Photography

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The Art Institute of Chicago Public Domain Collection

People sit in a bar. A woman’s face eerily lit green, stares at viewer. At the Moulin Rouge, 1892/95 Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Fashionable people stroll along rainy Paris street holding umbrellas Paris Street; Rainy Day, 1877 Gustave Caillebotte
Impressionist painting of steam engine in glass roof station, blue, green hues Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare, 1877 Claude Monet
Jesus hung on a brown cross, with his feet on a small ledge. He has white fabric around his waist. The background is black which highlights him. The Crucifixion, 1627 Francisco de Zurbarán
A crashing wave looms over two small ships, Mount Fuji in the background. Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura), also known as the Great Wave, from the series “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)”, c. 1830/33 Katsushika Hokusai
Painting of the Virgin Mary ascending to heaven amongst multitude of angels. The Assumption of the Virgin, 1577–79 Domenico Theotokópoulos, called El Greco
Colorful pastel painting of two wheat stacks casting long shadows across field. Stacks of Wheat (End of Summer), 1890/91 Claude Monet
Impressionist painting of green water lilies, purple and blue reflection Water Lilies, 1906 Claude Monet
Still life painting of fruit, wine bottle, and bread on disheveled tablecloth. The Basket of Apples, c. 1893 Paul Cézanne

The Art Institute of Chicago has announced a redesign of its website, which entails the opening of its digital archive to the masses. Now, anyone will be able to download, print, or use its new public domain collection of 52,438 artworks and counting. Read more

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Retracing Reggae Record Sleeves, by Alex Bartsch

The series of photographer Alex Bartsch titled ‘Retracing Reggae Record Sleeves in London‘ shows close shots of reggae record covers placed in the city of London. The records were originally photographed in various obscure places around London between 1967 and 1987, and were selected by Alex’s own record collection.

(via ignant.com)

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“Cubes,” by Lernert & Sander

“Cubes,” by Lernert & Sander
“Cubes,” by Lernert & Sander
“Cubes,” by Lernert & Sander
“Cubes,” by Lernert & Sander

The idea for Cubes came to the Dutch artists, Lernert & Sander, when newspaper de Volkskrant commissioned them to take a photo for a food-related feature. The only guidance the newspaper gave was that the work had to be tied to food. But, “food is an overwhelming subject,” Lernert said. “You can go so many different ways. How can you photograph something when you can’t decide?” So they did the only thing that could be done: make all of the food seem equally important by cutting everything into uniform pieces, he said.

As for the rationale behind which food they chose to use for the cubes? That was determined by what they could find in local grocery stores and shops. And the foods couldn’t be processed, at least in the traditional sense. “We realized that if you cut up everything, it has this nastiness of everything becoming processed,” explained Lernert. “That’s the inside story.”

(via bonappetit.com)

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Stanley Kubrick’s Underground NYC

In 1946, Stanley Kubrick, then aged only 18, took these photographs of the New York Subway and had them published by LOOK magazine.  He photographed for the magazine from 1945 to 1950.

According to Helen O’Brian, head of LOOK’s photographic department, Kubrick generated the highest number of published articles of any photographer she had worked with. At the time, Kubrick was the youngest photographer LOOK had had on its books.

(via Mashable & Drew)

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The Everyday, Zoomed

Vinyl Record
Velcro
Toilet Paper
Sutures
Stamp
Instant Coffee
Salt and Pepper
Needle and Thread
Guitar String
Jersey
Used Floss
Blood clot
Insect Skin
Banana

As fascinating as it is to see normal, everyday objects magnified 1,000x plus, it’s even more enjoyable to distance yourself from their identification and appreciate their texture, palette, composition, and beauty as stand-alone pieces of art.

These photo serve to supplement my William Legoullon’s Microscopic Drinks post from June 2012, and Caren Albert’s Food Photos, from July 2011. The original article was shared with me by sarak8, and discovered on ViralNova. I’ve narrowed them down to my favorite selections which are, like the sharer of this link,  the most breath-taking. Unlike the original article, however, I’m choosing to hide the object of magnification to allow you the enjoyment of them detached from their object of origin. If you’re dying to know, hover over the image for tooltip or scroll to the bottom of the article for a list.

1. postage stamp, 2. banana slice, 3. blood clot, 4, human eyelash, 5. used dental floss, 6. football jersey, 7. guitar string, 8. needle and thread, 9. salt & pepper, 10. instant coffee crystal, 11. stitches on a dog’s skin, 12. toilet paper, 13. velcro, 14. analog audio groove on a vinyl record

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NYC’s East Side Access Tunnels

Massive New Tunnels Hollowing New York City

There is a 22-foot-long, 200-ton steel monster under Manhattan. Dead, resting deep somewhere under Grand Central Station and Park Avenue, this machine and her twin brother excavated the massive tunnels that you can see here, one of the largest public transportation works of our time.

Here’s an impressive new look at the amazing tunnels and caverns of the East Side Access, an extension of the Long Island Rail Road. Read more