Apr 30, 2007

Map of Science

Ay ay ay, it can be hard to update. Hard, hard work... but here it is... an update.

The grand MAP OF SCIENCE!!



"As to what the image depicts, it was constructed by sorting roughly 800,000 scientific papers (shown as white dots) into 776 different scientific paradigms (red circular nodes) based on how often the papers were cited together by authors of other papers." LINK to a very nice article about it.

I like it so much when dry and hard science turns out to create the most intriguingly (my favorite word on this blog) beautiful visuals. There is a certain bit of ostranenie - estrangement in it.

The reason it looks like a feather boa is that from every node runs a line of key-words. HERE you'll find a huge version where you can read the words. And HERE is the most beautiful version of it - where you can buy a rather huge print of it too.




The image was constructed by Kevin Boyack and Dick Klavans. On their site mapofscience.com you'll find a simpler interactive version of the map that describes the idea and possible uses very well.

It is not a map of science, in essence. It's a map of text. In this case from a particular database of scientific papers. And therefore 'social science' is the blue worm in the extreme left of the diagram. Political science completely absent. Economics. Law. Philosophy. Litterature, poetry, drama. Could be nice to try the same on those. A virtual mental map of humanity. Which scaled down on the screen of the computer begin to again resemble a written sign.

With these words I'll ride into the night. Celebrating first of all that I got my first paycheck today. And secondly that I work for a city that has been run by social democrats for 100 years and therefore I have the day off tomorrow. I wish you all happy international worker solidarity.

Apr 26, 2007

Tran Ba Vang




Nicole Tran Ba Vang makes pretty fantastic images examening clothing, the skin and the (female) body. Several nice sets of photos on her site. The downside is that she doesn't actually make the clothes... which is a shame. On the other hand it has been seen before anyway. What's that Argentineans(?) name? The one with the bellybuttons- and nipples- handbags and clothing.

...now that I think about it - I should probably have more naked ladies on this blog. That always seem to be popular.

More skin then:




"... skin is the largest organ of the integumentary system ... accounting for about 15 percent of body weight."

Fleece


'Fleece'
Originally uploaded by doublevelvet.
Just a super nice picture from a very intriguing guy to follow on flickr - doublevelvet

GenAid.com


Clones
Originally uploaded by MarcoVision / GenAid.com.
A seducing vision of a not so tempting future.

One of my all time favorite sets on flickr. They seem to be made with very simple means... but get a very convincing reality out of it.

Marco, who made these darned nice pictures, calls them GenAid... checking that out led me on to... genaid.com:

"Welcome to Genaid Corporation. We are a Cloning and Evolution Improvement clinic established in 2002, offering our expertise and products to improve .. YOU".

And they use such terms as Smart Evolution.

Not bad.

And while we're at it I'd better link back to my old post about Transhumanism... they really mean business.

Apr 24, 2007

Giant Steps

Often, after late nights of painful work at arch.school I would go to the Christiania Jazzclub. Wednesdays and fridays. And i would sit there. And watch some guy from the music conservatory. Just blow out his art through his instrument. And i would be so jealous of the immediacy of his medium. Compared to the torturously slow process of architecture.


Here's a movie just about that. The song is 'giant steps' by John Coltrane. And the movie is made by Michal Evy. Send to me by cousin Axel. Nice.

Las Meninas



Creating architecture is not about building houses. It's about imagining and representing space. Space always experienced over time. Always seen from a viewpoint.
And quite possibly occupied by human beings engaged in situations. Living through narratives. Trying to catch your gaze or their own. Negotiating their place in space. Taking it into possession.

This painting is Las Meninas, painted by Velazquez. Read a bit about the angles of mirrors , etc... here.

Dear Dubi has commented: "check out video 89 seconds at Alcazar, by Eve Sussman.
Its a tribute to Diego Valesquez's Las Meninas. really really intriguing work."



Interview with Eve Sussman

This seem to be an ongoing story... Picasso:



and even more at thee Forum ov Psychick Blah.

...My brother has now made me aware of the fact that Foucault in the 1st chapter of The Order of Things has a very thorough discussion of Las Meninas.

And you can download that very chapter as a pdf right HERE

Blue Sands



The Chico Hamilton Quintet at the Newport Jazz Festival, 1958.

Chico behind the drums and everything else. Eric Dolphy on flute. Gabor Szabo on guitar and Fred Katz, I think, on cello.


Chico is the man.

Maps

world map w america.jpg

I have a thing for maps at the moment. More to come. This is one of the first maps that names "America". Notice that it is put together of 12 seperate sheets. I particularly enjoy southern Africa and the incredible geometrics used to unfold the globe. And even more on map projections here. Got it from Odden's Bookmarks, The fascinating world of maps and mapping

Apr 18, 2007

inhabitat

My Serbian assistant Dubi just send me a link to a rather nice arch blog - inhabitat. Here's their mission statement (yes, they even have a mission statemen... they must mean business)...

GREEN DESIGN IS GOOD DESIGN
GOOD DESIGN IS GREEN DESIGN

Inhabitat.com is a weblog devoted to the future of design, tracking the innovations in technology, practices and materials that are pushing architecture and home design towards a smarter and more sustainable future



... And they are even looking for contributing writers (and add sales preffesionals - yes they do mean business). From now on you can find their link juuuust to the left. Enjoy.

Apr 17, 2007

Family values

Do yourself a favour - read last sundays Doonesbury.

...oh, and remember to check the news, left column - this was on today:

Iran is to break new ground by setting up an architecture research center named after the renowned late Iranian architect Hadi Mirmiran.


Things are going on in the world. On and on.

Back, yet again

Okidoki... heeeere weeee gooooooo.....
Back in business. With a stylish, easy to read, spanking new design. Overwhelming new functionalities. And more focused than ever. On subjects such as:

  • Urban Space
and
  • Bodies

I seriously doubt you could've thought of any subjects more exiting yourself. So lean back and enjoy a thrilling ride through such diverse places as Venice, Sundbyvester Square and the cheek of Duchamp.
Also you can now revel in the new popular functionalities, like the easy to navigate archives menu, the thematic labels (below each post), the automatic urban design news (sidebar, bottom) and the special ask a ninja video features (at the very bottom).

Finally - there's still a lot of open questions concerning the format of this... should I switch to Danish (a 50/50 mix I guess)... is the page design final (no it's not)... will anybody read this (probably only if i tell them)... and so on and so on.... so we'll see...