Steampunk?

I am curious how many of you have heard of Steampunk?  Anyone??

So here is the definition for those of you who have never heard of Steampunk before.

Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction and sometimes fantasy that incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery.

So basically that means is is the combination of sci-fi and fantasy with old technology, but in a very beautiful way.  Steampunk usually uses gears, wheels, simple engines with Victorian design and craftsmanship.

With all of that I found the artist Alain Bellino from Nice, France.  He creates some modern characters in Steampunk style.  Take a look and let me know what you think.

So what do you think?  Does this help explain Steampunk?  After looking at these could you explain Steampunk to someone else who knows nothing about it?  Can you re-explain it to me?

No coaster here

Now you might not have had your mother, or grandmother, yell at you yet for not using a coaster on her nice table, but at some point in life someone will.  I mean how can anyone possibly imagine not using a coaster and leaving a coffee stain on the table?  After awhile the rings will just add up and ruin the furniture!!

That being said, Malaysian artist Hong Yi has decided to ignore her mother and grandmother's advice and make all of the coffee stained rings that she could possibly imagine.  In fact, she has created an entire portrait, of her favorite singer from coffee cup rings.

It took over 12 hours to make the portrait.

But I have to ask, what do you think of it?  It is very large, but do you think that she would have got the same image if she had done it smaller?  I know it is not a singer that we know, but which person would you like to see her do next?  Would this be a project that you would be willing to tackle?

Painting an Emotion

Have you ever wanted to paint an emotion?  Can you even imagine how to do that?  Where would you start?  Would would it look like?  Theses are all questions that artist Emma Lindstrom has asked and tried to answer.  Lindstrom claims that her work is a feeling that is floating, intangible, irrational but always uplifting and full of hope.

I want you to take a look and see what you think.

Huayna II

Yanona II

Illimani VI

So what are your feelings about her work?  Can you see emotions in them?  What do they make you feel?  Do you love them or do you hate them?  Are you as intrigued as I am as to how she gets the paint to move in such a beautiful way?

At first glance

Okay so before you look at the picture below I want you to clear your mind.  Think of nothing..



Is it empty???



Okay, now look at the following image and tell me what you see first....

Go....

So what did you see first?  Is it the trees or the tiger in the trees?  What if I told you the title is "The Sleeping Tiger", did you see the sleeping tiger?  Do you see it now, because I am sure you had to scroll back up to look, I did.  Did you find the third tiger?  Did you have to scroll back up after I said that.

I love a good optical illusion, how about you?  Which part is more impressive to you?

Everyone has a story and a perspective

I know that we all form opinions without really knowing someone, but have you ever thought of how our perspectives of people might influence us?  What I mean is, if you are told someone is an alcoholic will you look at them differently than if they were a millionare?  Now what if you were a photographer and you were asked to photograph someone's essence or their personality by what you are told about them.  What if you are told a lie?

I found this video of an experiment where six photographers were all given the assignment of photographing the same man, but this kicker is that they were all told a different lie about him.  This is the video of what happened.

So what do you think?  Did each photographer capture the personality that they were told?  What do you think of this experiment?  Is this something that you would love to try?

Bah, Bah, Bring!!

So I love unusual sculptures.  I am just amazed by what people can create from everyday objects.  I guess it is just wonderful to see what others think of when they look at something, and in this case it is an old rotary phone.

Okay I know, I have to start with explaining what a rotary phone is,  Think back to your childhood, you probably had a little toy phone that had wheels and eyes, a cord, a dial that you had to spin and it made noise when you pulled it.  It was also in Toy Story 3.  Anyways, we actually had those phones when I was a kid.  I know I am old, but keep the thoughts to yourself.

Anyways, artist Jean-Luc Cornec has taken those old rotary phones and turned them and their never ending cords into these adorable sheep.  Unfortunately you will never know what it is like to talk on the phone and be tied to a room and a cord.  I hope you like these sheep sculptures as much as I do.

Add caption

So what do you think of these sheep?  Did you happen to notice the legs?  So how do you think he assembled these sheep?  Can you think of another material that would make an amazingly unusual sculpture?

Self Portraits

Self portraits have been done for thousands of years and with the modern selfie they will be continued to be taken for thousands of years to come.  So what is our fascination with pictures of our self?

I love the above self portrait done by Norman Rockwell for a variety of reasons.  First off, if you see his image in the mirror you will notice that it looks different on the canvas.  Even he saw himself differently.  I also love all of the images that are attached to his canvas that are from other famous artists.  This shows that he was studying others.

What else do you see in this image that might give you clues about him or the way he works?  Do you see anything that you find interesting?  Do you have a fascination with taking selfies?  If I looked through your phone would I see a ton of images of you?  If so, why?  I'm not a selfie taker so I am wonder what the obsession is, please tell me?