Nature by Numbers

A movie by Cristóbal Vila inspired on numbers, geometry and nature. Thank you, Hundreth!

Symphony of Science: spreading scientific knowledge and philosophy through musical remixes

If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.

Paul Sagan

Or, if you are a talented specialist in audio remixing with a passion for science, all you have to do is mix electronic music of your own produce with extracts of scientific television series, to create videos that explain why you must first invent the universe. It might seem like something cool and hype to get the kids all excited, but in reality it is quite profound and moving. I admit my opinion might be biased, as I have grown up watching these sort of series and never gave up the habit. In great measure, I share the enthusiasm and passion of those science luminaries, and they are largely responsible for my continued fascination with science. I cannot possibly imagine how can anyone not be touched and praise by the message these brilliant scientific minds convey.

The project is called Symphony of Science, and is lead by the Washington-based electronic musician John Boswell. The goal of this enterprise, says Boswell, is "to bring scientific knowledge and philosophy to the public, in a novel way, through the medium of music". For the making of videos, Boswell uses pitch corrected and auto tuned audio and video samples from television programs featuring scientists and educators, such as Carl Sagan's Cosmos, Richard Dawkins' TED presentation on our "queen" universe and series The Genius Of Charles Darwin, Richard Feynman's 1983 BBC interviews, Stephen Hawking's Universe series, Jane Goddall's TED presentation on What separates us from the apes? (in no particular order, and just to list a few).

Ever since their launch, in December 2009, Boswell has created 6 videos: A Glorious Dawn, (featuring Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking), We Are All Connected (featuring Bill Nye, Carl Sagan, Richard Feynman and Neil deGrasse Tyson); Our Place in the Cosmos (featuring Carl Sagan, Richard Dawkins, Stephen Hawking, Michio Kaku); The Unbroken Thread (featuring Richard Attenborough, Jane Goodall, Carl Sagan), The Poetry of Reality - An Anthem for Science (featuring Michael Shermer, Jacob Bronowski, Carl Sagan, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Richard Dawkins, Jill Tarter, Lawrence Krauss, Richard Feynman, Brian Greene, Stephen Hawking, Carolyn Porco, and PZ Myers); and The Case for Mars (featuring Robert Zubrin, Carl Sagan, Brian Cox, and Penelope Boston). The videos have attracted over 8 million views online, contributing to the release of the first song, A Glorious Dawn, on a special 7" 45rpm vinyl single.

If I had to choose a favourite - and indeed I have to pick one video only to show here - I would go for for the Poetry of Reality. It was one who made me think that this was why I had studied science in first place. And, and in this strange days I have to live, that speaks volumes.

d'après

Ping Pong is a project done between Colombian artists José Antonio Suárez Londoño (J.A.S.L.) and Mateo López (M.L). Every week, they agree on a rule and make a graphic composition about it. They are not allowed to discuss their work, or show each other their pieces. This one was about d'après (from French, it means according to, in the opinion of, or retrieved from).

J.A.S.L and M.L also exchange between themselves a small Moleskine drawing notebook, where they keep an on going graphic discussion. Casas Riegner, their gallery, edited a fac simile of the Libreta No. 1, specially for ArtBasel 41.

All they work was sold before the ArtBasel public viewing started. They are good like this... By the end of Libreta No. 4, their collaboration will be over.

Picture:

d'après (2010)

© J.A.S.L and M.L

Louis Vuitton and Takashi Murakami - when high street shopping meets manga

Louis Vuitton is one of the oldest fashion houses in the world, having been founded 1854. You can find what seems like LV purses everywhere you go these days, but chances are, only a small percentage of them are authentic. Ironically, one of their most popular patterns, the signature Monogram Canvas, was created to prevent counterfeiting. The Monogram Canvas was introduced in the market in 1896, and the design was based on the late Victorian era trend of using Japanese and Oriental motifs.

 

More than one century after, it is still trendy to use Japanese motifs in design. In 2003, the Maison hired Takashi Murakami, a Japanese artist known for his colorful creations and manga influenced work, to re-invent the serious looking Monogram Canvas. Murakami created then the Cherry Blossom pattern, in which smiling cartoon faces in the middle of pink and yellow flowers are strategically placed atop the Monogram Canvas. The limited edition products made with the Cherry Blossom pattern were an hit, and are, still to this date, very popular.

One of the things that Murakami does best manga animation. As a part of the marketing campaign, he created a short film around the LV and the new Cherry Blossom pattern. A girl named Aya is swollen by a panda and guided into a manga world decorated with LV’s patterns and multicolor monograms:

 

Six years after the original release, Louis Vuitton is now getting ready to launch a new project with Takashi Murakami. The new collection is called Multicolor Spring Pallete and its release earlier this month in Tokyo was built around another short film created by Murakami. The sequel is called Superflat First Love and is only available as a mobile download in Japan. But, we can take a look at the trailer: