Category Archives: Reviews

Top Photographers: Luke Shad Bolt’s “Roiling Majesty” Of Ocean Waves

From a Colossal online article:

Maelstrom 8, 2016 Luke Shad BoltIn a statement on the artist’s website, the Maelstrom series is described as “a cursory glimpse of the exchange, cycle and balance of power fundamental to the functioning of our planet and its oceans… Maelstrom encourages the viewer to reflect upon our own naivety and place as a species within the greater natural balance of power.”

Luke Shadbolt captures the roiling majesty of ocean waves in his large-scale aquatic photographs. Printed at 150 x 100 cm (nearly 6 feet by 3.3 feet), the color and black-and-white images show the dramatic shapes and dynamic textures of open water when agitated by major weather events.

https://lukeshadbolt.com/portfolio

The Acquiesce the Front series similarly seeks to draw connections between the human experience and our natural environment. “The physical manifestations portrayed are a deft reflection of those storms that are implicit to the human condition,” and our individual frailty in the face of big events. Yet Shadbolt finds hope in the potential “to learn and grow from these events. While we may be powerless to stop the storm from approaching, we can work to redirect the flood.”

To read more: https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2019/10/waves-by-luke-shadbolt/?mc_cid=e31c291cfd&mc_eid=28f9488a9b

 

Top New Nature Books: “Turning The Boat For Home” By Richard Mabey

From a Cotswold Life online interview/review:

Turning The Boat For Home Richard Mabey cover“I suppose I started off with a fairly literal view of the world,” he says. “But, quite early on, it became clear to me that there was much more going on than simply the picture I was seeing; that the natural world had an agenda of its own; that it was going to live out life, regardless of how we viewed it and how we used it; and, indeed, regardless of the fancy metaphors that we used.”

Oh my goodness. Where to begin?

I could start with the ‘Praying Beech’ – a tree whose (‘whose’? The human possessive feels simultaneously wrong and yet just right) two branch stubs clasped each other like hands. Once, when the rain fell in an apocalyptic burst, Richard Mabey watched its bark melt in front of his eyes. It was, of course, no stranger to extremes of weather: one summer past, the tree had been split by lightning, bees hunkering down in its newly-created hollows. Sometime later, a storm had toppled it, leaving fungi free to colonise its delicious surfaces: knobbly coral spots; dead man’s fingers rising corpse-like from the tree’s own rot; white porcelain tufts, like Royal Worcester plates awaiting a delicate slice of egg-yellow sponge.

To read more: https://www.cotswoldlife.co.uk/people/interview-with-nature-writer-richard-mabey-1-6357450?utm_medium=email&utm_source=eshot&utm_campaign=newsletterlinknewtemplate

Short Films: “The Art Of Collecting” By Petr Krejčí

Filmed and Directed by: Petr Krejčí

A film commissioned by Goldsmith’s Compay for Goldsmith’s Fair 2019. This year’s theme was about collecting and collectors.

Goldsmiths’ Fair is recognised internationally as the premier UK showcase for contemporary jewellery and silver.

The Art of Collecting short Film Goldsmiths' Fair 2019

Each year, this unique event draws collectors, design lovers and luxury shoppers to the magnificent Goldsmiths’ Hall where they can browse the latest collections from this handpicked selection of craftsmen and women.

Website: https://www.goldsmithsfair.co.uk/

Health Studies: People With Depression (Genetic) Reduce Depressive Episodes With Exercise

From a MD Magazine online release:

Benefits of ExerciseThe investigators discovered that patients with a higher genetic risk for depression were more likely to be diagnosed with depression over the next 2 years. However, more physically active patients at baseline were less likely to depression, even after they accounted for genetic risks.

Increasing physical activity could pay dividends for people with a high risk of developing depression.

A team from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) recently discovered that several hours of weekly exercise result in a decreased chance to be diagnosed with a new episode of depression, even in patients with a higher genetic risk of developing Major Depressive Disorder (MDD).

The team examined the genomic and electronic health record (EHR) data of approximately 8000 patients in the Partners Healthcare Biobank, which represents the first study to show how physical activity influences depression despite genetic risk.

To read more: https://www.mdmag.com/medical-news/physical-activity-epressive-episode?eKey=bWljaGFlbDkyNjUxQHlhaG9vLmNvbQ==&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MDMagSS%20Daily%20Clinical%20eNews%20Sponsored%20Article%2011-5-19%20copy&utm_content=MDMagSS%20Daily%20Clinical%20eNews%20Sponsored%20Article%2011-5-19%20copy+CID_7326ad4f0f2426afa568130acb5dabae&utm_source=CM%20MDMag&utm_term=Physical%20Activity%20Reduces%20Odds%20of%20Depressive%20Episode

New Collector Books: “Salvador Dalí Tarot Card” Book Set (Taschen)

Dalí’s Tarot Book and Card Set TaschenDalí poses as the Magician, his wife Gala becomes the Empress, and the death of Julius Caesar is reinterpreted as the Ten of Swords in the artist’s  extraordinary custom tarot deck. First published in a 1984 limited edition that has since long sold out, this lush box set brings back all 78 cards, each dazzling in color, along with a companion book on the making-of and practical instructions.

To read more: https://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/art/all/44640/facts.dali_tarot.htm

Science & Art: Jackson Pollock’s Drip Painting Style (And Genius) Avoided “Coiling Instability”

From PLOS One Journal online release:

Jackson Pollock Full Fathom Five 1947We conclude that Pollock avoided the appearance of the hydrodynamic instabilities, contrary to what was argued by previous studies. Pollock selected the physical properties of the paint to prevent filament fragmentation before deposition, and applied it while moving his hand sufficiently fast and at certain heights to avoid fluid filaments from coiling into themselves. An understanding of the physical conditions at which these patterns were created is important to further art research and it can be used as a tool in the authentication of paintings.

Jackson Pollock Painting TechniqueConsidered one of the most prominent American painters of the 20th century, the life and work of Jackson Pollock have been the subject of books, movies, and documentaries [13]. His paintings can be broadly categorized as being abstract-expressionist. Although his painting style evolved during his sometimes tormented life, the so-called ‘dripping’ technique is certainly the most widely recognized both by experts and the general public.

Jackson Pollock described the technique himself [4]. In summary, Pollock would lay a canvas horizontally and pour paint on top of it, in a controlled manner. To regulate the flow of paint, he either used an instrument (a stick, knife or a brush), poured it directly from a can and in some instances he also used a syringe. Viscous fluid filaments were produced and laid over the canvas while ‘rhythmically moving’ around it. It is believed that Pollock developed this technique strongly influenced by an experimental painting workshop, organized in New York by Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros in 1936 [5]. Interestingly, Siqueiros himself also developed the ‘accidental painting’ technique during this workshop, which was recently analyzed by Zetina et al. [6].

To read more: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0223706

Automobile Nostalgia: 1950’s “Alfa Romeo B.A.T.” Concept Cars Exhibited In London Nov 20-23

From a Classic Driver online article:

Titled Trinity: B.A.T. 5-7-9 and poised to take place at Phillips Berkeley Square on 20–23 November 2019, the exhibition will highlight B.A.T. 5, 7 and 9s’ visionary aesthetics in addition to their significance in the wider context of 20th-century art, architecture and design. 

Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica concept cars

Designed for Bertone by the supremely talented Franco Scaglione in the 1950s, the Alfa Romeo-based Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica concept cars are seminal objects of 20th-century design. Widely known as the B.A.T. cars, the trio of audacious, ultra-aerodynamic and fully functional prototypes pushed the boundaries of automotive design like nothing that had come before and truly embodied avant-garde creativity.

To read more: https://www.classicdriver.com/en/article/cars/phillips-bringing-mythical-bertone-bat-concept-cars-london?utm_campaign=892019%20Aston%20Martin%20DB7%20Zagato%20EN&utm_content=892019%20Aston%20Martin%20DB7%20Zagato%20EN%20CID_a86e9a9f98d16c5ff80cce42a13cdc42&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_term=Phillips%20is%20bringing%20the%20mythical%20Bertone%20BAT%20concept%20cars%20to%20London

Top History Podcasts: “Dynamite!” Explores Artistic & Polical Uses (Smithsonian Sidedoor)

Sidedoor from SmithonianIn its heyday, dynamite was a transformative tool; it could blast rock quarries, excavate tunnels, and demolish buildings with power and reliability never before seen. But it also proved to be useful in some surprising ways. In this special episode of Sidedoor, we team up with the history podcast Backstory to explore two less-typical applications of the explosive: the artistic blasting at Mount Rushmore, and how anarchists used dynamite to advance their political agenda in 1886.

Future Of Money Podcast: Digital Payments Become The Norm Reducing Need For Cash (The Economist)

The Economist Future WatchAs digital payments become the norm, will there be a need for cash? The Economist’s Finance editor Helen Joyce takes a look behind the scenes of the future, from Sweden to Shanghai. She explores how digital payments will transform the economy, and how they risk leaving some people behind.

Museum Insider: Curators & Artists Oversee New Frames, Placement Of Paintings At MoMA (Video)

The new MoMA opens. Cherished works return to the walls of the galleries in brand new frames, while curators and artists watch the completion of the reinstallation. After being closed for four months, MoMA reopens its doors to the public.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

0:13 – Associate sculpture conservator Roger Griffith and sculpture conservation fellow Joy Bloser clean Arthur Young’s Bell-47D1 Helicopter.

0:52 – Senior curator of Painting and Sculpture Anne Umland and chief curator of Painting and Sculpture Ann Temkin oversee the hanging of Pablo Picasso’s “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.”

1:20 – Peter Perez, frame shop foreman, discusses “The Starry Night’s” new, black frame.

2:53 – Artist Amy Sillman explains how she curated and arranged “The Shape of Shape,” part of the long-running Artist’s Choice exhibition series in which artists selects works to show from the Museum’s collection

4:17 – Photography curator Sarah Meister and conservator Lee Ann Daffner adjust the lighting on Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey’s “Rome. Arch of Septimus Severus and Capitoline Lion.”

5:02 – Senior deputy director of exhibitions and collections Ramona Bronkar Bannayan and director of exhibition design and production Lana Hum make a final checklist of things to accomplish before the opening.

5:32 – Artist Betye Saar sees her exhibition for the first time.

7:11 – Manager of enterprise applications Rik Vanmechelen and developer Ryan Sprott check the new ticket machines.

8:04 – Chief facilities and safety officer Tunji Adeniji welcomes the public to the new MoMA on opening day.

8:30 – Silent film accompanist Ben Model improvises a live piano soundtrack for Frank Powell’s 1915 film “A Fool There Was.”

9:12 – Security supervisor Chet Gold greets volunteer Fred Liberman. Gold returns to his favorite room in the new MoMA.