In Romania there is a tv show in which those people participates who have different physical defects and those defects are removed with the help of cosmetic surgery and dentistry.
Photographs of Japan from the Meiji and Taisho Periods (1868-1926) have captivated viewers around the world since they were first circulated. One photographer in particular captured Japanese life so beautifully that his work has been seen by countless people all across the globe. Until very recently, though, his name was virtually unknown. Now we know that the prolific photographer’s name was T. Enami – or rather, that was his trade name. He was born Enami Nobukuni, and his work made a deep and far-reaching impact on photography.
Some of T. Enami’s most popular and memorable works were his stereograms: two nearly-identical 2D images taken from slightly different angles that, when viewed together through a stereograph, appear three-dimensional. Here they are animated to give the 3D effect, but all of the originals can be seen on Okinawa Soba’s Flickr collection.
Enami started his career as a traditional photographer, but later embraced the more “modern” stereoviews and lantern slides. Judging from his carefully staged stereograms, he approached his work with a great deal of attention to detail. The colors on these stereograms were all hand-painted, and the resulting product was sold around the world. Today, collectors treasure these exquisitely detailed antique images.
T. Enami ran a photography studio in Yokohama until his death in 1926. His work spanned a multitude of areas, including postcards, large-format prints, private portraits, glass transparencies, photo processing and print-making, and numerous commercial photography projects. His photographs have appeared several times in the pages of National Geographic, a true honor for any photographer. One of his half-stereoview images was even used on the cover of their 100th-anniversary book Odyssey: The Art of Photography at National Geographic.
Despite his monumental contributions to early Japanese photography, T. Enami’s identity was not widely known outside of Japan until around 2006, when his descendants shared information about him with biographers and collectors. He was the only photographer of his era known to work in all contemporary commercial and artistic formats, and it can be said that his work has been seen by more people than that of the more established “masters” of his time.
The appropriate credit is now being given to thousands of Enami photographs that were previously unattributed or simply attributed to the wrong photographer. Enami is now, finally, in his rightful place amongst the most influential early Japanese photographers. A detailed biography of T. Enami can be found at T-Enami.org, and even more of his animated stereograms can be found at Pink Tentacle.
Master Blasters: Science Fiction Weapons to Die For
Mostly harmless? I think not! Any aliens who receive our old TV and radio transmissions will be raising their tentacles in submission once they get a glimpse of sci-fi’s greatest hitmen and their weapons of mass annihilation. Click Here to See More
Stairs aren’t just a boring, utilitarian part of our homes and public buildings. They’re an opportunity for an architect to really make a statement and do something bold and distinctive. From staircases that float to stairs that fit in impossibly tiny spaces to staircases that go nowhere, this often-overlooked part of everyday architecture is being rethought by many designers and architects. You’ll see no beige-carpeted run-of-the-mill staircases here; these are some (more!) of the best, strangest, and most beautiful staircases in the world.
Lello Bookshop Stairs
These majestic and impressive stairs can be found in Lello Bookshop in Portugal. The sheer heft of this staircase is balanced nicely by the smooth flow of all of its shapes. The grand staircase begins as two sets of steps on the upper level, then the two become one when the entire staircase folds under itself to glide smoothly to the lower floor. The color and sturdy dimensions give the entire staircase an almost mouth-like appearance.
Steel Ribbon Staircase
This incredible design, believe it or not, is made from 10mm thick sheet metal, and there are no hidden suspensions keeping it aloft; just wall brackets and tension. The ribbon of sheet metal zigzags up the space to make the exposed staircase appear open, airy and mysterious. And best of all, the whole staircase is surprisingly sturdy. Designed by HSH Architects, the staircase is in the main living area of a home in Prague.
Umschreibung (Rewriting)
This crazy staircase to nowhere was commissioned by accounting firm KPMG in Munich in 2004. It was built by artist Olafur Eliasson and now stands in the courtyard of the KPMG building. Besides being an interesting focal point, it’s a functional staircase – if you consider traveling its pointless path “functional.” Although the stairs won’t actually get you anywhere, it’s probably a fun lunchtime break for the people who work in the building.
1M2 Stairs
For hopelessly tiny spaces where traditional stairs would take up too much precious floor real estate, EeDesign has a solution. These stairs fit into just over 1 meter of floor space to provide a passage to higher ground that’s basically like walking up a spiral ladder. They come in many colors and can be customized to fit each unique home and space.
The Gray Hotel Floating Stairs
The Gray Hotel in Milan is a stunning modern building designed by Florence architect Guido Ciompi. There are countless things to love about the building and its furnishings, but these floating stairs stand out. Obviously, one would need to be very careful when ascending them after a night of drinking, but their clean lines and unique design are unforgettable.
Staircase Slide
London architect Alex Michaelis may have discovered the quickest way to get the kids to come down for dinner: let them slide down. Alex let his kids have some input as to what features they wanted in the house he was building, and the staircase slide was one of them. It may not be the most practical design ever, but when the kids are happy, everyone’s happy.
Wheelchair-Accessible Stairs
For everyone who has ever gotten around in a wheelchair or pushed around a baby stroller, you know how frustrating it is to encounter a building with stairs and no ramp. Almost as bad are the steep, poorly-designed ramps that were simply tacked on later. The McCormick Tribune Campus Center in Chicago made a stylish compromise between stairs and ramp with this staircase that incorporates a zig-zagging ramp with the stairs. Of course, it looks like it might take more energy making all of those twists and turns than it would to just go up an ordinary ramp, but aesthetically it’s very sharp.
Floating Stairs
Unlike other floating stairs, this staircase by Bernstein Architecture doesn’t rely on wall brackets to support the steps. Instead, it uses a network of cables to hold each one aloft and completely motionless. According to the architect, the stairs don’t move even a little when they’re stepped on, even though they’re subject to very heavy traffic in their home inside the There TV office in Chicago.
Bookcase Box Stairs
While such a precarious-looking alternating tread stair design would probably never pass building code in UK, this ingenious bookshelf staircase makes very good use of a small space. It comes from Czech architects Adam Jirkal, Jerry Koza and Tomáš Kalhous and resides in a house they remodeled in Všenory, Czech Republic.
Wall Stairs
When are stairs more like a door? When they glide smoothly into the wall, disappearing to prevent unwanted guests from wandering up to your home’s upper level. Though it’s just a concept, this disappearing staircase from designer Aaron Tang would be the perfect addition to any international spy’s house. It operates on interior pistons that drive the whole assembly out from the wall, then help each stair lower gently in a wave-like motion. The touch of a button opens or closes the stairs from either end of the staircase.
Villa Glittenberg Floating Stairs
These stairs reside in Villa Glittenberg, a family home on the west coast of Norway built by Saunders Architecture. The staircase is made of 1 cm-thick steel and weighs close to one metric ton. It is so massive that it had to be lifted into the home through a skylight with a special crane. The results are simply stunning, though, as the white stairs hovers above the ground and the residents seem to float up to the upper level.
Hidden Staircase Storage
Martino Gamper produces consistently elegant and distinctive custom furniture, and this under-staircase storage drawer system is a testament to his ability. In this beautiful English country home, Gamper installed an ingenious hidden storage staircase to give the occupants more room for storage and to use up some previously forgotten wasted space.
16th Ave Tiled Stairs
In the summer of 2005, the residents of the Golden Gates Heights neighborhood banded together to make a unique and long-lasting public art project: the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps. The risers of all 163 stairs (on city property) were decorated with mosaics that neighborhood volunteers assembled. The resulting mural is absolutely breathtaking, covering images from deep in the sea to high in the sky.
Wooden Library Stairs
These wooden library stairs are rich, full of character, and absolutely beautiful. The slats are made from spalted white birch and they were all cut from the same log. The cherry tree in the center is real, and it goes through the ceiling to emerge on the upper floor as the staircase’s newel post. The steel supports and mahogany handrails just add to the luxurious feeling of this amazing staircase.
Musical Stairs
Although it was only a temporary installation, these piano stairs deserve a mention based solely on the number of smiles they induced. The Fun Theory is a campaign from Volkswagen that’s focused on bringing a smile to everyday life. When they installed this piano keyboard in a Swedish train station, many more people than usual decided to take the stairs. The unexpected larger-than-life toy brought out the inner child of a lot of people during its short life.
Crafty Consumerism: 15 Forms of Barcode Art
From tattoos and home decor to portraits of Jesus, the barcode has been elevated to art in many different forms, whether infused with meaning or not. Click Here to See More
This 9″ figurine is from the anime macross/robotech skull leader VF1-S Valkyrie. This figure can transform from Fighter mode to Gerwalk to Battroid.
Best known for his cubist influenced canvases and delicate line drawings, Hunto introduces a unique quality to the graffiti art scene, marrying non-conformist 20th century art characteristics to the equally non-conformist medium of graffiti art.
The London show, hosted by RareKind, is a culmination of his canvas, sketch, screen print and sculptural work, with a strong theme based around the human figure and that most beguiling of subjects, sex.
Born in Brindisi, South Italy in 1982, Hunto started his career as a graffiti artist in 1996 and explored many themes and painting genres. Massively inspired by the work of Picasso and Braque, he honed his style to give a retro twist to graffiti art and thus, his characters and designs became well known and loved on the streets of Italy.
Now for the first time in London, Hunto demonstrates with this stunning new show that Graffiti art has a validity and adaptability, which never ceases to surprise and delight.
19 -22 November 2009
Rag Factory
16-18 Heneage Street
E1 5LJ
Kidrobot, the world’s premier creator of limited edition art toys and apparel, has finally ventured across the pond!
We opened the doors to our London store last week, and to mark this historic occasion, we’re having a Grand Opening celebration with UK artist duo TADO this Thursday, November 19 from 6-8pm.
Founded in 2002 by designer Paul Budnitz, Kidrobot produces exclusive designer toys, apparel, accessories, and other products in collaboration with many of the world’s most talented artists and designers.
Kidrobot – we make art possible!
Kidrobot London
19 Earlham Street
London, UK WC2H 9LL
If you missed Part 1, check it out HERE on one of our past posts.
The target is now 1000Mph, with Green and 2 other contenders vying for the title. One from North UK and the other from Australia.
“…as the vehicle approaches the speed of sound, it produces a frontal shock wave which liquefies the earth ahead, so the wheels end up carving through ground, rather than simply rolling over it.”
The Green Speed concept is an air-fueled concept bike that features a zero pollution effect on the environment through greenhouse gas emissions and especially being cheap and willingly available. The rotary air engine is lightweight, compact and powerful and is powered by compressed air from the two compressed air tanks. Because of its 3000 RPM of the engine, this bike can run only on one gear which is actually a sprocket bolted to the engine axis and chained with the rear wheel. The carbon fiber tanks of the bike stores the compressed air, when mass is produced, the solar panel generated energy will compress air and amass them in the tanks. The bike doesn’t contain any kind of lightening like headlight, indicator light or brake lights; instead, it contains three tiny cameras.
Text from the website:
The engine that used is a rotary air engine. It is the invention of the Melbourne engineer Angelo Di Pietro. The engine is compact, lightweight and powerful and runs on compressed air from two compressed air tanks on the bike. It revs up to 3,000 RPM, and because of this, the inventors didn’t need any gear box on the bike. There is only one gear, which is just a sprocket bolted directly to the axis of the engine and chained to the rear wheel.
Compressed air is stored in the bike’s on-board carbon fiber tanks. Once mass produced, the bike will have solar panels that will generate enough energy to compress air and store it in the bike’s tanks, which will increase its range indefinitely.
As the bike was designed as a speed record setter, there is no headlight, brake light or indicator lights on the bike. Instead, there were three little cameras fitted at the front and tail on the bike that are used to record the run. The body works were designed to be aerodynamic and lightweight, and it will be made of fiber glass or carbon fiber.
Designer : Edwin Conan
The Thermodynamic Cooler concept has been designed to optimize the high-tech kitchens of the emerging countries. The system incorporates evaporating water cooling effect for preserving foods and requires no electricity which reduces the consumption of domestic energy without compromising comfort. Its stackable design allows it to be used as a substitute of a second fridge, pantry or a sophisticated fruit bowl. The cooler has two pots, one inside another. The space in between is filled with glass-foam, a waste element of the glass recycling procedure, which has made the entire cooler lighter. The inner pot is enclosed with a damp cloth stretched over the lid and the water of the wet glass-foam start evaporating, resulting a radical drop of temperature. This cooler can destroy injurious micro-organisms and preserves the freshness of the inside food. To keep the cooling method active, you need to add water time to time though.
Designer : Rochus Jacob
