Pygmalion

Out of Studio APVIS and loosely based upon the Greek story of Pygmalion, this digitally drawn animation visually portrays the nature of obsession.

Pygmalion from studio APVIS on Vimeo.

Blue

Well, "blue" has it... the coveted title of America's most popular color of crayon, that is. And not just any one of Crayola's 15 different shades of blue. Not blizzard blue, cobalt blue, periwinkle, turquoise blue, cornflower, cadet blue, sky blue, blue bell, blue green, cerulean, denim, indigo, midnight blue, navy blue, pacific blue or robin egg blue, but the original, simple, non-fancified... "blue".

"Blue"... the color of the sky and the ocean, flowers and bows. As a kid I chose blue most often when coloring eyes, and when I drew rainbows, blue was always my first color choice to apply to the top arch. Always blue, then red, green, orange, purple and yellow, in descending order... had to be that order for everything to be right in the world. But after yellow, my color choices were random and spontaneous.

For over a hundred years, since 1903, Crayola Crayons have been at the top of the list of favorite playthings. To this day I keep a box of 64 crayons in my desk drawer... you know... just in case.

For source article and image credits click here.

Smallest Christmas Card in the World

Nanotechnologists at the University of Glasgow have produced the world's smallest Christmas card. Invisible to the naked eye, apparently the nano-card can fit onto the surface of a postage stamp 8,276 times, or onto a standard holiday card some half a million times.

Which begs the question... Why?

Because they can.

Mail Boxes, Etc.

I am immensely entertained by creative and clever use of materials that are re-purposed and constructed into something entirely different than what the original object was designed for. In addition to this, I am all about paying respect to a dying way of life... in this case, a dying form of communication. Formal letter writing, and in reality, all that's associated with the postal system will one day be just notations in history.

Sadly, the time will come when mailboxes will be buried in antiquity, discarded as inefficient and obsolete due to the ease of electronic mail, environmental issues and the high cost of postage, salaried mail carriers, fuel and building maintenance, not to mention human disinterest in actually taking pen to paper.

Until then, we can enjoy these curiously delightful mailboxes...







Source article and image credit: http://1800recycling.com

The Lady and the Reaper

•.♫•*¨`*"We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know whennnn... But I know we'll meet again some sunny dayyyyyy...."*¨`*•♫.• 

FLUX

Created by Candaş Şişman and inspired by the designs of Turkish artist İlhan Koman, this animation is all kinds of hypnotic, arty goodness.

Imagine this combination of images and sound used in Koman's sculptures as an installation displayed on a forty foot screen.... morphtastic!

F L U X from candas sisman on Vimeo.

Vapor Cones

Under the right atmospheric conditions combined with a sudden drop in air pressure, the elements may be conducive for visible condensation to form around an aircraft that is traveling at transonic speed. This phenomenon is known as "Prandtl-Glauert Singularity"; also referred to as a "vapor cone", "shock collar" or "shock egg", and is often accompanied by a sonic boom.

Here's what Wiki has to say about Vapor Cones...

These condensation clouds are frequently seen during Space Shuttle launches around 25 to 33 seconds after launch when the vehicle is traveling at transonic speeds. These effects are also visible in archival footage of some nuclear tests. Scientists observing the Operation Crossroads nuclear tests in 1946 named the transitory cloud a "Wilson Cloud" for its superficial similarity to the Wilson Cloud Chamber effect.

Since heat does not leave the affected air mass, this change of pressure is adiabatic, with an associated change of temperature. In humid air, the drop in temperature in the most rarefied portion of the shock wave (close to the aircraft) can bring the air temperature below its dew point, at which moisture condenses to form a visible cloud of microscopic water droplets. Since the pressure effect of the wave is reduced by its expansion (the same pressure effect is spread over a larger radius), the vapor effect also has a limited radius. Such vapor can also be seen in low pressure regions during high–g subsonic maneuvers in humid conditions.

The effect is also noticeable in modern super-high-bypass turbofan jet engines when operating at takeoff power, due to the low pressure and transonic fan blades in the engine inlet.

The following photographs depict the pairing of science and photographic art in a moment of impeccable timing. 

F/A-18F Super Hornet

F-18

F/A-18F Super Hornet

F-16 Fighting Falcon

F-22 Raptor

Space Shuttle Atlantis

Here's more on the subject, old-school style.

For a cool aviation blog, visit...

http://www.asb.tv/blog/2010/10/sonic-booms-vapor-cone

For some of the best aircraft photography around, visit Mike Lynaugh's website @ http://www.mikelynaugh.com/Airshows/index.htm

Car Part Art by James Corbett

Since 1999, Aussie James Corbett has been sculpting life-like pieces made with vintage car parts. James discovered his talent while running an auto recycling business in Brisbane, and with positive encouragement from friends and family he began creating sculptures of cars, bikes, animals and birds.

After his first successful exhibition in Brisbane in June 1999, James achieved a 3 year stint as a feature artist at the Brisbane International Motor Show. Since then, he's received worldwide recognition and acclaim through his many commissions, exhibitions and subsequent awards; his sculptures being considered one of the finest examples of assemblage art today.

No car part is bent into shape when incorporating it into the sculpture. The original integrity of the part is preserved.

(source article and image credits)

"Spread Your Love" by Hamed Kohan

This tire design called "Spread Your Love" by Hamed Kohan with its heart-shaped tread tracks would be sure to set me on course for the nearest water puddle or oil leak. The design is one entry among three thousand in Designboom's recent competition, "Seoul Cycle Design 2010".

















(source article and image credit)

" Alice in Wonderland "

Made in 1903, 37 years after Lewis Carroll wrote "Alice in Wonderland" and 8 years after the birth of cinema, the first film version of Alice has recently been restored by BFI National Archive. This adaption was based on the original illustrations by Sir John Tenniel.

Directed by Cecil Hepworth and Percy Stow, Hepworth cast his wife in dual roles as the Red Queen and the White Rabbit, while he himself makes an appearance as the Frog Footman.

At the time, Alice in Wonderland was the longest running film coming in at 800 ft. and 12 minutes, of which 8 minutes have survived.

To find out more about the film, visit...
http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/974410

Van Gogh Pops!

As it turns out, Vincent Van Gogh's paintings are fabulous subjects for the "tilt-shift" photo manipulation treatment. Just for fun, here's what Artcyclopedia came up with...






























































































































Tilt-Shift Maker @ http://tiltshiftmaker.com/photo-editing.php

"Il Était une Fois" by Benjamin LaCombe

In and of themselves, books for children can be these shiny, little packages of artistic awesomeness. By all appearances, "Il Était une Fois" (once upon a time) by french illustrator Benjamin Lacombe, with paper pop-up construction design by Jose Pons, is no exception. Coffee table worthy, it features eight classic fairy tales... Alice In Wonderland, Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, Bluebeard, Peter Pan, Little Red Riding Hood, Madame Butterfly and Thumbelina.

Here's a promotional video of this beatific work produced by Romain Berthou and Laurent Covet from B & C Wall, a Paris collective of directors, character designers and CG animators... followed by a few stills taken from the pages of Il Était une Fois.

Feast your eyes @ http://www.benjaminlacombe.com

(source article and image credits)