In memoriam: Leon Botha, South African artist, DJ, and wonderful human being.

In memoriam: Leon Botha, South African artist, DJ, and wonderful human being.: “

[Video Link]

Leon Botha, a South African artist and DJ who became widely known through his association with the band Die Antwoord, died on Sunday from complications related to progeria. He was 26. He died one day after his birthday. Botha was one of the longest-living persons ever to have been diagnosed with this rare disease.

Word spread online last night. Leon had been struggling with increasing physical challenges in recent months. He shared some of that experience with me, along with news of his creative explorations, in occasional emails. Boing Boing pal Griffin of the South African counterculture blog WatKykJy today confirmed the sad news for us: Leon’s condition became grave last week, and he died Sunday from a pulmonary embolism (a blood clot on his lungs).

Leon was working on a new painting of Ninja and Yo-Landi Vi$er of Die Antwoord just this last week, Yo-Landi tells us. ‘He was an angel,’ she said today.

I did not know Leon as well as Ninja, Yo-Landi, and other friends in South Africa’s art and DJ circles, but I would like to share a little of the interaction I had with this gentle and singular soul by way of Boing Boing.

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I first became aware of Leon through his appearance in some of Die Antwoord’s early music videos; he appeared in them as a DJ/’hype man,’ and his unusual physical appearance made him instantly unforgettable. At the time, I didn’t know his name, or anything about him beyond that physical appearance. For many, that first physical impression, what progeria does to the human form, defined him. But Leon did not want to be defined by this difference.

We ended up becoming internet pen-pals of a sort. Through this, and through some of his friends (who all expressed great affection and protectiveness toward Leon) I learned more about his visual and performance art work. In that work, in his written word, and in some of the incredible monologues you can find from on YouTube, his presence radiates. All who knew him, and all who were touched by his spirit through those videos, will know what I mean when I say that he emanated deep sincerity, gentleness, a serenity and quiet wisdom. Leon was aware of his own mortality in ways most people are not. He transformed that awareness into a sort of mindfulness of how vast and awesome life is.

One day over email, Leon shared with me that the passing mentions of him that existed on Wikipedia were upsetting to him. He was mentioned only on the page for Die Antwoord, and under the page for the disease he had, progeria.

‘I was a bit paranoid that my art wouldn’t be in there, in case something happened to me,’ he said.

Leon was very mindful of the value of the internet as a reflection of human life, and an archive of the living after they die. He wanted to be understood as a complex, self-determined, thoughtful creator and connector and thinker. Not as a disease, and not as a footnote in someone else’s better-known story. He wanted to be known for who he really was while he was alive. He wanted us to respect him, and his work, after he was gone.

Recently, our email exchanges seemed to include news of greater physical hardships for Leon. He never complained, but when I asked after longer silences, he shared. I cannot imagine the physical suffering he endured.

‘I always thought when I was little, like, all of this is okay,’ he wrote in one email. ‘Just please don’t let it reach the levels where it is now.’

‘And now, I just need to flow with it. What else can I do? It is important, to reach back and remember all the lessons I have learned on my journey so far. I think the main lesson is that we are not victims to life… and then, the other lesson, is that we must live life.’

How are you holding up, I asked him once after he went through a particularly painful medical procedure. Things were not sounding good.

I am here, he said. ‘I am trying to work and focus, not letting the outer world speak more loudly than my inner. Because I think we tend to forget. Have a great day, peace.’

[Video Link]

Below, I will paste without edits the autobiography he sent me in 2010, when he was frustrated by Wikipedia. These words, his own words, best defined who he was and what he’d accomplished so far, in that last year of his life.


Leon Botha was born on the 4th of June, 1985. Brought up and still living in Cape Town, South Africa.
He started drawing at the age of three. And was diagnosed with progeria around the age of 4 years.
 He took art in high school. Painting and Jewelery design for two years. He did not receive any formal training, and did not study art any further.

After school he dedicating himself to painting full time. Doing commissioned work, as well as working on a solo exhibition.
In 2005 he underwent heart bypass surgery having been at critical risk of heart attack, due to Progeria, which calcified his arteries.

This was successful and he hosted his first solo exhibition in January, 2007 at the Rust-en-Vrede gallery in Durbanville. It was called: ‘Liquid Sword; I am HipHop’, and revolved around HipHop culture, explained as a way of life.
It was opened by close friend, the late Mr. Fat of the South African HipHop group Brasse Vannie Kaap (B.V.K.) 
It received great responses, as well as media coverage. Television, radio, magazine and newspaper articles and interviews.



In mid March, 2009 he hosted his second solo exhibition entitled ‘Liquid Swords; Slices of Le[m]on’, 
The exhibition was a break away from HipHop. The title was a play on his name, with the ‘M’ crossed out, so to read ‘Leon’. The exhibition featured ‘slices’ of the artist’s life. Based around a twist of the phrase; ‘when life gives you lemons you make lemonade’, with the attitude of; ‘When life serves you lemons, you slice it and serve it back.’ Hinting at the artist’s attitude and alchemical philosophy, and struggles under Progeria. It featured a large spectrum of more dark, personal as well as spiritual work.


The responses and media coverage grew even more than before and sold a third of the entire collection of 33 paintings under the first week. 

Many of the articles, images of the paintings etc. are to be found on his flickr page. A video clip of a news insert about the opening of the second exhibition can be found on youtube.



In the beginning of 2010, he hosted the first showing of: ‘Who Am I? …Transgressions,’ a photographic-collaboration exhibition with friend and photographer Gordon Clark. 
In which they collectively conceptualized images and shots to reveal Leon Botha to the world, which was a bold step due to the nature of his condition, of which he is currently one of the world’s oldest survivors.

‘Who am I? … Transgressions’ aimed at stereotypes, ideas of time, life and death and immortality.
 This exhibition is planned to travel around the world. Again, it received a lot of attention, locally as well as internationally.


Leon is well known for his spiritual outlook and philosophy in interviews. 
He also dj’s under the name Solarize, and occasionally opened for Die Antwoord.


Botha was featured alongside Ninja, in the music video ‘Enter the Ninja’, from Die Antwoord. As of March 2010 the video had received over 2 million views on Youtube.

Leon Botha: website, myspace, youtube

Here is Leon’s Wikipedia page now. He seemed pretty happy with how it represented him in the end, thanks to the thoughtful work of dedicated Wikipedia editors who took the task of crafting a living person’s biography seriously. It’s funny how something as simple and transient as a page on Wikipedia can have significance in someone’s life.

Related blog and news coverage of Botha’s passing: Leon’s Facebook page, where friends and fans are posting condolences; Durban Live, SaFindIt, Channel24.co.za, blabla.co.za, Mail and Guardian.


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3D model for reproducing house-keys

3D model for reproducing house-keys: “

Nirav Patel has produced an OpenSCAD 3D model that can produce working Kwikset and Schlage door-keys from the lock-code of the keys. Practically speaking, it means that if you know something about the lock (which you can derive from an image of the key), he can produce a 3D-printable model of a key that will open it. It’s also a good way to check the calibration accuracy of your 3D printer.


Designing the key model was actually pretty straightforward. I measured a key with a ruler and calipers and created an approximate model of it that is reasonably easy to print. I then got pin depth specifications and parametrically differenced them out of the model. To generate new keys, you can just edit the last line of the file and enter in the key code for your key. If the code isn’t written on the key, you can measure the height of each bit and compare to the numbers in the Root Depth column on the aforementioned pin depth site. Perhaps more nefariously, you could implement something like SNEAKEY to generate key codes without physically measuring the key.

Physical Keygen: Duplicating House Keys on a 3D Printer


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MICHAEL PHILIP MANHEIM

MICHAEL PHILIP MANHEIM: “









MICHAEL PHILIP MANHEIM /// RYTHM FROM WITHIN

ARTIST STATEMENT:

I was intrigued with expanding the possibilities of still photography through a different approach to motion, so I developed my own method of multiple exposures. Then I set up a nurturing atmosphere, where my participants felt safe to tune into their emotions and express them physically.

I soon realized that I was photographing spirit more than surface. My subjects were not only moving, but they were also relating to nature in a manner that often revealed their inner selves.

I seemed to be photographing the psyche, a place far removed from what people present to the public. I learned to scout out special places in nature that promoted a cosmic relationship. In addition, I learned to encourage my subjects to produce spontaneous movement by drawing upon a place beyond conscious thought.

The work has evolved into deeply felt personal, emotional and psychological states that elicit universal themes in the viewer. This is an essence of successful portraiture, yet I wasn’t interested in the literal representation of individuals. I preferred an abstract way of going deeper. I trusted the intuition of my participants to bring out the human condition. And I learned to trust my own intuition, as well.

After earlier experimentation and prior projects, I turned my attention to a major dance company. I began ‘The Energy of Dance’ with the Limon Dance Company in 1998. I started by being in control, asking the dancers to repeat specific passages of movement that I had observed on stage and in rehearsals. They quickly caught on to the technique I was developing, and appropriately began improvising. I reacted instinctively and reflexively, adding many images to each frame of film, without time to deliberate. Giving up control meant welcoming a multitude of surprises. Over time, photographs appeared that ranged from amazing juxtapositions, to intricate meshings with nature, to complex depths of expression. Sometimes a rare and refreshing beauty developed that itself transcended the literal and reflected an inner radiance.

It became my signature style. A gallery director named this approach ‘Rhythm from Within’, which became the new name for the project.

One reviewer came to call this ‘risky photography,’ because there was no way to predict the final outcome. The images form immediately upon the film. There’s no later manipulation. And there’s no premeditation, just meditation that powers my exploration of the ‘Rhythm from Within’.

Nine years later, I have a large and still evolving body of work. I’ve assembled 36 images (28 in the Special Exhibit and the others on the website) that show the evolution of this body of work. More importantly, these are choice images from a series that delves into the roots of dance, from motion brought forth by emotion. This intuitive approach includes images of many famous dancers and dance companies, including the Limon Dance Company, Parsons Dance Company, Edisa Weeks, Robert Moses’ Kin, and many others, including students at the annual Bates Dance Festival.

I’m now developing themes under the umbrella of ‘Rhythm from Within’. The first segment is being shown in this current Special Exhibit. There will be many more that I will assemble over the years–both from the files and from new sessions.

☁ MICHAEL PHILIP MANHEIM
☁ MICHAEL PHILIP MANHEIM @ CONTEMPORARY WORKS

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Glitchbot: for all your corrupt JPEG needs

Glitchbot: for all your corrupt JPEG needs: “

Glitchbot is a Flickr bot that grabs Creative Commons-licensed images, corrupts them, and re-posts them with attribution and compatible licenses.


GlitchBot draws from a limited number of source images and a limited number of possible glitches and will theoretically yield all possible glitch derivatives. However, like the compression algorithms GlitchBot exploits, GlitchBot is an imperfect creation. Within the flickr comments and descriptions there can be found occasional typos, and much more rarely an image may pass through completely unglitched – a glitch manifested in the absence of glitch. Furthermore, though there is a limited supply of source images and of potential glitched derivatives, GlitchBot moves far too slowly (one image per day) to keep up with the rapid influx of new flickr uploads.

Glitchbot

(via JWZ)


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