A beautiful bird capture by Avalus,
I think this is a pheasant. They… kept their distance, plucking at winter wheat.
© Avalus, all rights reserved
Have a Pheasant Day
Affinity
Art, Fun, & Nonsense.
A beautiful bird capture by Avalus,
I think this is a pheasant. They… kept their distance, plucking at winter wheat.
© Avalus, all rights reserved
… political protest, billboard-style
Just in time for the American election, a billboard project is being held in New York City.In October, Art at a Time Like This Inc., in collaboration with SaveArtSpace, borrows the moniker “Ministry of Truth: 1984/2020” to present 20 artists on 20 billboards around New York City, providing “a platform for artists to comment on the current state of US politics and increasing polarization just in time for the election,” according to a press release.
The twenty artists have been chosen, and below is a small sample of what the installation will include.
Mel Chin’s billboard imagery for “Ministry of Truth: 1984/2020” (all images courtesy of SaveArtSpace)
Dread Scott for “Ministry of Truth: 1984/2020”
Shirin Neshat for “Ministry of Truth: 1984/2020”
Marilyn Minter for “Ministry of Truth: 1984/2020”
The billboards will be placed around the 5 boroughs of New York, and there will be a digital map allowing viewers to plan self-guided tours. The full story is at Hyperallergic.
… Art Deco Architecture (I’m still thinking about Paris)
Paris building in the Paquabot, or ocean liner style (3 Blvd. Victor), designed by Pierre Patout, image via Wikimedia
Something new from Avalus,
Then there was a crow, trying to open a walnut. I first took the photos and then a short film. And then my battery died the very moment the crow had enough of my staring.
© Avalus, all rights reserved
© Avalus, all rights reserved
© Avalus, all rights reserved
And now, Avalus’ little movie. There’s a bit of wind noise, so you may want to turn our volume down.
… maps, by Harold Fisk
Meander map of the Mississippi, 1944, by Harold Fisk, cartographer and geologist, image via The Public Domain Review
This map is one of a series made to highlight the changes in the flood plain of the Mississippi River. The maps were drawn using information from 1944 and old records from 1765, 1820 and 1880.
All of these alterations, both human and nonhuman, can be seen in Fisk’s wonderfully detailed, wonderfully vibrant maps — further evidence that the Mississippi, as Mark Twain put it, is not at all “a commonplace river, but on the contrary is in all ways remarkable”.
The full story is at The Public Domain Review
… abstract, by Wassily Kandinsky
Jaune Rouge Bleu, 1925, by Wassily Kandinsky, image via Wikimedia
The original plan was to make ordinary knives, no fancy stuff, no distractions, just to build up some stock for sale when the bureaucracy here finally gets its act together. But I did not stick to that plan too well. First I got distracted several times making new tools, then two knives came out so nice that I thought it a shame to not make sheaths for them that are just a little fancy. But after two months, I have finally finished four pieces.
Today I was trying to take pictures, with very varying success. For reasons that I do not understand, I get usually the best results with reddish/magenta cloth background.
Here are the four knives, details, and some talk about each piece are below the fold.
© Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
… Guy Pène du Bois
Social Register, 1919, Guy Pène du Bois
… Kitagawa Utamaro
Girls playing a game with shells, 1790, Kitagawa Utamaro. Image via The Met Museum.
© Voyager, all rights reserved
It’s been another beautiful day around here, and Jack and I spent most of it outdoors again. We started the day with a bit of gardening and then spent the afternoon taking a slow walk in the woods. Mr. V joined us, and it turned into a pleasant family outing, taking in the best of the season and meandering our way home down a few country roads. I had to stop and say hi to this small herd, who were quietly cutting the grass in this home’s front yard. They were friendly and curious and not at all bothered by Jack’s excited calls of ‘Hello, I’m Jack. What’s your name?”
The cows made me think about ice cream, so we stopped at Dairy Queen on the way home, and we had ice cream before dinner. Which is meatloaf. Don’t tell the cows.
© Voyager, all rights reserved
I have tried to plant some strawflowers this year and I am going to make an even bigger patch next year. They are beautiful and butterflies and bees simply love them to bits. I have several red admirals there during a sunny day.
There are ten pictures, so nine are below the fold. Do you recognize the bee mimicking hoverfly?
© Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
… Duilio Barnabe.
Paysage, by Duilio Barnabe, image via Christie’s Auction
I had an extremely bad year bird-watching wise so far. There are definitively a lot fewer birds around than there used to be.
For example, only a few starlings came by to harvest all the surplus aronias. And only one was visible enough to take a picture. Normally, at this time of year, the tree should be stripped bare by starlings and thrushes heading south.
© Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
I have not seen a single golden finch, greenfinch, or siskin the whole year. Neither have I seen any fieldfares, or thrushes, and just a few blackbirds, very sparsely. Chaffinch song is usually a constant presence the whole summer – and this year I cannot remember hearing it even once, despite chaffinch being supposedly the most common bird of central Europe.. And in the last month or two tits and sparrows – the consants of my garden the whole year – have disappeared too. Redstarts are still here, but wagtails never showed up.
I fear this is a real environmental problem and a local sign of a global catastrophy.
