Link About It: This Week’s Picks

Designing an Italian icon, a mirrored hot air ballon, 3D-printed organs and plenty more inspiration and oddities

The Impending Death of the Password Thanks to companies like MobileIron, device passwords (believed to date back to the 1960s, thanks to an MIT time-shared computer) may be on their way out once and for all. Since most people use weak passwords for the majority of their logins and companies oftentimes offer flawed storage and security systems, the default security option isn’t the most intelligent …

Artist Doug Aitken’s Mirror-Surfaced Hot Air Balloon

Set to travel from Martha’s Vineyard to the Berkshires, a mirrored hot air balloon will reflect Massachusetts back upon itself this July. As part of Doug Aitken’s “New Horizon” public art installation, commissioned by the oldest land trust in the world (known as the Trustees), the nomadic sculpture will tether at site-specific, art-oriented celebrations. The flight path of the mylar-covered aircraft will also grant many of …

Interview: Multimedia Artist Cey Adams

From NYC graffiti to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, and beyond

Cey Adams’ bust in the pantheon of New York artists is well-cemented. Queens-born Adams grew up writing graffiti with the likes of Lee Quiñones, Futura, and Haze; and taking part in downtown’s scene, exhibiting alongside Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. After creating logos and designs for friends like the Beastie Boys, Adams was soon tapped by Russell Simmons to become Creative Director at Def Jam Records, …