12 Lane Road

No podía creer que esta avenida era real, hasta que la vi mas de cerca. Tomada por el fotógrafo Marcus Lyon desde su hotel en la avenida Sheikh Zayed en Dubai, la imagen es toda una escatología de la urbanización moderna.

Ahora imagínense todo el mundo cubierto de esto…

I was in Dubai in 2010, doing a speech for a charity, when I discovered the amazing Sheikh Zayed Road. It has 12 lanes, tall buildings and skyscrapers on either side, and stretches right through the middle of the city. I booked a hotel next to it so that I could get up on to the roof. I was probably up there for about an hour and a half, hanging over, shooting straight down. You get a bit dizzy doing that…

http://bit.ly/1YSoyYq

Internet Whore

semiohtomatic:

internet_whore.png

Una de esos términos nuevos (mezcla de tecnología y cultura popular), con un significado no claramente definido, que no aparece ni si quiera en el diccionario, que cada quien usa según lo entiende y sin embargo, de forma cada vez más frecuente.

Bueno, al menos no tiene un significado “oficial”, porque en varios wikis (sitios de contenido creado y modificado colectivamente) cada quien da su definición personal de lo que esta expresión significa (o debería significar). Como en el sitio Urban Dictionary.com, de donde saqué lo que al final de este post cito en inglés.

Quizá la reflexión más interesante al respecto sería: ¿Qué es oficial en internet, y qué no? Difícil responder…

A person who overuses Google/Wiki/Stumble/Internet Search Engines to find the answer to any random question or look up any sought after piece of information that one knows little about, often in quick succession, with infrequent breaks to the bathroom or for a food delivery, for a period of hours/days on end…

http://bit.ly/1ODKy77

The «Sea Organ»

El arquitecto Nikola Bašić, creó este extraño órgano en la costa de su natal Croacia, donde la música que se escucha es generada totalmente por la marea y el oleaje del océano.

¿Quieren escuchar como suena? vean esto: http://bit.ly/1QLnc0M

La pieza está basada en un proyecto bastante similar llamado “Wave Ocean”, de los artistas californianos Peter Richards and George Gonzalez. Pero la verdad este suena mucho mejor…

While many of us are content to listen to the natural sounds of ocean waves, architect Nikola Bašić took things a step further and faciliated a means for ocean currents to produce actual music. Behold: the Sea Organ. Constructed in 2005, the acoustic jetty spans some 230 feet (70 meters) and incorporates 35 polyethylene tubes of varying diameter. As waves flood each tube underwater, displaced air is forced through large whistles tuned to play seven chords of five tones. Day in and day out, music seems to emanate from the ground, a playful interplay between nature and design. Listening to the video above, the sound is somewhat like random chords played by a huge calliope….

http://bit.ly/1QLmkcz

The «Sea Organ»

Wonderland, 2012

Recuerdo que ya había posteado algo sobre el artista español Jaume Plensa y sus esculturas de cabezas gigantes, ubicadas en espacios públicos y paisajes exteriores. Lo vuelvo a traer aquí (y con esta foto) porque lo que está haciendo últimamente con simples estructuras de alambre (wireframes) es sorprendente.

Es como sacar el 3D del universo propio de las computadoras y transportarlo al mundo físico real…

Wonderland, 2012
Painted stainless steel
12 meters high
Site: The Bow. Calgary, Alberta (Canada)
Commissioned by: Encana Corporation, Calgary, Alberta, Canada 2007

http://bit.ly/1QqJQHk

The Black Knight

Esto no se ve (o lee) todos los días: un mensaje extra-terrestre real, supuestamente enviado por un extraño satélite de orígenes no-humanos que orbita nuestro planeta desde hace mucho más tiempo del que podríamos aceptar (12,600 años), y que por supuesto ha sido una de las cosas más encubiertas y desmentidas por la NASA desde los años 50s. No los convenceré de nada, pero aquí esta la nota completa… y el mensaje, proveniente supuestamente desde Izar, una antigua estrella doble en la constelación de Epsilon Bootis, a 210 años luz de aquí:

Start here.
Our home is epsilon bootis.
which is a double star.
we live on the 6th planet of 7 – check that, 6th of 7 –
counting outwards from the sun
which is the larger of the two.
our 6th planet has one moon,
our 4th planet has three,
our first and third planets each have one.
our probe is in the orbit of your moon
this updates the position of arcturus shown on our maps.

El mensaje es amigable y cumple una función meramente informativa (de ubicación y descripción básica del sistema de donde proviene). Pero en fin, siempre será más fácil decir que es falso. Y mas hermoso que es real…

Space is filled with many mysterious objects, many of which are on the edge of our ability to perceive the universe. However, there could also be some unexplained objects closer to home – in fact, they could be orbiting (and watching us) right now.

I’m talking about the Black Knight Satellite – an object which, according to some, has been orbiting the Earth for nearly 13,000 years. This is how the story goes:

According to most sources, the story of the Black Knight Satellite begins with the space race in the 1950s. It is claimed that in 1954, NASA discovered a large unknown satellite circling Earth on a polar orbit. Initially, they believed it was some kind of Russian space object, but it was quickly confirmed that it was not. At this point in time, neither country in the space race had the ability to launch such objects out of the atmosphere. Other reports also claimed a strange signal was broadcasting from the object…

http://bit.ly/1dani0M

The Black Knight

Oddly Head

I recently came across London artist Oddly Head – and after seeing these prints had to get them in the gallery. Using found collaged images in a similar style to Peter Blake, but with much greater impact, i’m sure these will be seen as classics in years to come!

We have three ‘Hollywood’ prints available – each is signed and numbered from an edition of 300 and priced at £165.

http://bit.ly/1M41lwO

Death Metal in a box

Aquí hay una propuesta escultórica extrema (bueno, es más un happening)…
Una banda de death-metal llamada “Unfathomable Ruination" tocó dentro de esta caja sellada hasta quedarse totalmente sin aire.  El objeto cúbico, y la documentación del performance (que son los sonidos de un grupo de músicos tocando bajo el efecto de la asfixia) formó parte de un proyecto del artista portugués Joao Onofre, creado para el festival ”Sculpture in the city“, realizado en Londres…

A death metal band is living up to the type of music it creates by risking suffocation and playing in 
an airtight, soundproof steel box. 

The band, called Unfathomable Ruination, has been performing on the streets of London as part of a project called Box Sized DIE and they play until the oxygen runs out.

The idea was the creation of Portuguese artist Joao Onofre which formed part of an exhibition called Sculpture in the City.

ccording to the artist behind the piece, the box is a symbol of the ‘boxy’ offices in the area where people work. 

Onofre said: ‘In this corporate architecture you do not see what is going on inside. The same thing is happening here.’

So how long can a death metal band play in an airtight, soundproof box – the band lasted 14 minutes the first time they played and have so far reached the 19 minute mark…

http://dailym.ai/1k6rmfB

Death Metal in a box

Dragon bridge

Y así buscando rarezas por la vida me encontré este puente con forma de dragón (Cầu Rồng) en la ciudad de Da Nang, Vietnam, que como todo buen draconiano escupe fuego (y vapor) por las noches…

If you thought dragons – those fearsome creatures of myth and legend – only come to life in video games – you’d be mistaken. Allow me to enlighten you. Every night, a fire-spewing, water-spraying, 568 meter-long dragon, with an 18-meter-wide head and a 19.73 meters wide tail comes to life in Da Nang.

The very definition of an Asian boomtown, Da Nang has changed from a backwater harbor to a metropolis featuring high-rise hotels, expensive real estate, palatial beachside resorts, a beautifully designed airport, and one of the world’s most unique bridges.

The metro area, which is home to more than a million people, is divided by the Han River. Two bridges now connect the city’s downtown and airport with the main beach and resort area (there are six bridges over the Han in all). Both of the urban spans are lit up brightly at night, but the newer of the pair has a little bit more light, thanks to the fire-breathing dragon that sits just above its roadway…

http://bit.ly/1jT4Qt

Urban cursor

El diseñador danés Sebastian Campion puso este cursor gigante en una plaza pública, en la ciudad española de Figueres, para que la gente jugara con él, se subieran y lo movieran de un lado a otro. Todas esa interacciones esto fueron monitoreadas vía GPS y trazadas en un mapa urbano. Obviamente lo interesante son las reacciones de las personas…

Urban Cursor is a GPS enabled object designed to facilitate social interaction and play in public space. 

The object, which is shaped as an oversized 3-dimensional computer cursor (pointer), was placed on a square in Figueres, Catalunya during the cultural festival Ingràvid. 

Here, people could touch it, move it around and sit on it as an alternative to the benches. 

Despite being removed from its normal screen based environment, the cursor was still in touch with the digital world. Via an embedded GPS device, the cursor transmitted its geographic coordinates to a website. At the website, the coordinates were mapped in Google Maps thereby documenting the cursor’s movements in the physical world and making it possible for participants to see how they collectively helped move the object around…

http://www.urbancursor.com/

Monumental typography

Se me hace curioso ver cómo el código y hasta el pixel (muy a la 8bits-) se han vuelto parte de esta tradición gráfica de explotar la tipografia como elemento visual, incluso a nivel urbano. Aquí hay una publicación de un libro con buenos ejemplos…

“Lettering Large" is the title of a new book by Steven Heller and Mirko Ilić that looks at the "art and design of monumental typography.” Published by The Monacelli Press, the book highlights the cross-disciplinary expressions of architecture, art, typography, graphic design and landscape, many of which use type to transform buildings and spaces in dramatic ways…

http://bit.ly/1elsNaD