Mathieu Lehanneur is again in the news for making an art piece which speaks about the whole world. This creation speaks more of his intelligence than his artistic prowess. He has created urns, which reveal the population pattern of different countries.
Taking up demographic data and turning it into an aesthetic art piece is a sheer work of intelligence and skill.

These enamel textured urns might strike as just another artistic showpiece, but there is more to it, these pieces have a varying shape because each step in the curve represents the population of that place in that particular year.

The urn with the largest number of curves is the one which represents Russia. It is not surprising, as the population of Russia has varied consistently, could be because of World war or the much famed recession which hit it recently. On the contrary, Egypt and U.S.A have broader bases which represent the increase in population in the recent years.
 
These pieces have been made taking statistics of places till the year 2007, they stand 29.5″ tall and are priced at $9,000(6,000 euros). The height can be regulated as per the demands of the customers. The purchases can be directly made from the site mathieulehanneur.com.

via: mathieulehanneur

        fastcompany

Controversy does not elude the people’s princess even over a decade after her death. In all eagerness to help, Princess Diana had said months before her death that she would wish her clothes went to help the poor and needy.

Her priceless dresses are now the core point of a bankruptcy fight. People’s Princess Charitable Foundation Inc founder Maureen Rorech Dunkel is fighting to keep gowns worn by the princess. The tiff has gone on for over a year. This time, most of Diana’s royal dress collection is at stake.

Dunkel sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on January 7, a day before a state court hearing was to choose who should care for five of 13 gowns, which were displayed at Downtown Disney in Orlando through November.
Dunkel and the non-profit was sued by HRH Ventures LLC, managed by Patricia C Sullivan in October. HRH Ventures LLC said they defaulted on $1.5 million in loans that were secured by 13 Princess Diana gowns.

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Creativity sells for all the good publicity it gets. That said, it sells even more for all the bad publicity it gets. The musical sculpture created by Henry Dagg is a classic example. This one is a magnificent piece of art made in stainless steel. And from what we hear its creation had ruffled up quite a conversation owing to its controversy than anything else.

Apparently, the English Folk Dance and Song Society asked to sculptor to build the structure in six months in the year 2006. However, Dagg went about things a bit differently (you know, hwo artistic minds function) andwas able to complete it only in three and a half years. He even went the extra milde to bring it across as a real and ‘naturally powered sound sculpture’.

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Have you loved ABBA since you existed? Want to meet one of them? You can, if not them in flesh and for real, in virtual reality for sure.

Björn Ulvaeus and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, belonging to the one of the most successful music groups of all time, attended the opening night of ABBA World — a new interactive museum at London’s Earls Court on January 26.

The new 25-room touring exhibition has not just music, but the Swedish pop group’s stage costumes, gold discs, never-seen-before film footage, and recreations of dressing rooms and studios. Besides, it boasts of karaoke singing booths, dance mats, quiz machines and hologram videos. It means, visitors get to play with, to be a ‘part’ of ABBA in a virtual sort of way.

With the high definition holographic video system Eyeliner, ABBA returns to the stage through a holographic illusion of the group for the visitor to interact with. Among the memorablia, most of the items have been provided by the quartet Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, and Agnetha Fältskog.

Plans are also afoot for a second ABBA World, the next one being in Australia — the second biggest market for ABBA fans, after the United Kingdom.

Via: Spinner, ABBA World

The Vatican is a great topic of discussion with believers and non-believers alike. Tonnes have been written about it in books and novels while the film industry never runs short of tales to tell about the same. But this time it is the Vatican who tries to reveal itself in a new book dubbed, The Vatican Secret Archives. This one sprawls across 252 pages and is full of colored pictures that give you chronological tour through the path taken by this branch of Christianity.

So you get to read everything from Liber Diurnus Romanorum Pontificum, which is an ancient book that carries formulas currently in use by the Papal Chancellery and goes back to the 8th century, to letters from Mary Queen of Scots to Pope Sixtus V, from Pius X to Hitler and so on.

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Music legend Elvis Presley continues to be among the top dead celebrities of this world. It has been 30 years since he passed away but his fans continue to remember him and make the ‘pilgrimage’ to Graceland year after year. And from what we hear, the current owners of the property CKX Inc are thinking of some redevelopment for the 100 acres of land surrounding this Tennesse home.

The owner of American Idol frnachise, Robert Sillerman took over the controlling interest of Elvis Presley Enterprises back in 2004. And this man is previously floated a $250 million redevelopment of the same area a couple of years ago. Part of this project, some of the old visitor centers as well as as the Heartbreak Hotel will have to be demolished. Next month will see Sillerman discussing further these plans of a makeover for the popular landmark.

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There is one piece of cloth that is driving a lot of people to come to the American Natural History Museum in NYC. We are talking about a magnificent textile made from extremely soft but strong silk fiber that comes from a local spider. Measuring an impressive 11 feet by 4 feet, this one took four long years to be designed and woven.

We are told that this is a one of its kind piece of textile ever exhibited in the world. The silk fiber that has made jaws drop comes from the female orb spider, which is a species famed for its yellow-hued webs. These spiders were collected from telephone wires everyday by a host of people by using long poles. In fact, these giant spiders are also commonly found in Madagascar. So, these were silked and then released back into the wild every day.

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Now, if you were smitten by the mechanical cheetah that Alexander Chase designed and even wanted to buy it but couldn’t because it wasn’t available for sale; we have some good news to cheer your spirits up. There is an interesting being called te Triceracopter that might just impress you. As the name suggests, it is a helicopter made to look like a tricerosaurus.

It dates back to the post-Vietnam war era (1977 to be precise), inspiring the well-renowned artist Patricia Renick to reflect the obsolescence of war. The Triceracopter has been made in clay potted over a Vietnam-era U.S. Army-spec OH-6 Cayuse helicopter. And then it was giving a final touch with fiberglass.

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The art circuit is all tensed up. Pablo Picasso’s famous sketchbook complete with crayon drawing has been reported stolen from the Picasso National Museum in Paris. The 32 drawings are estimated to be worth between $8.4 million and $14  million. The spectacular designs date back to 1917 to 1924. Being exhibited at the first floor of the building, the sketchbook was not noticed missing until before lunchtime last Tuesday. Apparently, there were no signs of any kind of a break-in. Even the alarm system did not go off.
 
The pad measures 6 inch by 9 inch and was kept in ahigh security glass cabinet which could be opened with a special key. People are raising questions on the absence of security cameras. The authorities have said in their defence that the Daniel Buren’s works were on display which included a giant mirror, and it might have blocked the view of the staff.

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The Victorian manor in Wales that belonged to the late designer Laura Ashley might soon be converted into a museum. We hear that Ashley’s children are having trouble trying to maintain the historic home, which is why they have approached England’s National Trust to save their mother’s abode. IF all works well, then the Ashelys will sell the 700-acre estate to the trust and have it restored and subsequently, opened to visitors.

Reports suggest that most of the rooms at the manor haven’t been changed much since Laura’s death in 1985. The place is as shabby in its charm as it was then. As part of the restoration, the rooms will celebrate crafts that interested Laura like quilting and screen-printing.

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