CultCase

Protecting Your Attacker: Aikido 1st Dan Black Belt Shodan Test

2008-10-12T21:54:00.006+02:00

The Shodan test in Aikido is an opportunity for the Sensei of the dojo and the Aikidoka taking the test to evaluate their work and progress by receiving feedback from a senior Sensei of Dan 6 and above. Translated as "the Way of unifying (with) life energy" or "the Way of harmonious spirit" Aikido (合気道) is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba in order to create an art that

Contemplating Kate: Moss Rolls in as a 21st Century Muse

2008-10-06T07:55:00.007+02:00

Guest post by R J Evans Since the tender age of fourteen, Kate Moss has been one of the most sought after supermodels, gracing magazine covers and catwalks the world over. Now, she seems to have made the transformation to the primary artist's muse of our young century. Judge for yourself if she can take her place in the pantheon of immoral muses. Is Moss the Muse or is it all a big "Muse-take"

Five Creepy Cannibalism Themes in Classic Fairy Tales That Will Give Your Children, and You, Nightmares

2008-09-26T15:42:00.022+03:00

This is a guest post by Sher D Fly The fairy tales that we used to read when we were children are quite terrifying, with elements of violence and even cannibalism in them. Most of these tales now have been revised to suit the young readers. Nevertheless, these fairy tales with cannibal characters could really scare your children and give them nightmares. The Juniper Tree (German fairy tale,

7 Scary Ghost Towns: Eternal Remnants From Abandonment, Death and Destruction

2008-09-21T18:38:00.024+03:00

This is a guest post by acecampillo With Halloween creeping closer, an average haunted house may not give you the jitters like had before. This year, you want to observe the wicked holiday to its fullest. Bring the essential flashlight, Ouija board, a car low on gas and a cellphone with very poor reception to maximize the terror of being in the middle of nowhere. Following are seven places to

4 Contemporary Art Projects Exploring Women: Heroic. Liberated. Classic. Erotic.

2008-09-01T19:49:00.011+03:00

From the ultimate enigmatic look of La Gioconda in Da Vinci's masterpiece to Anna Karina in Godard's Vivre sa vie who abandons her family to become an actress – women soul has been the subject for some of the most fascinating and intriguing works in art history. The following are 4 contemporary art projects from different places across the globe. Though their origins, intentions and languages

Five Mysterious Skulls: Dare They Be Called, Human?

2008-08-18T18:55:00.029+03:00

A guest post by s hayes This isn't your most recent episode of Unsolved Mysteries. In fact, these are five authentic skulls dug up and discovered from nearly every corner of the globe. If the skulls are actually of human origin has been put up for debate by some. Either way, these anomalies will either give you a great costume idea, inspiration to go on your own Indian Jones-style adventure, or

Röntgen Etchings: Treated X-Ray photos by Artist Ben Kruisdijk

2008-08-13T14:47:00.016+03:00

If you are a regular reader on cultcase you must remember X-Ray Photography as Art: Hidden Faces of The Inner Space where we presented a few prominent works from Nick Veasey, Diane Covert, Bert Myers and Steven N. Meyers. Recently we have been honored and privileged to meet another great X-Ray photographer - Dutch artist Ben Kruisdijk. It was around 2004 when Kruisdijk was a student at the

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

2008-05-04T17:21:00.006+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

2008-03-19T09:34:00.005+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

2008-03-09T13:20:00.005+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