Shared posts

29 Jul 14:44

Жильцы бросают горящие окурки, которые залетают в окна соседей снизу

by Михаил Нозик
Живу в двадцатипятиэтажном доме. Некоторые из жильцов бросают горящие окурки, которые часто залетают в окна соседей снизу. Чтобы как-то повлиять на ситуацию, я сделала плакат, который размещу возле лифтов и в лифте. Как вам текст, оформление и что бы вы изменили в нём?
22 Jun 16:02

Vintage Clothing and Found Objects Compose Decorative Masks Designed by Magnhild Kennedy

by Kate Sierzputowski

Magnhild Kennedy, who makes work under the name Damselfrau, creates intricate headpieces and masks that are comprised of both high and lowbrow elements. The London and Oslo-based artist mixes together sequins, vintage clothing scraps, and random materials she finds on the street to compose works that expose minimal elements of the wearer’s face.

The pieces are intended to operate as both art objects and wearable sculptures, and were initially inspired by the elegant clothing seen during her days working at a London vintage shop. As a completely self-taught artist, Kennedy learns techniques as she forms new masks, trouble-shooting new methods alongside her more elaborate designs. You can see more of her wearable works on her website and Instagram.

14 Feb 12:22

Hear Neil Gaiman Read Aloud 15 of His Own Works, and Works by 6 Other Great Writers: From The Graveyard Book & Coraline, to Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven & Dickens’ A Christmas Carol

by Colin Marshall

Neil Gaiman is a storyteller. That title encompasses quite a few pursuits, most of which seemingly involve writing — writing novels, writing radio dramas, writing comic books — but he also occasionally tells stories the old-fashioned way: speaking aloud, and to an audience of rapt listeners. Traditionally, such storytelling happened in a circle around the campfire, but as a storyteller of the 21st century — albeit a master of timeless techniques who uses those techniques to deal with timeless themes — Gaiman can tell stories to the entire world. Today we've gathered all of Gaiman's streamable readings, both video and audio, in one place.

Nearly every type of text at which he has tried his hand appears in this collection, from novels (The Graveyard Book) to novellas (Coraline) to poetry ("Instructions," above) to manifestos ("Making Good Art"). Suitable as his voice and delivery are to his own work, Gaiman's live storytelling talent also extends to the works of others, as you'll find out if you listen to the selections on the second list below.

The material varies widely, from nonsense or near-nonsense poetry like Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham and Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky" to the work of his friend Ursula K. Le Guin to a classic like Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven," whose Gothic atmosphere will no doubt appeal to Gaiman's fans.

And Gaiman certainly has his fair share of fans. If you already count yourself in that group, you'll need little convincing to do a binge-listen of his readings here. But if you aren't yet familiar with Gaiman's work in all its various forms, you might consider using these pieces of video and audio as an entryway into his narrative world, with its emotional chiaroscuro, it modern-day mythology, and its unflagging sense of humor. There's plenty of Neil Gaiman out there to read, of course, but with his style of storytelling, sometimes he must simply be heard — if not around an actual campfire, then on that largest campfire ever created, the internet. These texts will be added to our list, 900 Free Audio Books: Download Great Books for Free.

His own work
Works by others

Related Content:

18 Stories & Novels by Neil Gaiman Online: Free Texts & Readings by Neil Himself

Neil Gaiman Reads His Manifesto on Making Art: Features the 10 Things He Wish He Knew As a Young Artist

Where Do Great Ideas Come From? Neil Gaiman Explains

Neil Gaiman Teaches the Art of Storytelling in His New Online Course

Amanda Palmer Animates & Narrates Husband Neil Gaiman’s Unconscious Musings

Based in Seoul, Colin Marshall writes and broadcasts on cities, language, and culture. His projects include the book The Stateless City: a Walk through 21st-Century Los Angeles and the video series The City in Cinema. Follow him on Twitter at @colinmarshall or on Facebook.

Hear Neil Gaiman Read Aloud 15 of His Own Works, and Works by 6 Other Great Writers: From The Graveyard Book & Coraline, to Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven & Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is a post from: Open Culture. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus, or get our Daily Email. And don't miss our big collections of Free Online Courses, Free Online Movies, Free eBooksFree Audio Books, Free Foreign Language Lessons, and MOOCs.

15 Jan 20:31

Head Instructor: A New Glass Sculpture by Thomas Medicus Analyzes the Human Mind Through Four Anamorphic Images

by Kate Sierzputowski

Thomas Medicus (previously) is a master of illusion. The Austria-based artist builds sculptures from segments of painted and hand-cut glass which present a different image depending on which angle you view the rotating cube. In his most recent work, Head Instructor, concept follows form. The piece presents several viewpoints of an androgynous human’s head, showcasing the hidden thoughts and viewpoints that might occupy one’s mind.

“In Head Instructor I tried to show that when you look at a person, a brain, or the world, what you will see always depends on your perspective and the method you use,” he explains to Colossal. “There are always facets that will remain fragmented or hidden when you only approach from only one side.” You can take a look behind-the-scenes of how one of his hand-painted panels is constructed on Vimeo, and see more of his perspective-altering work on Instagram and Facebook. (via Colossal Submissions)

15 Sep 11:10

325. Yuval Noah Harari, author of Homo Deus and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century

Tania Aba

read the book

02 Aug 19:13

Light Painting Animations Create Dazzling Effects Around Glass Spheres

by Kate Sierzputowski

During his last few months in school, recent University of Maryland graduate Josh Sheldon built a light animation robot scaled to the size of his small college bedroom. For the personal project, Sheldon taught himself Blender, Python, and Dragonframe in just under two weeks. The device allowed him to create dazzling effects around spheres and cubes, with each animation taking between four and twelve hours to shoot. You can view the process behind Sheldon’s robot in the view below, and take a look at the code he used for each of his light paintings over on Github. More of Josh’s work, including these light portraits, can be found on his Instagram. (via Prosthetic Knowledge)

26 Feb 20:06

sea of clouds: laurent rosset mixes the sky with the sea

by Laurent Rosset

using photoshop, the artist blends details of natural beauty together and drowns clouds in the sea.

The post sea of clouds: laurent rosset mixes the sky with the sea appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

10 Feb 00:05

One Minute Art History: A Hand-Drawn Animation in Myriad Historical Art Styles

by Laura Staugaitis

Filmmaker and educator Cao Shu captures the history of art in an experimental short film that lasts for less than one minute. Throughout the film, the central character goes through the small motions of everyday movements like checking the time and having a drink, with each frame rendered in a different art historical style. The film starts in ancient Egypt and progresses through Chinese ink paintings and Japanese block prints to Modigliani and Basquiat-style portraits. Cao renders a vast array of art styles in a manner that is evocative without being overworked. He lives and works in Hangzhou, where he teaches at the China Academy of Art.

31 Jan 11:31

Photographer Jonathan Higbee Discovers a World of Coincidence on the Streets of New York

by Christopher Jobson

All images © Jonathan Higbee.

For over a decade, photographer Jonathan Higbee has walked the streets of New York with a camera in-hand, spotting extraordinary juxtapositions and unusual moments when the world aligns for a split second in front of his lens. At times he manages to completely erase the boundaries between manufactured imagery found in billboards or signage that pollute the city streets and captures anonymous passersby who seem to live in an alternate reality.

This uncanny talent for observation has made the Missouri-born photographer a rising name in street photography where he won the World Street Photography grand prize in 2015 and a LensCulture 2016 Street Photography Award. Higbee’s work has been exhibited in group shows around the world and his photos were recently included in World Street Photography 4. You can follow more of his photography on Instagram. (via LensCulture)

31 Jan 11:26

Dutch artist Ruth van Beek's uncanny, lifelike compositions

by Daphne Milner
Ruthvanbeek-collage-itsnicethat-8list

Dutch artist Ruth van Beek lives and works in her 18th century wooden cottage in Koog aan de Zaan, a small industrial town north of Amsterdam. Here, Ruth creates surreal collages from found photographs and painted cardboard: “Old photography books and photo albums are my tools and content. I rearrange and manipulate the images to reveal the different universes that lie within them.” Her days are filled with folding, cutting, sticking and painting these strange, lifelike compositions. 

Read more

31 Jan 08:50

Projection Wall: A Large-Scale Participatory Bubble Wall by Rintaro Hara

by Kate Sierzputowski

Projection Wall is a floor-to-ceiling installation that produces a series of prismatic sculptures through a visitor-operated pulley system. The large-scale bubbles rise from a grid of rope as the pulley rises, which are then released into to the room by the force of eight fans set behind the soapy contraption.

The participatory work was built by Japanese artist Rintaro Hara for the 2017 Japan Alps Festival. Hara created a similar piece in 1998 titled Soap Opera, an installation inspired by the water-born aliens from the 1989 Sci-Fi Thriller The Abyss. You can see more of Hara’s moving installations (like this Rube Goldberg-inspired piece) on her website and Vimeo. (via Prosthetic Knowledge)

28 Oct 20:31

Kishin Shinoyama. Mai Hosho [::SemAp Twitter || SemAp::]



Kishin Shinoyama. Mai Hosho

[::SemAp Twitter || SemAp::]

22 Oct 10:17

Raymond Depardon, Nomad Encampment, Borkou Tigui, Northern Chad,...



Raymond Depardon, Nomad Encampment, Borkou Tigui, Northern Chad, Africa,1976

[::SemAp Twitter || SemAp::]

22 Oct 10:13

2,000+ Architecture & Art Books You Can Read Free at the Internet Archive

by Colin Marshall

Somebody once called writing about music like dancing about architecture, and the description stuck. But what's writing about architecture like? Even if you already know — especially if you already know — know that the Internet Archive makes it easy to binge on some of the finest architecture writing around and find out, and completely for free at that. The site, as Archdaily's Becky Quintal reports, has implemented a “lending feature that allows users to electronically 'borrow' books for 14 days. With over 2,000 borrowable books on architecture, patrons from across the globe can read works by Reyner Banham, Walter Gropius, Ada Louise Huxtable and Jonathan Glancey. There are also helpful guides, dictionaries and history books.”

Quintal recommends a variety of titles from Glancey's The Story of Architecture and Banham's Theory and Design in the First Machine Age to Gropius' The New Architecture and the Bauhaus and Tom Wolfe's famous jeremiad From Bauhaus to Our Our House.

Other borrowable books in the collection can take you even farther around our built world: Boston Architecture, French Architecture, Japanese Architecture, Moorish Architecture in Andalusia, The Art and Architecture of China, The Art and Architecture of Medieval Russia. As you can see, and as in a “real” library or bookstore, writing about architecture at some point transitions into writing about art, quite a few volumes of which — on art history, art technique, and even museum work — the Internet Archive also lets you check out.

But before you get your two weeks with any of these books from the Internet Archive's virtual library, you'll need your virtual library card. To get it, visit Archive.org's account creation page and come up with a screen name and password. As soon as you've agreed to the site's terms and conditions, you've got a card. If you'd like to read these books on devices other than your computer, you'll need to download Adobe's free Digital Editions software. Out digital century has made binging on all kinds of reading material incomparably easier than before, but just like brick-and-mortar libraries, the Internet Archive has only so many “copies” to lend out, so be warned that if you want an especially popular book, you may have to get on a waitlist first. Me, I'm hoping Experimental Architecture in Los Angeles will come in any day now, but the art or architecture book you most want to read may just be waiting for you to check it out. Scan the collection here.

via Archdaily

Related Content:

Download 200+ Free Modern Art Books from the Guggenheim Museum

Free: You Can Now Read Classic Books by MIT Press on Archive.org

Watch 50+ Documentaries on Famous Architects & Buildings: Bauhaus, Le Corbusier, Hadid & Many More

Download 464 Free Art Books from The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Based in Seoul, Colin Marshall writes and broadcasts on cities and culture. His projects include the book The Stateless City: a Walk through 21st-Century Los Angeles and the video series The City in Cinema. Follow him on Twitter at @colinmarshall or on Facebook.

2,000+ Architecture & Art Books You Can Read Free at the Internet Archive is a post from: Open Culture. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus, or get our Daily Email. And don't miss our big collections of Free Online Courses, Free Online Movies, Free eBooksFree Audio Books, Free Foreign Language Lessons, and MOOCs.

21 Oct 08:47

New Feathery Portraits That Peek Inside the Personalities of Cockatoos and Doves

by Kate Sierzputowski
Superb Fruit Dove

Superb Fruit Dove

Photographer Leila Jeffreys (previously) captures birds outside of their traditional context, taking various breeds into her studio to photograph without distraction. The simple portraits capture the elegance of each bird, bringing a new perspective to the brilliant colors and textures that belong to each cockatoo, dove, or other domestic or exotic species. The works appear as both an unbiased attempts at documenting a set of animals, and a warm depiction of the feathery subjects. Each gives a peek into the personality of the bird on view, with a few casting solemn expressions, and one cockatoo showcasing what appears to be a wry smile.

Jeffreys has an upcoming exhibition of her portraits titled Ornithurae Volume 1 at Olsen Gruin Gallery in New York City on October 13. The exhibition will run through November 12, 2017. You can see more of her photographs on her website and Instagram.

Cyril Moluccan Cockatoo

Cyril Moluccan Cockatoo

Emerald Dove

Emerald Dove

New Guinea Ground Dove

New Guinea Ground Dove

Skye Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo

Skye Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo

21 Oct 08:34

Victoria Yarlikova. Another misty afternoon. 2016 [::SemAp...



Victoria Yarlikova. Another misty afternoon. 2016

[::SemAp Twitter || SemAp::]

20 Oct 17:55

Alan Turing Algorithmically Approximated by Ellipses: A Computer Art Project

by Dan Colman

Just a cool find on Twitter, a work of computer art created by Jeremy Kun, a math PhD from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and now an engineer at Google.

Follow Open Culture on Facebook and Twitter and share intelligent media with your friends. Or better yet, sign up for our daily email and get a daily dose of Open Culture in your inbox. 

If you'd like to support Open Culture and our mission, please consider making a donation to our site. It's hard to rely 100% on ads, and your contributions will help us provide the best free cultural and educational materials.

via BoingBoing

Related Content:

Japanese Computer Artist Makes “Digital Mondrians” in 1964: When Giant Mainframe Computers Were First Used to Create Art

When J.M. Coetzee Secretly Programmed Computers to Write Poetry in the 1960s

Hear the First Recording of Computer Music: Researchers Restore Three Melodies Programmed on Alan Turing’s Computer (1951)

 

Alan Turing Algorithmically Approximated by Ellipses: A Computer Art Project is a post from: Open Culture. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus, or get our Daily Email. And don't miss our big collections of Free Online Courses, Free Online Movies, Free eBooksFree Audio Books, Free Foreign Language Lessons, and MOOCs.

20 Oct 17:53

Kenneth van Sickle. The Regular. 1960 [::SemAp Twitter ||...



Kenneth van Sickle. The Regular. 1960

[::SemAp Twitter || SemAp::]

20 Oct 17:46

Editor Pick: Cody Cobb

by Staff

Obsessed with Seattle-based photographer Cody Cobb’s recent series that he recently shared to our Submissions. See more images from “Paria” below.
 

20 Oct 17:43

Monumentally Detailed Pen Drawings That Combine Real and Imagined Landscapes by Olivia Kemp

by Kate Sierzputowski

British artist Olivia Kemp creates large-scale drawings that combine observational studies made in Norway, Italy, and Scotland with fantastical places that exist only in her imagination. Her pen and ink works contain dense villages of twisting tree houses within forests and log cabins sprinkled through out private islands, each appearing isolated from modern civilization.

“I draw in order to make sense of landscape but also to construct and remodel it,” explains Kemp in her artist statement. “I build worlds and imaginary places that grow out of a need to interpret the sites that I have known, expanding and developing them across a page. This encompasses everything, from the visions of a grand landscape right down to the details of the land, the plants and creatures that may inhabit it.”

When creating her meticulous works Kemp notes that she often falls into a trance-like state, the final result surprising even herself. New works, including the 6-foot-long Archipelago, are currently on view in her solo exhibition at Browse&Darby in London through November 3, 2017. You can see more of the artist’s work on her website and Instagram. (via Hi Fructose)

27 Sep 22:32

Otherworldly ‘Earth Pyramids’ Captured in the Foggy Early Morning Light by Photographer Kilian Schönberger

by Kate Sierzputowski

Photographer Kilian Schönberger (previously) climbed the Alps late at night to capture one of the mountain range’s strangest segments, alien-like columns found in South Tyrol, an autonomous province in Northern Italy. His series Otherworld showcases the so-called “earth pyramids” in a hazy dawn light, strange creations that appear like stalagmites freed from their underground caves.

The structures are created by erosion, rising from clay soil left behind by glaciers from the last Ice Age. Each features a large boulder resting on top which protects the soil below. Eventually the tall columns lose the strength to hold the large rock overhead, shifting balance and sending it tumbling down the mountain.

The otherworldly elements remind Schönberger of the hoodos in the Southwestern United States, however the two naturally occurring wonders are formed from two very different geological processes. You can see more of German landscape photographer’s work on his Instagram and Behance.   

30 Aug 20:31

MoMA to showcase over 200 works from its collection at the FLV in Paris this autumn

by Owen Pritchard
Moma_lvf_being_moder_exhibition_its_nice_that_li

The Museum of Modern Art, New York will share more than 200 works to go on display at the Frank Gehry-designed Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris this autumn. The show titled Being Modern: MoMA in Paris will open on 11 October and will highlight “the pivotal role that MoMA, its curators and its exhibition program have played in the history of art in the 20th and 21st Centuries.”

Read more

30 Aug 20:31

Angular Geometry: Colorful Daily GIFs from the Mind of Tyler Haywood

by Kate Sierzputowski

Over four years ago, designer Tyler Haywood started posting GIFs on Tumblr under the name Angular Geometry. Haywood liked the process so much, he’s never stopped posting, creating a new custom GIF for his blog every single day. The GIFs are related to his interest in motion graphics, focusing on the tiny but captivating movements of Rubik’s Cube-like structures, rippling water, and dazzling rainbows.

“I have always thought of Angular Geometry as a sketchbook,” Haywood shares with Colossal. “Just open it up and see what happens. Every day is a fresh start, so there is no need to worry all that much. Sometimes I will scroll through my archive of over 1500 GIFs and see patterns or ideas that come through in my art that I didn’t realize were there in the moment of creation. It is an interesting catalog of my subconscious in some ways.”

His digital “sketchbook” just celebrated its four year anniversary, making him officially the longest running daily GIF artist on Tumblr. You can see more of his GIFs on his site Angular Geometry.

06 Jun 19:23

Hand-Cut Paper Anatomy by Ali Harrison

by Christopher Jobson

Toronto-based paper artist Ali Harrison of Light & Paper creates elegant cutouts of human organs, applying a stylistic pattern that appears to reverberate across many of her designed objects. The works are available as either hand-cut or laser-cut paper sculptures and you can see more on her Etsy shop.

10 May 17:07

Einstein’s Remarkable Letter to a Grief-Stricken Father Who Had Just Lost His Son

by Maria Popova

A poignant perspective on “the way to reach the attainable measure of peace of mind.”


To outlive one’s children is arguably the most unbearable of human miseries. Even the most empathic among us can never fully imagine the incomprehensible anguish of a parent who has survived the loss of a dear life that had only begun to blossom.

In February of 1950, a devastated and disconsolate New York father who had lost his eleven-year-old son to polio several months earlier turned to none other than Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879–April 18, 1955) for pain-salving perspective. Their touching correspondence is included in Dear Professor Einstein: Albert Einstein’s Letters to and from Children (public library) — the slim, wonderful collection that gave us Einstein’s encouraging words on gender and science to a young girl who wanted to become a scientist.

Albert Einstein by Yousuf Karsh

The grief-stricken father writes:

Dear Dr. Einstein,

Last summer my eleven-year-old son died of polio. He was an unusual child, a lad of great promise who verily thirsted after knowledge so that he could prepare himself for a useful life in the community. His death has shattered the very structure of my existence, my very life has become an almost meaningless void — for all my dreams and aspirations were somehow associated with his future and his strivings. I have tried during the past months to find comfort for my anguished spirit, a measure of solace to help me bear the agony of losing one dearer than life itself — an innocent, dutiful, and gifted child who was the victim of such a cruel fate. I have sought comfort in the belief that man has a spirit which attains immortality — that somehow, somewhere my son lives on in a higher world.

With heart-rending and utterly disarming despair, the grieving father goes on to wonder whether some evidence of immortality may be found in the principle of energy conservation in science, then adds:

I write you all this because I have just read your volume The World as I See It. On page 5 of that book you stated: “Any individual who should survive his physical death is beyond my comprehension … such notions are for the fears or absurd egoism of feeble souls.” And I inquire in a spirit of desperation, is there in your view no comfort, no consolation for what has happened? Am I to believe that my beautiful darling child … has been forever wedded into dust, that there was nothing within him which has defied the grave and transcended the power of death? Is there nothing to assuage the pain of an unquenchable longing, an intense craving, an unceasing love for my darling son?

May I have a word from you? I need help badly.

Sincerely yours,
R.M.

Sixteen years after his sublime letter to the bereaved Queen of Belgium, which stands among history’s greatest letters of consolation, the physicist — himself the father of two boys — takes the time to respond to the grieving stranger. With great sensitivity to his pain, Einstein reminds the anguished father that science cannot provide the assurance of immortality he so longs for, at least not in a literal sense — such claims belong to the realm of religion. Unwilling to call on unreason and illusory comfort even from the depth of sympathy, Einstein instead offers a beautiful and benevolent perspective on the oneness of the universe, reminiscent of the Indian poet and philosopher Tagore’s ideas about the interdependence of existence. (Einstein and Tagore had bridged science and spirituality in their landmark conversation twenty year earlier.)

Fourteen years after answering a little girl’s question about whether scientists pray, Einstein writes on February 12, 1950:

Dear Mr. M.,

A human being is part of the whole world, called by us “Universe,” a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest — a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. The striving to free oneself from this delusion is the one issue of true religion. Not to nourish the delusion but to try to overcome it is the way to reach the attainable measure of peace of mind.

With my best wishes,
sincerely yours,
Albert Einstein

Complement the thoroughly wonderful Dear Professor Einstein with the legendary physicist on widening our circles of compassion, his timeless message to posterity, his answer to a woman who had lost sight of why we’re alive, and his letter of advice to his own son, then revisit Joan Didion on grief, a Zen master’s advice on navigating loss, and these uncommon children’s books that help kids mourn.


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08 May 20:14

Illustrator Spotlight: Pierre Kiandjan

by Jeff

A selection of work by illustrator Pierre Kiandjan, based in Paris, France. More images below.

08 May 20:13

Expansive Black and White Patterns Mixed With Chrome Color Spectrums in Murals by Felipe Pantone

by Kate Sierzputowski

Argentinian-Spanish artist Felipe Pantone creates public murals that integrate black and white patterns with bright sweeping color spectrums. His tag “Pantone” is an evolution of his original name “Pant” chosen when he was just thirteen, a complete coincidence despite his color-rich works. His mash-up of grids and glitch-like 3D forms imbue the pieces with a throw-back digital futurism, an aesthetic that feels extremely grounded in 80s graphic design.

Pantone travels all over the world painting his bold murals, visiting Seoul, Madrid, Taipei, and Ibiza within the last year. One of his most recent, Chromadynamica, was created for LisbonWeek and can be seen below. You can view more of his graphically-oriented public works on his Instagram and Facebook. (thnx, Laura!)

11 Mar 15:46

Aëla Labbé. Eloa. Noël. 2015 [::SemAp Twitter || SemAp::]



Aëla Labbé. Eloa. Noël. 2015

[::SemAp Twitter || SemAp::]

11 Mar 15:33

Daido Moriyama [::SemAp Twitter || SemAp::]



Daido Moriyama

[::SemAp Twitter || SemAp::]

11 Mar 15:08

The Colorblind Photographer Who Was Meant to Be an Astronaut

by Ellyn Kail

“My dream was to be an astronaut,” photographer and filmmaker Vinnoth Krishnan remembers of his childhood. He spent his days watching films like Alien and Blade Runner on VHS, rewinding to see his favorite parts over and over again. These scenes meant so much to him that he once accidentally started a fire while trying to recreate them with his parents’ electronics. Whenever his stomach hurt, he imagined a real alien squirming inside.

When he was thirteen years old, Krishnan lost his great wish to visit space. He was diagnosed as color blind, unable to recognize reds and greens, and he knew he would be disqualified from becoming an astronaut.

The realization devastated him, and it was compounded when just months later he was involved in an accident in science class. A friend spilled iodine in Krishnan’s eyes, and though he remembers little of the traumatic incident, he recalls being in the hospital. Since that day, he has not had 20/20 vision, and colors on the cooler end of the spectrum are hard to differentiate.

In school and in college, the photographer turned his focus to the study of mathematics. He was a natural with numbers, but he didn’t quite feel at home in the field.

Later, in his twenties, Krishnan and his roommate had the idea to build a darkroom in their basement. With that, everything changed. His boyhood dream emerged from the shadows to meet him once more.

The photographer currently lives in Lincoln, Nebraska, where he walks nearly thirty blocks each day. At nighttime, he roams the lonely streets with his camera on his back.

The darkness, he says, sometimes lends itself to suspicion and anxiety. He worries someone might mistake his tripod for a weapon, but so far, he’s encountered no serious trouble. He has made friends with some of the local wildlife, though, and brings cookies in case he meets a wolf or a fox.

Krishnan sees his pictures differently than most do. He relies on his talents with math when he’s editing in Lightroom— it’s the only way he can figure out what colors go where. He thinks of his photographs as paintings, in a way. “If you lose something, you gain something else,” he tells me.

The artist won’t stay in Nebraska forever. He has roots here, but he as he puts it, “I don’t get attached to places.” He plans on leaving soon, though the details are still murky. “I don’t know where exactly I’m going,” he says, “It could be Kyoto, or South Africa, or London, or Hong Kong.”

At night, in his own room, with the lights turned off, Krishnan still allows himself to imagine life as an astronaut. He watches the ceiling for a while before he falls asleep. “I love the idea of being in space,” he confides, “Then suddenly a car passes by, and you can see the light. That’s a comet for you. And if you’re lucky enough, the neighbors’ neon lights will fall onto your dark wall. That’s a supernova.”

Follow Vinnoth Krishnan on Instagram at @opsoclo_films.

All images © Vinnoth Krishnan

The post The Colorblind Photographer Who Was Meant to Be an Astronaut appeared first on Feature Shoot.