Art House

Posted on December 29, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

The Spanish street artist known as Okuda San Miguel recently brought his signature style to a blighted neighborhood in Fort Smith, Arkansas . His project, “The Rainbow Embassy,” was organized by  Justkids for the Unexpected , a group trying to revitalize economically disadvantaged areas of Arkansas through a series of artistic initiatives.

For the project, Okuda painted an abandoned house next to Darby Junior High School with a series of multicolored geometric shapes and lines, along with two faces resembling animals painted on its sides.

“This project gave me the opportunity to develop my previous work, adding an architectural dimension and completing my vision of mythical animals , “ says Okuda.

Okuda, whose real name is Oscar San Miguel Ericea, has brought his innovative style to far-flung projects from India to the Americas and from Africa to Russia.You can find more of the artist’s vibrant transformations on his Instagram profile.

Posted in Architecture, Art, USA | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

No Losers In This War

Posted on December 28, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

In 1981 the Spanish town of Ibi revived the 200 year-old tradition of the Els Enfarinats Festival. On December 28th each year a mock war takes place around the town hall. A group of local married men, called “els Enfarinats,” pelt each other with eggs, flour, fireworks, fire extinguishers, and more, in a mock coup to take over Ibi. The purpose of the insurrection is to impose and attempt to enforce silly new laws. Another group of men known as “la Oposicio” try to restore order and put down the uprising. At the end of the festivities, any money collected in fines for violating the new laws is donated to charity.

photos: David Ramos

 

Posted in Europe, Tourism | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Which Side Are You On

Posted on December 27, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

I recently spent three weeks in New Zealand driving on the “wrong” side of the road. Needless to say, it was sometimes a challenge, especially in cities like Wellington and Auckland. As the map above shows, in most countries, people drive on the right side of the road (red=right side; blue=left side). Have you ever driven on the opposite side of the road that is normal for you? How stressful was it?

 

Posted in Asia, Maps, Public Transport | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Chanukah Lights

Posted on December 26, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

In the holiday spirit, here’s the pop-up book Chanukah Lights, published by Candlewick Press in 2011, with a text by Michael J. Rosen, illustration and paper engineering by Robert Sabuda, and additional design work by Simon Arizpe and Shelby Arnold, explores the eight day Jewish “festival of lights”.

The book presents “eights scenes that, like the flame of the shamash candle, illuminate places and times where Jews have celebrated” the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem and the miracle of the lamp therein: the Temple in Jerusalem; a desert encampment; the hold of a refugee ship; Jewish settlements around the world; a shtetl in the shadow of imperial Russia; an early 20th-century American tenement; an Israeli kibbutz; “and a spectacular final scene in which city skyscrapers become menorahs that call upon the stars to be their flames. In each window into history, the Hanukah lights reflect freedom’s promise, hope rekindled amid oppression, and the unflagging faith mirrored in the eyes of all who gather for this Festival of Lights.”

 

Posted in Architecture, Books, Europe, USA | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

A Little Mistletoe

Posted on December 25, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Mistletoe : legends, myth & folklore

written & illustrated by Maryline Poole Adams

This little small press book explores many traditional aspects of Midwinter holiday festivals, including the mysteries of mistletoe. It looks at various stories, legends and traditions from around the world, and is illustrated with two color hand cut linoleum block prints. I bet that did you know that mistletoe is actually a parasite that grows primarily on oak trees.

“Mistletoe was printed letterpress with 6 pt. Deepdene type, and linoleum blocks, on dampened paper handmade at Barcham Green. Design, printing, binding, linoleum blocks, and marbling hand done by M.P. Adams.“ –Colophon

 

h/t University of Iowa Library

 

Posted in Art, Books | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Ho.Ho.Ho.

Posted on December 24, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Beijing-based graphics studio 39 degrees north created this animated version of author Neil Gaiman’s dark Christmas poem Nicholas Was. I never was that into the holiday any way. Ho.Ho.Ho.

Posted in Animation, Art, Books, Writing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Seattle Little Free Library

Posted on December 23, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Little Free Cookbook Library

This unique take on the Little Free Library project is outside the PCC Natural Market, West Seattle

 

Posted in Books, Bookstore Tourism, Libraries, USA | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Baffling Ending

Posted on December 22, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

 

Posted in Animation, Art, Books | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

je me souviens

Posted on December 21, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

 

Posted in Europe, History | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Decolonizing the Metropolitan

Posted on December 20, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is one of my favorite go to places in the city. In fact, I’ve been visiting the Met since before I could walk. The museum’s grand entrance hall never fails to awe. This month, the space has been enhanced by an extraordinary addition of a pair of large murals by the Canadian First Nations artist Kent Monkman.

Monkman’s twin paintings, Mistikôsiwak , uses images, motifs, and techniques from art history to explore the experiences and histories of  North America’s Indigenous people. The murals subvert typical Eurocentric narratives of history, while confronting contemporary cultural and political issues.

The paintings’ title derives from a Cree word meaning “wooden boat people” that was originally applied to Europeans who colonized North America. Each of the related murals features the large figure of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, Monkman’s shape-shifting, time-traveling alter ego, who pays tribute to the tradition in Indigenous cultures of the “Two Spirit,” a third gender and non-binary sexuality. Miss Chief, whose name plays on the words mischief and egotistical, also refers to the Cree trickster figure, who challenges conventional beliefs and wisdom in traditional stories.

The paintings will be on display at the Met until April 2020.

Posted in Architecture, Art, Canada, History, Museums, Tourism, USA | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment