A History of Toy and Novelty Cameras

"Camera Crazy" looks back on decades of unusual and unique designs

With a tiny computer equipped with a more than capable camera in our pocket, it’s difficult to consider a time when such image-capturing devices were a luxury—one generally uninvolved with daily life at that. In fact it wasn’t until the 1960s, when a small Hong Kong-based company introduced the Diana, did the era of inexpensive cameras begin. This plastic, lightweight camera shot 120 film and …

Mother Pigeon’s Outstallation

An artist's hand-felted birds demonstrate the beauty found in urban wildlife

Mother Pigeon‘s rapture with New York City’s indigenous wildlife has led to a course of activism, through art and public installations. The artist, known to her human companions as Tina Piña Trachtenburg will debut a gregarious Flash Flock, designed to coax a “much maligned” and “overlooked” avian out of the landscape and into the public eye. Her upcoming “Outstallation” will bring an unprecedented number of …

Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty

40 artists create new works for the first-ever Hello Kitty retrospective at LA's Japanese American National Museum

As part of Hello Kitty’s 40th Anniversary celebration, the adorably cute character will be celebrated in numerous ways, including a birthday party, Hello Kitty Con and her first-ever museum retrospective at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) in downtown LA’s Little Tokyo neighborhood. Curated by Dr Christine Yano, author of “Pink Globalization: Hello Kitty’s Trek Across the Pacific”, the comprehensive exhibit will feature an extensive …