Link About It: This Week’s Picks
Mold art, flying motorcycles, anthropomorphic canines and more from around the web
Lizzo Traces Twerking’s Black History + How it Became a Spiritual Practice
In her first TED Talk, three-time Grammy-winner Lizzo traces the history of twerking to a West African dance called mapouka, traditionally performed by women to celebrate joy, marriage or as religious worship. When it was transported to American by Black women during the transatlantic slave trade, its ties to Black culture were erased and co-opted. But in Black communities around the US, big butts continued to stay in vogue. When icons like Beyonce twerked on stage yet still received praise, it gave Lizzo permission to love her own body, and to discover how twerking is “a deep, soulful, spiritual practice.” The singer says, “It’s contributing to the liberation of women and people around the world” and it will continue to do so. Find out how in Lizzo’s empowering TED Talk.
Image courtesy of TED
How Becoming a Climavore Could Positively Impact The Planet
“If you are conscious about it, what you eat is a political act. If you aren’t conscious about it, someone else’s politics have influenced what you are eating,” writes Corinne Mynatt in an essay that focuses on Daniel Fernández Pascual and Alon Schwabe’s Cooking Sections—specifically their CLIMAVORE project. Launched in 2015, CLIMAVORE delves into the ways that humans eat change climates. The project exists thanks to partnerships with ecology, marine biology, agronomy, agriculture, nutrition, science, politics and engineering experts. They suggest collectively altering our eating habits—which, of course, would dramatically alter industries like farming and fishing. They tell MOLD, “Unlike carnivore, omnivore, locavore, vegetarian or vegan, CLIMAVORE is not only about the origin of ingredients, but also about the agency that those ingredients have in providing responses to human-induced climatic events.” One such example is “eating drought-resistant crops during times of water scarcity.” Read more about how embracing the CLIMAVORE approach could benefit the planet at MOLD.
Image courtesy of MOLD
Studio Drift’s Mesmerizing, Multi-Sensory Fragile Future Exhibition
From a cage of swirling seeds of light to a nearby 17,000-square-foot room filled with levitating concrete blocks, the Fragile Future exhibition at NYC’s The Shed demonstrates the captivating capabilities of Amsterdam-based Studio Drift. Multiple mesmerizing and interconnected installations compose the solo exhibit, which questions materiality, the built environment and our relationship to the natural world. Presented by Superblue, and featuring contributions by recording and visual artist Anohni, the experience is a transportive one. Read more about the show at See Great Art.
Image of “DRIFT” drifter performance (2021), performed with a soundtrack by Anohni as part of DRIFT: Fragile Future, The Shed, New York, 29 September through 19 December 2021, by Dario Lasagni, courtesy of The Shed
Artist Stephen Morrison’s Clever, Anthropomorphic Canine “The Dinner Party” Installation
Sat around (or dangling above) an 18-foot-long dining room table, anthropomorphic dog sculptures pose as if drinking Le Chien wine and passing cigars amidst an extravagant feast—all in artist Stephen Morrison’s The Dinner Party installation at Boerum Hill, Brooklyn’s Invisible Dog Art Center. “At any good party,” the center’s director, Lucien Zayan, tells Brooklyn Magazine, “there is always that moment where everyone becomes drunk, maybe a fight starts, people start flirting. This piece is kind of a love letter to that moment.” Read more about the campy large-scale exhibit (which runs through 10 October) and Morrison’s intention at Brooklyn Magazine.
Image courtesy of Invisible Dog Art Center
JetPack Aviation’s Recreational Speeder Flying Motorcycle Will Go On Sale by 2023
Expected to be available commercially in 2023, two versions of JetPack Aviation’s Speeder are available for pre-order now: the recreational model for personal use and the military model, which is being positioned as a tool “to save lives.” This futuristic vehicle (which is lighter than some motorcycles and takes up the space of a small car) employs vertical take-off and landing technology, allowing it to lift up and away. It’s expected to reach speeds of 240km/h. Though it seems that a pilot’s license will not be required, additional training by JetPack Aviation staff will be. Learn more about the remarkable features—and see an exciting video of the concept—at designboom.
Image courtesy of JetPack Aviation
Artist Dasha Plesen’s Mold + Bacteria Compositions Capture The Beauty of Decay
Artist Dasha Plesen (aka Daria Fedorova) is a Moscow-based artist with a love of microbiological mapping. Her work—comprised of petri dishes that house a number of molds, spores and bacteria in addition to household objects—captures a multitude of textures, colors and compositions. These striking microcosms play with the organic and inorganic, exposing a profusion of infinitesimal worlds, the decomposition process and the beauty that lies in decay. View more of her lively collection at Colossal.
Image courtesy of Dasha Plesen/Colossal
Link About It is our filtered look at the web, shared daily in Link and on social media, and rounded up every Saturday morning. Hero image courtesy of Dasha Plesen/Colossal
