Simple Simon

Mexican calligraffiti artist Said Dokins combines calligraphy writing with graffiti techniques to create public murals that address conflicts of power, destruction, and control imposed by both historic and contemporary regimes. His latest project, Heliographies of Memory, uses luminous tools to explore displaced memory, creating light paintings that use famous historic buildings or other iconic sites as temporary backdrops.

“‘Heliographies of Memory’ consist in a series of photographs that capture the calligraphic gesture, the very moment where the action of inscription is taking place,” said Dokins. “…The texts are written with light, so the words disappear as soon as they were suggested by the moves of the calligrapher, invisible to the simple eye, they just can be captured by a process of long-exposure photography, that reveal what happened, even though no one could see it.”

Dokins collaborates with photographer Leonardo Luna to capture each of his ephemeral interventions. Together they opened the 2017 OASTRALE Biennale of Contemporary Art in Dresden with a choreographed calligraphy presentation. You can see more images of their project Heliographies of Memory on Dokins’ Instagram and Facebook. (via I Support Street Art)

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NASA is about to launch two retrofitted WB-57F aircraft to follow the shadow of the moon. The last of a long series of interesting missions… NASA still operates three WB-57Fs, configured for air sampling and the other for photography, radar and thermal recce. The first two, NASA926 and 928 have been flying research missions since […]

Australian artist Cj Hendry (previously) tricks the eye with her hyper-realistic drawings, works that recreate the appearance of thick swabs of brightly colored paint. To achieve the dimensionality and sheen of fresh oil paint she layers dry pigment atop colored pencil, accurately portraying the liquid medium’s viscosity.

The series, Complimentary Colors, is far different than the artist’s previous style, which for several years had been exclusively black and white. You can view pieces from her past and present, as well as a series of billboard-sized works, on the artist’s Instagram. (via My Modern Met)

Tyler Nordgren, a physics and astronomy professor at the University of Redlands says eclipse watchers should be prepared for a multi-sensory experience

Millions of Americans will look up toward the sky on Monday 21 August and watch stars shine in the afternoon, feel the day’s heat swapped for an evening chill and hear the sounds of confused birds and animals during the first total eclipse seen in the continental US in 38 years.

The spectacular event in six days’ time will cross a strip of the country occupied by 12.2 million people, with millions more expected to travel to the 70-mile-wide eclipse path, aiming to catch a glimpse of a sight that has captured the imaginations of people for millennia.

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While on a recent trip through Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Seoul, London-based photographer Marcus Wendt found himself suffering from a bout of jetlag induced insomnia and ended up wandering the streets of several cities late at night. With a camera in-hand he captured these mesmerising shots that channel the cyberpunk vibe of movies like Bladerunner where narrow urban alleys are bathed in cool ultraviolet light. Over several days Wendt worked his way through the Kowloon area of Hong Kong and then Shenzhen’s Huaqiangbei area known for its sprawling electronics market, before eventually traveling to Seoul. You can see more from the project on his website. (via Colossal Submissions)

Crown shyness is a naturally occurring phenomenon in some tree species where the upper most branches in a forest canopy avoid touching one another. The visual effect is striking as it creates clearly defined borders akin to cracks or rivers in the sky when viewed from below. Although the phenomenon was first observed in the 1920s, scientists have yet to reach a consensus on what causes it. According to Wikipedia it might simply be caused by the trees rubbing against one another, although signs also point to more active causes such as a preventative measure against shading (optimizing light exposure for photosynthesis) or even as a deterrent for the spread of harmful insects. (via Kottke, Robert Macfarlane)

Taiwanese artist Hsu Tung Han recently unveiled his latest sculptural work, a 5-foot snorkeler that appears partially pixelated. Han often incorporates digital glitches into has carved figurative works, a few of which we shared earlier this year. You can see more views of this piece and other recent works on Flickr.

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For a new series titled Natura Insects, Montreal-based creative Raku Inoue arranged a variety of leaves and blooms to create the delicate components of stag beetles, butterflies, and other insects. While the same results could be easily produced using digital or collage techniques, Inoue pushed the concept even further and used real flowers which he then photographed as you see here. You can see more from the series on Instagram. (via Abudeezo)

National Geographic just announced the winners and honorable mentions of the 2017 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year. The dramatic winning photo of a lightning bolt flashing atop the Colima Volcano in Mexico was captured by Sergio Tapiro Velasco. The awards and honorable mentions are defined across three categories: Nature, People, and Cities. Collected here are 10 of our favorites images, but can you see the rest on National Geographic.

Artist Janaina Mello Landini (previously) continues to produce dizzyingly complex installations and canvas-based sculptural works comprised of unbraided ropes that branch out like tree roots. The fractal-like artworks have developed over a period of six years as part of her “Ciclotrama” series, a word she coined that combines the root word “cycle” and the Latin word “trama” meaning warp, weaving, or cobweb. Via Zipper Galeria:

Janaina Mello Landini aggregates her knowledge of architecture, physics and mathematics and her perception on time to develop pieces that travel through different scales. The labyrinthine architecture has been the central axis of her research in the “Ciclotramas” series, made with ropes that break down into minimal threading, and “Labirintos Rizomáticos”, works in satin that result in the construction of multifocal perspectives, nullifying the traditional construction.

Landini has created numerous pieces for several shows and installations over the past year, most notably for an exhibition at Galleria Macca last June. You can see more of her recent work on Artsy and Zipper Galeria. (via Visual Fodder)

In a first first of a series of one-off events, passengers who embarked today on TAP Portugal’s special “Portugal” retrojet aircraft took a surprise trip back to the 1970s.

As part of celebrations for its 72 years in the business, TAP invited passengers on-board its retro-styled “Portugal” aircraft headed to Toronto, to go back to the glamorous, glorious jet-set days of flying.

As part of the ‘back to the future’ event, cabin crew received passengers wearing one of the most emblematic company uniforms, designed by French stylist Louis Féraud. The interior of the cabin, the headrests, meals and even the in-flight entertainment were intended to take passengers on a voyage through time.

Starting right at the airport the flight check-in desks sported TAP’s iconic logo from the 70s. Ground crew handed out retro boarding passes and ticket wallets as souvenirs.

Unlike other carriers whose retrojets are purely skin deep, TAP went further, and delved through its museum to find some original menus of the time, where it was common to see Portuguese cuisine with a ‘somewhat international flair’.

And so, on today’s menu passengers were treated to shrimp salad and pheasant terrine, codfish à Zé do pipo, the sirloin à Portuguesa and a truly retro banana parfait with chocolate for dessert.

As a special addition to the crew, TAP’s Michelin chef, Miguel Laffan of Alentejo restaurant L’And Vineyards joined the flight. In business class a red and white wine from L’And Vineyards was served along with caramelised curried almonds and chocolate bonbons created by the chef.

The brand experience went even further, with Up the magazine featuring a special retro cover, retro bottles of Coca Cola and Sagres beer and even 1928 chocolate brand Regina, brought back its classic Regina fortune chocolate box, which the crew made available to passengers. TAP will also offer passengers flying business class a special TAP version of Majora’s well-known general knowledge game “O Sabichão,” with questions about the airline.

In business class, the airline swapped out the standard amenity kit for a super-cool limited edition toiletries bag. Bringing back its iconic fabric case that was handed out in the 1970s wasn’t enough, so they even went to the detail to fill it with products from the time, namely lavender cologne, Benamôr hand cream, Couto toothpaste and retro-style pyjamas.

No stone was left unturned, the in-flight entertainment featured films from the 1970s and music included the ‘golden oldies’ music channel. Famous Portuguese newspaper Diário de Notícias also joined forces with TAP on this special occasion and produced a limited edition newspaper exclusive to the flight, inspired by the 70s.

“Portugal”, an Airbus A330 which TAP recently painted with one of its original corporate logos, was revealed to the public with two flights at low altitude over Lisbon and Porto, last 26 June. The good news is that TAP intends to keep on surprising passengers who fly on this retro-styled aircraft and it will be sure to fly again back to the 70s, on its way to some of the company’s destinations. Stay tuned at flytap.com to find out more.

The Big Picture

Photographer Kanghee Kim juxtaposes day-to-day moments to create scenes that peek into an alternate world, subtly placing faux reflections in coils of cable or in the streak of a rear windshield. The Brooklyn-based photographer’s manipulations come from the desire to manifest magical moments in the mundane, using post-production edits as an additional artistic medium within her work.

“I started to think of [my photography] as a painting and allow the post-production process to act as a kind of mark-making,” said Kanghee to i-D. “Photoshop is widely used in commercial photography to refine the details and make the images look flawless.”

Kanghee decided that she wanted to do the opposite with the tool, keeping the flaws that appeared in her images rather than editing them out. The works’ small imperfections highlight the human quality of each combined moment rather than glossing over it. You can view more of the photographer’s softly edited images and unexpected reflections on her website and Instagram. (via This Isn’t Happiness)

As part of the Stenograffia street art and graffiti festival in Russia, a collaborative of artists worked to create this phenomenal illusion that appears to “erase” a collection of graffiti from a small car and trash dumpster. With the help of a projector, the team painted the familiar grey and white checker grid found in most graphics applications that denotes a deleted or transparent area. The piece is titled “CTRL+X” in reference to the keyboard command in Photoshop for deleting a selection. You can see nearly 100 behind-the-scenes photos of their process here. (via The Awesomer, Mass Appeal)

This clip of artist Salvador Dalí appearing on the game show “What’s My Line?” in 1957 is both charming and quite funny. A group of blindfolded panelists ask round after round of yes-or-no questions to help reveal the identity of the special guest. Due to the breadth of Dali’s work, and perhaps a bit of mischievousness, the surrealist painter finds himself answering “yes” to nearly every single question, much to everyone’s total confusion. With millions of views on YouTube this has probably crossed your path, but if you haven’t seen it, it really is a fun bit of TV. (via Mental Floss)

Colour television turns 50 but did you know thousands of people are still watching in black and white?

Sam Davy and Tara Montoneri have not only found a way to pass along their love of soccer, they’ve managed to do it while inspiring kids to help fellow kids in need. Through the start of their PARK Social Soccer Co., a socially conscious soccer brand, they’ve launched the Pass-A-Ball Project – an one-for-one initiative where for every ball purchased, an identical ball is given to a child in need. So far, over 1,000 balls have been given to kids in eight countries! And it’s not your average soccer ball – this one has a bold, graphic design that’s bound to be fun to play with.

The Australian brand recognized that sometimes something as small as a soccer ball can make a difference in a child’s life. Not everyone has the luxury of going out and buying a soccer ball when they want one, so this project is a great way to give back. The game of soccer is fairly universal and has a tendency to bring people together while offering hope and opportunity where it might not have been before. With many disadvantaged communities falling for the game, it inspired the duo to reimagine what this simple ball could do.

We Went Inside Northrop Grumman Demonstration of Critical Anti-Ballistic Missile Technology. Sometime in the future, diplomacy may fail. An overnight incident in the Pacific between a U.S. Navy vessel and an adversary nation submarine causes a collision. A U.S. Air Force surveillance plane is fired upon as it flies near an international airspace boundary. A […]

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Another round of the World Cup and another Claudio course preview!

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Derek McInnes says Aberdeen did all he asked of them in the Scottish Cup final against Celtic but fell short because of a long season.