Wednesday, May 16, 2012

A Look Inside the New Barnes Museum


Vogue has an exclusive look inside the new Barnes Foundation Museum (a couple of views  shown above, photo credit :Tom Crane). Here's the LINK
It looks like they recreated the rooms exactly as they were at the old Barnes Foundation. The collection was housed in Merion, PA for years. The new museum will open in Philadelphia on Saturday, May 19, 2012 (2025 Benjamin Frankin Parkway). That's exciting for Philadelphia because Mr. Albert C. Barnes' collection consists of 69 Cezannes, 59 Matisses, plus many Picassos (46), Modiglianis, Van Goghs (7), Seurats, Renoirs (181 of them), etc. It's one of the most fantastic collections that I have ever seen. I'll never forget the first time I saw these works on a field trip in college (by appointment only). Now many more people will have a chance to view these paintings.
Barnes Foundation
P.S.Update: For even more photos with wow factor check out this NYT link.

Wednesday, May 09, 2012

Ata Kando's Dream Photos 1955

How beautiful and inspiring. This photo is from a series called "Dream in the Forest" - copyright by photographer Ata Kando 1955.
Read the story of this fascinating photographer, Ata Kando, and see more images in this series on her new website: atakando.com.

(Thanks, Suzanne Gerber)

The Art of Amy Crehore

Do animals have pets?

Koko and Tonda with their pet cats. LINK  (Primatology)

Thursday, May 03, 2012

The World Underground 1741

See a fascinating Flickr Set of Illustrations to Ludvig Holberg's The Journey of Niels Klim to the World Underground (first published in Latin in 1741, this is a later version, I believe). Read an article about this" satirical science fiction/fantasy novel" here: Public Domain Review . This book inspired Mary Shelly and Edgar Allen Poe. Ludvig Holberg lived from 1684 to 1754 and is referred to as the father of Danish and Norwegian literature. LINK
I'm sort of wondering who came up with the illustrations?

The Art of Amy Crehore

Wednesday, May 02, 2012

One man on an island with tortoises


86 year old Brendan Grimshaw bought an island in the Indian Ocean
in the early 60s and made it more than livable for himself.
It became the world's smallest national park.
Just watch. Thanks, Mark at boingboing for this inspiring, true story.

Monday, April 30, 2012

Natural Fashion, Natural Art

I've been looking at the photos that Hans Silvester took of the people of the Omo Valley (Surma and Mursi Tribes) in east Africa. These people decorate each other in the most creative ways. On this link you will find some fascinating photos from his book, Natural Fashion: Tribal Decoration from Africa, such as the one shown here.