This is the first in a series I’m writing for SHFT called Ars Natura: art in nature, nature in art. Though I typically blog abut media and technology I have become increasingly aware that the problems our civilization faces are not going to be solved by technological ingenuity alone. Yes I believe we can solve the energy problem and perhaps even find a way to deflate the planet’s......read more
Directed by Nick Stringer, TURTLE: THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY is the story of a Loggerhead Turtle who follows the path of her ancestors on one of the most extraordinary journeys in the natural world. Born on a beach in Florida, she rides the Gulf Stream all the way to the frozen north, before swimming around the entire North Atlantic to Africa and back to the beach where she was born. But the odds......read more
Widely acclaimed during his lifetime, American painter Charles Ephraim Burchfield (1893 - 1967) is curiously under-appreciated today. But an ambitous new touring retrospective, curated by artist Robert Gober, may change that. HEAT WAVES IN A SWAMP, which opens in June at New York's Whitney Museum, features over one hundred works by the visionary artist. Working predominantly in watercolor,......read more
Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Henry Roy emigrated to France in 1966 at the age of three. When he returned to his homeland 22 years later, Roy discovered that growing up as a political refugee had given him a special perspective on society and culture. This unique point of view permeates Roy’s editorial photographs, which have graced the pages of Purple, Vogue Paris, and Dazed and......read more
Emil Kozak's raw, black-and-white collection "Get out of the city" looks at the links -- and contradictions --- between urban and natural environments. Based in Barcelona, the Danish photographer says of his photography practice, "I hope that my work can remind us that imagination can defy gravity and bend time. It is our own responsibility to enjoy every second of the day.......read more
In 'Pause,' a collection of images from Ozant Kamaci, the Toronto-based photographer captures individual planes as they fly behind trees. Mining the fertile ground between reality and illusion, the pictures take the viewer to unexpected places. There are both color and black-and-white collections in the series. Both are great. In Kamaci's own words, the photos depict "the......read more
Here's some video proof that there's beauty in everything, no matter how mundane. Shooting on a Canon HV40, Jamie Sims filmed his dog plodding through a forest then set the piece to Hammock's "Mono No Aware," a dreamy number that pushes the film into lovely, if a little sentimental, territory. OK, we're going to shoot our roommate watching TV to the sounds of Bach,......read more
Using photographic source images, Brooklyn artist Alex Roulette creates realistic paintings of fabricated landscapes, depicting private moments in male adolescence. "The invented landscapes arise from archetypal citations of past and present cultural influences," he says. "Placing figures into these landscapes is an attempt to take advantage of the viewer's natural ability to......read more
Last year, Seattle-based artist Sundry Sullen headed south to New Zealand, where he took part in the Rainbow Gathering and captured some dreamy pics of the experience. The co-founder and member of the WAFA collective does great mixed media collage work as well. See more photos of Sullen's Kiwi adventure on his Flickr stream. (via 01)...read more
Caitlin Foster doesn't have to look far for creative inspiration. The SF-based artist draws on her everyday environment to create drawings that reveal a childlike playfulness and a deft artistic touch. In her words: "My work focuses on fine attention to small details, gestures, and patterns in everyday life. Referenced are patterns found in leaves, grass, palm trees, foam, tree stumps, etc.......read more