What We Love This Week, Volume VIII

Source: This Is Colossal

Source: This Is Colossal

One of the most difficult things about portraiture is stemming beyond the flesh and conveying the subject’s personality to the viewer. Addressing this challenge, it was Pablo Picasso who once said “Are we to paint what’s on the face, what’s in the face, or what’s behind the face?” And to that question, French artist Bernard Pras might say, “Why must we use paint at all?” In Pras’ anamorphic artwork (creating a distorted projection that must be viewed at a certain vantage point for the work to be visually understood), every day objects serve as his palette, all of which culminate in a unique portrait that gives its subject a degree of physical and figurative depth that standard oil paints might be unable to provide. To revel in some of Pras’ other finely-crafted faces, head over to This Is Colossal.

Source: This Is Colossal

Source: Design Boom

While the Amazon Rainforest provides a staggering amount of biodiversity and an equally impressive amount of the world’s oxygen, it is also one of the world’s most sensitive regions to environmental degradation and predation. Thus in order to study the environmental gem more fully while also deterring illegal acts that may contribute to its demise, a Sao-Paulo based architectural firm has devised their own Amazon Research Network to be planted in the river in coming years. The temporary network will comprise a base and several floating research labs, which will be constructed with local materials and boast a canopy of solar panels. Thanks to their light nature, ability to break down solid waste, and solar powering, these labs (all of which feature accommodation and medical clinics for any natives in need of medical assistance) can go a week without refueling. Despite the network’s great size, it is carbon neutral as it uses the river’s natural current as a means of travel and observation. If you want more specifics on the network’s design, check out Design Boom’s article on it.

Source: Design Boom

Source: Design Boom

Source: Hi-Fructose

Whether it is artist Travis Louie’s hyperrealism or hyper-inventiveness you enjoy more, the playful precision and imagination shown in his latest “Monsters on Their Day Off” series warrants serious praise. Inspired by Victorian portraits he discovered of sideshow performers, Louie’s own shots are not the result of a dark room but rather the product of layering transparent acrylic paint onto a graphite drawing. When completed, the portraits offer a glimpse into the more humane aspects of the monsters and inevitably leave the viewer wondering when Tim Burton’s claymation film on them will make its red carpet debut. To see Louie’s full cast of characters, be sure to visit Hi-Fructose for an impressive gallery.

Source: Hi-Fructose

Source: Hi-Fructose