Nature
Maps & Cosmos
Continuing with the art in science theme there are some artistic and “far-out” pictures to view at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. Maps: Finding our Place in the World has already passed, however the pictures can be viewed at this link and Mapping the Cosmos is ongoing through July 27th (seen below). [There are two other exhibits here that look very appealing — Artwork of Sonya Clark, especially her bead work (7/1 – 9/7) and The Special Dead, A Medieval Reliquary Revealed (8/2 – 1/18).] What’s even more cool, however, is that Hubble has it’s own wall mural site, where their images can be downloaded as wall art. Since…
Beijing Buildings
Beijing’s bursting architectural boom, due to the upcoming 2008 Summer Olympics, is either an example of “authoritarian architecture” or a proliferation in architectural advancement. According to Philip Kennicott, the Washington Post architecture critic, who writes this “Towering Ambition” article, much of China’s current architecture is meaningless. Here’s a video by Travis Fox for you to decide: The United Kingdom’s take in The Times isn’t so great either; although, I happen to like some of the structures and their contemporary feel, particularly the stadiums and the gigantic video facade, which remind me of other light show postings. I find Beijing’s “Bird’s Nest” stadium very similar to Martin Puryear’s “basketry-like” sculpture, particularly…
Garden Transformation
This is a posting from Lorre Lei Jackson, our contributing writer from New Orleans, LA. Below are the before and after pictures of the garden to show how landscape design can be art — man manipulating nature, and in this case, enhancing the overall enjoyment and adding curb appeal. As anyone knows who’s been involved in any kind of renovation, the project can be daunting — a long and hard haul, as this one was in the garden but the planning and perseverance paid off. As an aside, here’s a little perseverance quotient test that is fun to see if one has the mental wherewithal to off pull a long…
