futurist-foresight:

3d printed portraits derived from DNA taken off discarded gum and cigarette butts. When art and science combine.

scienceyoucanlove:

itscolossal:

3D printed portraits derived from synthesized DNA found on discarded gum and cigarette butts by Heather Dewey-Hagborg.

I remember reading about this! Creepy, yet fascinating ;) 

(via stufftoblowyourmind)

ewok-gia:

Alternative Limb Project

(Source: tbch, via stufftoblowyourmind)

artandsciencejournal:

Connections: The Tree of Life and Death

Connections are everywhere, be they symbolic or literal. Every connection has its purpose, from the tiny fibers of an adult human fibroblast cell, which connects (or adheres) to extracellular matrixes, to trees, with their deep roots, connecting themselves to the ground. See, even these two seemingly different objects, with their own unique connections, can also find a way to be connected to each other. A photograph of a network of adult human fibroblast cells looks oddly similar to that of a pink tree (taken by Heather Champ) found in San Francisco, but, where the cells actually help produce more cells, more life, the pink tree is in fact, dead. It can no longer grow or blossom, like the cells in their own way. That does not mean this tree cannot still be admired aesthetically in some way.

An unknown artist, upon hearing of the death of the tree, decided to give it new life by transforming it into a small but significant urban art piece. Though it was taken down not long after, it shows that even when dead, natural objects such as trees can still be used to make beautiful art.

So artists go one step further, and create art long after a tree has been cut down and transformed into a new object; a piece of paper. Artist Emma Taylor creates a series of work called “From Within A Book” where she takes pages of a book and sculpts various scenes, such as a stork carrying a baby or a person reading a book. One work that particularly stands out is that of a large tree, coming out from between two pages. It reminded me of the pink tree, and even of the fibroblast cells.  Like the pink tree, the tree used to make the pages is long dead, but the artist has taken the pages, connecting them together like cells, to create a new tree.

Though not truly living, it is an echo of its former self, and yet, still as beautiful. The tree seems to be one of few natural objects that can be beautiful and inspiring in both life and death.

-Anna Paluch

futurist-foresight:

An interesting vision for vertical farming.

staceythinx:

Architect Vincent Callebaut’s take on vertical farming is as interesting to look at as it is beneficial.

About the project:

The cities are currently responsible for 75% of the worldwide consumption of energy and they reject 80% of worldwide emissions of CO2. The contemporary urban model is thus ultra-energy consuming and works on the importation of wealth and natural resources on the one hand, and on the exportation of the pollution and waste on the other hand. This loop of energetic flows can be avoided by repatriating the countryside and the farming production modes in the heart of the city by the creation of green lungs, farmscrapers in vertical storeys and by the implantation of wind and solar power stations. The production sites of food and energy resources will be thus reintegrated in the heart of the consumption sites ! The buildings with positive energies must become the norm and reduce the carbon print on the mid term.

Read more…

Further reading watching: Where Do We Grow from Here?

(via stufftoblowyourmind)

best-likes:

Immaterials by Onformative imagines the form of metadata

Onformative on their project:

Immateriality as material is currently being discovered, opening up a new poetic field in which to narrate with space and information. Location-based metadata waft through the space, and are thereby redefining contexts and places. A new field opens up to designers.

Read more…

(Source: staceythinx, via stufftoblowyourmind)

kateoplis:

Inside the World’s Most Humane Prison

“To ease the psychological burdens of imprisonment, the planners at Halden spent roughly $1 million on paintings, photography and light installations. According to a prison informational pamphlet, this mural by Norwegian graffiti artist Dolk “brings a touch of humor to a rather controlled space.” Officials hope the art — along with creative outlets like drawing classes and wood workshops — will give inmates “a sense of being taken seriously.” 

“There’s also a recording studio with a professional mixing board. In-house music teachers — who refer to the inmates as “pupils,” never “prisoners” — work with their charges on piano, guitar, bongos and more. Three members of Halden’s security-guard chorus recently competed on Norway’s version of American Idol. They hope to produce the prison’s first musical — starring inmates — later this year.”

Further reading about how prisons became what most are today: How Prisons Works.