Link About It: This Week’s Picks
COS comes to America, soccer mania at Dazed, a Plutonian moon’s underground ocean and more in our weekly look at the web
1. Porcelain Pieces
Combine Street Fighter with Ai Weiwei’s 1995 “Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn” piece and you get the work of German artist Martin Klimas. In his “Porcelain Figurines,” the Düsseldorf-based photographer drops the fragile statues to the ground and captures them as they shatter, injecting a dynamic quality into the rigid pieces.
2. An Ocean on Pluto’s Moon
According to a new NASA report, potential cracks on Pluto’s icy mega-moon Charon could indicate whether or not it once had a subterranean ocean. Pluto’s moons share the same frigid, uninhabitable environment as the planet. However, that might not have always been the case and with NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft slated for a visit there in 2015 (a first ever), scientists will be able to learn whether or not these chasms will actually reshape our thoughts on water.
3. Richard Avedon iPad App
In 1944, at a mere 21 years old, Richard Avedon began his prolific career at Harper’s Bazaar, working as a staff photographer. Boundary-pushing Avedon, under the guide of art director Alexey Brodovitch, broke the norm and brought models to life, transporting them from the studio to the street and using the city as his canvas for more youthful, energetic photos. His extensive work can now be enjoyed in digital form, thanks to a new free iPad app, which features 1,000 photos and archival images from the pages of Harper’s Bazaar.
4. Hamilton’s Unfulfilled Ulysses Quest
Britain’s father of pop art, Richard Hamilton, once sought to create the definitive collection of illustrations for James Joyce’s epic novel Ulysses. While he wasn’t able to complete the mission, he did amass 60 drawings and prints. The British Museum exhibited the works back in 2002 and a selection once again went on display for free on 16 June 2014—but only because they were turned it over to the government as a replacement for almost £1 million in back taxes the artist’s estate owed since Hamilton’s 2011 death.
5. Jamie Lidell’s Live Set-Up
Singer and songwriter Jamie Lidell’s latest eponymous album returns to his Super Collider electronica roots—pushing the boundaries of man and machine to make a sweet duet. In this nine-minute video from RBMA, Lidell walks the audience through his live set-up (including a vintage Yamaha DX100) and a jaw-dropping impromptu performance.
6. COS Comes to America
Coinciding with Swedish retailer COS landing in the States, the brand
recently launched an aptly titled project called “50 Things: A Collection of Things We
Love From America.” Filled with work from both familiar names and
largely undiscovered designers, the list also explores American
architecture, culture and the country’s geographic holdings. Sight
Unseen takes a detailed look as it unfolds.
7. 2014’s Tel Aviv Food Guide
Israeli culinary blog Matkonation has just released a new food guide on Tel Aviv’s tremendous offerings. With every entry hand-selected from locals in the know, the free site offers insights on the latest and the greatest within the city. It’s all broken down into 12 easily navigable categories, corresponding to types of meals—from street foods to fine dining. As an emergent global gastronomy hub, Matkonation’s guide is a must for those looking to explore Israel’s food and beverage scene.
8. Henry Hargreaves’ Military Messages
Inspired by the clever, humorous and often dark messages many
soldiers carved into Zippo lighters during the Vietnam war,
photographer Henry Hargreaves recently recreated the same reoccurring
themes with the modern equivalent of necessity—cell phones. Using
situational props and heavy vignetting, the photographic series
depicts engraved cell phones as if found in
the pockets of uniforms in Afghanistan and Iraq today, hinting at how little has changed in the last 40 years of American warfare.
9. Autonomous Camera Drone
After asking for $50,000 on Kickstarter to fund their project, Hexo+ is getting close to the $1 million mark with their idea for an autonomous drone. Designed for action sports enthusiasts, the drone promises to identify and track you through all your wave-catching, kickflipping endeavors. While the technology is exciting and innovative when applied to sports, it does send a slight shiver down the spine of conspiracy theorists the world around.
10. Fever Pitch
London-based magazine Dazed & Confused has dispatched a handful of
photojournalists to five cities around the world to capture the passion that the World Cup brings.
Publishing images daily from Rome, London, Rio, São Paulo and Paris,
the publication offers an emotional, inspiring and flat-out
entertaining look at the monumental event and its worldwide
impact.
11. Feminist Phone Intervention
An anonymous New Yorker has created a service for women in sketchy pick-up situations. The service—dubbed Feminist Phone Intervention—is a fake phone number to give out if feeling threatened, pressured or uncomfortable when asked for your digits. Give the number and when your pursuer calls or messages, they will receive a text with an automatically-generated quotation from feminist writer and social activist, bell hooks. It’s a service that women—sadly—often need, since honestly telling somebody you’re not interested can lead to aggression, threatening behavior and even violence.
12. The 21st Century Piano
The general design of the acoustic grand piano hasn’t changed much since its modernization in the 19th century. David Klavins, a master instrumentalist, has been re-imagining a piano that fits the aesthetic and sound of our century (past experiments include a 12-foot-tall upright piano). His latest is the Klavins UC (short for Una Chorda), smaller and remarkably lighter than typical pianos, weighing just under 100 kg, which will not only make it easier to move but tune as well.
Link About It is our filtered look at the web, shared daily on Twitter and published weekly every Saturday morning.
