how to get a letter to mean more than it reads

via Amandine Alessandra: Graphic Design.

KIM KEEVER

KIM KEEVER’s large-scale photographs are created by meticulously constructing miniature topographies in a 200-gallon tank, which is then filled with water. These dioramas of fictitious environments are brought to life with colored lights and the dispersal of pigment, producing ephemeral atmospheres that he must quickly capture with his large-format camera.

Keever’s painterly panoramas represent a continuation of the landscape tradition, as well as an evolution of the genre. Referencing a broad history of landscape painting, especially that of Romanticism, the Hudson River School and Luminism, they are imbued with a sense of the sublime. However, they also show a subversive side that deliberately acknowledges their contemporary contrivance and conceptual artifice. Keever’s staged scenery is characterized by a psychology of timelessness. A combination of the real and the imaginary, they document places that somehow we know, but never were. The symbolic qualities he achieves result from his understanding of the dynamics of landscape, including the manipulation of its effects and the limits of spectacle based on our assumptions of what landscape means to us. Rather than presenting a factual reality, Keever fabricates an illusion to conjure the realms of our imagination.

via deliciousghost

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(via TAGBANGER.)

First Burning Man Imagery Appears

The geo hackers were out at Burning Man in full force this year. Above is a screen capture from a GigaPan taken by Rich Gibson. The view I’ve chosen is centered on the Man’s heart, but he captured the entire structure from a crane and you can zoom in much further than I’ve shown here (launch the full-screen viewer). Rich took 45 Gigapans while he was on the playa.

In case you are not familiar with them, GigaPan is a project sponsored by NASA/Ames, Google and Carnegie Mellon. It provides the ability for thousands of photos to be stitched together to provide an immersive view of an area. The project consists of a robotic camera mount, a photo uploader and a photo stitcher. The site has a lot of amazing imagery including Boston’s Charles River and SF’s Twin Peaks. If this is interesting to you they’ve opened the Beta.

The image to the right was taken by Mikel Maron (the champion of GeoRSS and a speaker at the Web 2.0 Expo NYC). Using a kite aerial photography kit he got a shot of the man from above.

There will be more imagery coming. There will be aerial imagery from the crew behind Pict’Earth. There will also be immersive Streetside View imagery taken via modified tricycles. In the meantime I suggest that you watch the geotagged photos trickle in on Flickr on their OSM Burning Man Map (Radar post).

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(via O’Reilly Radar – Insight, analysis, and research about emerging technologies.)

The end in sight

[Images: Airborne electricity grabs hold of a volcanic plume – in this case, Chile's Chaiten volcano, which began erupting last week "for the first time in some 9,000 years." Photos by Carlos Gutierrez for UPI].

Apologies again for the slow, slow week here – though I hope you’ve enjoyed fishing in Manhattan. The good news is that I’ve only got 48 hours to go on the book manuscript, although that means the blog has been gathering a bit of electronic dust. I’ll be back on Monday, though, at which point the BLDGBLOG Book will be off with my editor and things will return to a more sustainable pace. Thanks for everybody’s patience!”

(via BLDGBLOG.)

[tags][/tags]

Video of Alison Bechdel

Houghton Mifflin is thrilled to be publishing a graphic narrative—our first—that is as literary and as brilliantly told as Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home. A book Chip Kidd, author of The Cheese Monkeys , calls “Stupendous.” Alison’s creative process is another fascinating part of the story. In this video you will see the process of creating Fun Home—a frame-by-frame journey that includes archival research, historic and even emotional reenactments, and a staggering number of digital photos.

If you have RealAudio Player, use the following links:

• RM High-Speed Modem (300K DSL/Cable)
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For the best sound and picture quality, we suggest using Internet Explorer and the latest RealAudio player and a 28.8 Kbps or faster connection. If you are experiencing problems in listening to these audio excerpts, please refer to the RealAudio help page.

If you have Windows Media Player, use the following links:

• WMV High-Speed Modem (300K DSL/Cable)
• WMV Dial-up Users (56K)

For the best sound and picture quality, we suggest using Internet Explorer and the latest Windows Media player and a 28.8 Kbps or faster connection. If you are experiencing problems in listening to these audio excerpts, please refer to the Windows Media help page.

(via Houghton Mifflin)

Noodle Bar: “

Amanda Alessandrine posted a photo:

Food containers beautifully displayed.

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(Via Amanda Alessandrine’s Photos.)

John Ross: “

His site

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(Via Trollbäck + Company.)

The Human Car – Powered by You: “

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Ford Canada has made a new commercial featuring people. I know, that doesn’t sound too special – most commercials have people in them. But not like this… The Ford commercial features only people, and yet what you see is 3 cars.

Take a look for yourself…

And… here is the video:

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Not to mention – a behind the scenes look:

*** Video (not visble in RSS – See the full content) ***

Wait a minute!

But, then somebody yells out ‘wait a minute… Haven’t we seen this before?’ No, actually, you haven’t. I agree that this is not first time a car manufacturer has used human bodies to create car shapes and body art.

Below is, for instance three similar ads from Hyundai and VW and BidWest. The special thing about the Ford ad is that it is not a ‘shadow trick’. This is 3D art – not 2D ‘shadow’ art.

Both types are very cool – and mind-boggling in an exciting way. I just happen to like the 3D type better.

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Note: Yes I own and drive a Ford every day, so I might be slightly biased.

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(Via Baekdal.com.)

Concrete drops on Albion Drive: “

Amanda Alessandrine posted a photo:

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(Via Amanda Alessandrine’s Photos.)

New York City Colour Study Before the Crop: “

I was pleasantly surprised with the feedback that I received with my last post about 36 days of New York Sky here on DesignNotes, Flickr, email and other people who reblogged the image. It was great timing but purely coincidental as I didn’t think much about posting it. After 36 days I had a fairly interesting geometric square of sky inside my flickr set. I’ll probably revisit the image on day 72 to see how things have progressed. But with that said I thought it might be interesting to pull back the crop and show what the original image is and what the photo looks like afterwards. I typically try to get a focus on the building to the left and then center the camera between that building and the New York Times Building (which ironically doesn’t look finished from the top). From there I just capture the sky how it is.

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(Via DesignNotes by Michael Surtees.)