Ghostly GIFs

Vitra goes to Africa, the Indienet, a people's history of coffee and more in our look at the web this week

The dead come alive again, thanks to New York-based designer Kevin Weir’s artistic prowess (and hours and hours on Photoshop). Through his project The Flux Machine, he transforms old photos found in the Library of Congress into animated GIFs with a dark twist. These “shortest of stories” have careful pauses for a suspenseful effect—which isn’t commonly found among this medium.

Cry Wolf by Lisa Solberg

The Los Angeles painter brings her first dramatic exploration of nature to the gallery walls in Munich

LA-based Lisa Solberg paints with bold colorful strokes that convey elements of mystery that evoke an otherworldly spirituality. Her large-scale works reveal passion and intensity through layers upon layers of paint. After the success of her fishbowl-inspired “24HR PSYCHIC” gallery show of reflective canvases created with car paint, Solberg turned her attention to a more natural palette for “Cry Wolf” at Munich’s Super+ Centercourt Gallery. …

Ai Weiwei: @Large

The Chinese artist's expansive exhibit on Alcatraz explores political dissidence and pays homage to activists around the world

The throng arrived early and in large groups for the first departure of the day to Alcatraz Island from Pier 33 in San Francisco. After ferry-goers disembarked boat, it was clear who was there to see political dissident Ai Weiwei’s new show, @Large, and those who were tourists—excited Weiwei fans who had already scoped out the exhibit map made a beeline directly to the far …