Geology geeks: Time for a shopping spree: The United States Geological Survey is having a great big spring sale, with lots of maps, charts, and publications—some of them mid-century vintage—discounted to $1. Yes, $1. At that price, you can’t afford to not own entirely too many USGS maps. (Via Travis Weller)

A Softer World:

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Photographic Collages Suspended in Plexiglas:

Auckland-based artist Peter Madden gleans found images from old encyclopedias, back issues of National Geographic, and nature books to create his dense and nearly psychedelic collages suspended in perspex, also known as ‘safety glass’. Of his work Madden says “I consider myself a ‘Sculptographer’; a ‘post-conceptual photographer’. A mediator between genres and dimensions, between you, the other and I. I suppose I am an altogether different collagist, maybe a collagist of difference.” To see much more of his three dimensional work, check out this gallery. Images above courtesy Ryan Renshaw and EyeContact. (via junk culture)

People of Burning Man [NSFW]:

Julian Cash’s The People of Burning Man is a beautifully produced photo-portrait book shot over many consecutive years at Burning Man, the giant, weird, delightful art and culture festival that takes place every summer in Nevada’s Black Rock desert. Cash — who’s quite an accomplished and experimental portraitist — does a wonderful job of bringing out the decadence and playfulness of Burning Man. There’s plenty of the nudity that often comes to mind when people think of Burning Man (this is, after all, the home of the Critical Tits topless bicycle ride), but Cash manages the fantastic trick of allowing his nudes to be sensual and sometimes sexy without ever being pornographic or salacious. These aren’t “tasteful” nudes — but they are exuberant and above all, fun.

People of Burning Man is to be celebrated also for its admirable lack of text. There’s very little narration here, because very little is needed. The pictures tell their own stories — sometimes in a frozen snapshot, and sometimes over time, as we visit with the same Burners over consecutive years (including one woman who appears first in a very pregnant state, and then with a babe at her breast). What little text there is — a bit of background on the art of shooting portraits in a harsh desert, a little bit of biography supplied by the subjects — complements the images without upstaging them.

Cash was good enough to supply a gallery of (NSFW, naturally) photos that are included below. There’s plenty more — and lots more material, besides — at his The People of Burning Man site. The book was independently published with the help of a successful Kickstarter campaign, and it’s both a beautifully made thing and a thing of beauty.

The People of Burning Man

Little Free Library can help put a library on your corner:

I happened upon this mini-library in my neighborhood and am so impressed with the movement that Little Free Library has started that I am getting one together for our street. The concept is simple: put a charming box full of books in a public place, encourage people to share them and to contribute their own.
From their FAQ:

Little Free Library sells pre-made mini-libraries or will show you how to build your own.
Check out a couple of my favorites from around the country:


Here’s a Google Map with many of the libraries on it. Support Little Free Library if you can!

Urban plant tags:

I’m amused and charmed by this theoretical public art project proposed by Minneapolis’ Carmichael Lynch Creative. Urban Plant Tags explain the care, placement, and proper feeding of inanimate objects like benches, streetlights, and fire hydrants.

You can go to the website to read those plant tags more clearly. But I love the care instructions for this bench: “Apply Real Estate Ads Annually — Occasionally Wipe Clean — Keep Warm With Butt.”

Side note: Perhaps you are confused by the fact that this fire hydrant appears to be on a stilt. That’s because it snows so much up here in Minnesota that they have to build the fire hydrants tall enough to clear the winter snow cover. An amusing regionalism.

See the whole set of urban plant tags

Via Andrew Balfour

[Noice. -egg]

Rocking Horses of the Apocalypse:

Artist Carrin Welch’s first foray into sculpture is a marvellous set of “Four Rocking Horses of the Apocalypse,” made from wood. They’re nearly finished, and eminently ridable.

My interpretation of these horsemen from Revelations in the Bible is very loose, it’s an artistic idea based mostly on how I want them to look, and less on the many academic and theological interpretations. I want them to appear ominous and imposing, but the catch is that they are giant toys. They are meant to be fantastic and absurd, but also beautiful and magical. You cannot ride one of the mammoths without feeling a little joy. With this world feeling so unstable, and all the theories of its end, the rocking horses bring light to a dark time.

All four horses are expected to be completed by end of May 2012, when they will travel to Burning Flipside for their collective debut. After that I will be collaborating with fellow artists to produce some fun, fantasy images of the rocking horses, and seeking opportunities to show them and let people interact with them.

Welch completed the horses during a period of unemployment, thanks to funding provided by her fans on Kickstarter.

The Four Rocking Horses of the Apocalypse

(via Neatorama)