Link About It: This Week’s Picks
William Eggleston’s Chromes, DIY snowmakers, French erotica and more in our look at the web this week
1. The War Against Christmas
Scrooge would delight in the brilliant violence of this series of stills by photographer Alan Sailer. Working out of his garage, Sailer shot Christmas ornaments with a high-speed pellet rifle, capturing the results on film with a flash unit he built himself. Each ornament was filled with different odds, ends and liquids for stunning splashes of color and texture.
2. Polaboy
LED displays combine with nostalgic photography in Polaboy, a large wall display that resurrects Polaroid’s iconic style. The 88x107cm screen displays your old polaroids from slides printed on Polaboy’s specialized film.
3. Chromes
A master of perfectly-toned hues, influential photographer William Eggleston made his mark long ago by showing the mostly black-and-white world of photography how gripping color can be. “Chromes” pieces together over 5,000 Kodachromes and Ektachromes unearthed from chronologically ordered binders in a safe at the Eggleston Artistic Trust.
4. National Geographic Photo Contest Winners
The result of 20,000 entries from over 130 countries, the selections for this year’s National Geographic Photo Contest are nothing short of awe-inspiring. This 2011 winner is a micro shot of an Indonesian dragonfly riding out the first few moments of a rain shower.
5. Snow Globe Los Angeles
While by no means a snow city, the holiday spirit of Los Angeles is caught in this short film, which features the city lights through a cinematic snow globe. Rife with innovative techniques, the film features a compilation of 4,000 still images and heart-shaped bokeh crafted from paper cutouts.
6. Illuminating the Perils of Pollution
The New York Times presents a striking photo essay on ocean pollution, highlighted by the natural bioluminescence of its inhabitants. As many as 90% of sea creatures make their own light, and the seemingly magical skill is helping to shed light on the muck invading their space.
7. Guns For Goalposts
Over the past year Art Info journalist Tyler Green has been linking the news to correlating works of art on his blog 3rd of May. This week Green smartly illustrated the headline stating Brazil’s intention to give free 2014 World Cup tickets to citizens that turn in their glocks (which will be destroyed to make goalposts) with Kester’s 2001 sculpture “Throne of Weapons.”
8. Mister Handsome
The latest short from director Jason Wishnow explores some very timely topics of employment, love and sanity. The hilarious and dark romantic comedy features some first-class acting and is sure to prompt reflection on where your life is headed.
9. Home Snowmaker
Man harnessed the power of Mother Nature to make synthetic snow on a large-scale, and now thanks to Instructables, any average Joe can do so at home. The websitestandard its standard do-at-your-own-risk disclaimer, which with the headlining photo makes the project look a wee bit dangerous but all the more enticing.
10. The Real Image Makers
Build takes a look at the artists and illustrators behind the Nokia NFC campaign. The five participants, all discovered at graduate program shows, employ different styles and techniques, resulting in a thoughtful, detailed piece on the creative process from the first brush stroke or pencil mark.
11. Dear Irene Issue 2
The French have an innate talent for turning titillating images into art, which is clearly evident in the latest issue of Dear Irene. An erotic fanzine created by a young Parisian threesome, each edition is inspired by an alluring poem.
12. Action Movie FX
The always epic JJ Abrams has made his first foray into app based media. His companies’s Action Movie FX app lets users film with their IOS device and instantly add in amazing special effects.
