Bones of Kallat

We’d like to introduce you to Indian Mumbai based artist Jitish Kallat: Kallat –whose  work includes various media such as photography, video, painting and sculpture - often uses bones (don’t worry they’re fiberglass, nobody was dug up) in his works. His piece “Public Notice 2” recalls the historic speech delivered by Mahatma Gandhi  on the eve of the renowned Salt March. In this speech, the Mahatma called  for complete civil disobedience, but also for  non-violence and peace. The work, which exists out of 4500 bone shaped letters, stands in haunting contrast to the call for peace.

Jitish Kallat "Public Notice 2"

Kallat is also known for his collection of ‘bone cars’: various cars and trucks all made out of fiberglass bone.  Like “Public Notice 2” these cars are simply haunting.  Anyone who’s familiar with Indian traffic can understand these works

Jitish Kallat: Auto-rickshaw

Jitish Kallat: bone car

Palio di Siena

One of the greatest spectacles Italy has to offer is the Palio in Siena. The horse race is held twice each year in the Piazza del Campo. Competitors from the 17 contrade( city quarters) take part bearing their areas colours. Siena’s 17 contrade were armies created in the Middle Ages to defend the city after they won their independence from Florence. Ten contrade take part in the first race on July 2.The other seven plus three from the July race compete on August 16. The historical costumes worn throughout the festivities bring back the atmosphere from the golden age of the Republic of Siena.

Piazza del Campo

The Indian underground scene

We'd like you to meet two key players in the contemporary Indian underground scene: Karsh Kale and the Midival Punditz.
Karsh Kale is an Indian musician, producer, composer, world renowned tabla player, but most importantly: the pioneer of the Indian underground genre. Kale is known for mixing various genres, such as electronic, ambient and Indian classical folk music.
The Midival Punditz -Kale's partner in crime-  is an Indian fusion group consisting of Delhi-based Gaurav Raina and Tapan Raj. Their style revolves around electronic, jungle and features traditional Indian instruments such as the tabla and sitar.

On the move

One great journey compiled into 1 minute by Rick Mereki.

Royal Blood

“Royal Blood” is a controversial photographic series made by the dutch Amsterdam-based photographer Erwin Olaf.  Olaf, whose images usually show an edgy lust for provocation has worked for Diesel Clothing, Microsoft, Heineken, has had numerous exhibitions worldwide and can often be found back in magazines such as the New York Times Magazine.

The “Royal Blood” series consists out of 8 photographs of famous people that we remember especially because of the brutal way in which their life ended.

The depiction of Lady Di, was received with unbelievable controversy in the USA, UK and Australia.  The photograph shows a Diana look-a-like with an innocent look in her eyes and a Mercedes star – the car in which she was involved in a fatal collision in Paris- in her upper arm, with blood flowing out.

Other pictures of this series include Julius Caesar, Marie Antoinette, Sissi, Jackie Onassis, Tsarina Alexandra



Jackie Kennedy Onassis, with her husband's blood splattered over her face and clothing



Julius Caesar

photo sources: http://www.erwinolaf.com/

Grand Scale Opera

Each summer, the Bregenz Festival in Austria presents stunning opera stages, set on Lake Constance. Whether its a giant eyeball for Tosca, during which performance a part of the James Bond movie "Quantum of Solace" was filmed, or a skeleton opening a book for Verdi's Masked Ball, the festival's creativity doesn't cease to amaze. This year, for Umberto Giordanos French Revolution opera "Andrea Chenier", the organisers have erected the statue of Marat, murdered in the bathtub, as seen in the famous painting by J.L.David. A giant staircase runs from Marats eye down to his neck and shoulder. To his right there is an over-sized open book of Cheniers poems and to the left a guilded mirror on which images are projected. One thing this stage is not, is discrete. But opera purists should be appeased by the spectacle it offers. 
The festival runs until August 21st, but if you miss it you have another chance next year, as the stages are built every two years.

Stage for Andrea Chenier 2011



Aida 2009-20010

A masked ball 1999-2000

Burberry's holographic show

British designer-label Burberry has celebrated the opening of their Beijing flagship store in a grand and psychedelic way:  by holding a fashion show that featured  sensational virtual and holographic technologies. For this show real as well as digital models were used. Computer graphics interacted with the models’ movements, making the  physical and virtual hard to distinguish. The show featured models walking through one another, bursting into a zillion snowflakes and multiplying along the catwalk.

This is, however not the first time that holographics were used in a fashion show: in 2006 Kate Moss already made a holographic appearance in the Alexander McQueen F/W show.

On the Edge

"Living on the edge" is an expression which is often  heard. But walking on the roof of Toronto's CN Tower restaurant, 356 meters in the air, might be different than what you had in mind. Long time known as the tallest building in the world with it's 553 meters, the CN Tower reinvents itself. For the modest sum of 175$ thrill seekers can enjoy stunning views of Toronto and Lake Ontario, whch lies beneath them, walking in groups of six while strapped to an elaborated harness system.

Old sneakers. Like, really old...

Before we had Converse... In Armenia a team of archeologists have found 5000 year old leather sneakers which are the oldest of its kind in the world. The shoe, which is a women's size 7, is made out of tanned cowhide and is held together by a crisscrossed cord. To put things into perspective, this "vintage" shoes were created 1000 years before the Great Pyramid of Giza.

photo: Boris Gasparian/ Reuters

Side-walk psychiatry

In New York, public installation artist and urban planner Candy Chang is helping the locals by offering them a bit of sidewalk-psychiatry. With her project, she wants to encourage self-evaluation by posing critical questions.

source: http://www.candychang.com/

Time is money!

This new alarm clock gives new meaning to the expression ‘time is money’:  if you don’t get out of bed when the alarm sounds, it will shred your paper.

But be careful: according to Mashable, willfully destroying U.S. currency is considered a federal crime and is punishable by law: “Whoever mutilates, cuts, disfigures, perforates, unites or cements together, or does any other thing to any bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt issued by any national banking association [...] shall be fined not more than $100 or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.”

The tail-less mermaid of Hamburg

A giant sculpture of a mermaid which has risen in  Hamburg’s Alster Lake, is attracting numerous tourists. The mermaid is made of Styrofoam and steel and will be on display for 10 days.  The work was designed by German artist and head of the advertising academy “Miami Ad School”, Oliver Voss.

Interestingly, the sculpture was sponsored by Marcia Kilgore: owner of cosmetics company Soap and Glory.

Unable to decide whether it looks scary or not, the only thing we’re left wondering about, was  what the hell happened to her tail?