Tatsuya Tanaka has been making delightful, daily dioramas for years.
For most, the common "household" items he uses are easy to identify. But sometimes...
You've got to pull back to reveal...
You can view the entire archive at miniature-calendar.com.
Or watch this video from the About section of the site:
South Africa-based artist Michael Chandler's murals are stunning.
You can see more of the artist's work on his site. I heard about him from Colossal.
Nothing gets me opening Libby faster than The Millions Previews.
This time, it's their Summer 2024 Preview, obvs, which highlights a new biography of genius filmmaker Agnes Varda, and titles from Rachel Kushner, Joy Williams, Yoko Tawada, Honor Moore, Sarah Manguso, Virginie Despentes, Jo Hamya, László Krasznahorkai, and many more.
There are also two from authors I'm not familiar with that sound right up my alley, both due in August:
The Italy Letters by Vi Khi Nao
"This epistolary novel by Nao, an emerging queer Vietnamese American writer who Garielle Lutz once called “an unstoppable genius,” sounds like an incredible read: an unnamed narrator in Las Vegas writes sensual stream-of-consciousness letters to their lover in Italy. Perfect leisure reading on a sultry summer’s afternoon while sipping a glass of prosecco."
Having written my own share of love letters, I'll grab this one right away.
Book covers for The Italy Eaters, by Vi Khi Nao, and Planes Flying Over a Monster by Daniel Saldana Paris
Planes Flying Over a Monster by Daniel Saldaña ParĂs, tr. Christina MacSweeney and Philip K. Zimmerman
"Over 10 essays, the Mexican writer Daniel Saldaña Paris explores the cities he has lived in over the course of his life, using each as a springboard to ponder questions of authenticity, art, and narrative. Chloé Cooper Jones calls Saldaña Paris “simply one of our best living writers” and this collection “destined for canonical status.”"
And this one obviously appeals to the traveller in me. Perhaps I'll better learn how to crystallize my own adventures into more engaging fare.
Was a pleasure to meet and speak briefly with Marilyn Armand at the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair.
Armand hand-makes upcycled, modern quilts of extraordinary quality that will last generations.
You can check out all Armand's creations at Le Point Visible. In addition to the quilts, she makes pillows, jackets, and more.
Canadian photographer Maureen O'Connor's work is always one of the highlights for me of the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair. If I don't find her booth on my own meanderings, I make a point of seeking it out. I can't leave until I've seen her new photos.
All of the animals in her pictures are live — there's no taxidermy and no posing. The creatures, which to my understanding live in rehabilitation sanctuaries, are brought to the abandoned buildings and allowed to explore.
You can see all O'Connor's work at maureenfaithoconnor.com. The above are all from the Threshold series, but the Inclusion, Departures, and Cuban series are also excellent.
Perhaps you've read Ron Padgett's Love Poem. If not, it's below. Or you can listen to him reading it.
We have plenty of matches in our house.
We keep them on hand always.
Currently our favorite brand is Ohio Blue Tip,
though we used to prefer Diamond brand.
That was before we discovered Ohio Blue Tip matches.
They are excellently packaged, sturdy
little boxes with dark and light blue and white labels
with words lettered in the shape of a megaphone,
as if to say even louder to the world,
“Here is the most beautiful match in the world,
its one-and-a-half-inch soft pine stem capped
by a grainy dark purple head, so sober and furious
and stubbornly ready to burst into flame,
lighting, perhaps, the cigarette of the woman you love,
for the first time, and it was never really the same
after that. All this will we give you.”
That is what you gave me, I
become the cigarette and you the match, or I
the match and you the cigarette, blazing
with kisses that smoulder toward heaven.
It's available in the Collected Poems of Ron Padgett, which unfortunately is out of print, and many people I'm sure are familiar with an early draft of it from the film Paterson:
But did you know that in the 60s, Saul Bass designed the packaging for the Ohio Match Co.?
Photos by the always wonderful Present & Correct.
"POP&ROLL is an innovative art project that blurs the lines between functionality, design, and artistic expression. Founded by the visionary artist kissmiklos, our project encompasses three distinct but interconnected spaces: the Art Gallery, the Art Shop, and the pioneering Art Toilet."
From the mind of Kissmiklos.
I'm not sure if Bastien Dausse considers himself a dancer or an acrobat, or both, but he's also an inventor and... sculptor, maybe?
Check out this video, which features Dausse and another performer working with two of his sculptures. Fantastic stuff.
And then there's this bit of business:
Which, of course, reminded me of this dance scene from Hal Hartley's Surviving Desire:
Dausse's site is here: Barks Copagnie.
If you dug these pieces, you'll also appreciate my post on Unorthodox Choreography.
These lovely illustrations shared by Present & Correct were the inspiration for me sharing my own scans of a Carl Hansen & Son catalog.
The above are all from Present & Correct's first post on it. They've now made a second post.
Gorgeous stuff.
Winners of the 2024 Big Picture Nature Photography Contest have been chosen.
My favorite is one of the runners-up, but I'm biased as I recognize the heron, Glinlid, whom I met in the Dominican in 2019:
Check out all the 2024 winners on the Big Picture site.
Winners from years going back to 2014 are also viewable.
