snowflake

The seemingly impossible variety of snowflakes and the fact that the formation of some of their complicated patterns is still a scientific mystery only adds to the majesty of a white festive season. The snow may have melted away in our hometown of Omaha, but these awe inspiring images of snowflakes will keep that festive spirit alive. Click here to see these natural works of art captured by Kenneth Libbrecht, shown by the New Scientist, and have a jolly New Year.

Radial Lines

I am pretty sure that some designers among us create art just to screw with our minds. Art has long explored ideas of perspective, imagery and reality, but there is some art that relies entirely on our imaginative brains for its impact, which includes pulsing, rotating and shimmering where none actually exists.

Scientific American has provided an online history of the study of optical illusions (click here to see it), including stunning works by Op Artists like Bridget Riley. It is fascinating study. Anyway, I have to go now as I am feeling a little queasy.

Birth Announcement:

Baby boy, named Planet.

Weight 13,440 pounds.

Length 372 inches.

Marc Quinn is a well known British artist, one of the so-called 90’s YBAs (Young British Artists), of whom Damien Hirst was the most prominent member. One of Quinn’s signature pieces in the art world is Self, a frozen sculpture of the artist’s head made from several pints of his own blood, taken from his body over a number of months. It featured in Saatchi’s controversial Sensation exhibition. Another stunning piece involves his challenging work regarding sculptures of amputees, reinterpreting classical representations of our relationships with physical imagery. Alison Lapper Pregnant was erected on the vacant fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, London for many months.

Quinn’s Planet is part of Sotheby’s astonishing display of fine works for auction on display at Chatsworth House as part of their Beyond Limits sale. There is an astonishing video. The juxtaposition of contemporary art and the ancestral home of the Dukes of Devonshire is mind blowing.

It is hard to be at a design firm like dd|a and not have an interest, call it “lust,” for art. I only wish I had the wallet to match. That said, Omaha’s Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts has a stellar art auction each November at which my art libido has hit overdrive. In recent years, they have exhibited the works for a few weeks prior to the event. For the attendee, that has the benefit of providing a sense of the art before the evening’s bidding scrum, while allowing the Bemis to maintain a quality art exhibition and even pre-sell some of the art work. (more…)