Optic of the Curve

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Over the course of an entire year, London-based conceptual artist and photographer Rolf Sachs took a series of captivating photographs that straddle the line between abstract art and landscape photography. Taken from moving trains, “Camera in Motion: From Chur to Tirano” captures the stunning countryside of the Swiss Graubünden along the UNESCO recognized Rhaetian Albula/Bernina Railway. Now a century old, the route is a testament to the pioneering days of railroad building in Europe.

I have found memories of riding this route for weeks one summer long ago while camping and hiking throughout the  Upper and Lower Engadine and the Graubünden. Without a doubt, this is one of the most beautiful areas in Europe. Especially if you can get off the train and explore the mountains, valleys and villages.

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Ink on the Tracks

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London-based artist Simon Jones imagines what classic album tracks would look like as well-thumbed paperback books. He lines up the “used paperbacks” with the book spines each featuring a song title from the same album. You can see more (and buy prints) on Jones’ etsy site Standard Designs.

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Disney Gone Baroque

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Canadian photographer Benjamin Von Wong worked some magic of his own when he secured permission from the Abbot of the historic Admont Monastery in Styria Austria for a decidedly Disneyesque fashion photo shoot inspired by Beauty and the Beast.

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Bibliophiles will probably know all about the 900+ year-old Benedictine abbey due to its astonishing 18th century Baroque library. With more than 200,000 volumes and a priceless collection of early manuscripts and incunabula, the abbey’s library is one of the largest in any ecclesiastic institution in the world. Originally constructed in 1776, and restored during the late 19th century, the library is 70 meters long, 14 meters wide and more than 12 meters high. The awe-inspiring frescoes by Bartolomeo Altomonte are a monument to book culture.

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Tales From the Public Domain

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Yesterday was Public Domain Day in the United States and in many other nations around the world. The first day of every year creative works that have outlived their legal copyrights enter the public domain and become freely available for all to use. Sounds great right, but the labyrinthine system of copyright law in the U.S. has drastically limited the number of works entering public domain and has made it increasingly difficult for the unlawyered to understand copyright regulations.

This very helpful infographic (see below) developed by NeoMam Studios may explain the murky rules and clarify the opaque system.You can also learn more about it all here and at the fantastic website Public Domain Review. And if you’re really into this stuff, you can download a free copy of Tales From the Public Domain: Bound By Law, a great comic book about the convoluted system in the U.S..

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Posted in Architecture, Art, Books, ebooks, Film, Libraries, movies, Music, Photography, USA, Writing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

A map is a territory…

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As part of an exhibition called Contemporary Venice, Geneva-based artist/illustrator Istvan created a stunning series of city maps that blend uncannily with their environments . Printed on large panes of acrylic, the maps represent the indelible connection between urban areas and their surroundings.

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NPR : The Book

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A few months back the Little Berlin Gallery in Philadelphia hosted a show of Texas-based artist Kevin McNamee-Tweed’s hilarious fictional book covers. Each of the pieces, done in watercolor, ink and gouache, offers a humorous take on contemporary publishing in the United States. There should be an actual book of Kevin’s faux covers coming out soon. The only question is who will design the cover.

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The New York Project

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There’s no ambiguity about New York City; you either love it or you hate it. Photographer Pavel Tenyakov clearly falls into the amorous category. His wonderful time-lapse video The New York Project will have even the haters longing for a spring day in the city that never sleeps.

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The Art of Reading

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Lewis, Wyndham (1882-1975) Woman in blue, 1921

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Magritte, René La lectrice soumise, 1928

Lichtenstein, Roy (1923-1997) Nude reading

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Mucha, Alfons  Red Coat, 1902

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Bibliomania

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New York City-based photographer Franck Bohbot has been wowing photography fans with his perceptive and atmospheric images of scenes around North America. But bibliophiles will want to actively follow his ongoing project called House of Books. This pared down series simply captures the grandeur of great libraries around Europe and America.

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Ye Old Transit Map

Londoners think that I’m mad, but I’m a big fan of the London Tube system and an even bigger fan of Tube maps. I get a kick out of the clever boots who create their own versions of the iconic Underground maps. Now the clever folks at the Londonist blog have produced a brilliant map that imagines what the stops would have been named on a medieval Tube map.

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