early modern

Though the buildings’ host nation rather disturbingly broke ranks with the international body that has not stopped eight examples of Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture from being nominated for inclusion on the registry of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, possibly to be inscribed during the next year. If approved Wright’s iconic structures, including the Falling Water House and the Guggenheim, will join a panoply of architectural wonders both ancient and more contemporary.

contact print

Our thanks to the always terrific Nag on the Lake for the introduction to the impressive portfolio of artist and photographer Damion Berger through his series of compositions Black Powder that re-contextualise pyrotechnic displays by presenting them as black-and-white negatives, whose exposure properties can be chalked up to a chemical reaction like the subjects. Pictured is a scene from the annual fete of Saint Clair (patroness of laundry, television and needleworkers) celebrated in Sant Pau on the French Riviera.   Much more to explore at the links above.

oversharing

Examining the beleaguered missteps of a social media platform through the lens of the integrity dividend, Evan Osnos’ analysis in The New Yorker is a sobering reminder that when the service is free, you are the product and that none of us are immune to the manipulation and exploitation until we’ve attained the tipping point of herd immunity that unseats those outlying, extreme opinions.
I think the graver danger lies in the fact that many dismiss the latest in a tranche of scandals—with surely more to follow—as people getting what they deserved. One so easily swayed by sophistry doesn’t deserve to participate in politics in the first place, one might argue, ignorant of their own selective bias. In general, people are not poles apart on issues and reasonable civility would otherwise prevail but by amplifying small differences in opinion we all become polarised and made to take sides. In a business model based on trust and reputation, it seems perhaps something too easily squandered and forgiven.

typesetting

Via Kottke, we are treated to the extensive and evocative portfolio of artist and advocate Lenka Clayton through her ongoing series of drawings created on a Smith-Corona Skyriter. Clayton’s art and interventions nudge conventions and propel one to the poetic and inspired, like getting to know every resident of a small Slovakian town that shares her name or her Artists’ Residency in Motherhood project that helps to empower and recognise gifted moms. See more of Clayton’s work at the links above.