Cooper Griggs

Science!

via http://www.flickr.com/photos/scorchez/1165422413/in/pool-79466774@N00

via http://pavlov77.tumblr.com/

via http://lahoriblefollia.tumblr.com/post/33124078060

via http://heyoscarwilde.tumblr.com/

WikiLeaks' all-or-nothing approach to revealing shady government activity just took a new (if decidedly risky) turn. Julian Assange and crew have posted FinFisher and FinSpy PC, the intrusion software that Australia, Italy, Pakistan and other...

Tunneling through the city
#dalkey #Ireland #train #tunnel #green #trip #travels #rtw #worldtour #europe #fun (at Dalkey Vilage)

List collects statements about rape made by Republican politicians.

Outrage over Urban Outfitters' offering an item appearing to be a bloodstained Kent State sweatshirt for sale.

New York-based artist Paul Louise-Julie has spent the last 7 years researching African civilizations and art, including a year-long journey to West Africa and the Sahara Desert. These sculptures (and 3D paintings) are part of a resulting body of work Louise-Julie created in response to his discoveries and experiences there. The pieces represent a successful collision of artistic methods and themes from multiple cultures, blending ideas from Western contemporary art, traditional African methods, and even Japanese-influenced origami and paper craft. The artworks you see here are among his first sculptures. Louise-Julie is also working on a companion graphic novel that will be released gradually starting later this year.

You can see more of his work over on Behance and Facebook. (via Feather of Me, Cross Connect)

Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, known for his large scale installations of animal characters, recently unveiled his latest work. Located at the Dayuan Town Naval Base in Taiwan, “Moon Rabbit” is an enormous yet adorable bunny that’s propped up against a grassy military bunker gazing up at the moon. To create the large-scale work, which is based on the East Asian folklore about a rabbit that lives on the moon, Hofman first created a wood and Styrofoam frame. And to achieve the fluffiness but also keep it weather-resistant the artist used over 12,000 sheets of Tyvek paper, a material normally reserved for home builders. Unfortunately, the bunny caught fire earlier today as workers were trying to disassemble it. But its counterpart can still be seen on the moon, or at least that’s how the story goes. (via Street Art News)

Ballerina, 2011. Grey Bardiglio Marble. 190 x 45 x 52cm

Irish sculptor Kevin Francis Gray works primarily with bronze and marble to create idealized figures draped with fabric in the style of Neoclassical or Baroque figurative sculptures. Though, unlike gods or royalty that one might expect to see rendered in such incredible detail, Gray instead creates anonymous depictions of regular individuals he encounters near his studio in London, often people struggling with addiction or other difficult, real-world issues. From an essay about Gray’s work by Rachel Wilf:

The resulting works portray these subjects—often with personal histories marred by contemporary demons such as addiction—with dignity and importance, yet they also express a somber, contemplative quality emphasized by the artist’s consistent shrouding of his subject’s faces.

While some artists now rely on laser cutting or other machines to cut from marble, Gray instead works by hand, from start to finish, chiseling away just like Gian Lorenzo Bernini or Giuseppe Sanmartino might have done in the 17th or 18th century.

Gray studied at the National College of Art & Design in Dublin, the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, and received an MA in Fine Art from Goldsmith College in London. He’s now represented by Pace Gallery where he had his first exhibition with them earlier this year. You can see much more work in his online gallery.

Ballerina, 2011. Grey Bardiglio Marble. 190 x 45 x 52cm

Ballerina, 2011. Grey Bardiglio Marble. 190 x 45 x 52cm

Ballerina, 2011. Grey Bardiglio Marble. 190 x 45 x 52cm

Ballerina Bust, 2012. Black Carrara Marble. 41 x 35 x 35cm

Temporal Sitter, 2012. High Polished Bronze, Bardigilio Marble. 89.9 x 89.9 x 169.9cm

Temporal Sitter, 2012. High Polished Bronze, Bardigilio Marble. 89.9 x 89.9 x 169.9cm

Temporal Sitter, 2012. High Polished Bronze, Bardigilio Marble. 89.9 x 89.9 x 169.9cm

Temporal Sitter, 2011. Carrara Marble. 94 x 80 x 80 cm

Temporal Sitter, 2011. Carrara Marble. 94 x 80 x 80 cm

Temporal Sitter, 2011. Carrara Marble. 94 x 80 x 80 cm

Rebecca Litchfield is a photographer who has faced radiation exposure risks, arrest and interrogations, and even accusations of espionage… all for the sake of her project “Soviet Ghosts.”

You see, Litchfield is an avid urban explorer who has been fascinated by scenes of decay found in countries that were formerly part of the USSR and the Eastern Bloc.

Photographing and exploring the old Iron Curtain isn’t the easiest thing to turn into a project, she says:

Not many explorers travel to Russia, where the rules are very different, locations are heavily guarded and a strong military presence exists everywhere. There are serious consequences for getting caught. We managed to stay hidden for all of the trip, we maximised our stealthiness, ducking and diving into bushes and sneaking past sleeping security. But on day three our good fortune ran out as we visited a top secret radar installation. After walking through the forest, mosquitos attacking us from all directions, we saw the radar and made our way towards it, but just metres away suddenly we were joined by military and they weren’t happy…

Fortunately for Litchfield, she was able to wiggle out of that tricky situation and continue her adventure through more than 10 different countries.

She says that her goal is to capture the scenes as they are, highlighting their beauty in decay, “like a memory hanging on that will soon be lost in a breeze, a museum that no one gets to see.”

Here are some of the haunting photographs in the project:

The photos in the project have also been published in a book that’s available from $28 over on Amazon. You can also find more of Litchfield’s work over on her website.

---

Image credits: Photographs by Rebecca Litchfield and used with permission

4gifs:

(V) (ಠ„,ಠ) (V)

^{woop woop woop}

part of a longer thread about an npr interview with dr. neil degrasse tyson

How was this picture taken?

Why would the sky look like a giant target?

This rich starscape spans nearly 7 degrees on the sky, toward the

This sky looked delicious.

It is not only one of the largest structures known -- it is our home.

Yesterday we asked you to show us your most interesting and best #Jump shot for #TwitterTuesday. We saw all sorts of great jumps, bounds, hops that showed us your fantastic vitality. It was terrific! Check our selection of favorites featured on the Blog, and all the contributions in our @Flickr feed.

Have some loom bands been taken off the market due to health concerns?

Photographs show a venomous caterpillar known as an asp.