CultCase

The Outsider Sculptors of Autodidact Johan Jonsson

2008-07-04T16:35:00.006+03:00

He is an autodidact who writes, sculpts and uses multimedia, dividing his time between Luleå, Sweden where he was born in 1966 and a small village outside Skellefteå, where his sculpturing studio is located. Johan Jonsson's mixed media sculptures are fascinating reuse examples combining raw industrial materials such as metal, wood and fabrics, tar and leather with welding filler, silicone, rust

The Finger: An Imaginary Landscape of Hebrew Letters

2008-06-28T10:00:00.000+03:00

Despite being The Finger a creation of an Israeli typographic artist, logo and type designer, despite the fact it clearly corresponds with ancient Jewish culture - Rang magazine, an Iranian ezine for graphic designers, could not have avoid it and recently published a follow up story about it (screenshot below). Well, yes, art is meant to be borderless but not always is. Homage to the Israeli

The Landscape Vortex: Spectacular Earth and Culture Dialogs

2008-06-08T20:01:00.003+03:00

Nature means chaos. Art is about order and meaning. Nature is opposite to culture. Art, along with philosophy and science, is culture's breath. Nature sets borders for civilization. Civilization destroys nature. While the two concepts of "art" and "nature" seem to oppose each other by definition, nature is a respected member in the long list of mediums used by humans to express their spiritual

The Art of Can: Reusing Tin Cans as Art

2008-05-27T20:06:00.019+03:00

It was in the early 1960's, long before "recycling" and "reusing" became fashionable, when David Wasserman began digging trash cans in Eisenhower Park, Long Island, looking for "the right shade of red or green or yellow" to complete another Tin Can artwork. For years, he refused for any kind of public showing except for a website set up by his son, Steven, back in 1997. In the Spring of 1999,

X-Ray Photography as Art: Hidden Faces of The Inner Space

2008-05-04T17:21:00.005+03:00

It was the first day of the year 1896. "What's that large dark oval spot on her finger?" Professor Ludwig Zehnder of the Physik Institute at the University of Freiburg, Germany must have asked his teacher, observing the strange photograph of a woman's hand. Wilhelm Röntgen's answer must have been something along the lines of: "Well, it's the ring… my wife just never takes it off". The first

Shine in the Dark: From Light Graffiti and Light Writing to Bachelor Party Installations and Activist LED Signs

2008-04-23T00:31:00.021+03:00

Compared to the traditional paint-and-stencil graffiti, light graffiti (also known as light art, light writing and light painting), may seem minor to some of you if not entirely esoteric. Yet, this emerging concept, described by the Guardian as a new wave of ephemeral street art, is a most fascinating zeitgeist phenomena. Light graffiti can also be described as an organic, environment-friendly

Me: 3 Early 20th Century Self-Portrait Masterpieces

2008-04-12T20:51:00.018+03:00

Did you know it was not until the mid 1400s, when mirrors became more popular, that visual artists dared to refer to themselves as main subjects in their own work of art? Approximately 500 years later vocabulary of human culture was dramatically changed and self-portraits were already a popular form of expression. Used by true groundbreakers to express the zeitgeist of the pre-World War I and

The Art of Junk: 7 Creative Approaches to Trash Reuse

2008-04-07T14:40:00.005+03:00

The concept of "recycling" usually refers to the breaking down of used items into raw materials and then using those materials to make new items. In contrast, the concept of "reuse" includes both using an item again for its original function, as well as for "new-life reuse" where it is used for a brand new function. "ReUsing is similar to Recycling, only we aren't getting rid of things, we are

Live Fast, Die Young: 20 Great Artists that Never Reached 30

2008-03-19T09:34:00.004+02:00

The phrase Live fast, die young and leave a good-looking corpse, originally spoken by actor John Derek in Nicholas Ray's Knock on Any Door (1949), emphasizes how unfulfilled promises have always been fascinating and intriguing for many of us. While some great artists lived up to their full potential, sometimes through decades of fruitful careers, others have passed away long before that,

What To Do If You Encounter A Mountain Lion

2008-03-16T11:36:00.001+02:00

In continuation with our latest exploration into the subject of humans and lions sharing the same territory we stumbled upon the above photograph of a busted sign taken by Father Dan as he was hiking Coal Canyon November last year. The sign explains what should we do if encountering a mountain lion. We thought that's pretty coherent with the Lions Prefer Blondes photojournalism drama. People

The UN Voices Project: Print Advertising That Talks

2008-03-12T13:35:00.003+02:00

A truly groundbreaking advertising campaign titled 'The UN Voices Project' was launched by Saatchi & Saatchi Australia earlier this week. Tailored for the United Nations, the new campaign combines innovative creative thinking with cutting edge mobile phone and image recognition technologies. According to Saatchi & Saatchi The UN Voices Project is probably the first attempt to make outdoor

Lions Prefer Blondes: a Perfect Photojournalism Drama with a Happy End

2008-03-09T13:20:00.004+02:00

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, we know that since 1953. But did you know 180kg lions also like them very much? Well, at least according to this Daily telegraph story that might just be the case. It is not everyday that death grabs one's soul and hands it back while the entire process gets captured on camera in a perfect photojournalism drama with a heart and a happy end. Yet, for British primary

International Street Artists Add (More) Multicultural Sauce to Israeli Society

2008-03-06T19:26:00.060+02:00

"The only tyrant I accept in this world is the still voice within. Culture of the mind must be subservient to the heart so individual freedom will naturally grow from self-determined activity." (Idiot The Wise) It appears that the paintings of world's hottest British art star Banksy on the Palestinian side of the separation wall in the West Bank in summer 2005 were just the tip of the iceberg.

Get Your Own Copy: Top 10 Online Video Conversion Services

2008-02-28T01:33:00.011+02:00

Most online video platforms such as Youtube, MySpace and Metacafe use Flash video streaming (.flv) rather than simple links to files we can download. There are various reasons for that with the main one being the common business model most of those services relay on: advertising. In other words - we get to watch the content for free but we need to do that online and on the site. While this may

Challenging Neptune: 6 Underwater Cave Photographers

2008-02-19T19:09:00.014+02:00

Cave diving photography is one of the most challenging and potentially dangerous kinds of all human activities. A lot of things can go wrong when you go into a deep cave. Many more can go wrong when the cave is also filled with water. This said, imagine doing the last two while at the same time being occupied with the right angle and perfect lighting of a beautiful underwater cave shot. Not the

Days by Ray Davies: A Cursed Rock Masterpiece?

2008-02-13T16:11:00.012+02:00

Almost 40 years have passed since The Kinks burst onto our souls with Days. Originally recorded on May 23 and May 27, 1968 at Pye Studios in London, this bittersweet rock ballad written and produced by Ray Davies was released as the A-side to a Kinks single in June 28. By the end of summer 1968 Days took the 12th slot in the UK Top Hits and was also included in Top 20 hit lists in several other

Big Bang World Record. Internet is About Text and Links

2008-02-13T11:03:00.023+02:00

Regardless of how much people like or dislike reading, the Internet is mostly about text and links. That is just how it goes. So, as Leena of conceptisaddict who tagged us on this crazy link-love chain said "let’s call a spade a spade and see how “Big” of a “Bang” we can get"... The goal here is to exceed 1,000 sites and "leave all the other memes in our dust!" *Start Copy Here* You do not

Grindhouse: Planet Terror and Death Proof

2008-02-11T00:26:00.000+02:00

Grindhouse is a 2007 anthology film co-written, produced and directed by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. The film's title derives from the U.S. film industry term "grindhouse", which refers to a movie theater specializing in B movies, often exploitation films, shown in a multiple-feature format. Planet Terror: revolves around an outfit of rebels attempting to survive an onslaught of

Are You Talking To Me...?!!

2008-02-10T19:36:00.001+02:00

It's coat encrusted with dried red mud, looks up briefly while grazing on a patch of short grass in the Pongola Nature Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum). What a sweety! read more | digg story

From Oppenheim to Akiyo: 7 Unusual Skin Artists

2008-02-08T08:25:00.003+02:00

It is our largest organ. It covers every inch of our body, protecting it from hit and illness. Sometimes it inflates pain and agony, other times it can be the source of great pleasure. Skin has been playing a major roll in the history of human culture. People go to war to keep their skin color more popular than others. Skin both reflects and affects our emotions. Obsessed with age-related

Popping-Up: 6 Remarkable Guerrilla Retail Projects

2008-02-04T01:50:00.000+02:00

Technically speaking, the idea of guerrilla retail has been around for many years. In the Middle East, for example, the word "Basta" is common Arabic slang for a temporary stall located in the market or in the street. Residents of cities across the world are familiar with their local basta versions. Americans love their garage sales. Yet, the modern concept of guerrilla stores, also known as

Playing On The Move: 6 Top Mobile Game Destinations

2008-01-30T21:38:00.001+02:00

It seems most of us are not very interested with PC-like action games on our mobile phones. Yet, quite many of us love the idea of using them for casual games. According to a recent report by Parks Associates, a market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services, consumers perceive mobile phones as casual gaming devices with puzzle and card

PROGRESS: Obama screenprints by Shepard Fairey

2008-01-30T01:20:00.000+02:00

Frank Shepard Fairey who usually goes under his middle and last name Shepard Fairey, is a contemporary artist, graphic designer and illustrator who believes that Barack Obama should be the next President of the United States. Starting next Wednesday, January 30th, Fairey's screenprints titled PROGRESS will be put on sale online to support a larger statewide poster campaign. The screenprints

The Breakdown of Modern Web Design

2008-01-28T22:15:00.000+02:00

[from http://arstechnica.com]

Frames of Frozen Time: 7 Contemporary High-Speed Photographers

2008-01-25T01:09:00.000+02:00

If you ever tried taking a photograph of a running dog or a fast moving car you must have noticed it is quite a difficult task. Even with the most generous lighting conditions and very good lenses normal photography equipment is unable to capture sharp images of extremely fast motion due to the familiar effect of motion-blur. That's where special High Speed Photography equipment and a lot of