Link About It: This Week’s Picks
Bob Dylan’s newest, 25 years of Condé Nast Traveler, DIY Burgerplex wallpaper and more in our weekly look at the web
This Week’s LAB is Sponsored by Dos Equis
1. 3D Galaxy
Pinpointing the exact locations and distances of over a million galaxies, the latest release from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III is the largest 3D map of massive galaxies and distant black holes ever created. The animated flight through the universe is compiled of actual images captured by the survey. And while you can’t walk around the model like in your favorite sci-fi flick, it’s still pretty damn impressive.
2. Reach for the Stars
Will.i.am became the first artist to be broadcast from the Martian landscape this week as the Mars rover, Curiosity, beamed his new single “Reach for the Stars” to an audience at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA. The performer is a proud supporter of math and science, calling out in the song references to the limitless potential of human creativity.
3. Condé Nast Traveler
Taking on the self-assured voice of an extremely well-traveled 25-year-old, Condé Nast Traveler magazine reflects on its quarter-century anniversary with a series of slick infographics. Embark on a desktop journey through the intricate charts, maps and stats that traverse pivotal moments and movements in time from the invention of rolling luggage, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union, global warming and airline innovation.
4. NYC Taxi
Though some may argue New York’s yellow cabs ride on the built-in branding of their color, the ubiquitous city fixture has gotten a streamlined new logo. The Taxi and Limousine Corporation (TLC) has dropped the “axi” from the side paneling of their fleet so a bigger “T” stands alone in a black circle. Regardless of your thoughts on the matter, you’ll still be able to spot one just fine.
5. Biennale Bird Makeover
Demonstrating the age-old lesson that looks can be deceiving are elaborately disguised pigeons by artists Julian Charrierre and Julius Von Bismarcke. Commissioned by this year’s Venice Biennale to add a touch of unexpected art to the surrounding sky, the beautiful birds are simply spray-painted pigeons. The scheme does beg the question: are they still just rats with wings if they look like they flew in from paradise?
6. Water Wigs
Many bald men dream of having their luxurious manes back but don’t get so lucky without some kind of miracle. Photographer Tim Tadder couldn’t change his subject’s hairlines so instead he dropped water balloons on their heads and captured the exact moment when the liquid torrent resembled long lost hair, for an unexpectedly dazzling effect.
7. Campbell’s Warhol-inspired Soup Cans
To mark the 50th anniversary of Andy Warhol’s 1962 Campbell’s Soup painting collection, Campbell’s has released a limited-edition run of their tomato soup wrapped in Warhol’s color scheme. This isn’t the first time Campbell’s has released commemorative Warhol cans—we’ve got a set of four at CH HQ—but this time they’re selling at Target for 75 cents a pop this time.
8. Camberwell College Masters Show
Opening next week, London’s Camberwell College of Arts is presenting their annual MA show of postgraduate work. A preview of the 2012 exhibition promises some serious talent in the illustration department, and we’ll be taking notes on some of these names to watch in the coming years. Illustrators from this year’s class include Kyle Henderson, Marta Rodrigues, Matt Horan, Danai Tsouloufa and Alix Bigois-Jeambrun.
9. Muscle Music
Former NFL player and actor Terry Crews plays a ramshackle drum kit with his bulging muscles in a viral campaign from Vimeo and Weiden+Kennedy for Old Spice. Absurd, interactive and seamlessly executed, the campaign garnered 1.5 million views in its first day. At the end of the video, viewers are encouraged to remix their own music with Crews’ muscles and upload the results straight to Vimeo. Fast Co. reveals how it’s done.
10. Burgerplex Colour-in Wallpaper
Jon Burgerman, author-illustrator of “My American Summer,” is poised to take over the Selfridges store on Oxford Street in London with his colour-in wall paper. The fill-in-the-black-and-white blanks pattern of Burgerman’s illustrations can be creatively completed by shoppers with markers, felt tips or paint.
11. Duquesne Whistle Video
Bob Dylan is of course an iconic songwriter and historically epic rabble rouser. His latest video doesn’t miss a beat, sharply
mocking today’s typical romantic storytelling. Humorous and surprisingly violent, the video is a clear sign that the old man has still got it.
12. Coffee Chart
Depicting nearly every brewing process imaginable alongside each drink and its appropriate milk-to-coffee ratio is this pleasant infographic by PopChartLab. Illustrated with commendable attention to detail and a surprisingly sturdy hand, we can only guess at the amount of cups consumed during the research and ideation period.
