Morgenrot

This video is pretty weird on its own terms. But an added strangeness: all the manipulated images are "found art" from the Library of Congress.

Posted By: Paul - Thu May 14, 2009 - Comments (3)
Category: Art, Music, Video, Libraries

Fun With Peeps

In keeping with all of the food posts recently, I provide images that might scar you for life. (Be warned! The music from the official Peeps website will slowly drive you insane.) Peeps, the traditional marshmellow Easter candy, isn't just for eating anymore. The Chicago Tribune holds a contest every year for the most creative use of Peeps. Some of these entries are cute, others are a bit weird (some of the non-winning entries go beyond weird into pure freakishness), but all of them say "I have way too much free time." See the ten winning entries, or see all of the 246 entries.

Posted By: Nethie - Thu May 14, 2009 - Comments (8)
Category: Art, Food, Pop Culture, Eating

A Little Light Weirdness

First up is a story I have been trying to track down for over a week. Chichester Town Council in the UK were unable to remove a garbage bin that had been illegally dumped in a four-inch deep stream, because they did not have anyone qualified to use wellington boots (Chichester Observer).

The three man crew of a specially eco-refitted yacht, had to be rescued from hurricane force gales on the outward leg of a voyage billed as the "Carbon Neutral Expedition" and designed to raise awareness of green issues. Their rescuer? An oil-tanker delivering 680,000 barrels of crude (The Guardian).

The CEO of the company that supplies and installs most of the speed cameras for the UK Highways Agency has been banned from driving for six months after he was caught speeding at over 100 mph (The Times).

Sikhs serving in the UK police force are looking to develop a bulletproof turban so that they can meet the requirement to wear protective headgear of the force's armed response units without having to break their religious prohibition not to remove them (The Telegraph).

Finally, plans for a Berlin Monument of National Unity, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall, had to be scrapped after the spoilsport jury rejected all the entries as too weird. Not one of the 538 submissions from members of the public, which included a 30 meter high gilded banana, a German version of the Statue of Liberty holding a Rubik's cube, a group of Smurfs dancing on a recreation of a section of the wall, and a giant statue of a man pushing a shopping trolley, was accepted. The jury has now invited contributions from selected professional artists (The National).

Posted By: Dumbfounded - Tue May 12, 2009 - Comments (3)
Category: Art, Government, Regulations, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Religion

Shih Chieh Huang

I saw this sculpture in person at the RI School of Design Museum recently. It almost seemed alive, with its "breathing" plastic bags. This is the good kind of weird art I can endorse!

Visit Shih Chieh Huang's official site here.

Posted By: Paul - Tue May 05, 2009 - Comments (1)
Category: Art

The Riverbank Carousel

It seems to me that the Riverbank Carousel should be a must-see for all WU-vies. It's designed from children's drawings, as you'll read if you follow the link above.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Mar 30, 2009 - Comments (3)
Category: Art, Surrealism, Fairs, Amusement Parks, and Resorts, Children, 1990s

Maya Deren’s AT LAND

Learn more about Maya Deren here.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Mar 16, 2009 - Comments (3)
Category: Art, Performance Art, Surrealism, Movies, Sexuality, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1940s

Bad Paintings of Barack Obama

Yes, they definitely are bad.

Posted By: Alex - Thu Mar 05, 2009 - Comments (19)
Category: Art, Politics

More Soviet Space Stamps

Courtesy of my pal, Peter Danssaert, more heroic retro space imagery.

Click to embiggen.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Mar 03, 2009 - Comments (7)
Category: Art, Space Travel, Russia, Yesterday’s Tomorrows

Castles In the Air

Here's the cover to a romance novel that reached the market without anyone noticing a certain anomaly. I held a copy of this book at the house of fabled artist pal Nick Jainschigg recently, so I know it exists.

Read the author's take on the whole affair here.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Feb 25, 2009 - Comments (6)
Category: Art, Books, Goofs and Screw-ups

The Sheep Market

Aaron Koblin paid 10000 people two cents each to draw "a sheep facing left." You can see the results at The Sheep Market.

He then printed up all the sheep on sheets of adhesive paper (20 sheep per sheet), which he sold for $20 per sheet. It seems like most of the sheets have sold. So by my calculations, that means he netted a profit of $9800 on this, not counting web hosting, etc. Nice way to make some extra money.

Wired has a video of him discussing his project.

Posted By: Alex - Thu Feb 12, 2009 - Comments (5)
Category: Art