WHAT’S MOVING US
A blog for members to share the art, ideas, and inspirations that move them.
Guest contributor:
Keith Walpole is a writer and musician based in Brooklyn, NY. Alongside his Substack ‘Circles in Space’, he publishes a weekly newsletter, ‘Five Bullets’, which covers everything from art to music to history and science.
“Compassion is a muscle that gets stronger with use, and the regular exercise of choosing kindness over cruelty would change us.”
TAMBOPATA, Peru — After six months of speculation, we finally know what’s building these bizarre silk structures in the Amazon: a spider! But its precise identity is still a mystery that scientists are scrambling to solve as I write this.
Last week we followed these spider-hunting scientists, led by entomologist Phil Torres, deep into the Amazon rainforest as they attempted to find the tiny silk towers and figure out where they came from. It has not been an easy case to crack.
“With a lot of other weird mysteries, once you make an observation of some sort, spend enough time out there, the pieces kind of fit together,” said Torres, a graduate student at Rice University. “I’m surprised by how difficult this one is to solve.”
The bizarre structures first surfaced on the internet late this summer, when graduate student Troy Alexander posted photos to Reddit and Facebook, hoping that somebody could tell him what the structures were. He had discovered them on a small island near the Tambopata Research Center, deep in the Peruvian Amazon.
Made out of silk, the intricate constructions have two parts: a tall, central tower, and a circular fence that’s about 6 millimeters across. Back then, we asked as many entomologists as we could find, but no one had any idea what the structures were, or what made them. Until now.
[MORE: That time we went to the Amazon to find out what makes these weird web-tower things]
Look at these awesome collage-style portraits by Chilean artist Alvaro Tapia Hidalgo. He mixes water color with digital effects to produce these layered pieces. The illustrations range from portraits to musicians to anatomy to animals.
Check out the rest of his diverse portfolio at AlvaroTapia.com.
Currently, he’s working on a collaborative project called ’Angry People’, in which he recreates portraits of, yes you guessed it, angry people. You can submit your photo and he’ll send you his colorful interpretation.
Enjoy!
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Wowza, talk about colorful. I found this awesome tumblr dedicated to creating color palettes from nature photographs. I especially like the gifs-seems to really bring the color to life.
Check out Natural Palettes for your viewing pleasure!
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An awesome list put together by the experts at Conde Nast Traveler. The article highlights some of faves like Roman Holiday, Master and Commander (beautiful soundtrack), Amelie, and Lost in Translation. I would like to add Paris, Je t'aime!
"Questlove's Tips for Throwing a Killer Dinner Party"
Because who wouldn’t want to dine with Questlove?
Bon Appetit Mag chatted with Questlove on the important elements of a successful dinner party. Read up!
And while you’re at it, listen to this Questlove DJ Set. You’re welcome.
Happy 100th Birthday Robert Capa
Robert Capa turns 100 today! The International Center of Photography and Magnum Photos (co-founded by Capa himself) have teamed up to put together a 100 day exhibit featuring his works. Each day the exhibit presents a new Capa work, along with another photograph that ‘visually responds’ to the Capa photograph. The audience is invited to 'get closer’ and to respond by posting their own photos via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Capa is one of the most noted war photographers in history, having covered five major wars: the Spanish Civil War, the Second Sino-Japanese War, World War II, the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the First Indochina War.
See Magnum Photos for exhibit updates and be sure to tag #getcloser when posting your own photos.
Read more on the exhibit at Time Magazine.
Photographer Michael Wolf’s ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ serves as a documentary of the ups and downs (literally) of daily human life. Setting up a camera and tripod, Wolf takes pictures of Google Street View images and captures everything from people falling off bikes to cars on fire.
Reminiscent of Henri Cartier-Bresson’s 'decisive moment’ and the humorous photos of Weegee, this series is a redefined and modernized approach to photojournalism. Some praise him for his smart series and others accuse him of appropriating the images from Google. I personally see this series as an amusing look at humanity; it’s something that we, as humans, can all relate to when it comes to the smaller disasters of daily life-that moment you fall off your bike in front of others, that moment you can’t hold it, that moment your car starts smoking…
Not to mention, we all take part in the voyeurism that is today’s internet. Maybe Wolf is the ultimate troll of Google Street View!
See more of the series at Word Press Photo, who awarded Wolf with an Honorable Mention in 2011.
What’s Moving Us Today
A blog about what’s inspiring us today.
Member Curator of the Week
Paralegal by day, drummer by night, and curious by nature, Keith is typically researching various topics at any given moment. His interests include music, writing, all things creative, and exploring the natural world. Posts will encompass his most recent findings, exhibit visits, and important topics pertaining to creatives today.