Dreams are fine. And dreams involve contradictions. We want this AND that, but both can’t happen. That’s what keeps them from being plans. Plans embrace boundaries and reality, they don’t ignore them. Plans thrive on scarcity and constraints. Plans are open for inspection, and
Last fall, OpenAI started letting users create custom versions of ChatGPT–ones that would let people create AI assistants to complete tasks in their personal or professional lives. In the months that followed, some users created AI apps that could generate recipes and meals.
An LA installation ahead of Swift's new album release features academia props including manuscripts, typewriters, and shelves lined with books.
Undercutting dominant narratives of Spanish modernism, Delhy Tejero was part of a community of artists whose avant-garde work forged a new sense of national identity.
Letter from the editors of Scientific American: We Need to Make Cities Less Car-Dependent . “We can design or redesign streets to make people drive more slowly or to discourage driving altogether. We can invest in better public transit…” 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
I tried out "Ask Dalí," a new experience that lets you communicate with an AI model of the Surrealist artist through a lobster telephone.
At Sovereign Futures , artists and community members gathered over the course of four days to traverse the layered history of the Oklahoma city.
The new documentary All We’ve Got shows audiences the range of spaces designed as lesbian community hubs, performance venues, and places for dancing and partying.
Oh man, I don’t think this could be any more in my wheelhouse: cross-stitch embroideries of CCTV camera images by Francine LeClercq . I’ve always had a soft spot for cross-stitch — it’s the ur-pixel art — and to see low-res, compressed, B&W security camera footage done in
Protest art decorated the lawn around the green tents as students chanted and sang.
The art felt as if it was trying to find the language to merge emotion with content, to harness the energies of the search within the courage of experimentation.
PodcastAP allows you to follow podcasts and music feeds in the fediverse. (So when Ezra Klein or On Being drops a new episode, you’ll get it right in your Mastodon feed.) 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
I don’t really know how to describe this but here goes: Tavi Gevinson wrote a 76-page zine called Fan Fiction: A Satire about her relationship with & to Taylor Swift and her work. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
“Captain or anyone who receives this message shall receive remains of the Dundee whaler Snowdrop, collided with an iceberg. No hope. 14th November, 1908. Sinking fast.”
This sounds really good: astrophysicist Katie Mack and curious person John Green collaborate on A Podcast About The Entire History Of The Universe . 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
If you walked into an exhibition featuring work from Tamara Kostianovsky in recent years, you likely encountered life-sized carcasses dangling from meat hooks. The Argentine-American artist ( previously ) is perhaps best known for these carnal sculptures of bone and flesh made
Edith here. For the next installment of my newish illustrated column here on Kottke dot org, I talked to my friend Nick Catucci . Nick edits the excellent newsletter Embedded , which partially inspired me to start this column. (Specifically, Embedded has an interview series
"It’s 2016. I’m a contemporary artist and have been living off of Medicaid, food stamps, and $20k annually since graduating from art school five years ago."
Matthew Haughey: Embrace the Weird . “Who cares? Just make weird shit.” I often fail or am unengaged when I start with goals — picking an interesting direction has always been more fulfilling for me. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
An appreciation of Calvin and Hobbes and its creator Bill Watterson by Colin Marshall at Open Culture: “It took no time at all to master Garfield, but when I started getting Calvin and Hobbes, I knew I was making progress…” 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
Ranging from mechanical parts and cooking utensils to plastic caps and beads, Kenyan artist Cyrus Kabiru fashions dazzling eyewear and helmets from salvaged and found objects. The futuristic forms often obscure the eyes like an ornamental veil, and motorbike helmets provide a
"When a farm becomes a vacation spot, can meaningful connections really happen?"
This is a teenager is an interactive data visualization by Alvin Chang about a group of American teenagers that have been tracked in a longitudinal study since 1997 (they are around 40 years old now). The video version of the visualization is embedded above. A year from now,
The Flooding Will Come “No Matter What” , an excerpt from Abrahm Lustgarten’s book about climate migration in the US . People have already begun to move due to floods, fires, and heat — and that number will continue to grow. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
A mother working overtime at home as a seamstress finds it difficult to carve out a few moments for her son in “ Felt Love ,” a poignant short film about family, togetherness, and quality time. Created by a group of students at San Jose State University as a senior thesis
"Experiences of shame throw a flooding light on what and who we are and what the world we live in is."
Over 100 artists and art workers called attention to participating nations' complicity in the attacks on Gaza.
"Today, cars are better than they have ever been—and, not unrelatedly, more similar to one another."
For a truly ‘naive melody’, listen as musicians try to mirror a song in realtime, accompanied by a dreamy animation - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon
Sometimes, we’re so afraid of creation that we don’t even leave blank pages around. If your workspace has a hole exactly the size of a creative idea in it, you’re more likely to fill the hole. When we decrease the number of steps to begin creating, and increase the expectation