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Humor

Iceland Lampoons Zuckerberg’s ‘Metaverse’ with Their Immersive ‘Icelandverse’

November 12, 2021 Humor

Iceland has always been a country with a bit of a sense of humor. We’ve seen a number of clever campaigns from their tourism board. Mark Zuckerberg’s video talking about Facebook’s name change and absurd virtual world was an easy target for satire, and Iceland seized the moment with their latest advertisement.

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With a host looking suspiciously like the much-hated CEO, we’re introduced to the ‘Icelandverse’, a landscape so realistic, it might be, well, real.

“Today I want to talk about a revolutionary approach on how to connect our world, without being super weird,” the tour guide explains in the new ad.

“Some said it’s not possible. Some said it’s out of reach. To them, we say, it’s already here. Seriously, look, it’s right here,” he says, gesturing out the window at the snowy scene behind him.

“And what do we call this not-so-new chapter in human connectivity? The Icelandverse. Enhanced, actual reality, without silly-looking headsets,” the guide says.

Animals

Social Decay by Andrei Lacatusu

January 4, 2018 Animals

Social Decay Moss and Fog — A great play on words, this series shows social network company logos in aged detail.

With young companies like Google, Facebook and Pinterest, it’s easy to always picture them in clean, glossy, fresh context. That’s why we’re intrigued by Andrei Lacatusu‘s “Social Decay”, which showcases these famous logos digitally rendered to look old, rotten, and decayed. His level of detail and artistry is really impressive, showcasing rusty, broken down signage, missing letters, and weather-worn marquees.

Something fascinating happens when a bright and shiny logo is seen out of context, and more in the light of an old, Route 66-like marquee. It begins to have more of a story, more of a lived-in feel. While this might just be an exercise in beautiful digital rendering, we think Lacatusu’s work is poignant, timely, and thought-provoking. Via Behance:

Art

Drone’s Eye View of Burning Man 2013

September 10, 2013 Art

Pretty remarkable aerial footage filmed from a drone at Burning Man 2013. It gives you a great perspective on scale. Via Eddie.com.

Animals

Petri Dish Paintings

March 5, 2013 Animals

An artist named Klari Reis has an ongoing project creating one petri dish art piece per day for the whole year. An interesting canvas which lends a medical bent to the colorful gallery, with names like Beam Me Up Scotty and Raspberry Punch. Via their Facebook page: “the paintings are created using reflective epoxy polymer and are an attempt to “explore our complex relationship with today’s biotechnological industry.” Via LaughingSquid

Art

Pencils Transformed Into Fascinating Abstract Sculptures

January 7, 2013 Art

Astounding sculptures made entirely of pencils, by Jessica Drenk. Via Colossal:

South Carolina-based artist Jessica Drenk was born and raised in Montana where she developed an understanding and appreciation of the natural world that has since deeply influenced the course of her artistic career. Her installations and sculptures often imitate organic shapes, patterns, and textures even when using a medium that is often manufactured by human hands. Drenk’s most recent sculptures are a series called Implements, each of which begins with a mass of standard No. 2 pencils that have been tightly glued together. Using an electric sander she then molds the piece into a form that seems more likely to have originated in a dark cave or deep within the ocean than from a school desk. Of her work she says:

By transforming familiar objects into nature-inspired forms and patterns, I examine how we classify the world around us. Manufactured goods appear as natural objects, something functional becomes something decorative, a simple material is made complex, and the commonplace becomes unique. In changing books into fossilized remnants of our culture, or in arranging elegantly sliced PVC pipes to suggest ripple and wave patterns, I create a connection between the man-made and the natural.

Architecture

Tracks

December 26, 2012 Architecture

Insanely ambitious and beautiful! Via Colossal:
Since 2004 England-based Simon Beck has strapped on a pair of snowshoes and lumbered out into the the freshly fallen snow at the Les Arcs ski resort in France to trample out his distinctly geometric patterns, footprint by footprint. Each work takes the 54-year-old artist anywhere between 6 hours and two days to complete, an impressive physical feat aided from years of competitive orienteering. The orienteering also helps him in the precise mapping process which often begins on a computer before he’s able to mark landmarks in the snow that guide his precise walking patterns. All of the works above (with the exception of the portrait) are from the last few weeks, you can see several years worth of work over on Facebook.

Art

Infrared Landscapes

December 4, 2012 Art

Some excellent infrared photography to warm/warp your day. Via Colossal:

These infrared photographs taken by France-based photographer David Keochkerian look like bizarre, saturated landscapes created from a Dr. Seuss illustration. Seasons seem reversed, with white trees appearing in spring, and bushes are transformed into something that looks like fragile blades of bubble gum. You can see much more on Facebook, and Keochkerian tells me some images are avilable as limited edition prints if you contact him directly. If you liked this, also check out the work of Richard Mosse. (via gaks)

Politics

Felton’s Vote Map

November 6, 2012 Politics

Designer extraordinaire Nicholas Felton has a great interactive map of people voting in realtime.

About This Map

This map is a representation of people on Facebook who clicked an Election Day prompt to share with their friends that they’re voting in the 2012 US election. The information displayed on Facebook Stories has been anonymized and aggregated.

The map displays bursts of activity as people share that they’re voting. The size of each burst matches the number of people voting in that region right now. The histogram shows a record of activity over time, with an additional breakdown by gender and age.

Art

Levitating

April 23, 2012 Art

Some floating whimsy for your Monday. I like Natsumi Hayashi’s delicate style and composition.

Via NY Times Lens Blog:

No, Yowayowa Camera Woman is not jumping.

She’s levitating.

Ms. Hayashi, who lives in Tokyo, presents photographs of herself looking light as air, shot mostly around the city. The images have earned her a respectable following on her blog, as well as on Facebook and Twitter.

Levitation photos are supposed to emphasize the natural flow of time, said Ms. Hayashi, who usually shoots with a shutter speed of 1/500th of a second or faster. A crowded scene is more difficult to shoot, because the people in the background have to look as if they’re going about their business.

The pose, too, is important. A position that feels right may not mesh well with the environment. “I must be aware of the shapes of my arms and legs and make slight adjustments in every jump,” she said.

Yowayowa Camera Woman looks as if she’s doing a slow, lyrical dance through the air. The more complicated — in some cases, dangerous — the pose appears, the less inclined a viewer will be to anticipate a landing. Ms. Hayashi holds her head high, averting her eyes from her landing point. She releases her muscles. She points the soles of her feet to the sky.

And she readies herself for a fall, knowing that it’s important to maintain the pose in the air.

“When I am free of the gravity inside the picture, I feel free of any obligation to the society and live without being bound to many things.”

Design

Psychedelic Claymation

July 18, 2011 Design

Train Logger from Nicos Livesey on Vimeo.

Ratin Gorleg from Nicos Livesey on Vimeo.

London-based artist and animator Nicos Livesey creates these mind-exploding animations using intricately built loafs of plasticine. The colorful clay is formed into morphing and shifting geometric patterns that are revealed as he slices and photographs the cross-sections at painstaking 2mm intervals. (via fastco)