Les Petites Échos

Bike Grew Into Tree

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 12:49:26 -0400

On Vashon Island (near Seattle, Washington), a tree grows carrying a rather unusual passenger – an old bike. A boy left his bike up against the tree when he went away to War in 1914 and he never came back, leaving the tree no choice but to grow around the bike. Now, the bike has lifted 7 feet off the ground.

Frozen lighthouse muppet on Lake Michigan, captured by Tom Gill.

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 12:44:39 -0400

Frozen lighthouse muppet on Lake Michigan, captured by Tom Gill.

Just attended the excellent show Pump Me Up: D.C. Subculture of...

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 17:40:49 -0400

Just attended the excellent show Pump Me Up: D.C. Subculture of the 1980s at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Very surreal to see a curated exhibition on graffiti, punk, and b-boy culture at such esteemed institution but what was once seen as the malfesant behavior of the fringe is now high art. Terrific artifacts from the rap, go-go, and hard core scene as well a heartbreaking portrait of a city struggling with addiction, including this amazing board game ‘Just Say No!”

The Gowanus at sunset. Scene of some of my most cherished...

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 10:47:52 -0400

The Gowanus at sunset. Scene of some of my most cherished childhood Ponzi schemes.

One of the perks of reading at 2A is that they project your 50ft...

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 17:08:14 -0400

One of the perks of reading at 2A is that they project your 50ft visage across the cityscape.

Very injured mannequin on display in the window of a medical...

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 13:36:38 -0400

Very injured mannequin on display in the window of a medical supply store. (Lower East Side)

Cutaway diagram of a 1960 VW Beetle. From Michael Stoll’s...

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 11:36:00 -0400

Cutaway diagram of a 1960 VW Beetle. From Michael Stoll’s incredible collection of infographics in Bavaria, to which I will one day make a pilgrimage.

Today I bought a piece of art sculpted from tree roots: Brothers...

Sat, 09 Mar 2013 22:19:14 -0500

Today I bought a piece of art sculpted from tree roots: Brothers by Joe Wheelwright at the Boston Sculptors Gallery.

Scenes from my father’s print studio. A beautiful little...

Sat, 09 Mar 2013 22:13:00 -0500

Scenes from my father’s print studio. A beautiful little example of exaptation: who knew golf tees were perfect for sealing ink tubes? For more on exaptation in the intellectual marketplace, I recommend Steven Johnson’s Where Good Ideas Come From.

Wooden jungle gym in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 13:00:49 -0500

Wooden jungle gym in Amsterdam, Netherlands

It is a Well Known Fact that Dutch People—on average one of the...

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 12:35:00 -0500

It is a Well Known Fact that Dutch People—on average one of the tallest populations in the world—used to be much taller. In the 18th century it was not uncommon to encounter a Hollandaise man 3.2m (10’6”) in height. You can still find some of the old doorways designed to accommodate these Unfortunate Dutch Giants. Here I went on De Grote Deuropening Stadswandeling ”The Large Doorway Walking Tour” and discovered some of the gems of the genre.

43rd Annual Symposia of Paddle Boarders convene in the canals of...

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 12:21:37 -0500

43rd Annual Symposia of Paddle Boarders convene in the canals of Amsterdam.

Best birthday ever: tooling around the canals in Amsterdam with...

Sat, 02 Mar 2013 22:05:00 -0500

Best birthday ever: tooling around the canals in Amsterdam with twin brothers on a 1967 Italian speedboat named “Octopussy.” (Photo: Heather Jones)

THE FRENCH METHOD: HOW TO SKI (1947) from Prof. Michael...

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 17:19:59 -0500

THE FRENCH METHOD: HOW TO SKI (1947) from Prof. Michael Stoll’s personal collection. This stuff was pure infographic pornography.

Prof. Michael Stoll of Augsburg University has put together an...

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 17:11:39 -0500

Prof. Michael Stoll of Augsburg University has put together an incredible collection of posters from his personal library of historical infographics. These gems are from ELEKTROSCHUTZ, a German safety guide from 1931 about how to avoid electrocution doing household activities.

Dutch Antelope, as seen from bicycle. Zeist, Netherlands.

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 17:05:18 -0500

Dutch Antelope, as seen from bicycle. Zeist, Netherlands.

Heavy mists on the Hudson, as seen from my train at dusk.

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 17:43:32 -0500

Heavy mists on the Hudson, as seen from my train at dusk.

I recommend a visit to the Pierpont Morgan Library & Museum,...

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 17:51:00 -0500

I recommend a visit to the Pierpont Morgan Library & Museum, located on an unassuming block in Manhattan’s sqaulish midtown. Among the highlights are J.P. Morgan’s private library of rare books, a three-story wrap-around affair complete with secret doors and vaulted ceilings. The guard pointed out the hidden entrance that Mr. Morgan would use to escape the house. “Only a man would build something like that, you know?” she said.

A revolving selection of books from the collection are on display in beautifully lit vitrines. Here is The Book of the Senses:

The Morgan Library is also hosting a terrific little gem of a show, Drawing Surrealism (now thru April 21st), which includes, among others, several exquisite compositions by Joseph Cornell:

The New York Times and The New Yorker both have reviews.

A dusting of snow on the pond today.

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 13:17:30 -0500

A dusting of snow on the pond today.

Alejandro Guijarro - Momentum (2010-12) “The artist travelled to...

Sat, 02 Feb 2013 14:18:20 -0500

Alejandro Guijarro - Momentum (2010-12)

“The artist travelled to the great quantum mechanics institutions of the world and, using a large-format camera, photographed blackboards as he found them. Momentum displayed the photographs in life-size.

Before he walked into a lecture hall Guijarro had no idea what he might find. He began by recording a blackboard with the minimum of interference. No detail of the lecture hall was included, the blackboard frame was removed and we are left with a surface charged with abstract equations. Effectively these are documents. Yet once removed from their institutional beginnings the meaning evolves. The viewer begins to appreciate the equations for their line and form. Color comes into play and the waves created by the blackboard eraser suggest a vast landscape or galactic setting. The formulas appear to illustrate the worlds of Quantum Mechanics. What began as a precise lecture, a description of the physicist’s thought process, is transformed into a canvas open to any number of possibilities.”

1. Cambridge (2011)

2. Stanford (2012)

3. Berkeley I (2012)

4. Berkeley II (2012)

5. Oxford (2011)