Arts
I think of PBS as somewhat staid rather than wacky, but Off the Map proves me wrong. You are invited to Tour Backyard Paradises where you can visit the work of ten untrained, visionary artists who have transformed their part of the world in rare and startling ways. They live in India, South Africa, France and the United States. Be sure also to click on the link to What Is Visionary Art? (Webby 2005)
Any idea where is the world’s longest art gallery? Stockholm claims that honor for its metro system that has architectural and art masterpieces at every stop. You can enjoy them, and samples from many other fine international subway systems from Athens to Zurich, at Metro Arts and Architecture. Here in the USA you can see shots from Boston, Los Angeles, New York City, Portland (Oregon) and Washington (DC) metros. (Netsurfer Digest)
Douglas Keister Photography has thousands of images for sale, but what intrigues me is the research required to produce the “backing story” of many of the photos in the cemeteries part of the site. You’ll find subsections on mausoleums, statuary, famous people, stained glass, symbols and angels. Some of these stories are pretty strange, like that of the youngster who wanted a Mercedes, who died young, and whose tomb is now a $250,000 marble Mercedes. (Netsurfer Digest)
Art exhibitions are typically presented for a few months in a specific city, and then the exhibited paintings or sculptures are crated up and returned to their owners across the globe. If you missed it, that’s too bad. The Internet has succeeded in democratizing this world and has made exhibitions accessible to the rest of us wherever we may be and whenever we wish. A typical example is the BBC’s online exhibit Painting the Weather; by all means start by taking your own narrated audio tour. (Netsurfer Digest)
Puppetry is a very old art form, but the Dutch artist Lejo has modernized it into a minimalist format. The several video clips on this site demonstrate what can be done with only the human fingers and a pair of wooden eyes. Click on GB for the English text. (Netsurfer Digest)
Isfahan the Movie is an animated film inspired by Persian architecture. It’s a beautiful computer-rendered three-minute tour through temples and mosques, accompanied by a haunting score. It requires Quicktime. (Netsurfer Digest)
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