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TBWA's brain booty and disruptive interestingness across creative culture and media arts.

Curated by Abbey Dethlefs.

Founded by Maria Popova, editor of Brain Pickings.

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Absolutely captivated by this entire series from photographer Tim Flach, who has taken seven years and an innovative approach to photography to not just shoot, but also truly understand his subject. 

As described in the description for his animal portrait book, More than Human

“By taking striking close-up shots of various animals, Tim attempts to demonstrate how close can animal gestures and poses get to those of the humans.

What looks like images of unselfconscious and spontaneous reactions of the animals, is actually a result of long research and observation done by the artist. Every animal responds differently to temperature changes, light, human presence and even sounds – some of them would feel better with the music on, while the other would get intimidated by it.”

via 

Posted on Saturday, November 17th 2012

A few months back, we featured artist Angelica Dass’ refreshing project, Humanae, who was recording and matching human skin tones to Pantone’s color system, challenging (and debunking) the idea of what the color “flesh” is.

Well designers, artists, architects and color connoisseurs rejoice — another Pantone-inspired project has caught our attention, this one by the global authority itself!  The Pantone Hotel in Brussels, Belgium was designed by architect Olivier Hannaert, while the colorful and flashy decor was by interior designer Michel Penneman. Each floor was decorated using different color palettes, and the hotel features some great colorful details. Delightful!

via Bless This Stuff

Posted on Tuesday, November 13th 2012

Attention Design Junkies: Custom, 3D Printed Shoes

Many may know that I love innovation when put into practical use. These 3D printed shoes by think tank Continuum almost gets there. With that said, they are pretty rad.

The details: Continuum, which makes customizable or user-designed fashion, is now selling shoes made with a 3D printer. The Strvct line of footwear is based on a delicate but austere pump design or a similar sandal one; from there, users can ask for different colors, styles, or heel lengths. The shoes are then given a patent leather inset and the bottom is coated with textured rubber, making them (theoretically) wearable. 

While this isn’t just for the ladies, but at $900 a pair, it may be for the serious style seekers.

Read more here.

Posted on Wednesday, September 5th 2012

Whether it’s a gossip rag feature or day-in-the-life research, I’ve always been fascinated when allowed to explore the treasures a person holds nearest and dearest in the depths of their bags. Is there a quicker way to see a picture of a person’s daily life than to scope a satchel? I don’t think so.

So imagine my excitement when I came across an entire Flickr group devoted to those who want to share (or for those who want to look). Relish how beautifully diverse and curious people can be at the What’s In Your Bag group.

Posted on Saturday, August 25th 2012

Digging these extremely high-speed shots of “wigs made of water” over mustachioed men. ‘How is this done?’ you might ask. With the help of a laser (to pop the balloons maybe) and a sound trigger to capture the perfect moment in time. Any excuse to use a laser, right?

(via

Posted on Friday, August 24th 2012

Vogue Italia is featuring a mesmerizing photo series by photographer Leland Bobbé, in which he “brilliantly depicts the two faces of drag queens—’the Nietzschean ‘overman’: the man that goes beyond, who is beyond. Not male, not female, not biological.”

Impressively, this is done purely using the art of makeup, not post-production digital magic. 

See the full photo series here. 

Posted on Thursday, August 2nd 2012

The Twee Party

Is artisanal Brooklyn a step forward for food or a sign of the apocalypse?

Excerpt:

Listening to Rick talk, it’s easy to be seduced by the vision: a world, or at least a borough, where thousands of salvaged-teak schooners ply the oceans, or at least the Gowanus Canal, bearing Mason jars full of marmalade made from windfall kumquats. It’s like a child’s dream. The supermarket aisles are lit by Edison bulbs, staffed by scruffy men in butcher’s aprons, and stocked with cruelty-free dog food and hand-pulped toilet paper. But wait: Should the TP come from new-growth forests (more environmentally correct) or old-growth (more authentic)? Those lightbulbs are beautiful, but aren’t they inefficient? If small batch goes global, how will the idiosyncrat perform this pageant of superior taste? (By embracing Wal-Mart-scale production as a “retro” counterculture?) And is there really a mass market for $9 chutney? In other words, can twee scale? And if it can, and we do find ourselves hurtling toward this nightmarish Brooklandia, is it still okay to like those serrano pepper and “vanilla & smoke” chocolate bars?

Read full New York Magazine article.

Posted on Monday, June 11th 2012