This is the second part of my regular WLASze: Weekly Links on Arts, Sciences and zero economics posts for this weekend. Part 1 is available here. Enjoy...
A beautiful medium and a perfect balance between art (texture, colour, composition) and design (geometry, balance, space, utility): http://the189.com/design/art/works-by-japanese-ceramic-artist-shinobu-hashimoto/
Shinobu Hashimoto's site is here: https://www.facebook.com/shinobuceramic
On a similar theme, wonderful works in different wood media, united by the weaving technique:
http://howtospendit.ft.com/home-accessories/30923-woven-wonders-of-the-world
Scottish artist Lizzie Farey's 'sculptural baskets'
An interesting new (at least to me) artist: Glasgow-based artist Scott Naismith
http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/scott-naismith-landscape-paintings
Pushing the range of colour out to higher contrast limits and juxtaposing these against light and composition. Not bad… not bad at all… A bit more of the artist's portfolio: http://www.redbubble.com/people/scottnaismith/works/3579801-2-deep-blue
I am not quite decided on his work, yet - it seems to need more careful definition and a build up of selective quality works not to be fully confused with over-exposed kitsch street art, but… I intuitively like it.
Intuitive liking, however, is dangerous, just like intuitive disliking, whenever action is concerned. Good reminder - the recent controversy in Kiev, Ukraine:
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Kiev-museum-director-accused-of-censoring-work-by-covering-it-with-black-paint/30156
Political over-sensitivity leading to censorship is never a sign of strength, always of weakness of the regime and underlying national fundamentals… There is nothing that screams louder 'Massive chip on ya shoulder!' than painting murals over… More paint over paint and you might end up in a world similar to this: http://instagram.com/p/cYpGAEgw2B/
On a much more positive note relating to the national identity and art, Happy Birthday this week to Henry Moore - British most brilliant sculptor of all times:
http://www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/blogs/pictures-big-birthday-tribute-giant-british-art
Saatchi were running a list this week, asking people to relate their memory of the first encounter with Moore's works. My own was at UCLA - in the sculpture garden. If you ever in the vicinity of the campus - I suggest you stop by and experience the sculpture garden: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2GK7aV-UeY
It was only a matter of time that Zaha Hadid - with her practice's prolific stamping out of the curvature-obsessed architecture around the globe - will run into some trouble. And so she did…
http://www.dezeen.com/2013/08/03/zaha-hadid-galaxy-soho-riba-award-lubetkin-prize-chinese-heritage/
It looks like Hadid's firm oversaw bulldozing of a historical heritage (already generally lacking in China's urban jungles) and replacing it with a… you guessed it… megalomaniac curvature set. The Royal Institute of British Architects decided to award this 'mushrooming of honey pots' an award… I am not convinced by RIBA call there... [Note: MrsG disagrees]
A fascinating topic of gender differences in behaviour is a tricky one and not exactly rewarding, but important. Here are four links on the same study which uncovered significant differences in managing risk between men and women: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=men-and-women-gauge-risk-differentl and abstract of the study itself is here http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166432812006419, while whole paper can be seen here http://www.wangqiyu.com/bio/index.php/archives/693.
To wrap things up for this week, a really off-beat and wonderfully light-hearted photography by Samuel Bradley http://www.blog.samuelbradley.com/
http://the189.com/design/art/imagery-from-samuel-bradley/
Enjoy!..
