AnyÂone who watched Bob Ross’ The Joy of PaintÂing from 1983 to 1994 knows the show had a bit of a surÂreÂal qualÂiÂty to it. With that soft voice, reduced often to a whisÂper, Ross slapped some paint onto the canÂvas, smeared it around, and evenÂtuÂalÂly someÂthing magÂiÂcal appeared–a mounÂtain, a stream, a forÂest, whatÂevÂer. NowaÂdays, the show has expeÂriÂenced someÂthing of a renaisÂsance and achieved cult staÂtus. 30 seaÂsons of The Joy of PaintÂing live on YouTube (legitÂiÂmateÂly, it seems), and they’ve become fodÂder for creÂative projects that take Bob Ross to new surÂreÂal heights. ExhibÂit 1, “Deeply ArtiÂfiÂcial Trees,” appears above.
This artÂwork repÂreÂsents what it would be like for an AI to watch Bob Ross on LSD (once someÂone invents digÂiÂtal drugs). It shows some of the unreaÂsonÂable effecÂtiveÂness and strange inner workÂings of deep learnÂing sysÂtems. The unique charÂacÂterÂisÂtics of the human voice are learned and genÂerÂatÂed as well as halÂluÂciÂnaÂtions of a sysÂtem tryÂing to find images which are not there.
If you would like to supÂport the misÂsion of Open CulÂture, conÂsidÂer makÂing a donaÂtion to our site. It’s hard to rely 100% on ads, and your conÂtriÂbuÂtions will help us conÂtinÂue proÂvidÂing the best free culÂturÂal and eduÂcaÂtionÂal mateÂriÂals to learnÂers everyÂwhere. You can conÂtribute through PayÂPal, PatreÂon, and VenÂmo (@openculture). Thanks!
No scene in a movie counts for as much as its openÂing, but even before its first frame passÂes through the proÂjecÂtor, its poster has already made the real first impresÂsion. This remains basiÂcalÂly as true in the era of digÂiÂtal cinÂeÂma as it was when film actuÂalÂly passed through proÂjecÂtors. But while filmÂmakÂers only occaÂsionÂalÂly go back and retool their past works — not that the expeÂriÂence of, say, George Lucas and the origÂiÂnal Star Wars trilÂoÂgy vouchÂes for the pracÂtice — film posters can easÂiÂly underÂgo any numÂber of reviÂsions through the decades. What cinephile graphÂic designÂer wouldÂn’t want to take a shot at creÂatÂing a new face for a favorite movie?
Last year, the SydÂney-based designÂer Peter Majarich took shots at 365 of them, creÂatÂing one new poster for an existÂing movie each and every day. “The feat is a huge underÂtakÂing,” writes the CreÂators ProÂjecÂt’s Diana Shi, “but Majarich’s final prodÂucts nevÂer give the impresÂsion of last-minute creÂations; instead, they show off an acute attenÂtion to detail and a bold, digÂiÂtal-influÂenced style. The invenÂtiveÂness of each poster reveals how much of a cinephile Majarich realÂly is.” His selecÂtions include “a pool of zeitÂgeist direcÂtors, Oscar winÂners, and art-house films with cult folÂlowÂings.
A renÂderÂing of De Palma’s ScarÂface is a subÂtle assemÂbly of white powÂder to starkÂly draw out Al Pacino’s proÂfile. While what looks like a body of comÂplex codÂing lanÂguage forms the blank-starÂing face of AliÂcia Vikander’s lead in Ex MachiÂna.” You can browse all these at A Movie Poster a Day, see them disÂplayed in sequence in the video above, and buy them on his design comÂpaÂny’s site.
Their simulÂtaÂneÂous aesÂthetÂic and cinÂeÂmatÂic refÂerÂences will please design- and film-lovers alike (groups hardÂly sepÂaÂrate on the Venn diaÂgram anyÂway), and while many conÂstiÂtute good visuÂal gags, the best proÂvide new perÂspecÂtives on even much-watched favorite movies.
For Wes AnderÂsonÂ’s The Life AquatÂic with Steve ZisÂsou, Majarich depicts the emoÂtionÂal subÂmerÂsion of its seaÂfarÂing proÂtagÂoÂnist; for Alfred HitchÂcockÂ’s VerÂtiÂgohe works only with the title itself imbuÂing the type with the comÂbiÂnaÂtion of shock and dread on disÂplay in the film; for David Lynch’s MulÂholÂland DriÂve he uses a pink-skied landÂscape of the titÂuÂlar Los AngeÂles road leadÂing off, as Lynch’s work often does, to who knows where. After you’ve seen the first 286, you’ll come upon a selecÂtion that will hardÂly surÂprise you: Gary HusÂtwit’s HelÂvetiÂca.
The art of M.C. EschÂer apparÂentÂly makes for some good puzÂzles. Head over to AmaÂzon and you’ll find a numÂber of ornate EschÂer works of art turned into traÂdiÂtionÂal 1,000-piece puzÂzles. They’ll keep you busy for hours on end. But will they chalÂlenge you as much as the M.C. EschÂer MirÂror PuzÂzle feaÂtured above? This puzÂzle takes things to anothÂer levÂel. The direcÂtions read like this: “Use the slantÂed mirÂror inside each cube to reflect the image on the side of an adjaÂcent cube. Once you place all nine cubes in the right patÂtern, a comÂplete EschÂer image will appear.” FinÂish the first puzÂzle, and then start on the next one. There are five puzÂzles in this set.
If you would like to supÂport the misÂsion of Open CulÂture, conÂsidÂer makÂing a donaÂtion to our site. It’s hard to rely 100% on ads, and your conÂtriÂbuÂtions will help us conÂtinÂue proÂvidÂing the best free culÂturÂal and eduÂcaÂtionÂal mateÂriÂals to learnÂers everyÂwhere. You can conÂtribute through PayÂPal, PatreÂon, and VenÂmo (@openculture). Thanks!
Few painters have creÂatÂed as rich a world as HieronyÂmus Bosch did in The GarÂden of EarthÂly Delights. The late 15th- or earÂly 16th-cenÂtuÂry tripÂtych, which depicts the creÂation of man, the licenÂtious frolÂickÂing of all creaÂtures on a parÂaÂdisiÂaÂcal Earth, and the subÂseÂquent fall into damnaÂtion, draws a scrutiÂny — and causÂes an amuseÂment — as intense as ever. As we’ve preÂviÂousÂly feaÂtured here on Open CulÂture, you can now take a virÂtuÂal tour of the paintÂing (there’s even an app for it), see it brought to life with modÂern aniÂmaÂtion, and hear the song tatÂtooed on the posÂteÂriÂor of one of the work’s many charÂacÂters.
Bosch not only creÂatÂed a world with The GarÂden of EarthÂly Delights, he popÂuÂlatÂed it thorÂoughÂly. And despite the human-cenÂtric stoÂry the work appears to take as its basis, the cast with which it retells it extends far beyond mere humanÂiÂty: the panÂels feaÂture not just wildlife of all shapes and sizes but a variÂety of mythÂiÂcal grotesques, from imps to chimeras to hybrids of man and aniÂmal to much more besides. He drew from the same surÂreÂal imagÂiÂnaÂtive well to fill his othÂer paintÂings, and you can now pull out a few of these colÂorÂful, menÂacÂing, preÂposÂterÂous, and darkÂly humorÂous charÂacÂters yourÂself in colÂlectible figÂurine form.
Though “not a big knickÂknack perÂson,” DanÂgerÂous Minds’ Tara McGinÂley admits to digÂging this selecÂtion of “tiny objects” straight from the mind of Bosch, all “kinÂda cool-lookÂing in their own obviÂousÂly weird way” and none “too expenÂsive. The figÂurines start at around $45, dependÂing on qualÂiÂty, size and detail.” (You can find them on AmaÂzon.) She highÂlights such issues as “HelÂmetÂed Bird MonÂster,” which accordÂing to manÂuÂfacÂturÂers ParaÂsÂtone feaÂtures a sevÂered foot “swingÂing from the bird’s helÂmet referÂring to the horÂriÂble corÂpoÂral punÂishÂments which could be expectÂed in hell.”
“DevÂil on Night Chair,” one of the most recÂogÂnizÂable denizens of The GarÂden of EarthÂly Delights’ third panÂel, comes cast in his famous posiÂtion, “eatÂing a perÂson on a chair where he will excrete the human remains.” The conÂsidÂerÂably less satÂisÂfied “Fat BelÂly with DagÂger” comes from the third panÂel of a difÂferÂent tripÂtych, The TempÂtaÂtion of Saint AnthoÂny, the dagÂger in his belÂly showÂing “the conÂseÂquences of intemÂperÂance. His eyes look out at you in acknowlÂedgÂment.” Its makÂers promise that “you will look at it in wonÂder as to how Bosch’s mind conÂceived of such an unusuÂal litÂtle felÂlow.” Have a look at DanÂgerÂous Minds’ origÂiÂnal post and AmaÂzon’s Bosch figÂurine page for more inforÂmaÂtion on how to obtain them, whether for yourÂself or as gifts for friends and famÂiÂly. They cerÂtainÂly won’t look at them the same way they do HumÂmel figÂurines.
GivÂen the image of ComÂmuÂnist RusÂsia we’ve mostÂly inherÂitÂed from Cold War HolÂlyÂwood proÂpaÂganÂda and cherÂry-picked TV docÂuÂmenÂtaries, we tend to think of ComÂmuÂnist art as sterÂile, bruÂtalÂist, devoid of expresÂsive emoÂtion and experÂiÂment. But this has nevÂer been entireÂly so. While ParÂty-approved social realÂism domÂiÂnatÂed in cerÂtain decades, experÂiÂmenÂtal RussÂian aniÂmaÂtion, film, design, and litÂerÂaÂture flourÂished, even under extremeÂly harsh conÂdiÂtions one wouldn’t wish on any artist.
In the earÂly days of the RevÂoÂluÂtion, one of the most influÂenÂtial forms of expresÂsion, RussÂian FuturÂism, brought its avant-gardism to the massÂes, and praised the RevÂoÂluÂtion while forÂmalÂly chalÂlengÂing every received idea or docÂtrine. BeginÂning in the earÂly 20th cenÂtuÂry and workÂing until the SoviÂet Union was formed and TrotÂsky banÂished, FuturÂist poets and artists like Vladimir Mayakovsky, KazÂimir MaleÂvich, Nalia GonÂcharoÂva, and Velimir KhlebÂnikov conÂtributed to a style called “Zaum,” a word, as we notÂed in a preÂviÂous post, that can mean “tranÂsreaÂson” or “beyond sense.” (A very unsciÂenÂtifÂic, bourÂgeois approach, it would latÂer be alleged by the CenÂtral ComÂmitÂtee.)
This archive conÂtains about four dozen books by artist/poets like KhlebÂnikov whose 1914 Old-FashÂioned Love; ForestÂly Boom, you can see pages from at the top of the post. FurÂther up and just above, we see excerpts from AlexÂei Kruchenykh’s 1913 VzorÂval’ (ExplodiÂty), a mostÂly hand-letÂtered pubÂliÂcaÂtion with whimÂsiÂcal, dynamÂic drawÂings alterÂnatÂing with and surÂroundÂing the text. You’ll find over four dozen of these books at the GetÂty Research InstiÂtute. As you browse or search their catÂaÂlogue, then click on an entry, you’ll want to click on the “View Online” butÂton to see scanned images.
Each of these books—like Vladimir Mayakovsky’s 1913 play, Vladimir Mayakovsky: A Tragedy, above and below—makes a forceÂful visuÂal impresÂsion even if we canÂnot underÂstand the text. But in many ways, this is beside the point. Zaum poetÂry was meant to be heard as sound, not sense, and looked at as a physÂiÂcal artiÂfact. Perloff’s book, writes the GetÂty, “uncovÂers a wide-rangÂing legaÂcy in the midÂcenÂtuÂry globÂal moveÂment of sound and conÂcrete poetÂry (the BrazilÂian NoiganÂdres group, Ian HamilÂton FinÂlay, and HenÂri Chopin), conÂtemÂpoÂrary WestÂern conÂcepÂtuÂal art, and the artist’s book.” In many ways, these artists repÂreÂsent a parÂalÂlel traÂdiÂtion in modÂernism to the one we genÂerÂalÂly learn of in WestÂern Europe and the U.S., and one just as rich and fasÂciÂnatÂing.
In eleÂmenÂtary school, a playÂful teacher gave us an assignÂment. EveryÂone was to dream up some sort of amazÂing invenÂtion, then draw both a design and an adverÂtiseÂment for it.
It seemed most of my classÂmates were primed for a future in which sneakÂers would come equipped with fulÂly operÂaÂtional, built-in wings.
I sucÂcumbed to peer presÂsure and turned in an ad showÂing a laughÂing, airÂborne boy, tauntÂing an earthÂbound adult by danÂgling his be-winged sneakÂer-clad foot just a few inchÂes out of reach.
My Fleet Foot was awardÂed a good grade, but I felt no pasÂsion for it. The invenÂtion that truÂly capÂtured me was the one depictÂed in my favorite illusÂtraÂtion from PatÂapoufs et FilÂifÂers, the funÂny French children’s book my father had passed down, about a war between fat and thin peoÂple. The thin charÂacÂters were indusÂtriÂous and highÂly driÂven, but the fat ones knew how to live, loungÂing in feathÂer beds beside wall spigÂots disÂpensÂing hot chocoÂlate.
Those spigÂots were—then and now—a techÂnoÂlogÂiÂcal advanceÂment I would love to see realÂized.
In the FicÂtion of SciÂence, the short film above, Wong, a graphÂic designÂer and Google CreÂative Lab’s VP, shows how stoÂryÂtelling can put the spurs to those with the trainÂing and know-how to ushÂer these wild-soundÂing advanceÂments into the real world.
Case in point, the cell phone.
MarÂtin CoopÂer, an engiÂneer at MotoroÂla, is wideÂly regardÂed as the father of the mobile phone, but when we take a broadÂer view, the cell phone actuÂalÂly has two dadÂdies: CoopÂer and Wah Ming Chang, the artist responÂsiÂble for many of Star Trek’s iconÂic props, includÂing the phasÂer, the triÂcorder and the comÂmuÂniÂcaÂtor—a “portable transÂceivÂer device in use by Starfleet crews since the mid-22nd cenÂtuÂry.”
(Not surÂprisÂingÂly, CoopÂer was a huge Star Trek fan.)
Touch screens and 3D fabÂriÂcaÂtions born of hand gesÂtures are among the many creÂative ficÂtions that have quickÂly become realÂiÂty as sciÂence and art interÂminÂgle on movie sets and in the lab.
If you’re inspired to take an active part in this revÂoÂluÂtion, Google CreÂative Lab is curÂrentÂly takÂing appliÂcaÂtions for The Five, a one-year paid proÂgram for five lucky innoÂvaÂtors, drawn from a pool of artists, designÂers, filmÂmakÂers, develÂopÂers, and othÂer talÂentÂed, mulÂti-dexÂtrous makÂers.
The stoÂry of litÂerÂary modÂernism in the EngÂlish-speakÂing world is most often told through a small colÂlecÂtion of Great Works of Art. These poems and novÂels appeared sudÂdenÂly after the shock and carÂnage of World War I, as EuroÂpeans and AmerÂiÂcans faced the psyÂchoÂlogÂiÂcal afterÂmath of mechÂaÂnized modÂern comÂbat and its senseÂless capacÂiÂty for mass destrucÂtion. T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land surÂveyed the wreckÂage of EuroÂpean culÂture and traÂdiÂtion, James Joyce’s Ulysses showed us hisÂtoÂry as a “nightÂmare” from which its proÂtagÂoÂnist is “tryÂing to awake,” VirÂginia Woolf’s Jacob’s Roomshowed the modÂern self as nothÂing more than a colÂlecÂtion of memÂoÂries and perÂcepÂtions, empÂtied of solÂid exisÂtence….
The project startÂed small in 1996 and has since bloomed into a major resource for scholÂars and readÂers. As the MJP’s motÂto has it, modÂernism began not with the major works that have come to define it most; “modÂernism began in the magÂaÂzines,” small pubÂliÂcaÂtions with limÂitÂed readÂerÂships that often piqued litÂtle interÂest outÂside their comÂmuÂniÂties.
In many of these magÂaÂzines, such as HarÂriÂet Monroe’s PoetÂry—still around today—we can see bridges between VicÂtoÂriÂan and modÂernist poetÂry. The first issue of PoetÂry from 1912 (top), for examÂple, feaÂtures famous VicÂtoÂriÂan poet William VaughÂan Moody next to emergÂing litÂerÂary dynamo Ezra Pound, who editÂed Eliot’s The Waste Land ten years latÂer. Although the expoÂnents of modÂernism are often divorced from a politÂiÂcal conÂtext, many modÂernist writÂers appeared earÂly in “litÂtle magÂaÂzines” like The MassÂes, furÂther up, “perÂhaps the most vibrant and innoÂvÂaÂtive magÂaÂzine of its day.”
FoundÂed in 1911 as an illusÂtratÂed socialÂist monthÂly, The MassÂes’ polÂiÂcy was “to do as it PleasÂes and ConÂcilÂiÂate Nobody, not even its ReadÂers.” The magÂaÂzine pubÂlished Carl SandÂburg, Louis UnterÂmeyÂer, Amy LowÂell, Upton SinÂclair, and SherÂwood AnderÂson, among many othÂers. But modÂernism took root on varÂied terÂrain, such that at the same time as The MassÂes repÂreÂsentÂed major litÂerÂary change, so too did The Smart Set, foundÂed in 1900 “as a magÂaÂzine for and about New York’s social elite.” This magÂaÂzine soon “evolved into someÂthing much more important—an expresÂsion of popÂuÂlar modÂernism,” pubÂlishÂing F. Scott FitzgerÂald, Joseph ConÂrad, James Joyce and othÂers.
The ediÂtorÂship in 1913 of Willard HuntÂingÂton Wright “estabÂlished The Smart Set’s high litÂerÂary creÂdenÂtials” with figÂures like Pound and W.B. Yeats. Wright “would up nearÂly bankÂruptÂing the jourÂnal” before H.L. MenckÂen and George Jean Nathan took over the folÂlowÂing year. Next to The Smart Set in conÂtemÂpoÂrary imporÂtance are magÂaÂzines like The EgoÂist, which grew out of an earÂliÂer short-lived “weekÂly femÂiÂnist review,” The FreeÂwoman.
Begun in 1913 as The New FreeÂwoman by FreeÂwoman ediÂtor Dora MarsÂden, and latÂer editÂed by HarÂriÂet Weaver, The EgoÂist is only one examÂple of the cruÂcial imporÂtance female ediÂtors and writÂers had in bringÂing litÂerÂary modÂernism to fruition. The EgoÂistevenÂtuÂalÂly took on Eliot as its litÂerÂary ediÂtor and pubÂlished his semÂiÂnal essay “TraÂdiÂtion and the IndiÂvidÂual TalÂent.”
OthÂer pubÂliÂcaÂtions critÂiÂcal to the growth of modÂernist litÂerÂaÂture were The LitÂtle Review, Des ImagÂistes—a series of antholoÂgies orgaÂnized and editÂed by Pound—and the W.E.B. Du Bois-editÂed The CriÂsis, the NAACP’s offiÂcial jourÂnal, which pubÂlished work from Jessie Faucet, Charles ChesÂnutt, CounÂtee Cullen, Langston HughÂes, James WelÂdon JohnÂson, Jean Toomer, and many othÂer figÂures cenÂtral to the Harlem RenaisÂsance. You’ll find dozens of issues of these and many othÂer modÂernist jourÂnals from the periÂod, repÂreÂsentÂed as scanned images and PDFs at the ModÂernist JourÂnals Project. At the MJP homeÂpage, you also find biograÂphies of the authors and artists who appear in these jourÂnals’ pages, as well as book excerpts and essays about the periÂod of the “litÂtle magÂaÂzines,” when the modÂernists who became famous in the twenÂties, and houseÂhold names decades latÂer, disÂcovÂered new forms and creÂatÂed new litÂerÂary comÂmuÂniÂties.
Quirky, artist-cusÂtomized guest rooms equipped with wifi, fridge, and safes…
Leather couchÂes and “an air of undeÂserved authorÂiÂty” in the comÂmuÂnal areas…
VIPs who spring for the PresÂiÂdenÂtial suite will enjoy access to a tiki bar, library, and Dead Sea minÂerÂals for use in a plunge bath spaÂcious enough for four…
The artist Banksy’s latÂest masÂsive-scale project may nevÂer find its way onto Palestine’s offiÂcial tourism site, but it’s no joke. The fulÂly funcÂtionÂing hotel is set to open for online bookÂings on March 11.
VisÂiÂtors should be preÂpared to put a $1000 deposit on their credÂit cards at check in, a secuÂriÂty meaÂsure aimed at those who might be temptÂed to walk off with artÂwork by Sami Musa, Dominique Petrin, or the hotel’s famous founder.
Guests are also cauÂtioned to conÂtain their exciteÂment about their upcomÂing stay when passÂing through cusÂtoms at Tel Aviv airÂport, where travÂelÂers who blab about their intenÂtions to visÂit the West Bank are often subÂjectÂed to extra scrutiÂny. One wonÂders how many Tel Aviv TSA offiÂcers would get the appeal of stayÂing in a hotel that boasts of its terÂriÂble views of the wall dividÂing PalesÂtine from Israel.
The hotel’s proxÂimÂiÂty to the wall proÂvides both its name and its raison‑d’etre. Banksy is markÂing the cenÂteÂnary of British conÂtrol of PalesÂtine by enticÂing visÂiÂtors to eduÂcate themÂselves, using his cusÂtomÂary humor and lack of polemic as the launchÂing pad.
To that end, a museÂum and gallery on the premisÂes will be open to the pubÂlic, offerÂing “a warm welÂcome to peoÂple from all sides of the conÂflict and across the world.” (The hotel’s FAQ counÂters the notion that the project is an anti-SemitÂic stateÂment, issuÂing a zero-tolÂerÂance polÂiÂcy where fanatiÂcism is conÂcerned.)
One of the hotel’s most origÂiÂnal ameniÂties is its in-house grafÂfiÂti supÂplies store, staffed by experts ready to disÂpense “local advice and guidÂance” to visÂiÂtors eager to conÂtribute to the Wall’s proÂlifÂerÂatÂing street art. (For inspiÂraÂtion, refer to Banky’s work from a 2015 trip to Gaza, below.)
ArmÂchair travÂelÂers can check out Banksy’s Walled Off Hotel here.
The online reserÂvaÂtions desk will open for busiÂness on March 11, the same day the gallery and museÂum open to the pubÂlic.
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