Arcimboldo’s paintings as giant sculptures

Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s 16th century paintings of actual people, or of representations of seasons or elements, are entirely unique.  He constructed compositions of fruits, vegetables, trees, and other “ingredients” that somehow look like people – see Summer (1563) at left.  His creations have been sampled by many, many artists.

The latest case of Arcimboldo inspiration is seen in the work of artist/filmmaker Philip Haas, who has created giant sculptures based on the paintings of the Seasons.  At right is his version of Summer, which is made of fibreglass and is 15 feet tall.  They are currently on display at the New York Botanical Garden, and previously were on view in Milan.

Read more and see other sculptures at the NPR site.

Photography and privacy violations

There is something of a Rear Window quality to it all…    New York photographer Arne Svenson has his neighbors outraged.  His new show, at the Julie Saul Gallery in NYC, features photos of residents in the highrise across the street, but the photos were taken without their knowledge with a birdwatching telephoto lens.  Some of the people featured in the photos are threatening to sue, and as there are identifiable features in the photos they have may have a case.

Read the full story in the Wall Street Journal.

Construction company bulldozes Mayan temple

Various sources report that a construction company in Belize has razed most of the 2,300-year-old Nohmul temple. Only one small section of the Mayan temple core remains standing (picture at left). The company was apparently gathering crushed rock for a road project.

via 7 News Belize, BBC News, and Huffington Post (with pictures)

Happy Anniversary, World Wide Web!

Last summer we celebrated the first web image (and a fine one it was). Now we offer our congrats to the 20th anniversary of the World Wide Web — with a facsimile of the first page that was launched. Click here for more information about the site and its restoration.

via LA Times

New moods of van Gogh revealed?

In preparation for a new exhibition of paintings by van Gogh and his contemporaries, Vincent van Gogh at Work , new color analyses of hundreds of his paintings, drawings, and notebooks have revealed that he may have been more methodical and less “mad” than previously thought.  In fact the director of the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam says the studies show him to be “goal-oriented”.  This has mainly been argued through the color shift in the paint pigments he used, for example what now appear to be pale blue walls in The Bedroom of 1888 are thought to have been  lavender when freshly painted, which would have evoked a more tranquil mood.  Other scholars still believe that the colors he chose reflected his state of mind at various life stages.

Read the whole article in the NY Times here.

 

“Cities” the theme for 2013 ARTstor Travel Awards

Each year ARTstor sponsors travel awards that provide $1,500 in funds for recipients to visit and photograph a site.  All UCSB instructors, students, and  librarians are eligible, as UCSB is an ARTstor-subscribing institution.  Read the application rules here – deadline for entries is May 17.    Good luck!

UPDATE: ARTstor images now delivered via zip files

Last month we reported that ARTstor was working to eliminate the need for Java to download single images from the Digital Library. This went into effect yesterday.  This change has advantages (no longer the need for seemingly-endless Java updates) and disadvantages (an extra step with your downloads and knowing how to unzip the file).  Visit ARTstor’s announcement for more information and recommendations or download the step-by-step guide (pdf).