Culture

Kill it, Stuff it, and Put it on Display. The Olympics of Taxidermy.

I’ve always had a bizarre fascination with taxidermy. I think it is one of the strangest things people do, and yet I’m kind of drawn to it. I think the fascination started when I was a kid and I visited the natural history museum where they had all of these insane dioramas featuring dead stuffed animals. It was the antithesis of the zoo, or being at a national park where you would see the animals alive, and out in their natural environment. I just didn’t get the concept of, kill it, stuff it, put it on display frozen in time. (at the time I didn’t realize that taxidermied animals aren’t really stuffed carcasses).

So, the video below is a 20-minute look into the world of taxidermy. More specifically, it is a look into the Olympics of taxidermy, and it’s actually a pretty interesting documentary short. It’s well shot, edited, and the production value is very solid. And the story line is really solid. It draws you in and holds your attention. Well at least it did with me, but then again I do have a morbid attraction to this subject.

Packaging That Tells a Story.

I love clever package design, especially when individual pieces combine to tell a much larger story. Traditionals Torroni nougats packaging designed by Happycentro does just that for Sabadi.

Each candy bar is a single chapter filled with marvelous illustrations. When the bars are placed side by side they form a complete panorama that is a reflection of the Sicilian countryside and the rich natural ingredients used in each bar. I love the illustration style that is reflected on each of these pieces. it is a visual personification of the mix of cultures, art, cuisines that make up Sicily and its people.

Just In Time For Summer.

The first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere is just a couple of days away. With it comes long warm days, sunshine, and unfortunately harmful UV rays. In many cultures using an umbrella to shield you from the sun is as much a custom as using one to keep the rain off of your head. Unfortunately most umbrellas don’t offer a solution that is visually fun and exciting.

Japanese designers Fumito Kogure and Shinya Kaneko have come up with an artful answer to the umbrella. Komorebi is a Japanese saying that roughly translated means “sunshine filtering through foliage.” These two designers have applied that phrase to your typical umbrella creating something that shades you with the feeling of sitting under a tree. Komorebigasa, can be used in rain or shine but the shadows it creates on a sunny day simply make me smile.

If you have 3900 Yen ($41.50) you can pick it up here.

Thrash Lab Presents Light Painting Artist: Darren Pearson.

If you haven’t heard of Thrash Lab, it is a YouTube project produced in part by Ashton Kutcher. If you get a chance, click through to the YouTube page and spend some time watching these short films. They are well shot, well edited, compelling stories that explores cultural trends and encourages creativity. A great example of what Kutcher and his crew are doing is the video below of artist Darren Pearson. Pearson is a mixed media artist that combines, photography and light painting to create his images. Take the two and a half minutes to give it a watch, and then check out some of the other videos that Thrash Lab has produced.