July 24, 2015

Everything You Think You Know About Addiction Is Wrong

Johann Hari has seen the current methods on how we deal with addition fail firsthand, as he has watched loved ones struggle to manage their addictions. He started to wonder why we treat addicts the way we do - and if there might be a better way. Hari's questions took him around the world where he unearthed some surprising and hopeful ways of thinking about an age-old problem.

July 22, 2015

A Brief History Of High Fashion Sneakers


Has any garment enjoyed a more impressive rise than the once-humble sneaker? From fitness shoe to high-fashion staple, the sneaker's ascent reflects some of the most significant pop-culture developments of the last few decades -- from the impact of advertising and mass production, to the influence of hip-hop and the NBA.

From July 10, visitors will be able to trace this history at The Rise of Sneaker Culture, a traveling exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum exploring its history and cultural significance.

But Elizabeth Semmelhack, senior curator of the originating exhibition at Toronto's Bata Shoe Museum and author of the accompanying book from Rizzoli, says that its history is more complex than we might think. "When the first sneakers debuted [in the 1800's], they were themselves luxury items," she says, citing the high price of rubber and the working class's lack of leisure time. "We're kind of coming full circle in a weird way."

So, how exactly have we ended up in an age of die-hard Nike addicts and Parisian designer kicks?


July 13, 2015

A Transparent House Filled With LED Lights

This pretty ha-mazing installation titled 'Insideout', was recently displayed at the Triennale der Photographie exhibition in Hamburg. The interactive 360-degree display put viewers inside the house and subjected them to more than three minutes of inclement weather in a dazzling light show that pretty closely resembles what it's like to experience of a real storms. The accompanying sounds were created by musician Andi Toma, one of the founding members of the electronic-music group Mouse on Mars.

July 5, 2015

Look At These Very Impractical Comic Book Cups And Saucers

Swedish artist Cecilia Levy creates cups, saucers, bowls, plates and saucers out of paper. Although she often uses books from the beginning of the last century, she has recently branched out into Spiderman comics for an entire series.

To create each work, she takes apart the comics, tearing the pages and pasting small pieces of them back together. Levy explains her works are, “eggshell thin, yet remarkably steady. The story lives on, but in a different shape.”