Last week I posted here about a musician who had taken a handful of iconic horror soundtracks and turned them “soothing, triumphant, and dorky” by reworking them in a major key.
Since Bernie Sanders announced his run for President of the United States of America, his lack of polish has been far more endearing to the public than his detractors ever imagined. He’s not a slick baby-kisser; the man talks serious social democratic policy and...
WESTON-SUPER-MARE — Inside the walls of a derelict seaside swimming resort in Weston-super-Mare, UK, mysterious construction over the last month—including a dingy looking Disney-like castle and a gargantuan rainbow-colored pinwheel tangled in plastic—suggested something big was afoot. Suspicion and anticipation surrounding the unusual activity attributed to fabled artist and provocateur Banksy has reached a Willy Wonka-esque fervor. Well, if Banksy’s your bag, continue fervoring. If not, there’s more than a few reasons to continue reading.
The spectacle has since been revealed to be a pop-up art exhibition in the form of an apocalyptic theme park titled Dismaland (“The UK’s most disappointing new visitor attraction”) that will be open to the public for five weeks.
Photo by Christopher Jobson for Colossal / CLICK FOR DETAIL
Dismaland legend
Dismaland brochure / Park aerial view courtesy Upfest / Photo of construction
The event has all the hallmark details of a traditional Banksy event from its initial shroud of secrecy to artistic themes of apocalypse, anti-consumerism, and pointed social critiques on celebrity culture, immigration, and law enforcement. However, there’s one major deviation: the bulk of the artwork packed into three main interior galleries was created by dozens of other artists.
So just what’s hidden inside the walls of this derelict seaside resort? A demented assortment of bizarre and beautiful artworks from no less than 58 global artists including Damien Hirst, Jenny Holzer, Jimmy Cauty, Bill Barminski, Caitlin Cherry, Polly Morgan, Josh Keyes, Mike Ross, David Shrigley, Bäst, and Espo. Banksy is also showing 10 artworks of his own.
Here’s some text from the event’s official brochure:
Are you looking for an alternative to the soulless sugar-coated banality of the average family day out? Or just somewhere cheaper. Then this is the place for you—a chaotic new world where you can escape from mindless escapism. Instead of a burger stall, we have a museum. In place of a gift shop we have a library, well, we have a gift shop as well.
Bring the whole family to come and enjoy the latest addition to our chronic leisure surplus—a bemusement park. A theme park who’s big theme is: theme parks should have bigger themes…
This event contains adult themes, distressing imagery, extended use of strobe lighting, smoke effects and swearing. The following items are strictly prohibited: knives, spraycans, illegal drugs, and lawyers from the Walt Disney corporation.
In addition to art you’ll also find functional a terrifying carousel, a mini golf park, a ferris wheel, and some ludicrously impossible fair games (like ‘topple the anvil with a ping pong ball’ by David Shrigley), roving occupy protests, and a Star Wars stormtrooper who sulks around the exhibition in a state of complete misery. The park is staffed by morose Dismaland employees who are uninterested in being helpful or remotely informative. Entrance to the event requires an uncomfortably awkward NSA-esque security screening, and of course you get to exit through the gift shop.
Just a quick fun note, I had the honor of helping curate a small part of Dismaland: a program of 24 short films shown on a massive outdoor cinema that will play on a loop day and night. Films include shorts by Santiago Grasso & Patricio Plaza, Kirsten Lepore, The Mercadantes, Ze Frank, Adrien M. & Claire B., Black Sheep Films, and Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared.
Photo by Christopher Jobson for Colossal
Photo by Christopher Jobson for Colossal
Photo by Christopher Jobson for Colossal
Photo by Christopher Jobson for Colossal
Photo by Christopher Jobson for Colossal
Photo by Christopher Jobson for Colossal
Photo by Christopher Jobson for Colossal
Photo by Christopher Jobson for Colossal
Photo by Christopher Jobson for Colossal
Photo by Christopher Jobson for Colossal
Dismaland is open to the public from August 22 through September 27th, 2015 and information about pre-booked and at-the-gate tickets is available here. There’s also a series of events including a show by Pussy Riot and Massive Attack on September 25th.
I think it goes without saying, but if you have the means, get to the UK.
Update: This post has been updated to include additional imagery, clarification, and other small corrections.
Update 2: We understand that there is difficulty with ticketing at the moment, but unfortunately this publication is not associated with the event directly. Please keep an eye on the official Dismaland website for updates.
Justin Bailey, formerly of developer Double Fine, is launching a new crowdfunding solution for game developers. Called Fig, the service will offer rewards-based funding alongside equity investment. Fig's advisory board will include Feargus Urquhart, Brian Fargo and Tim Schafer.
Hummingbirds consume almost half their weight in sugar every day to survive, and therefore prefer flowers whose nectar has a sugar content of 10% or more. Many people set up hummingbird feeders in their yards to observe and enjoy these tiny creatures, but Brian Maffitt, of Chestnut Ridge, New York, decided to take this a step further. He set up an angled mirror and used a camera to capture these birds in action.
“I sat on my patio and took a few hundred pics over several hours,” Maffitt writes on Reddit. “I had the camera locked down in manual mode, and used a cable remote to shoot bursts when they would show up to feed…It’s a composite image of about 60 photographs…and I didn’t overlap any of them when I composited them. It was just an artistic choice.”
The birds in the photos are mostly female Ruby-throated hummingbirds. Maffitt used Canon 5D Mk III at 1/4000/sec, f 5.6, using a Canon 100-400 zoom lens. The images were put together in Photoshop using approximately 70 layers, with a final file size of 3600 pixels by 11,000 pixels.
“I sat on my patio and took a few hundred pics over several hours. I had the camera locked down in manual mode, and used a cable remote to shoot bursts when they would show up to feed…”
If you've ever noticed that the cakes at the grocery store or chain bakery seem a little too perfect, that's because they were probably cranked out by a machine made by Unifiller. The food service company is the leading supplier of portioning depositors (a.k.a. really cool cake decorating machines).
Plants and Animals
Photo credit:
A large intact specimen of the Montsechia vidalii fossil. David Dilcher
A freshwater species that dates back to the early Cretaceous period may be the world’s oldest flowering plant, according to researchers. The remarkable discovery challenges the previously held consensus on the evolutionary history of flowering plants.
'Straight Outta Compton' may be breaking box office records across the country, but the city where the film is set is one place you can't see it. [ more › ]
No, you aren’t going mad – It’s the 150th anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s world-beloved literary classic, Alice in Wonderland! This August, Meltdown Comics and curator Nico Colaleo invite you down the rabbit hole to this special exhibition featuring over 50 talented artists from around the industry, and their artwork paying tribute to the land where nothing is impossible and everything is nonsense.
Join us for this gallery’s opening reception! If you’re feeling curiouser and curiouser, you’ll be able to enjoy free beer and wine along withWonderland-themed entertainment, decor, surprises, and photo opportunities. So don’t lose your head, and keep an eye on your pocket watch… You won’t wish to be late for this very important date!
This event is FREE!
FEATURED ARTISTS INCLUDE:Annisa Adjani, Aaron Alexovich, Benjamin Anders, Ashlyn Anstee, Atomikitty, Jessica Borutski, Matt Brailey, Elsa Chang, Emily Choi, Daisy Church, Nico Colaleo, Victor Courtright, Alexandra Coward, Kendra Creatura, Cheyenne Curtis, Shawn Dickinson, Mike Dougherty, Brianne Drouhard, Julianne Eckert, Kelly Eden, Jenny Fine, Tiffany Ford, Jennifer Gheduzzi, Henrieke Goorhuis, Monica Grue, Kassandra Heller, Starline Hodge, Henrique Jardim, Molly Bates Johnson, Sam King, Natasha Kline, L.M. Knight, Kate Laird, Joanna Leitch, Frank Macchia, Kathryn Marusik, Amy Mebberson, Zoë Moss, Daron Nefcy, Damon O’Keefe, Ekaterina Oloy, Hannah Nance Partlow, Zoe Persico, Sara Pocock, Whitney Pollett, Julia Prescott, Sandra Rivas, Michael Ruocco, Austin Salmi, Kevyn Schmidt, Jacob Strick, Rikki Simons, Michelle Thies, Arica Tuesday, Jeff Victor, Maria Vitan, Lynn Wang, Jason Whetzell, Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons, Jennifer Wood.
George Zimmerman, the human embodiment of both the flawed American justice system and everything that can go wrong in one person’s soul, is now making Confederate flag art. He’s teamed up with a Florida gun shop owner who declared his business a “Muslim-free zone.” Perfect. That’s perfect.
Boston based sculptor Jenine Shereos often uses fiber and textile processes to create her intricate artworks. Her latest series uses a more unusual material - her own hair. "Leaf Series" portrays the patterned lace-like skeletons of dead leaves with excruciating detail. Shereos discusses her inspiration and process at her website: "Inspired by the delicate and detailed venation of a leaf, I began stitching individual strands of hair by hand into a water- soluble backing material. At each point where one strand of hair intersected another, I stitched a tiny knot, so that when the backing was dissolved, the entire piece was able to hold its form. Creating this work was a very meditative process for me, as I found myself lost in the detail of the small, organic microcosms that began taking shape."
Patrick Stewart answered all sorts of questions in this Reddit AMA, including which male actor is the best kisser. [ more › ]
"Los Angeles is a microcosm of the world, and Pico is a microcosm of Los Angeles." [ 
'Straight Outta Compton' may be breaking box office records across the country, but the city where the film is set is one place you can't see it. [ more › ]
American Airlines will begin offering direct charter flights from LAX to Havana in December. [ more › ]
Boston based sculptor Jenine Shereos often uses fiber and textile processes to create her intricate artworks. Her latest series uses a more unusual material - her own hair. "Leaf Series" portrays the patterned lace-like skeletons of dead leaves with excruciating detail. Shereos discusses her inspiration and process at her website: "Inspired by the delicate and detailed venation of a leaf, I began stitching individual strands of hair by hand into a water- soluble backing material. At each point where one strand of hair intersected another, I stitched a tiny knot, so that when the backing was dissolved, the entire piece was able to hold its form. Creating this work was a very meditative process for me, as I found myself lost in the detail of the small, organic microcosms that began taking shape."
