BEAUTY: Illustration--Matt Lyon

The colorful, graphic work of Matt Lyon reminds me so much of that time in the 60s-70s when artist like Peter Max and Heinz Edelmann (who created the animation style for The Beatles film "Yellow Submarine") reigned. I love Lyon's use of color and pattern in the intricate images below. I want the ninth image down as a wallpaper!

https://www.instagram.com/mattlyonart/

"Dancing By Night" by London Grammar and SebastiAn

London Grammar have a new remix album out and on it are two new tracks. This one, "Dancing By Night" is a collaboration with French musical artist/producer SebastiAn, and is magical...

https://www.londongrammar.com/
https://www.instagram.com/sebastian_edbgr/

"Glóð" by Sigur Ros

From the new Sigur Ros release "ATTA," this is a song called "Glóð." The band have enlisted ten guest film directors to direct an accompanying video for each track from the album, and this one by Icelandic director and writer Rúnar Rúnarsson speaks to a sense of ancient myths and cultures. And of course the music is haunting and otherworldly...

https://sigurros.com/

The Waning Days of Summer 2023

BEAUTY: Sculpture--Nichola Theakston

English artist Nichola Theakston creates arresting portraits of animals in clay that are then cast in bronze with marvelous patinas. The sense of the sculptures is that they are artifacts from ancient civilizations (namely Egypt, as she names some of them after Egyptian animal gods like Bastet and Sekhmet), and are mounted as such, on iron displays. And Theakston manages to imbue her figures with the same mythical, revered, god-like qualities the Egyptians imbued on these animals.

https://www.nicholatheakstonceramics.co.uk/

"Secret Life" by Fred Again.. and Brian Eno

I am kind of entranced by this collaborative album from Fred Again.. and Brian Eno called "Secret Life," released a few months ago. It is a fascinating mix of Eno's ambient talents and produciton skills with Fred's soulful approach to music.

https://www.fredagain.com/
https://www.brian-eno.net/

Happy World Elephant Day 2023!

Today is the eleventh anniversary of World Elephant Day!

On August 12, 2012, the inaugural World Elephant Day was launched to bring attention to the urgent plight of Asian and African elephants. The elephant is loved, revered and respected by people and cultures around the world, yet we balance on the brink of seeing the last of this magnificent creature.

The escalation of poaching, habitat loss, human-elephant conflict and mistreatment in captivity are just some of the threats to both African and Asian elephants. Working towards better protection for wild elephants, improving enforcement policies to prevent the illegal poaching and trade of ivory, conserving elephant habitats, better treatment for captive elephants and, when appropriate, reintroducing captive elephants into natural, protected sanctuaries are the goals that numerous elephant conservation organizations are focusing on around the world.

World Elephant Day asks you to experience elephants in non-exploitive and sustainable environments where elephants can thrive under care and protection. On World Elephant Day, August 12, express your concern, share your knowledge and support solutions for the better care of captive and wild elephants alike.

Support World Elephant Day so that we can continue to be a collective voice speaking out on behalf of elephants!

Elephant numbers have dropped by 62% over the last decade, and they could be mostly extinct by the end of the next decade. An estimated 100 African elephants are killed each day by poachers seeking ivory, meat and body parts, leaving only 400,000 remaining. An insatiable lust for ivory products in the Asian market makes the illegal ivory trade extremely profitable, and has led to the slaughter of tens of thousands of African elephants. Between 2010 and 2014, the price of ivory in China tripled, driving illicit poaching through the roof. If the elephants are to survive, the demand for ivory must be stopped . As of 2011, the world is losing more elephants than the population can reproduce, threatening the future of African elephants across the continent. Bull elephants with big tusks are the main targets and their numbers have been diminished to less than half of the females. Female African elephants have tusks and are also killed, which has a terrible effect on the stability of elephant societies, leaving an increasing number of orphaned baby elephants. There are still more African elephants being killed for ivory than are being born . . . elephant populations continue to decline.

Elephant Facts
*Elephants ‘rumble’ or purr like cats as a means of communication.
*The elephant is the largest land mammal and can weigh up to 10 tons!
*African elephants care for wounded individuals in the herd and can even identify the bones of deceased members.
*When an older male wants to spar with a younger male, they will often get down on their knees, which is a great example of elephant empathy. Elephants also appear to express grief, compassion, self-awareness, altruism and play.
*When an elephant calf is not feeding, it might suck its trunk for comfort, just as a human baby would suck its thumb. If a baby elephant is distressed, the entire family will rumble and go over to touch and caress it.
*Elephants eat constantly throughout the day and night and can consume up to 5% of their body mass.
*An elephant’s trunk serves as a nose, a hand, an extra foot, a signaling device, a tool for gathering food, siphoning water, dusting & digging and much more.
*The elephant brain is the largest of all land mammals with a mass of over 5kg. It is similar in structure to the human brain.
*Observations suggest that elephants are able to recognize themselves in a mirror. Self-recognition indicates a very high level of awareness, restricted only to few species.

The World Elephant Day website has partnered with many organizations to help protect elephants. Visit their site to learn more and to help.
https://worldelephantday.org/

"the slab" by Sowdive

Ah, glorious, majestic ambient shoegaze dream pop...this is the stunning track "the slab" by shoegaze pioneers Slowdive. This will be on their forthcoming release "Everything Is Alive" out on September 1, 2023.

Photo by Ingrid Pop

http://www.slowdiveofficial.com/

BEAUTY: Mixed Media--Tatiane Freitas

Brazilian visual artist Tatiane Freitas brings new life to broken furniture in her My New Old series, by replacing missing pieces with simple shapes in acrylic. Her pieces recall the idea of Japanese kintsugi, the art of repairing broken ceramics with gold. They also make me think of Phillipe Starck's famous Louis Ghost Chair. And finally, I flash on the idea of Phantom Limb Syndrome, imbuing these revived pieces with a sense of sentience. The series is fun and thoughtful.

https://tatianefreitas.com/