Category: Chris Buckner
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A Knotted Octopus Carved Directly into Two Pianos Entwines Maskull Lasserre’s New Musical Sculpture
“The Third Octave” (2023). All images © Maskull Lasserre, shared with permission Behind the hammers and pins of most upright pianos is a hard mass of spruce, maple, or mahogany, what artist Maskull Lasserre (previously) refers to as a “secret volume of solid wood.” “I always thought this (component) had a dormant potential beyond its…
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Dizzying Gifs by Etienne Jacob Infuse Mathematical Equations into Endless Loops
“Rotating dandelion.” All gifs © Etienne Jacob, shared with permission Paris-based software engineer Etienne Jacob (previously) takes a creative approach to coding with his mesmerizing animations that fall at the intersection of art and math. Gravitating toward space-filling curves and spiral equations, Jacob designs engrossing geometries that twirl around a central axis, coil into parallel…
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5,000 Years of Feminine Power and Prestige Are On Display in ‘Revered and Feared’
Porcelain, about 1700–22, China. Image © The Trustees of the British Museum. All images shared with permission From goddesses and deities to demons and witches, women’s spirituality has always been fraught and the instigator of both awe-inspiring respect and immense anxieties. An exhibition on view now at Caixa Forum in Madrid brings 5,000 years of…
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The Last Repair Shop: A Heartwarming Documentary Visits the Warehouse Servicing 80,000+ Instruments for L.A. Students
The Los Angeles public school system is one of few administrations in the U.S. that still provides instruments to its students for free. Tens of thousands of young musicians learn to play the saxophone or tuba on borrowed equipment, a program running since 1959 that offers greater and more equitable access to the arts. A…
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In Large-Scale Installations, Sam Wilde Imagines a Post-Natural Future in Lurid Color
“Pollution Palace,” (2023), Zhuhai, China. All images © Sam Wilde, shared with permission “For generations, we have been taught to bear the responsibility of keeping nature in its most untouched and purest form, but try as we might, Pandora’s box has been opened,” says London-based artist and designer Sam Wilde. His striking illustrations and public…
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Close-Up Photographer of the Year Showcases Mindboggling Macro Images of the Natural World
Yuan Minghui, “Like a Flower.” Insects Finalist. “After a rainstorm, a shield bug (Pentatomidae) fell onto some decayed leaves in the mud. The gradual decay of the leaves reminded me of printed flowers, and I loved the bright contrast of the insect against it. This shield bug is like a flower that falls to the…
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SpY Transforms a Ghent Building into a Spiny Thicket of Bright Orange Traffic Cones
“Cones” (2023). All images © SpY, shared with permission Hundreds of reflective traffic cones jut from the neoclassical facade of Aula Academica at Ghent University, turning the grand columns into a dense thicket of spines. The playful installation is one of the most recent projects of the Spanish artist known as SpY (previously), whose site-specific…
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An Italian Basilica, Mountain, and the Moon Magically Align in an Extraordinary Photo
Image © Valerio Minato, shared with permission Looking out from the high elevation of Castagneto Po in Italy on December 5, Valerio Minato photographed an extraordinarily magical alignment across the way in Piemonte. Already glowing in the darkness, the hilltop Basilica of Superga sits directly in the center of the Monviso mountain with the moon…
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A Mesmerizing Video-Filtering Technique Called ‘Motion Extraction’ Helps Visualize Time
How do you visualize seemingly imperceptible changes over time, like trees rustling in the wind or cabinets shaking when someone walks by? Michiel de Boer, a.k.a. Posy, devised what he terms “motion extraction,” a filtering technique that leaves only the variances in time visible. In a compelling and instructional video, de Boer explains a rather…
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Remarkable Drone Footage Captures a New Volcanic Eruption in Iceland
All images © Isak Finnbogason Photographer and drone pilot Isak Finnbogason captured stunning footage of a new eruption on Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula in December, documenting the nearly two-mile-long lava vent on the first day it was active. Streams of magma rolled across the snowy landscape, creating a dramatic contrast between the frozen surface and molten earth…