Birds by Heather Cash · Here’s a bright painting of birds on a branch entitled “Three of a Kind”, by Heather Cash. There’s a story to go with it ...
On Art · I enjoyed the conversation launched by Roger Ebert’s thesis that the video-game form cannot rise to the level of art, and have found myself considering the art-or-not-fulness of this or that; particularly in light of having recently played a videogame and watched some TV ... [16 comments]
North Korean Art · There are a few feeds I subscribe to that I almost never read; they’re just there for when I’m stuck on a boring con call or I’m really tired late at night. One of them is North Korea Zone; I have a sick fascination with North Korea, the fact such a place can still exist in the 21st Century is mind-boggling. Anyhow, late last night I ran across some online North Korean Art, which I entirely lack words to describe. To get warmed up, check out these Film Posters. Then there are shots of Kim Il-Sung with children and burning books and documents. Finally, I’m not sure why this one of Kim Jeong-Sook (whom I assume is the same person as Kim Jong-Suk) appealed to me, but it did. [Update: Some of the captions, translated, worth reading.] ...
On Selling Art · Increasingly, the products of artists are digital; thus subject to essentially-free copying and sharing. Artists, just like accountants and ambassadors, need to get paid. How best to arrange this? (Provoked by a long talk with Cory Doctorow at ApacheCon; my thanks to him, but the fallacies are my own.) ...
$10,000 · Some art remains material, resists the pull of the digital. This week, we paid a visit to the Vancouver Art Gallery; one contemporary work on display comprised a pile of one million pennies; newer and shinier at the center and thus the top of the pile. It caught and pleased the eye; and tickled the mind too. It wouldn’t have come close on a screen.
Drawing Drama · David Weinberger pointed out this (warning, very slightly not-work-safe) and I found it compelling, hypnotic; I have no idea what the site, fcmx.net, is about, but the the page called “Flash Cards II” in English, Виртуальные открытки II - Вся коллекция in Russian, has lots and lots more of these, and I’m not even sure David picked the best; they are elegant, erotic, witty, dramatic; well worth a visit. You probably want to turn the speed up to 8× or 16× for most of these or you’ll end up watching them all day. I suppose this has long been prefigured in the work of sidewalk caricaturists and the like, but still, I think it’s a new thing in the world.
Flower Mandalas · The name alone should be enough to compel excitement and support; the Flower Mandalas Project (via Botany Photo of the Day) is looking for contributions from you; not of money but of words, and maybe not even your own words. Check it out, and also the botany-photo background write-up is worth reading.
Cabinet · This is about a magazine that you’ve probably never read, but might want to have a look at ...
One Corner of a Cat · Previously I wrote in One Corner of a Cube about an Asian sage, name unremembered, who said that if you’re painting a cube, you need only get one corner right. In this follow-up we identify the sage and include lots of pointers and two samples of the “One Corner” school, one by its founder ...
One Corner of a Cube · I recall a Confucian thinker (or Kongfuzi himself? or a Taoist? or a Buddhist? I can’t find the reference) arguing that if you are painting a picture of a cube, you really only need to paint one corner and do it right ...
Edward Tufte · This gentleman has a Web site, but he is famous for his very beautiful and influential books; three of them as of this writing, visible at the web site. At Antarctica we claim Tufte as a major influence, and we usually (I think) live up to that claim pretty well. Tufte's thinking has influenced mine as much as that of any other living human being ...
