Richard Hamilton’s Braun Admiration

A Ken Burns iPad app, touchscreen subway maps, swapping sexism and more in our weekly look at the web

The late British artist and Pop Art pioneer Richard Hamilton is currently the subject of a major retrospective at London’s Tate Modern. Surprisingly, as Phaidon points out, Hamilton’s interest in the ready-made was keenly focused on all things Braun, among other consumer objects. The former electrical apprentice even wrote the text for a Berlin exhibition on Braun in 1980, in which he explained, “My admiration …

Sensory Fiction: A Wired Reading Experience

A Ken Burns iPad app, touchscreen subway maps, swapping sexism and more in our weekly look at the web

Reading a powerful book is sure to elicit an emotional, if not a physical reaction—a quickened pulse at suspenseful moments, a chill down your back. However a new project from students at MIT takes the experience to the next level. The aptly dubbed Sensory Fiction uses inexpensive technology combined with neuroscience to create a wired reading experience that allows the reader to share in the …

Reaching Peaks Without Ropes

A Ken Burns iPad app, touchscreen subway maps, swapping sexism and more in our weekly look at the web

The word “epic” gets thrown around a lot these days, but occasionally it’s completely fitting—like in the case of this beautiful video of Alex Honnold making climbing history on the 2,500 El Sendero Luminoso (The Shining Path) in El Potrero Chico, Mexico. A difficult route in its own right, what makes Honnold’s climb really stand out is his lack of ropes, harnesses or any kind …