Link About It: This Week’s Picks
From cannabis culture to public art, Pantera and more—our look around the web
1. Artist Prune Nourry’s Incense + Blowtorch-Driven Catharsis
For the unveiling of “The Amazon,” artist Prune Nourry’s new sculpture outside The Standard High Line hotel, Nourry took a blowtorch to a portion of the work—igniting hundreds of sticks of red incense. The French multimedia artist’s piece represents healing and catharsis, and draws inspiration from a First Century Roman marble wounded Amazon warrior statue at the Met she crossed while battling breast cancer. The incense calls to mind acupuncture, which the artist employed during cancer treatment. Nourry and jazz artist Jon Batiste will conduct an intimate performance at the sculpture in September, an extension of the healing process she foresees. Read more at Surface.
2. Advancements in 3D Human Heart Organoids
Companies like Hong Kong’s Novoheart and New York’s Tara Biosystems are producing miniature hearts that, as Wired points out, can not only save lives but also save money in scientific research. These creations (the former, pea-sized and the latter, a flat, petri-dish version) react to some types of treatment similar to the way a human heart would. Organoid technology isn’t new but the successful biological reactions are. These new developments actually function like heart tissue—and test results utilizing these creations will change the health industry. Read more at Wired.
3. Childproof Packaging Developments from the Cannabis Industry
Between Colorado’s code about marijuana packaging that can’t be easily opened by children, yet can be accessed by seniors and people with disabilities, and California’s requirement that the same packaging must be tamper-evident, plenty of innovation has struck the cannabis industry. It was only exacerbated by the development of edibles, topicals, and concentrates. Thus, companies like ebottles.com and MarijuanaPackaging.com began to push new ground, with an evolution in sophistication. Read more about the fascinating, at times comical, development of special packaging over at Quartz.
4. Farewell to Pantera Co-Founder, Vinnie Paul
Co-founding Pantera at just 17 years old (along with his brother Dimebag Darrell and Terry Glaze), drummer Vinnie Paul has died aged 54 years old. There’s no doubt that Pantera (known for their heavy-meets-groove-meets-thrash metal) was wildly influential, and their fans wildly passionate. Texas-born Paul based his life and career on having a good time, responding years ago to a question about what music he would have play at his funeral that “I’d really want to choose an album that was a goddamn good time, like fuckin’ Guns-n-Roses. I’d want people to celebrate what we’ve done and the fact that we’d had a great life. I wouldn’t want my funeral to be a sad, sappy thing.” Read about band’s impact and history at The Guardian.
5. Starbucks’ Transgender Health Policy is Next Level
Starbucks has just announced its updated trans health policy—and it’s directly in cohesion with the World Professional Association for Transgender Health’s (WPATH) recommendations. While the coffee company has offered gender-reassignment surgeries since 2012, they are now covering everything from hair-grafting to voice therapy and beyond. As Mary Emily O’Hara writes, these are “services considered vital for transgender healthcare but often listed as ‘cosmetic’ and not covered by health insurance.” Starbucks worked with their trans employees as well as WPATH in order to update their policy, and the outcome is the most inclusive, comprehensive and thoughtful in the world. Read more at Them.
6. Joshua Vides’ Glowing DC Shoes Installation
Evoking the world of “Tron” with its geometric, fluorescent architecture, American artist Joshua Vides’ “Reality to Idea” exhibition debuted during Paris Fashion Week, in the underground creative studio of DC Shoes. Within the installation, Vides revealed several sneakers that he’d modified himself with markers. One of the most famous silhouettes from the brand, the E. TRIBEKA, recently returned with plenty of fanfare, so from the streetwear to the installation, everything was quite the celebration. Read more at Sneakers Magazine.
7. Climate Change Poses a Threat to Coffee
The coffee industry is actively combatting the effects of climate change. From providing seeds to monitoring production and suggesting new agricultural practices for their partner growers, larger coffee companies are using their knowledge and resources to help everyone adapt. And there’s no choice: between rising demand for top-quality beans and the potential for supply disruption. Of the organizations, Starbucks has spearheaded farm development, especially in Costa Rica. All of the on-the-ground work is leading to vast new bodies of research and regulated development. With this knowledge, perhaps the coffee belt can be saved amidst changing conditions. Read more at Time.
8. Debut Interview Series, “One Joint With”
When editorial platform One Joint With makes reference to the “higher conversations” found on their site, they’re being quite literal. Founder Alyssa Shapiro’s interviews with a broad range of cultural subjects have been conducted while sharing a joint. From Fetty Wap to Bria Vinaite from “The Florida Project,” the debut series features open, honest discussions—including, but not limited to, the subjects’ relationship to weed. It’s a playful idea that’s led to diverse, intelligent and engaging stories.
Link About It is our filtered look at the web, shared daily in Link and on social media, and rounded up every Saturday morning.
