From fiberglass to James Franco, or what Ice Cube has to do with designing the American imagination.
It’s been a grand year for Charles and Ray Eames, from the rediscovery of Charles Eames’ fantastic 1982 Q&A on design to architect-turned-rapper Ice Cube singing the duo’s praises. The Eames, of course, very much warrant cultural paeans — they not only gave a shape and style to the American twentieth century, but they also defined a new cultural role for designers as architects of imagination who invite people to look at the world differently. Today marks the highly anticipated DVD release of Eames: The Architect and the Painter — a fascinating documentary about the legendary husband-and-wife design duo, exploring their personal lives, their creative process, and their enduring influence on the American aesthetic, design sensibility, and outlook on life.
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One of the interesting social implications of The Black Death is that church leaders were not able to provide any explanation of how this disease was caused and, as a result, the authority of church leaders began to be eroded and people began to question whether they should listen to religious leaders at all. Some people have even said that the English Reformation was caused by the Black Death.”
In 2011, bringing you Brain Pickings took more than 5,000 hours. If you found any joy and stimulation here this year, please consider a modest donation.
Brain Pickings has a free weekly newsletter and people say it’s cool. It comes out on Sundays and offers the week’s best articles. Here’s what to expect. Like? Sign up.
The rhetoric of data, or how to reconcile human and algorithm in the age of collective intelligence.
After their fantastic 7-minute documentary on typography, the fine folks at PBS Off Book are back with another micro-documentary, this time spotlighting generative art and featuring creators like generative composer Luke Dubois, game designer Will Wright, and software artist Scott Draves, who discuss everything from new narratives in visual storytelling to negotiating the relationship between humans and algorithms to the rhetoric of data.
This century is the century of data, that’s the defining thing. Last century was the century of electricity.” ~ Luke Dubois
In 2011, bringing you Brain Pickings took more than 5,000 hours. If you found any joy and stimulation here this year, please consider a modest donation.
Brain Pickings has a free weekly newsletter and people say it’s cool. It comes out on Sundays and offers the week’s best articles. Here’s what to expect. Like? Sign up.
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