Hacking has been part of our lifestyles for many year now. We all hack to a certain degree. The term hackingis used for different purposes and is commonly used to refer to illegal activity performed by computer experts. However, hacking can take different forms and approaches. It can go from furniture and architecture to toys and other electronic devices. Hacking basically refers to the act of customizing of modifying everyday products to improve their functionality, re-purpose them for conceptual reasons, pure entertainment or a clever fusion of all the previously mentioned. Today, hacking practice and theories are used in different fields as a tool to reveal how systems are built and learning how they operate. Something that should become mandatory in our societies.
Just in case you are new to this subject (i don’t thinks so), I am going to bombard you with a selection of links that can inform you in more specific ways or take you through the different hacking avenues.
“A team of European astronomers announced a remarkable breakthrough in the field of extra-solar planets. Using the HARPS instrument at the ESO La Silla Observatory, they have found a triple system of super-Earths around the star HD 40307. Looking at their entire sample studied with HARPS, the astronomers count a total of 45 candidate planets with a mass below 30 Earth masses and an orbital period shorter than 50 days. This implies that one solar-like star out of three harbours such planets. “Does every single star harbour planets and, if yes, how many?” wonders planet hunter Michel Mayor from Geneva Observatory. “We may not yet know the answer but we are making huge progress towards it.” (by Science News)
An artist’s impression of the trio of super-Earths discovered by an European team using the HARPS spectrograph on ESO’s 3.6-m telescope at La Silla, Chile, after five years of monitoring. The three planets, having 4.2, 6.7, and 9.4 times the mass of the Earth, orbit the star HD 40307 with periods of 4.3, 9.6, and 20.4 days, respectively. European researchers said on June 16, 2008 they had discovered the batch of three “super-Earths” orbiting a nearby star, and two other solar systems with small planets as well.
“Telemegaphone Dale stands seven metres tall on top of the Bergskletten mountain overlooking the idyllic Dalsfjord in Western Norway.
When you dial the Telemegaphone’s phone number the sound of your voice is projected out across the fjord, the valley and the village of Dale below.
Telemegaphone Dale is generously supported by Nordic Culture Point, Unsworn Industries and nkd - nordic artists’ centre in dale. Special thanks to Nicklas Marélius, Svein Ove Løseth, landowner Ingolf Viken, and Jörgen Bladh at Kylprodukter i Kivik.
Special hats off for the team of horn-carriers who volunteered to help us carry a ton of stuff up the steep mountain in the blazing sun: Les Joynes, Bjørn Kowalski Hansen, Svein Ove Løseth, Maria Petschatnikov, Natalia Petschatnikov, Helga Steppan, Åsa Ståhl, and David Zadig, we owe you big time and will remember this collective effort for ever!”
The Bioplastics industry is blooming as the cost of oil climbs and the disastrous nature of petroleum-based plastics is revealed in full effect. Metabolix is a company which combines bioscience and nature to bring sustainable, clean solutions to the world in plastics, energy, and chemicals. This past Monday they announced an incredible development: they have found a way to generate “significant amounts” of ecologically-sound bioplastic by growing it in directly in switchgrass. The fast-growing perennial plant is paving the way for a sustainable source of Mirel, the company’s biodegradable brand of bioplastic.
” Mirel is a versatile bioplastic with has many uses including food packaging, agricultural products, and consumer goods. It’s tough and durable, resistant to heat and hot liquids, and completely biodegrades when exposed to microbial activity in soil, marine environments, or compost piles.
Now Metabolix can make Mirel by combining genes of naturally occurring substances to produce a polyhydroxybutyrate (PHA) polymer that grows directly in switchgrass. As an added bonus, once the polymer has been harvested, the leftover plant can be used as a source for biomass energy. An efficient and versatile source of bioplastic such as this is sure to enable future generations of eco-friendly industrial design.” (by Inhabitat)
“Statlab #1 takes the local environment as its source material, sampling air direct and in real time from a local area. It displays the daily average of CO2 concentration trough a chemical reaction where chalk particles are formed. The result is an analogue graph where the difference in the amount of chalk particles per tank is a global measure for the fluctuating CO2 concentration within one week. The first version of the installation worked live during the first week of the ecoAesthetics exhibition at the Stille Veerkade in The Hague; notoriously one of the most polluted streets in the Netherlands. The project has been developed with support from over a three month period in which it was designed, built and tested.”
“Bitlek is an alias for Tjerk Stoop. Tjerk Stoop (1977) is a musician and installation artist. He uses sound, image and data as materials for electro-acoustic compositions, experimental short films and interactive installations.”
Romanian artist Alex Dragulescu creates artwork blending traditional art and new media. The “Spam Architecture” project designs virtual houses by mapping the content of incoming spam to structural and decorative elements: “he images from the Spam Architecture series are generated by a computer program that accepts as input, junk email. Various patterns, keywords and rhythms found in the text are translated into three-dimensional modeling gestures.”
More on Spam Architecture
If you ever run out of options on how to dress for work, school, or any other crowded place, take a look to and learn from the advice of Rusell Higgs.
Russell Higgs was born in 1960, in Oswestry army camp, Shropshire, England. He currently lives in East London. Russell is an artist, transhumanist, and civil disobedience activist. At the end of 2000 Russell was remanded in prison segregation for choosing not to wear clothing in a public space. He was motivated by a commitment to a simple statement of fact: the visible human appearance is not a crime. He remained continuously unclothed for a month, imprisoned on non-imprisonable charges until he was eventually released and the charges were quietly dropped. Russell is currently an unwaged citizen, because 9-to-5 existence does not accommodate a person whose priority is experimental inquiry. (source)
His Statement
” I pledge allegiance to the earth and to the flora, fauna, human and posthuman life that it supports. One planet, indivisible, with safe air, water & soil, economic justice, equal rights and peace for all.”
Visit his site for a daily shot…HERE!
I haven’t found much information about the Frankfurt based artist Jörg Niehage, but it is necessary to see “Samplingplong.”
A short video documentation of a his piece presented at ARS Electronica PRIX. HERE!!!
The Cuban Poster Blog is an archive of original Cuban posters is the collection of the East Dulwich Gallery in London and is the result of 10 years of collecting Cuban film and political posters. All the posters featured in this blog are part of the gallery’s collection. They were acquired from dealers, traders and individuals in Cuba, the US, Canada and the UK.
“There are hundreds of ethnic groups in Nigeria, each with its own language and traditions. Among other things which are part of these traditions are various hairstyles. These are determined by the social position of the family, and the artistic talent of the hair stylist. Among them there are special hairstyles for ceremonies such as circumcisions, a woman’s becoming an adult, or the celebration of a marriage. Today it is difficult to trace the background of certain hairstyles because various ethnic groups have mixed together, and adapted to modern culture. Many hairstyles have died out, taking their secrets to the grave with them. Since 1968 Ojeikere (b. Nigeria, 1930) has been making photographs of various hairstyles he sees on the street or at work, or at celebrations. He always asks his models where the hairstyle they are wearing comes from, what its meaning is, its name, and its history.” (source)
A “Liquidated MC Donald” logo by French street artist ZEVS. From 2006
‘Postcapitalism Kidnapping’ is a collaborative exhibition by upcoming French artists Frank Perrin and ZEVS, their first ever showing in Asia. Perrin’s dramatic yet detailed photographs have not only captured the visual spectacles of various fashion catwalk shows, nor do they simply pronounce and accentuate the relationship between man and architectural space, they in truth subtly mirror and reflect on the notion of ‘buying’ into a fantasy world that is built by the believe system of consumerism. The infamous act of ‘kidnapping’ and manipulating symbolic elements from established brand names has been the core of ZEVS’s creative efforts. Although they can undoubtedly be seen as an examination of our materialistic society, the strong presence of our deeply rooted association with these logos and the captivating and intriguing visual quality can hardly be ignored. Together they post an interesting question of our understanding and interaction with ‘consumerism’ through their stunning creations. (by Art Statements)
Frank Perrin, Postcapitalism: CHANEL, Petit Palais, Paris 2006
These photographs are part of Steel Work, a work in progress by Terry Evans.
Terry Evans is a photographer whose work has been primarily an inquiry into the nature of prairie from its native state to its use, abandonment, and care. She photographs from both ground and aerial perspectives and lately within the confines of natural history herbaria, and bird and mammal museum storage areas, where she has recently photographed 19th Century prairie specimens. Her intention has been to tell the prairie’s stories, past and present, through visible facts and layers of time and memory on the landscape. Her recent work entitled ‘Revealing Chicago: An Aerial Portrait’ explored the complexities of the urban prairie as she photographed Chicago and the surrounding region from the air.
A “Liquidated MC Donald” logo by French street artist ZEVS. From 2006
Frank Perrin, Postcapitalism: CHANEL, Petit Palais, Paris 2006
