Italian Artist Peeta Blends Graffiti And Abstract Forms Into Optical Illusion Murals
Italian artist Peeta combines elements of graffiti and abstract art to paint murals that appear to morph and dissolve architectural structures. Abstract shapes swirl around and cut into walls to form M.C. Escher-like scenes that play tricks on the eyes and change depending on the viewing angle.

Ripples Of Time Sand Clock By Studio Ayaskan
The Ripples of Time Sand Clock allows natural materials to be shaped by time, reminding us of its presence. The installation consists of two complementary clocks; Sand and Water. Sand, inspired by Zen Gardens, is the gradual formation and flattening of a ripple pattern over a period of twelve-hour cycles.

The Secret Life Of A Professional Statue
For several years in my 20s, off and on, I was a professional statue. Statue was both a noun and a verb. I was a statue; statuing was what I did. My job was, basically, not to react. Unless one of the tourists gave me what I wanted — a tip in the plastic lemonade pitcher at my feet — I gave them nothing.

A Lesson From Social Distancing: Build Better Balconies
Balconies symbolize new kinds of freedom — to embrace social isolation without feeling trapped, and to enjoy fresh air without worrying about breathing in the virus. A lack of private outdoor spaces in many cities is partly by design.

The Imperfect Picture That Transformed 20th-Century Photography
It’s called ‘San Francisco’, and it was taken in Alamo Square Park in 1956. It is an unruly and liberating photograph, both loaded and elusive, and quite unlike any picture that had ever been published before, at least in an art setting.

3D Printed Housing For Those Who Need It Most
New Story, ICON, and Échale have completed the first two printed homes in the world’s first 3D printed community in Mexico. The 3D printed homes feature two bedrooms, a living room, kitchen and bath. Co-designed with feedback from the families who will live in them, the homes have been created to meet the specific needs of the community.

How I. M. Pei Shaped The Modern City
I. M. Pei died at the age of 102 after a long career as an architect of great renown. The China-born, U.S.-trained architect took on commissions that helped reshape cities around the world through the second half of the 20th century.

How Japan Could Reinvent The Hotel
Smart use of space and a centuries-old hospitality industry have made Japan’s hotels pop. A new crop of lodging luring millennials might help define Japan’s post-Olympics, Airbnb era. Boutique, offbeat lifestyle hotels might just be the key to attracting a new kind of traveller – and retaining a competitive edge.

James Niehues: The Man Behind The Map
If you are a skier or snowboarder, there is a good chance James Niehues has been your mountain guide. Throughout his 30 year career he has worked at the smallest hills and the most expansive resorts in North America. James has extensively researched, photographed and illustrated nearly every ski map used in North America over the last three decades.

The Story Of The McBarge, The Floating McDonald’s Restaurant
Take a trip back to the mid 80’s when Vancouver hosted a World’s Fair event with one of the most unique fast food restaurants ever constructed. Friendship 500, or better known as The McBarge.

Futuristic Photos From High-Rise Towers In Paris Suburbs
As a child, Laurent Kronental walked past Les Tours Aillaud, a group of eighteen residential towers in the Paris suburbs, in wonderment. As an adult, the looming high-rises, home to some 1600 apartments, continued to haunt his subconscious.

Cocaine, No Sleep And Deep Soul: The Story Of David Bowie’s ‘Young Americans’
‘His eyes didn’t look healthy but his voice might be better than on any other album’ – pianist Mike Garson and guitarist Carlos Alomar recall the sessions that featured soul greats like Luther Vandross and visitors John Lennon and Bruce Springsteen.

Banksy’s Birmingham Reindeer Are An Artistic Miracle
Banksy’s team of reindeer painted on a wall in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, pulling a bench that homeless people use as a bed, is rightly popular. Rather than exploit ‘the homeless’, this painting empowers rough sleepers to draw attention to their individuality.

Studio Precht Designs A Fingerprint-Shaped Park For Physical Distancing
Austria-based studio Precht — previously known as Penda — has unveiled the design for a lush green park envisioned for physical distancing and short-term solitude. Dubbed Parc de la Distance, the open air space has been shaped in the form of a fingerprint, evoking human touch.

How Leonardo Da Vinci Made A “Satellite” Map In 1502
When infamous Italian politician Cesare Borgia brought Leonardo da Vinci — the guy who drew this portrait — to the city of Imola, it was as a military engineer. When Leonardo was installed at Borgia’s newly acquired fort, one of his duties was to help Borgia learn the territory.

‘The Countryside Is Where The Radical Changes Are’: Rem Koolhaas Goes Rural
“There has been no architecture of a similar vigour in the last 100 years. It is based strictly on codes, algorithms, technologies, engineering and performance, not intention. Its boredom is hypnotic, its banality breathtaking.” For Koolhaas, the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center embodies a new kind of sublime.

How 17 Outsize Portraits Rattled A Small Southern Town
Newnan had prided itself on its quiet charm. It offered small-town living just 40 miles southwest of Atlanta and had earned the nickname “City of Homes” for its antebellum architecture. The town decided to use art to help the community celebrate diversity and embrace change. Not everyone was ready for what they saw.

These Pics Are Composed Of As Many Pixels As There Are Animals Still Alive In These Species
A brilliant 2008 campaign by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has been resurfacing. The campaign, called WWF Japan – Population by pixel, was created by the agency Hakuhodo C&D / Tokyo. Inspired by their work, Imgurian JJSmooth44 made a follow-up to their project and it’s just as powerful as the original.

Prefab Needs To Be Fixed Before It Can Save Housing
Today, prefabrication in the United States is stunted. The small manufacturers that exist cannot invest in research and therefore cannot produce the more sophisticated projects that are needed today. Plus, in many cases, it can be less costly to ship a project over from a more experienced or innovative fabricator.

Hard Truths: Will Museums’ Digital Plans Make Curators Obsolete?
As art institutions continue to raise ticket prices and roll out blockbusters, we may come to see shows that will be curated entirely by optimized algorithms. What happens when a museum becomes curator-less? Will this be the end of art history as we’ve known it, or the dawn of a techno renaissance?

A Rare Look At The Photography Of Andy Warhol
While photography was central to Warhol’s artistic practice for 30 years, often as source material for his famous screen prints, his purely photographic works — in particular, his stitched gelatin prints of a single image printed multiple times and sewn together — only saw the light of day once while he was alive.