Check out your links after the jump.
[Read more...]
Visual Bits #398 > Humble Abodes, Big And Small
Dangerously Close to the Edge: Fearless Self-Portraits
Those seriously afraid of heights may want to look away. Photographer Ahn Jun goes to great heights, literally, to get the most perfect shots for her death defying series titled “Self-Portrait.” Although it would be fairly simple to photoshop a project like this, the artist insists that these are the real deal. The Korean photographer has been adding on to this collection since 2008, making her way to some of the tallest buildings in New York City, Hong Kong, and Seoul. To get the best picture, the fearless Jun sets up her camera to drive mode then gets in position and chooses the shot where she looks the most at ease or aggressive- never fearful. [Read more...]
Mr. Chickpea & Friends Explore NYC
As if the antioxidants, fiber, and deliciousness weren’t reason enough to love chickpeas, their personalities will certainly do the trick. In this playful series of photos by NYC based Turkish artist Sadi Tekin, little garbanzo bean heads explore the big apple. Tekin drew unique facial expressions on a bunch of dry garbanzo beans, utilizing the natural nose and chin grooves of the handsome legumes, then had a field day making bodies for them in unique New York (Ron Burgundy would be proud to read this aloud) locations. [Read more...]
Advertisement
Intricate Illustrations of Inspirational Icons
After fleeing his birthplace to escape the civil war, Vedran Misic and his family relocated from Sarajevo, Bosnia to New York City in 1994. He was old enough to remember the horrors of grenade showers and shootings outside which kept him and his family inside of their apartment building, unable to go to school. Experiencing the terror of war made Misic particularly drawn to Gandhi’s non-violent teachings and through art he found a way to “express [his] emotions tied to the war memories and the culture shock of [his] new life and in America.” His latest series of illustrations are colorful portraits, done in marker, dedicated to admirable heroes who spent their lives uniting people, the first two being Gandhi and Bob Marley. [Read more...]
A Delightful, Hand-Drawn Map of New York City
Following 3-months of research and hard work, British illustrator Jenni Sparks has created a fantastic hand-drawn map featuring the lovely city of New York. The piece repeats the talents we saw in her earlier effort creating a map of London, with this version perhaps even surpassing that fine work. Bold lines trace her 3D renditions of the city’s famous architecture, from the Flat Iron building to the Empire State Building; and locations like Union Square to Central Park. [Read more...]
Advertisement
The Big Apple From a Bicycle’s Point of View
Though some might think it would be crazy to bicycle through one of the busiest cities in the world, those who have been to New York City know that often times a bike can be faster than a cab in getting you from one place to the next, and a lot more sanitary than public transportation. To show his friends what riding a bike through the Big Apple feels like, sports photographer Tom Olesnevich attached his DSLR camera, upside down beneath his bicycle with a Gorillapod. The result: some outstanding shots of the city from a unique perspective. [Read more...]
Art Emerges After the Storm Has Passed
As the East Coast states devastated by Hurricane Sandy begin to pick up the pieces, it is inspiring to see the beautiful displays of solidarity. If there is any place that has proven its ability to overcome tragedy, it’s New York City. In the same year that One World Trade Center is rebuilt, New Yorkers were tested again with this hurricane, and are slowly but surely getting back on their feet. Personally I would hate to see this happen in Chicago, San Francisco or Los Angles. Sadly many art pieces and galleries were destroyed in the flooding caused by Hurricane Sandy and that is something we will never get back. Here are some of the designs that emerged from this natural disaster. [Read more...]
American Girls With Their American Girl Dolls
What started off as the anti-Barbie to get little girls interested in history while promoting a healthy body image, American Girl Dolls have become a status symbol for adolescent girls that encourages a heightened sense of self-importance and vanity. Today girls are less interested in the historical characters, preferring the “My American Doll” line which allows them to create a little avatar of themselves with matching skin tone, eye color, and hairstyle- matching outfits sold separately. By photographing American girls with their Mini-me American Girl Dolls, Polish photographer Ilona Szwarc investigates “how culture and society conditions gender and how it invents childhood.” [Read more...]
Advertisement
Visual Bits #277> Spy With A Vintage Eye
Check out your links after the jump.
[Read more...]
Illustrations Travel Back to New York’s Gilded Age
The so called Gilded Age in American history, was one of enormous industrial, urban and agricultural growth… one which saw a previously sleepy nation step forth as a major player on the world stage. The name for the era, coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in their book The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (1873), made reference to the process of coating cheap metal in a thin layer of gold… effectively making something cheap look more desirable. The term was a humorous jab at an era where many people complained of wildly ostentatious displays of wealth, crass manners, political corruption, and often shoddy ethics. But, for all its shortcomings it was an extremely exciting time, and artist Eric Rosner knows it. [Read more...]
