst rubbished by critics as the Kohlrabi (turnip) Apostle is regarded as the forefather alternative movements, championing naturism, vegetarianism and pacifism from a commune outside of Vienna and cooperative on Monte Verità on Lago Maggiore, established by protégés. His first moment of transcendence happened on this day in 1882 came at sunrise in the alpine foreland of Bavaria with the vocation of being a prophetic reformer, travelling to

München shortly thereafter in a woollen habit and sandals (though often unshod) and delivered his message, turning away from society’s institutions. Authorities suppressed his teachings and Diefenbach retreated to the countryside to focus on his paintings, though his fame did not materialise as with another follower’s, Hugo Höppener called Fidus and praise from the contemporaries like Egon Schiele, with the public focused on his unorthodox ways and a series of failed exhibitions though finally establishing a studio on Capri. Much more at the links above.

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit, Lunar New Year plus Death of a Salesman (1949)

seven years ago: rewilding plus notes on adulting

eight years ago: the official White House photographer, parliamentary procedure plus more links to enjoy

nine years ago: a van Gogh retreat and retrospective 

ten years ago: Werner Herzog motivational posters, Deutschland 1983, reputed time-travellers plus social media and net-neutrality