Art Attack

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-28T10:53:00.001-05:00

Yeah, I'm still here.
I'll try and get updates going again next week (after Thanksgiving.)

No new posts for a while. . .

2008-10-19T02:31:00.002-04:00

Sorry, but there won't be any new posts on here for a while.
I've been tied up with a number of things recently, and I just haven't had time to update the blog very much.

Something to tide the week over

2008-10-03T01:29:00.002-04:00

Revere Beach #1 from Mark Sylvester on Vimeo.

Revere Beach #2 from Mark Sylvester on Vimeo.

My Ride Home Stop-Motion Beta1 from Mark Sylvester on Vimeo.

Gene Kelly on "The Muppet Show"

2008-09-24T01:16:00.001-04:00

I think its time for a little bit of a classical influence :)

Also, check out this little skit featuring Grover (which has to be my ABSOLUTE favorite skit, which I actually remember watching when I was 4 or 5.)

Man decorates basement in Sharpie

2008-09-23T23:04:00.002-04:00

Ususally I'm wary when I hear about projects done in sharpie or duct tape. There are a lot of people doing really cool things with both materials, but there are also a lot of people making complete crap out of both materials.

This guy, I must say, has done a real classy job with black sharpie.

"When Charlie Kratzer started on the basement art project in his south Lexington home, he was surrounded by walls painted a classic cream. Ten dollars of Magic Marker and Sharpie later, the place was black and cream and drawn all over. . .

Says Kratzer, 53, the associate general counsel for Lexmark: "People are amazed that with something as simple and inexpensive as a Sharpie, you can decorate a whole basement."

How did this Sharpie world start? With a single swipe of the marker.

Kratzer started mid-wall, with the Salon by Picasso. Then he thought, well, taking a design out to the edge of the wall wouldn't be overwhelming.

Then the rest of the basement flared off that first wall."

Check out the rest of the really cool article, and the cool rotating photograph showing all 360 degrees of his sharpie-done basement.

http://www.kentucky.com/181/story/532854.html

"Musical Road" by Honda

2008-09-21T23:22:00.001-04:00

"Nice Pants"

2008-09-19T10:42:00.000-04:00

"Snout"

2008-09-17T14:15:00.000-04:00

Anti-Theft Lunch Bag

2008-09-16T23:14:00.003-04:00

New York-based Sherwood Forlee came up with a lunch bag that will stop would-be lunch thieves dead in their tracks. How? By printing "mold" onto a ziploc bag. The printed mold (ink) would deter anyone from trying to swipe your delicious lunch.

(From an art standpoint, this is a really cool idea, although it might lack some of the kick that leaving a sandwich baited with something nasty in it for your lunch thief to find does.)

http://www.tampabays10.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=89418&catid=58

Mind-Bending archetecture

2008-09-15T23:05:00.003-04:00

"Venice Architecture Biennale: Dutch architects NL present this series of images in the Italian Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale."
(From De Zene)

For example :

What if airliners flew in the same V-formation as most birds?

And how would YOU feel if you saw THIS coming at you down the highway?

These are just two small snapshots of the complete works, which are all very well-done and really cool to look and think about. See the full images here :
http://www.dezeen.com/2008/09/12/virtual-realities-by-nl-architects/

Epy Birds at it again!

2008-09-12T14:31:00.002-04:00

Eepybird's Sticky Note Experiment from Eepybird on Vimeo.

Kung Foo Fighter

2008-09-11T00:50:00.000-04:00

Lolcat of the day!

2008-09-10T12:15:00.001-04:00

more animals

Do Penguins Fly?

2008-09-09T02:22:00.001-04:00

Animated Optical Illusion

2008-09-08T01:11:00.001-04:00

Animated Optical Illusion! - video powered by Metacafe

Typewriter scuplture

2008-09-05T02:34:00.003-04:00

Jeremy Mayer makes sculptures from old typewriter parts, like this reclining lady.

"I disassemble typewriters and then reassemble them into full-scale, anatomically correct human figures. I do not solder, weld, or glue these assemblages together- the process is entirely cold assembly.

I'm very interested in assembly, particularly in nature. I pay very close attention to the strong current in science and technology flowing inexorably toward an emulation of natural systems. Over the years I've been watching the advances in molecular engineering and biotechnology with giddy anticipation and also with a faint ping of trepidation. I love the sciences and science fiction, and both disciplines often stress the importance of considering the ramifications of implementing new technologies. These interests figure greatly into my sculpture and drawings. "

(http://www.jeremymayer.com/Artist.asp?ArtistID=18688&Akey=23SVCF6T)

Check out his website, see more of his works, and get information about his past a future shows here
http://www.jeremymayer.com

See-Through Skyscraper

2008-09-04T12:29:00.003-04:00

The folks over at the New York Times caught this photo of 7 World Trade Center almost completely disappearing into the New York Skyline.

Check out the full-size photo and article here
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/02/the-see-through-skyscraper/

2008-08-30T07:42:00.000-04:00

Tramvia de Soller from Openminded on Vimeo.

"Summer Rain"

2008-08-29T07:32:00.000-04:00

Summer Rain from Kelly on Vimeo.

"summer sessions"

2008-08-28T07:36:00.000-04:00

Summer sessions from Smog Films on Vimeo.

"Summer"

2008-08-27T07:30:00.001-04:00

summer from hjalmar söderling on Vimeo.

"Summer Breeze"

2008-08-26T07:26:00.001-04:00

Summer Breeze from Paul Staab on Vimeo.

Finnish Summer

2008-08-25T15:54:00.003-04:00

Finnish Summer from Marco Menestrina on Vimeo.

Okay, since I'll probably be away from the internet for the next week, and since I found LOTS more great summer videos, I'm keeping the summer-video-theme running for another week.

Enjoy!

Summer!

2008-08-22T05:55:00.001-04:00

Summer Time from Mars on Vimeo.

More summer fun

2008-08-21T04:44:00.000-04:00

Carnival from duplo on Vimeo.

For the end of summer, I'm doing a set of summer-ish videoes.
This is #2 in the series.

Summer Fun

2008-08-20T03:33:00.001-04:00

Carnival from cans on Vimeo.

Click the link to go to the full-size video.

XKCD : "Small Talk:

2008-08-19T01:11:00.001-04:00

View the whole thing here (not squashed into a very vertical blog layout) here
http://xkcd.com/222/

Week of summer posts!

2008-08-18T11:07:00.001-04:00

This week, its all about summer!
Each day, I've got a new video on summer, focusing on carnivals (I mean, what's summer without one?)

CARNIVAL 5X5 from MAGICUPMYNOSE on Vimeo.

Laughing Heads

2008-08-18T10:32:00.005-04:00

I stumbled upon this video last week, and I thought it was kinda cool.
Its really amazing to see what 3D animation can do sometimes, and theres something strange yet compelling about watching three floating heads all react to the same unknown events that we're not privleged to see.

Lowest van in the world

2008-08-15T05:43:00.003-04:00

"An automotive mechanic has driven into the record books - by building the world's lowest van.

Andy Saunders converted a 7ft 8ins high VW Camper into a 3.3ft high version - in just three days."

XKCD : Ninja Turtles

2008-08-14T04:44:00.000-04:00

From
http://xkcd.com/197/

Touchtone Phone Symphony

2008-08-13T10:10:00.000-04:00

Touch Tone Phone Symphony - Watch more free videos

Lightning (in slow motion)

2008-08-12T01:11:00.001-04:00

Britain from Above (WAY above)

2008-08-11T04:12:00.002-04:00

"A new BBC series makes use of satellite technology to create stunning images of Britain from above. Mark Sanders reports. Andrew Marr presents the series Britain from Above, the first episode of which will be broadcast on Sunday 10 August at 2100 on BBC One. "

Video and photo have always had a strange relationship. Sometimes a video can show things that a photograph can not, but sometimes a photo can show things that a video can not. Specifically, a video is many, many photographs shown in rapid succession - one after another. What you see looks like smooth motion, but every frame (still image that makes up the video) shows only one moment in time. There are a couple ways to alter this - slow motion takes many more frames, and then plays them at a slower speed, so what we see on video appears to happen slower then it does in real life (in some cases,thousands of times slower - like popcorn popping.) Video can also be done in time-lapse, where frames are removed, so that action happens faster then it does in real life - such as taking the construction of a building shot for a year, and condensing it down to an hour-long video.

This video take yet ANOTHER approach. This video tracks the flight paths of airplanes, the connections of cell phones, and the paths cabs take through London, and shows it on a map. Eath path is shown by a line drawn on the map, like the path was actually drawn on the map. But instead of leaving each path on the map, even long after the airplane has landed, or the cab reached its destination, the paths fade away after a time. The result is a great composite, and a really cool video. Check it out here

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7539529.stm

Scatman John

2008-08-08T01:54:00.000-04:00

(I have no idea why I chose to post this. . . .it just seemed like a good idea.)Scat

"Exploded iPod"

2008-08-07T01:37:00.003-04:00

"I love exploded diagrams of objects where you see every piece of the thing. I had the idea to try and make a real life version of one, and picked my iPod to be the victim. The catch was, I wanted it to work even in its exploded form." ~ Billy Chasen, exploded iPod creator.

Take a look at more photos of this iPod (which STILL works) here
http://anerroroccurredwhileprocessingthisdirective.com/2007/11/10/
exploded-ipod-still-works/

"Magic" Milk

2008-08-06T01:06:00.000-04:00

Amazing Magic Milk - Watch the best video clips here

Okay, I don't know that I'd say this is exactly "magic" milk, but its still cool to watch/

Jewlery . . .for your contacts?

2008-08-05T00:43:00.003-04:00

Okay, the Hello Kitty contacts were one thing. .
This is another.

Jewlery that hangs from contact lenses.

As a photographer (or I suppose most other artists) I value my eyes highly . . .
I don't like contacts to begin with (I know millions of people wear them, I just personally don't like them), and I know of a lot of times were my glasses have kept me from getting something launched into my eye.

But actually taking something and hanging it FROM my eye?
No way. I mean, what happens if it gets caught on something? You could be sneezing, blowing your nose, wiping your face, etc.

Why take the risk?

See more photos and read more about this new idea here
http://www.styledash.com/2008/07/24/fashions-from-bizarre-o-world-eye-jewelry
/?icid=200100397x1206373266x1200333332

Models dress up as lamps for art exhibit

2008-08-04T00:32:00.002-04:00

Unfortunately I haven't been able to find much more information on this yet, other then this one link and image.

" Artist Marianne Maric has dressed up models in lamps and switches for her display in Nancy, France."

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=234230&in_page_id=34

When I find more information on this, I'll post an update.

Gray or Grey?

2008-08-01T06:33:00.000-04:00

So, just how do you spell it?
GrAy?
or
GrEy?

The answer : either one. The spelling with an "e"is the original (or British, if you will) spelling of it, although the "American"spelling usually uses the "a."

Information from
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/235359.html

Have you played mini-golf lately?

2008-07-31T01:23:00.001-04:00

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2008/07/25/new_disability_regulations_raise_concern/

(More on this later) ;)

Really cool airplane cabin photos!

2008-07-30T04:44:00.003-04:00

Ever wondered what the pilots see while coming in for a landing at a busy airport?
Isn't it just the worst to find out you've got the window seat, then realize that the wing blocks your view of anything interesting?

Take a look at this list of 10 really cool photos of airplane cabins in different situations - from night landings like the image above (by Ismael Jorda, link inlcuded in the top 10 list), to acrobatic airplanes with nothing but the ground above and the sky below (upside-down).

View the top 10 list, along with links to the original images here
http://www.canadabizmart.com/bootstrapper/collection/spectacular-cockpit-photos/

Barcodes can be art too!

2008-07-29T02:23:00.004-04:00

Barcodes. Those simple series of little black and white lines that let you scan things in at a cash register.

These things. Not very exciting, right?

Wrong. How about this instead?

The barcode is the (aptly-named) row of black and white bars that run along in a row and get scanned in by the computer at the cash register. A japanese company realized that as long as the barcode is readable by the computer, nothing else matters. The running dude in the barcode above doesn't even register to the computer scanner.

"In Japan nowadays, artistic barcode labels grace everything from soup to nuts. The theme typically matches the actual product inside but just as often it doesn't. No matter, the theme is secondary to the thoughts of the artists who, though limited by the need to retain the barcode label's original purpose, still have enough leeway to surprise and delight."

Quote, information, screencaps (and more cool barcode art) here :
http://inventorspot.com/articles/barcode_art_from_japan_black_white_can_get_along_12735

Steam at Night

2008-07-28T01:50:00.002-04:00

View full-size image here
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=198946

Photo by AndrewBlaszczyk

"Part II of my "K4's from Above" series. While the others chose to set up their tripods on the ground, the photographer took the opportunity of being inside the gates to climb up PRR 6755, the M1b 'Mountain' locomotive. With very few flat surfaces on the top of the locomotive, a shirt and a hoodie would be used to sturdy the camera."

Railroad Snow Plow

2008-07-25T01:21:00.001-04:00

Its the 25th. . . which means its time for Christmas in July!
So, enjoy a dose of good ole' winter!

"PARADISE"

2008-07-23T02:23:00.001-04:00

Raccoon Stealing a Floormat

2008-07-21T05:19:00.000-04:00

Vacation coming up!

2008-07-18T16:32:00.001-04:00

I will be on vacation this coming week, so there will only be three posts next week. After that, I'll return to my post each weekday. Sorry for the delay!

ScadShorts

2008-07-18T16:31:00.000-04:00

New posts coming soon . .

2008-07-17T00:02:00.000-04:00

New posts coming soon . . i promise.
Just a bit of a scheduling snag :(

How records are made

2008-07-11T21:50:00.000-04:00

No, not birth record.
No, not criminal records.
Musical records. Those black spinny thingies that you play on a turntable. 45s. 33s. 78s.

Take a loot at how pile of plastic vynl shavings gets turned into beautiful music here
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-9977878-52.html?tag=st.top

In case you're wondering why this is important, record sales are making a bit of a comeback. Up until the advent of MP3 players, buying music meant that you actually owned something - you had a physical record, then an 8-track, then a cassete, then a CD. But when you download a song, you're lucky if you're purchasing more then a few electrons to be written on your computers hard drive.

There's something about actually owning the PHYSICAL music - records aren't digital, they're the physical impression of the sound that they've recorded. Some people say they sound "better" then CDs or MP3s. I don't know weather or not I believe that (I've yet to actually get someone to help me do a blind test - I've got a turntable, a Boston album 33, CD, and MP3.)

One of the best reasons I can think of for a good comeback of records is the record sleeve. I mean, CD album covers are tiny - about 5 inches square. You can do the greatest album cover in the world, but its going to loose detail when printed that small. It's a whole other ballgame when your album art can be printed 12x12 (the size of a 33 1/3 RPM record.).

Where the Hell is Matt?

2008-07-10T09:41:00.000-04:00

http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
I know I embedded this video, but it actually gets better. . .Youtube is offering this video in high quality, so click the video, go to the youtube page for it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlfKdbWwruY) and click "watch in high quality" right below the bottom right corner of the video. It's MUCH better, and a feature that will hopefully be on ALL youtube videos soon. Going back on topic. . . . .

So, if you're wondering just who in the world this guy is, how he managed to travel around the world, and why he's dancing on the internet, check out his "about me" page here

http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/about.shtml,

and check out his homepage here
http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/

Ball falling into Sand

2008-07-09T04:25:00.000-04:00

Lego Artist Repairs Holes in Italian Walls - with Lego blocks

2008-07-09T02:08:00.000-04:00

"...Artist and lego enthusiast Jan Vormann went around the quiet little town of Bocchignano, Italy filling its decrepit walls with lego pieces. The work was done as part of an Italian group project “20 Eventi.” A group of artists developed projects in the Sabina region to create a open-air museum that spans four villages."

Information (and ofc more photos) from here
http://gizmodo.com/5014234/artist-repairs-walls-in-italy-with-lego-bricks

2008-07-07T01:27:00.000-04:00

more cat pictures

New York City Waterfalls

2008-07-04T04:30:00.000-04:00

"The New York City Waterfalls was conceived by artist Olafur Eliasson.
Eliasson was born in Copenhagen in 1967, and grew up in both
Iceland and Denmark. He attended the Royal Danish Academy of
Fine Arts in Copenhagen and currently divides his time between
his family home in Copenhagen and his studio in Berlin. Throughout
his career, he has taken inspiration from natural elements and
phenomena to create sculptures and installations that evoke
sensory experiences. "

"What inspired Olafur Eliasson to make the Waterfalls and to
build them in New York City?

Olafur Eliasson has been traveling to New York since he was a
student in the late 1980s, and he is inspired by the waterways that
surround and flow through the City. The Waterfalls address his
interest in highlighting our relationship to our environment. The New
York City Waterfalls integrate the spectacular beauty of nature into
the urban landscape on a dramatic scale. While Eliasson has built
waterfalls before, he has never created them on such a grand scale. "

Read more about the four man-made waterfalls (pumping almost 2 million gallons of East River water each day), where you can see them, why and how they were made, and where you can view them from here

http://www.nycwaterfalls.org/

(All quotes and images from http://www.nycwaterfalls.org/ )

Tricked-out golf carts

2008-07-03T05:49:00.000-04:00

Time for a little bit of an "automotive" link here :P
I found this blog with even examples of cool golf cat modifications, like the firetruck below
(from http://www.streetrodproductions.com/firetruck.php )

Check out the other examples (including a bentley, a bus, a Hummer, and more) here
http://jalopnik.com/396587/
hot-rods-fire-trucks-and-more-seven-crazy-golf-cart-mods

2008-07-02T04:05:00.000-04:00

more cat pictures

Robotic Rock Band

2008-07-01T04:36:00.000-04:00

See more funny videos at CollegeHumor

"A Segscellent adventure"

2008-06-30T06:31:00.000-04:00

I found this really neat article about Segways, and one reporters journey to learn to ride one on a tour of Baltimore.

I've posted the intoduction to the article, read the rest (and view the photos) in the link.

"Throughout history, mankind's lust for locomotion has propelled many an extravagant invention. In His Infinite Wisdom, God gave man two legs and unprecedented bipedalism, allowing man to literally rise above his quadrupedal ancestors. But then man said to the Lord, "eh, shove it, Pops," and sated his inner-speed demon. He tamed and rode horses; he designed wheels and popped mad wheelies; he egregiously underpaid some folks to build railroads. Then, in 1919, he wrought the Pogo Stick, which has since reigned as the undisputed King of Transportation.

Until now.

The future of travel is here, friends, and its name is Segway. Did you know that these two-wheeled, counterbalanced godsends have arrived in Charm City, thanks to a futuristic company known as Segs in the City? Did you know that for $45, you can experience the future today? And did you know that Metromix had the cojones to pay me to ride one of these things around, despite my well-known ties to the Official Society of Pogo Stick Enthusiasts?

These facts, and others equally useless, await you just beyond the precipice of the present. Join me for the journey of a lifetime, or at least the journey of a lunch break, as I infiltrate this forward-thinking cabal. Call it a segsual rite of passage. They made me wear a helmet, but you, dear reader, can go without."

Read the rest here
http://baltimore.metromix.com/events/article/a-segscellent-adventure/464422/content

Thats no pipe, thats my lamp

2008-06-27T04:18:00.000-04:00

No, the pipes aren't about to melt.
They're a new floor lamp, designed to glow, but to LOOK like pipes. I guess the industrial style is really "in" right now. . . .

The cost? "Only" $614.

I'm pretty sure I can do something similar with a can of spray paint, some clear tubing, and a couple of light fixtures for about a quarter of that price. . . .

View/purchase one here
http://en.dawanda.com/product/217244-Lightpipe-
Lichtroehre-Leuchtsystem-Nachbau-Lueftungsrohr

Serious about archetecture. . . . .

2008-06-26T04:03:00.000-04:00

Image from story/AP

"HUNTS POINT, Wash. — Rolling the waterfront house onto a barge on Lake Washington took just over 20 minutes. The house's maritime trip to British Columbia will take a bit longer.

In an effort to preserve a spectacular home at a bargain price, a Canadian family is moving the 3,360-square-foot, two-story house from its lakeshore location in this suburb east of Seattle to a site near Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.

According to public filings, the former owners bought the home for $9.4 million; but they just wanted the 44,000-square-foot lot.

So they contacted Nickel Brothers House Moving USA Inc., which then listed the home for $335,000, including moving the entire thing."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,368952,00.html

Rain! (photos)

2008-06-25T01:37:00.000-04:00

The windows in the kitchen - its not blurry, thats how hard the rain was falling and streaking down the glass.

Safe to say we got just a little bit of rain the other day. . .
So, as usual, I grabbed my camera, and shot a few photos.
Not the best, but I'm happy enough with the results. It was too dark to do much more anyways, and I didn't exactly have all evening to spend shooting photos of the rain.

The view out my front door. ^

The rain coming down on the old pickup outside the kitchen door ^

David Byrne Uses An Entire Building as a Giant Instrument

2008-06-24T11:15:00.000-04:00

"Boing Boing TV got to sit down with Talking Heads' front man David Byrne, who has created an awesome, humongoid instrument from a whole building. Basically, Byrne took an organ and wired the keys to different areas of the building where various gizmos are set up. When he strikes a key, it sends an electric current that starts a motor at the end of the wire, powering something that might strike the side of a wall or send a breeze through a pipe. This project is for Byrne's installation "Playing the Building," which is on display at NYC's Battery Maritime Building until August."

From
http://gizmodo.com/5015113/david-byrne-uses-an-entire-building-as-a-giant-instrument

Guardian Arts and Sports writers trade places for a day

2008-06-23T09:35:00.000-04:00

"'This artist is deeply dangerous'

What
would happen if the Guardian's sports and arts writers swapped jobs? In
yesterday's G2, arts critics tackled sport. Today, the sports team take
on sculpture, opera, dance and music

The Guardian

Wednesday June 18 2008"

Theres both a video and a written article, and I would reccoment viewing either one, although both a very well done.
The article has commentary from five different writers, all sports -> art crossovers, who wrote about a subject they don't usually get the chance to write about.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/jun/18/art.pop

Update Notice

2008-06-21T04:36:00.000-04:00

Due to a number of factors, updates will now be on weekdays only.
To preserve the quality and range of topics, there will no longer be updates on weekends until further notice.

The content won't change, the topics won't change, you'll just have to wait untilll Monday for new posts.

Your editor
Mark

Demon goats and literary humor

2008-06-20T04:09:00.000-04:00

I found this very funny article on how to deal with demon goats.
I've published the first couple segments from the how-to FAQ's.

"Demons are funny things. Well not so much "funny." More like terrifying. They can either be a simple angry spirit that hurls kitchen knives at you, or they can take the physical shape of some multi-tenticled hellspawn with six mouths and a mind that telepathically screams words and images capable of plunging you into a nightmare realm of torture. But whatever your class of demonic possession, this handy FAQ will help you deal with it.

Let's get started!

I have awoken to a horrible sound coming from my living room.

You should probably go and investigate to see what is going on. Considering this is a booklet on demons, coming face-to-face with one is a startlingly possible scenario.

There seems to be some kind of...goat...in my living room, eating my throw pillows.

If it is simply a goat, consider calling animal control. Or simply shoo it out of your house and into the street where someone else will deal with it. I'm sure someone is looking for their goat."

Read the rest here
http://www.papertank.com/article/FAQ_So_you_have_a_demon

I really feel sorry for this guy

2008-06-19T05:58:00.000-04:00

Han Meilin is the designer of the Chinese Olympic Mascots. He not only endured the rigors and pain of having to re-design his characters, but he's now faced with a slightly larger problem:

"Now we learn that a growing number of people in China have started letting superstitions get the better of them and believe that Meilin's Olympic mascots are the fulfiller of horrible prophecies or somehow responsible for the recent natural disasters that have plagued the nation."

Man, that stinks.
I really feel sorry for Mr. Meilin.

Photo and quote from
http://www.mediabistro.com/unbeige/branding_identity/
beijing_olympic_mascot_designer_blamed_for_natural_disasters_in_china_
87288.asp?c=rss

Life-size baloon characters

2008-06-18T06:09:00.000-04:00

As usual, I was doing my trolling of the internet for random links, and I stumbled upon this guy, who does life-size ballon figures - like Elvis, Master Chief (from Halo), and Mario.

View more photos of his work here
http://www.balloonguyentertainment.biz/Archives/FeaturedImages/html/0.htm

Visit his website here
http://www.balloonguyentertainment.biz/

Art (of the edible kind!)

2008-06-17T12:57:00.000-04:00

Okay, so theres been a lot of video and photo on here lately, although I'm trying to cover ALL forms of art. I figured it would be good to do a post on something thats a little more.. .interactive? So, enjoy.

Here's a nice article on some of the best ice cream treats available in the freezer at the grocery store (instead of straight from the ice-cream truck.)

Their favorite?

"Blue Bunny Vanilla Champ! Cone: 330 calories, 19 grams fat, 35 mg cholesterol, 110 mg sodium, 35 grams carbs.

The testers never thought any cone could beat the Drumstick, but this one did it by a whisker and also notched the highest score in the test. Think of it as Drumstick 2.0, with the ice cream a little creamier, the chocolate a little richer and the cone a little crisper. This just might be the perfect ice cream treat. Final score: 97."

(Their ratings were out of a possible 100).
Read the rest of the ratings on summer ice-cream treats here
http://www.wgal.com/health/16462753/detail.html

Dogs. Lots of Dogs.

2008-06-16T05:36:00.000-04:00

I think my only comment for this one is dogs. Lots and lots of dogs.
For a semi-slow-mo video, this is pretty cool. Dogs. Lasers (or is it neon?) And a really funky beat. I like how you can see the dogs skin/fur ripple as they jump or freefall, how its all wrinkly, and fluid, like the fun is just hanging loosely on the dog. I don't like how in some of these shots, the dogs look downright scary. At 1:17, that dog looks like its about to take my leg off at the ankle.

Funny and creative lightbulb ad

2008-06-15T08:20:00.000-04:00

No, I haven't fallen victim to being paid to blog. I came upon this ad a few days ago, and I though it was really funny. I mean, it's creative. It's different then anything I think I've ever seen on US television, and I think its a great concept. I mean, things really are different in the dark, and what better way to make a lightbulb ad then to play off that fear.

"Waking Up" my Michael DuBois

2008-06-14T05:50:00.000-04:00

Find more videos like this on Hollywood East TV

"Everybody, even teenagers, fall inlove. But when that love is broken our hearts ache with what seems to be no end. However, just like anything in life, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. And that light, is what reminds us of what we wake up for every morning."

View Earthrise from Mars

2008-06-13T06:13:00.000-04:00

"The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera would make a great backyard telescope for viewing Mars, and we can also use it at Mars to view other planets. This is an image of Earth and the moon, acquired on October 3, 2007, by the HiRISE camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

At the time the image was taken, Earth was 142 million kilometers (88 million miles) from Mars, giving the HiRISE image a scale of 142 kilometers (88 miles) per pixel, an Earth diameter of about 90 pixels and a moon diameter of 24 pixels. The phase angle is 98 degrees, which means that less than half of the disk of the Earth and the disk of the moon have direct illumination. We could image Earth and moon at full disk illumination only when they are on the opposite side of the sun from Mars, but then the range would be much greater and the image would show less detail.

. . .

On the Earth image we can make out the west coast outline of South America at lower right, although the clouds are the dominant features. These clouds are so bright, compared with the moon, that they are saturated in the HiRISE images. In fact the red-filter image was almost completely saturated, the Blue-Green image had significant saturation, and the brightest clouds were saturated in the infrared image. This color image required a fair amount of processing to make a nice-looking release. The moon image is unsaturated but brightened relative to Earth for this composite. The lunar images are useful for calibration of the camera."

It may not look like much, but on that one tiny blue and green orb exists all six billion or so of us - and has existed, as far as we know, every human being ever made/created/evolved/whatevered. Everything that we know, and everything that we ever have known is contained on that little sphere.

Whats even more amazing is that twelve people from that little blue-green orb in the bottom left have actually managed to travel through space and walk on the surface of the moon, all the way on the other side of the picture. If that isn't amazing, then I don't know what is.

Image, caption, and full-size photo from
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/MRO/
multimedia/mro20080303earth.html

Graph

2008-06-12T14:05:00.000-04:00

more graph humor and song chart memes

(If anyone doesn't remember, Patric Henry was the "Give me Liberty or give me Death guy.)

Lolcat of the Day

2008-06-11T07:13:00.000-04:00

more cat pictures

The Lolcats explain the difference between color, grayscale, and matte.

19 Famous Photos - in LEGO

2008-06-10T04:51:00.000-04:00

"Recreation of Henri Cartier-Bresson's "Behind the Gare Saint Lazare" in Lego"

Photo (above, and in link) by Flikr member Balakov.
View the other 18 images here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/balakov/sets/72157602602191858/

Its baaaack!

2008-06-09T01:52:00.000-04:00

Okay, so my art blog kinda fell on its face for a while. . . .
I got too caught up with other things, and I didn't have time to blog about anything, but my list of posts is starting to pile up again. . . .That, and I discovered a way to automatically post new blog entries - so one hour of work can mean a weeks worth of posts, which for me, is a major advantage. Look for new updates and posts soon!

Where Books go to Die

2008-01-23T22:11:00.000-05:00

I was originally looking for something on Flickr when I came across these photoshets of abandoned buildings in Detroit. This link goes to a blog post about an abandoned book depository - filled with rotting, decomposing textbooks from the 80s. I really enjoyed reading the post, and this being an art blog, I really suggest you take a look at the photos on Flickr,

Here's the link to the blog post
http://www.sweet-juniper.com/2007/11/it-will-rise-from-ashes.html

and here's the link to the photos on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sweetjuniper/sets/72157603302647339/

Cool art from MS Paint. . .or, what you thought wasn't possible :P

2008-01-23T22:08:00.000-05:00

powerdraw by ~Diamonster on deviant ART

Buildings of the Old World

2007-12-05T22:08:00.000-05:00

In thought that this poster was really interesting as an illustaration/drawing, done in ink (I think), and as a chart showing the tallest buildings of the old world, with the Washington Monument being the tallest at 555 feet tall.

Take a look here
http://www.infocustech.com/skyscrapers/worlds%20tallest%20buildings.jpg

Look into the eyes

2007-11-26T22:56:00.000-05:00

Okay, just do as the title suggests.
See how long it takes to notice whats special about this image :)

Going Camel

2007-11-22T02:32:00.000-05:00

Okay, the theme for this week is camels. . .
Another one of those random things I've stumbled upon while looking for something totally unrelated. . .

This is George Steinmetz's website. I originally started looking at the image on his homepage. Look closely - the camels aren't the black shapes. The camels are the little white lines - the black shapes are merely shadows.

http://www.georgesteinmetz.com/

According to his biography,

"Best known for his exploration and science photography, George Steinmetz sets out to reveal the few remaining secrets in our world today: remote deserts, obscure cultures, new developments in science and technology.

A regular contributor to National Geographic Magazine, he has examined subjects ranging from global oil exploration and the latest advances in robotics to the inner-most stretches of the Sahara Desert and the little-known treehouse people of Irian Jaya."

Looks like some pretty neat stuff.

In Honnor of the long weekend. . .

2007-11-14T21:59:00.000-05:00

"Men of War"
22 images from Time Magazine depicting soldiers from the past 100 years.

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1682713_1483727,00.html

I'll get back to doing daily updates soon, I need to get some blog readership before I run myself out of posts, although I keep finding new things, and I've got a good-sized reserve of interesting things saved on my computer for future use.

Can you copyright the exterior of a building? (No)

2007-11-11T01:34:00.000-05:00

I'm not entirely certain what brought this up, but judging from some of the sidebars on this website, it was quite an interesting debate. In Chicago, there's an area called Marina Towers, because of two rather large condominium towers located there, in a rather unique round design. Supposedly these are very photogenic, and possibly iconic images of Chicago. (I've never lived there, so I can't really say.) Apparently, the Marina Towers Condominium Association wanted to try and copyright the image of their towers - basically preventing anyone from photographing, drawing, or reproducing images of the buildings in any way, shape, or form. Well, the substance of this post, is that you can't do that.

As cited on the linked to article,

"The copyright in an architectural work that has been constructed does not include the right to prevent the making, distributing, or public display of pictures, paintings, photographs, or other pictorial representations of the work, if the building in which the work is embodied is located in or ordinarily visible from a public place.

– United States Code, Title 17, Section 102(a) "

My interpretation is that if you can reasonably see it, you can take a picture of it.
It its easily publicly visible, then you can't be prevented from photographing the structure.

Just because you tan take a photograph of it doesn't mean you can go totally nuts however. If you trespass on private land A to take a photo of building B, you're still trespassing on private land A. It doesn't matter that building B is the tallest thing in town, and can be seen for miles around. You can take a photo of Building B, as long as you have premission and access to where you're taking the photo from.

I know that this isn't exactly the most interesting art-related thing around, but it is important, and it has been something I've been wondering about for a while, being primarily an urban photographer (at least for the moment ;) ). Now I can go out and snap away without worry.

To read more about it, check out the full story of the condo association, and their attempts to copyright their own building, which they legally can't do, and see some examples of why the idea is foolish, and read the page that inspired and was cited in this post,

http://www.marinacityonline.com/rulefive.htm

24 Hours of Air Traffic

2007-11-09T17:00:00.000-05:00

Everyone at some point has used either Mapquest or Google Maps to locate something, and seen onscreen that little orange or red dot superimposed on a map above some place or other. The FAA does the exact same thing with airplanes. It knows and tracks where every airplane is in US airspace, and the data can be displayed just like that little dot in Google Maps. Except the FAA isn't tracking one airplane. It's tracking THOUSANDS of planes. Oh yeah - unlike buildings, the airplanes are moving. Put it all together, and you get a really cool animation.

Watch the video here, I know it gets a little slow after 30 seconds, but it picks up again and gets even cooler after the first minute. Explinations are included in the video, as the blog I'm linking to doesn't say all that much.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/bryantpark/2007/11/24_hours_of_air_traffic_never_1.html

3d Panorama Photography

2007-11-09T16:51:00.000-05:00

I think Friday is going to be a frequent two-for-one day, and quite possibly also the day for random posts that I just feel like sharing, even if they don't quite fit the theme of this blog. I haven't found any like that yet, so we'll see about that later.

The first entry for today is a series of 3d panoramas of various locations. I've seen these before, and they're really cool. You can click and scroll from side-to-side, look up and down,or zoom in and out on some of them. Its essentially like you're standing in the center of a bubble, with the images of everything you can see around you, but all in one photograph. It's pretty cool, and I've seen some neat ones of really interesting places before.

http://www.panoscan.com/MK3/ExampleSelect.html

Ye Olde Wooden Laptop

2007-11-08T18:57:00.001-05:00

I know that this is an art blog, but I have to count this laptop case mod as art. It is, after all, industrial design, taking a new product and making it look, and in some ways function, as a far outdated piece of machinery. According to the article,

"Built by Datamancer, this amazing Steampunk-style laptop, based on an HP ZT1000, is fully-functional and turns on with an antique clock-winding key. It also runs both Windows XP and Ubuntu Linux"

Article
http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/feature-steampunk-laptop-is-turned-on-with-key-linux-powered-with-video-

More Photos
http://www.techeblog.com/elephant/photo.phtml?post_key=145475&photo_key=5331#prevnext

Popcorn - at 5400 FPS

2007-11-07T03:49:00.000-05:00

I found this vid while searching for something on Youtube, and thought it would be worth sharing. Normal video is around 30 frames per second - 30 images shown every second to create the illusion of motion. This video was shot at 5,400 frames per second - 180 times as many individual frames of action recorded compared to normal video.

Welcomte to ArtAttack!

2007-11-07T03:39:00.000-05:00

Welcome to ArtAttack, the blog about everything having to do with Art!

I used to be an author for a tech blog, until we took a bit of a break to go to college, and stopped publishing updates. As an art student, I don't really have that much time for tech blogging, but I found that I can't quite shake the habbit of looking at random stuff on the internet. It seems that no matter how hard I try, I can't avoid finding interesting things about art on the internet. I know that "Art" is a general term, and by "art" online, I mean ALL of it - anything - as in, whatever has to do with something visual, audible, looks cool, gets a reaction by being viewed or experinced, etc. etc. Basically, I've found a lot of cool stuff relating to art online. This is my way of sharing it.

If you find something you think would be neat to see here, feel free to leave a comment with the link, and if possible, the originating source of the artwork.

I'll start off with a link I found yesterday, a sculpture created using old forks, knives and spoons. Only when viewed with a strong backlight does the lump f metal cast a recognizable shadow.

http://www.maniacworld.com/motorcycle-shadow-illusion.html