World’s Top Exhibitions: “The Deep Listener” By Danish Artist Jakob Kudsk Steensen, Serpentine Galleries, London (2019)

deeplistener1Designed as an augmented reality and spatial audio work downloadable as an app for mobile devices, it is both a site specific public artwork and a digital archive of these species, using tools and platforms from a range of fields including video games, computer generated images and film. Inspired by ecological science-fiction and scientific research, Kudsk Steensen creates a form of ‘slow media’ that uses the technological to foster attention rather than distraction. 

...a journey to both see and hear five of London’s species: London plane trees, bats, parakeets, azure blue damselflies and reedbeds.

Kudsk Steensen has collaborated with the field recordist and sound designer Matt McCorkle to represent five species as sound. The audio and visuals within the project are drawn directly from organic source material gathered from a period of embedded research within Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. These organic materials are then transformed through digital processes to be re-embedded within the same context.

Download brochure: https://www.serpentinegalleries.org/files/press-releases/the_deep_listener_tdl_a5_digital_v2_final.pdf

Website: https://www.serpentinegalleries.org/exhibitions-events/serpentine-augmented-architecture

Future Of City Mobility: Revel Electric Mopeds Offer App-Based Utility And Affordability

From CityLab.com online article:

Revel Electric Mopeds NYC pricingCompared to the toylikerule-floutingsidewalk-cluttering kick-scooters, proper motor scooters also promise to be a more regulated—and officially legitimized—form of urban transportation. “It rides and parks in the street and flows through traffic, completely off sidewalks,” says Frank Reig, CEO of Revel. “You’re part of the traffic lane and have a license plate.”

Revel Electric Mopeds NYC rear viewTo get started, the company requires a scan of your license, accompanied by an in-app selfie, to go through a $19 background check approval. What you don’t need is a motorcycle license, or any prior experience piloting these kinds of vehicles. And that could prove to be a challenge for some.

The electric mopeds that Revel uses in D.C. are made by the Chinese company NIU; they sell about $3,000 to $5,000 if you want your own, and they are similar in price and capabilities to their gas-powered Vespa cousins. They have a range of about 60 miles and can go about 30 miles per hour—fast enough to keep up with traffic in the city.

To read more: https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2019/09/revel-electric-scooter-rental-review-moped-safety-tips-app/597367/?utm_campaign=citylab-daily-newsletter&utm_medium=email&silverid=%25%25RECIPIENT_ID%25%25&utm_source=newsletter

Top California Hotels: The Farmhouse Inn Is A Culinary Destination In Sonoma Wine Country

From a Jetsetter.com online review:

Farmhouse Inn, CA roomDespite the overwhelming presence of boutique inns along the Atlantic, they’re not a strictly East Coast commodity. Case in point: Sonoma’s  Farmhouse Inn.

The 25-room property, located just 30 minutes from Calistoga and Napa Valley, attracts visitors from near and far with guest rooms done up in homey, (you guessed it) farmstead-style decor (think: plaid throws and rustic tree limb end tables, all adhering to a neutral palette of white, beige, and brown), brightened up by bouquets of fresh seasonal flowers. Farmhouse Inn, CA signBeyond its aesthetically-pleasing interiors, the inn also knows a thing or two about food—starting with a nightly turndown service that includes homemade cookies and milk, and ending with the Farmhouse Restaurant, an onsite Michelin-starred, farm-to-table dining experience with killer dishes like peach salad, chanterelle tortellini, and wild Alaskan halibut.

To read more: https://www.jetsetter.com/magazine/the-coziest-inns-ever/?

New Photography Books: The Full-Day Panoramas Of “Day To Night” By Stephen Wilkes (Taschen)

From a Smithsonian Magazine online review:

Flatiron NYC Day to Night 2010 Stephen WilkesAt first glance, Stephen Wilkes’ photographs look like a single moment in time. It is only upon closer inspection that viewers discover that each of his works is actually the result of shooting thousands of photographs from a stationary position over the course of a day and stitching them together digitally to create one cohesive panorama. The painstaking task of editing all of this information and whittling it down into one image can take months to complete, but the results capture a sense of place that can’t be expressed by a single frame alone.

Wilkes expands on this concept in his new bookDay to Night, which features panoramas of iconic places like New York’s Coney Island, Moscow’s Red Square and Arizona’s Grand Canyon seen over the course of a day. Time-lapse photos these are not, as Wilkes carefully selects the exact frames he’ll compile into the final image. (The book release coincides with “A Witness to Change,” a photographic exhibition to be held at Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery in New York City beginning September 12.)

Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/how-photographer-stephen-wilkes-captures-full-day-single-image-180972935/#6RZ7EF0BklRrTGAP.99

Profiles: Mexico’s Great Artist, Francisco Toledo, Has Died (1940 – 2019)

From a Smithsonian Magazine online article:

Francisco Toledo - The Wanderer (1989)Though his paintings and sculptures sell all over the world for fabulous prices, he has not enriched himself. He lives simply, with his wife, Trine Ellitsgaard Lopez, an accomplished weaver, in a traditional house in the middle of Oaxaca, and has used his considerable profits to found art centers and museums, an ethnobotanical garden and at least three libraries.

jun2019_g03_franciscotoledoToledo, whose origins were obscure and inauspicious, was the son of a leatherworker—shoemaker and tanner. He was born in Mexico City, but the family soon after moved to their ancestral village near Juchitán de Zaragoza in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, nearer to Guatemala than to Mexico City—and being ethnically Zapotec, nearer culturally to the ancient pieties of the hinterland too.

His paintings became sought after for their singular beauty. His work resisted all classification and fashion. He was not attached to any movement, even when the art world was turbulent with abstraction and Minimalism and Color Field and Op Art. He elaborated his ancestral visions of masks and folk tales, haunted and highly colored landscapes, and eroticism that was both comic and gothic. “He intuits the timelessness of authenticity,” the Guatemalan art critic Luis Cardoza y Aragón wrote. In 1967, an enthusiastic Henry Miller—himself a watercolorist—wrote the text for a Toledo exhibition.

Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/what-makes-francisco-toledo-180972172/#OPyozLi0YzWgWjf4.99

Top New Wildlife Films: “Chungungo – A Mentor’s Tale” Directed By Ben Goertzen (2019)

https://vimeo.com/338880115

Written and Directed By: BEN GOERTZEN

Producers: RENE ARANEDA CONTRERAS, MAURICIO HANDLER-RUIZ

Chungungo A Mentor’s Tale Directed by BEN GOERTZEN 2019

Executive Producers: DENY STAGGS, RENE ARANEDA CONTRERAS, MAURICIO HANDLER-RUIZ

Director of Photography: BEN GOERTZEN

Chungungo A Mentor’s Tale Directed by BEN GOERTZEN 2019

Underwater Director of Photography:MAURICIO HANDLER-RUIZ

Chungungo A Mentor’s Tale Directed by BEN GOERTZEN 2019An endangered, South American Marine Otter mother and her two pups act as a vehicle into a poetic exploration of the threshold between comfort and action. Through blending traditional blue-chip cinematography with a philosophical narration the smallest marine mammal in the world is used as a mentor to teach humans about trusting their internal compass and confronting difficult questions. From showing a caring mother, to a playful sibling bond, to the kelp forests that nourish their entire ecosystem, this film aims to build empathy for animals as complex beings with more depth than we give them credit for.

Website: http://www.aquaterrafilms.com/

Health Studies: Majority Of People With Dementia Never Receive Specialty Diagnosis Or Care

From a USC News online release:

Alzheimer's & Dementia Journal Aug 2019The team found 85% of people first diagnosed with dementia were diagnosed by a non-dementia specialist physician, usually a primary care doctor, and an “unspecified dementia” diagnosis was common.

One year after diagnosis, less than a quarter of patients had seen a dementia specialist. After five years, the percent of patients had only increased to 36%.

In the first large study to examine the diagnosis of dementia in older Americans over time, researchers found the vast majority never meet with a dementia specialist and are instead overwhelmingly diagnosed and cared for by non-specialists.

The study, which also found the use of dementia specialty care was particularly low for Hispanic and Asian patients, was published Wednesday in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.

To read more: https://news.usc.edu/160355/dementia-diagnosis-usc-study-specialty-care/

Best New History Books: “Escape From Rome” By Walter Scheidel (Oct 2019)

From a Princeton University Press release:

Escape From RomeThe fall of the Roman Empire has long been considered one of the greatest disasters in history. But in this groundbreaking book, Walter Scheidel argues that Rome’s dramatic collapse was actually the best thing that ever happened, clearing the path for Europe’s economic rise and the creation of the modern age. Ranging across the entire premodern world, Escape from Rome offers new answers to some of the biggest questions in history: Why did the Roman Empire appear? Why did nothing like it ever return to Europe? And, above all, why did Europeans come to dominate the world?

In an absorbing narrative that begins with ancient Rome but stretches far beyond it, from Byzantium to China and from Genghis Khan to Napoleon, Scheidel shows how the demise of Rome and the enduring failure of empire-building on European soil ensured competitive fragmentation between and within states. This rich diversity encouraged political, economic, scientific, and technological breakthroughs that allowed Europe to surge ahead while other parts of the world lagged behind, burdened as they were by traditional empires and predatory regimes that lived by conquest. It wasn’t until Europe “escaped” from Rome that it launched an economic transformation that changed the continent and ultimately the world.

To read more: https://press.princeton.edu/titles/13581.html

Future Of Camper Vans: The “Hymer VisionVenture” Looks, Designed Like A “High-End Apartment”

From a Curbed.com online review:

Erwin Hymer Group debuted the VisionVenture concept interior stairsThis year at Düsseldorf, the Erwin Hymer Group debuted the VisionVenture concept. Built on a Mercedes chassis, the VisionVenture is a forward-thinking camper that looks more like a high-end apartment than a striped-down adventure rig.

To accomplish this, the camper’s interior uses warm bamboo, gray felt, and leather, mixing woods with other materials to add interest. The living area is located in the rear with two white sofas and a center dining table that folds down below the passenger-side bench. The stand-out feature of the living room is the panoramic rear window and large side windows. Fold out the rear door, drop a lower gate and the van boasts its own rear deck—complete with slide-out electric grill.

Erwin Hymer Group debuted the VisionVenture concept interior

It’s an impressive lounge area, and the kitchen goes even further with a flush cooktop, sink, refrigerator, and ample storage. The styling is fresh too, with modular, deck-like wall paneling that works to hang plants or cooking equipment as needed. Integrated next to the kitchen is a compact slate-colored staircase—reminiscent of tiny house design—that boasts storage, motion-activated lighting, and access to an inflatable pop-up sleeping area. The upstairs bed sleeps two and takes advantage of big views through the rear roll-up window.

https://www.hymer.com/de/de/modelle/technologie-innovation/vision-venture

To read more: https://www.curbed.com/2019/9/5/20851580/rv-camper-van-hymer-concept-visionventure

Best Travel Shows: British Series “Travel Man” Is Helpful And Hilarious

From a New Yorker online article:

Travel Man PhotoOn “Travel Man,” Ayoade is fun to look at (snappy suits, thick-framed glasses, expression of amused diffidence) and fun to listen to. (Of a monastery turned hotel in Naples, he says, “As well as modish guff, like a rooftop pool and a spa, it retains attractive old shiz, like staircases dug into the hillside.”) His persona is warmly amused, broadly skeptical, and gently astringent—i.e., British. He’s not a joiner. His intros conclude with him saying, in that episode’s particular city and with that episode’s particular guest, “We’re here, but should we have come?” 

 

Travel Man: 48 Hours in . . .” is a British series in which the comedian, writer, actor, and director Richard Ayoade spends forty-eight hours in a city, accompanied by various friends—“some of the most available and affordable names in light ent,” as he puts it—and tells us about what to do there. “Mini-breaks are a swirling nebula of nonsense!” he says at the top of “Copenhagen,” during a brisk montage of him in Venice, Copenhagen, Vienna, and Moscow. “How can anyone go somewhere new and be expected to enjoy themselves without a decade to decompress?” Exactly, I thought. This is the show for me.

To read more: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/on-television/travel-man-richard-ayoades-travel-show-for-people-who-hate-travel

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