You know what I mean.
Spanish street art collective Luzinterruptus has been shining a spotlight on the wastefulness of tourists and locals in Madrid with another powerful environmental art installation. The Laberinto de Residuos Plasticos was created from water bottles discarded in and around the capital city’s historic Plaza Mayor during one month. The installation was commissioned by the Madrid Municipal Government for the “Four Seasons” art project.
images © Lola Martinez
h/t Strand Book Store
Inspired by actress Emma Watson’s Our Shared Shelf project which anonymously distributes free books on subways in London, Paris, and New York City, Montreal bibliophile and YouTuber Audrée Archambault created Livres dan le Métro. For the last eight months she has been leaving French and English books in underground stations. Happily, the local transit authority, Société de Transport de Montréal has supported the project too.
Regular visitors to this blog will have noted by now that I am keen on any clever take on the transit map. The brilliant graphic below envisions many rivers of the United States as metro lines. Created by New York illustrator and graphic designer Theodore Rindos, the map is a clear allusion to the iconic London tube map designed by Harry Beck. For the moment, the river map exists solely online, but Rindos is wisely considering selling a print version.
images © Theodore Rindos
I have been chided in the past for posting images of international street art and overlooking the remarkable public artwork extant in my own backyard. So, here’s a look at a phenomenal temporary sculpture that towers 40 feet above the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia’s massive Fairmount Park.
Big Bling, which will stand through November 2017, is the work of celebrated American sculptor Martin Puryear. The 40 foot tall by 40 foot long work is constructed of laminated timbers, plywood, chain-link fencing, fiberglass, and gold leaf. Everyone has their own take on he abstract sculpture, but i keep thinking: elephant.
If you’re one of the 41 million plus visitors to Philly this year, take a break from the amazing historic sites in Center City, grab a picnic lunch from the Reading Terminal Market, and head to Fairmount Park for some street culture.
I had the opportunity to see Christopher Nolan’s exceptional film Dunkirk this past weekend and have been ruminating on the experience since. I won’t spoil the film by commenting much on the content, however I strongly urge you to view it on a large screen while it’s in theaters. Although the movie will have special resonance for students of history, it’s well worth seeing for cinema fans in general, and Nolan fans in particular.
If you are interested in a solid read on the events surrounding this pivotal moment in World War II, you can’t go wrong with The Miracle of Dunkirk by Walter Lord. The book is aimed at non-academic readers with an interest in the period and benefited from extensive interviews with actual participants in the evacuation.
As I said, I’ll try and avoid spoilers regarding the film, however, I do have some criticisms. These quibbles are rooted in extensive study of the European Theater during WW II many, many years ago during my undergraduate university days. Although Dunkirk the movie is stunningly shot—yeah for 70mm film—it leaves the erroneous impression of mostly sunshiny late spring weather, when in fact the heavy cloud cover prevented the Luftwaffe from wreaking even greater havoc on the trapped troops. I also was uncomfortable with the attitude towards the French troops. In reality, the evacuation would have failed if not for the bravery of the French First Army, which held off seven German infantry and armored divisions at Lille for days, and the French motorized infantry divisions that kept up running battles with better armed German units. But don’t let these obscure points stop you from seeing a great film.
If you are like me, you have multiple transit and map apps on your phone. One of my favorite apps is the very useful and well designed Citymapper app. The firm behind the app just announced that the digital company has been approved by Transport for London to begin actual commercial bus routes next month. Initially, Citymapper will run a weekend night schedule in London between Aldgate East Station and Islington.
So, why is a map app company running IRL bus routes ? Citymapper claims that its experience as a tech firm provides exceptional ability to identify gaps in transit services, react quickly to needs, and optimize riders’s experiences.
The company’s green buses will offer smart information displays to keep riders updated and usb chargers at all seats. But they won’t be able to accept Oyster card payments, instead users will need to pay with contactless credit or debit cards.
While visitors to the U.S. are often confused by the language that we use to describe commonplace things in our culture, those of us who were born here are frequently baffled as well by the linguistic choices of other Americans. These maps may clear up some of the confusion, or at least help travelers decode American English.
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