Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Source of inspiration 244 (click on this title!): Theremin, etc.
The Theremin is one of the earliest electric instruments. It was created by Lev Sergeïevitch Termen (who looks and speaks like a cousin of Count Dracula, cf. the link!).
It is made up of two antennas anchored into a box. Two tubes inside the box combine to create a beat which forms an audible signal between 20 and 20000 Hz. One hand controls the volume, the other the pitch. The musician waves his hands in the air as if he were conducting. It is funny and strange to watch, especially as Theremin players seem to take their instrument very seriously… The sound really is from another dimension.
The Theremin was created during the Russian Revolution. Lenin really liked it and he even found time to take Theremin classes! He ordered six hundred to be distributed throughout the USSR. It was a symbol of the intellectual and artistic revolution of the 20s. It was also a success in Europe and the United-States.
The Theremin has mostly been used in contemporary music. It has also been used by, among others: the Bee Gees, Muse, Radiohead, and the Rolling Stones.
It was used for the soundtrack of many spooky 50s movies. See the links below for two films which pay tribute to that period of cinema history, Ed Wood and Mars Attacks (in which the Theremin is the unexpected weapon that makes the ghastly little green men’s heads explode!):
http://www.indavideo.hu/video/THE_END_-_1996_-_MARS_ATTACKS
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4c6gw_ed-wood-generique-keoxprod_shortfilms
The Theremin is a futuristic box from the past… There are other bizarre instruments of the same kind, notably the Ondes Martenot:
Here's an obvious creative idea: make your own Theremin!
Click on this:
Article by Florent Bourgain
Friday, November 12, 2010
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Source of inspiration 237 (click on this title!): Cupboard
A cupboard is an ordinary and very useful container. It is a “box” that contains everyday things: food, dishes, linen, books, message boards, etc.
There are several types of cupboards: airing cupboard (large heated built-in clothes wardrobe), china cabinet (for storing precious table ware), linen cupboard, etc.
The cupboard in my boarding school room is filled with clothes, books, and notebooks. At home, my cupboard is filled with, among other artifacts, CDs, fragrance bottles, and stuffed animals. In our kitchen, the cupboard is just filled with too much food. The contents of a cupboard say a lot about a person or a family, and so does the way the cupboard is filled up.
The cupboard in the photo shows that an ordinary cupboard can become a creative space and, apparently, a means to keep in touch. It is nice and tidy and full of interesting stuff. We can imagine it belongs to a nice bunch of people who probably get on well with each other!
Why not reinvent your cupboard and make it a real shrine to the Penates? It’ll show what an interesting person you are!
Article by Anne-Sophie Belbezet
Source of inspiration 235 (click on this title!): Enigma machine
Enigma is the best-known encryption and decryption machine in history. The first Enigma cypher machine was invented by Arthur Scherbius, a German engineer, just after the First World War. German industries used it to exchange secret messages, about new models of their products, etc. It was a revolution in the means to share ideas without the risk of leaks. It was also used by armies and governments of the whole world.
When Germany was under Nazi power, the German secret service and army commissioned a more powerful model of Enigma. The Wehrmacht model was created just before the start of the war. It gave Germany a big advantage because no other country knew the workings of this new model. During the war, to encrypt a message using Enigma became a habit for the German soldiers.
For two years the Allied forces were unable to understand the Nazi messages; it was a terrible disadvantage. But in 1943, British scientists, namely Alan Turing with his Colossus machine, discovered how to decrypt Enigma messages at last.
Article by Thibault Prat
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Not inspired yet?! Start sending your artistic ideas!
Start sending your ideas to : ortisbateau@gmail.com
Friday, October 29, 2010
Source of inspiration 230 (click on this title!): Tin can
British merchant Peter Durand made an impact on food preservation with his 1810 patenting of the tin can. In 1813, John Hall and Bryan Dorkin opened the first commercial canning factory in England. In 1846, Henry Evans invented a machine that could manufacture tin cans at a rate of sixty per hour, a significant increase over the previous rate of only six per hour.
The first tin cans were so thick they had to be hammered open. As cans became thinner, it became possible to invent dedicated can openers. In 1858, Ezra Warner of Waterbury, Connecticut, patented the first can opener. The U.S. military used it during the Civil War. In 1866, J. Osterhoudt patented the tin can with a key opener that you can find on sardine cans.
On January 24th 1935, the first canned beer, "Krueger Cream Ale," was sold by the Kruger Brewing Company of Richmond, VA.
Article by Elliot Jackson
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Source of inspiration 227 (click on this title!): Mixing console
The mixing console or mixer is an electronic tool to mix different sounds together. It can be analog, digital or played with several computers.
A mixer is used in a recording studio, for movie music, for radio, during a concert, or by a DJ. Its size depends on its use. There are two kinds of mixer: the Splits, used for the sound system, and the In-Line used in the studio. All the buttons and knobs have a specific use (to make the sound fuller or lower for example).
Article by Florent Bourgain.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Source of inspiration 226 (click on this title!): Amplifier
The amplifier or amp is an electric unit for electric guitar or bass. There are two parts to an electric guitar: an electronic part for the amplification, and an electro-mechanical one when a speaker changes an electrical signal into an acoustic signal. We can do a lot of things with an amplifier, for example: the echo effect.
There are two types of amplifier: the tube amp which was the first unit with signal amplification, and the transistor amp; the transistor uses less electricity so it is more practical.The amp is a unit which has enough power to make you deaf, so be careful... Now that you know what an amp is, go get your guitar and hit those chords!
Article by Florent Bourgain
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Source of inspiration 225 (click on this title!): Egg box
This picture shows a normal egg box. The peculiar thing is that these eggs have faces...
An egg box is used to stock and transport fragile eggs. The molded cardboard of the box surrounds each egg and protects it a little.
Egg boxes are good soundproofing material when placed on walls.
Egg boxes are also widely used in handicrafts.
Just imagine a life without egg boxes: broken eggs, noise pollution, and lot of desperate mums, dads and kindergarten workers!
Article by Annika Nischik
Source of inspiration 224 (click on this title!): Stranger in a glass box
Quentin Shih is a Chinese American photographer. The photo above is one in a series called "The stranger in the glass box" for Christian Dior (the famous haute couture and perfumery firm).
The model trapped in the glass box is wearing Dior. Around the box are normal Chinese people dressed in their work uniforms. They are looking somewhat perplexed at this stranger who seems to have landed there by mistake.
This glass box is symbolic of the perhaps insurmountable cultural barrier between the rich West and China. These ordinary Chinese, trapped in a boring, grey, empty no man’s land, can only observe. They cannot touch this oversized beautiful alien being in her aquarium-like spaceship/cube. They can only desire her and what she stands for.
This advertising photo is not just aesthetically pleasing; it is a political comment on consumerism and globalization. It is about conformity versus individualism, about poverty and wealth, the many and the few, about desire and frustration.
Article by Annika Nischik
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Source of inspiration 223 (click on this title!): Whelping box
The word "whelp" is defined as "a young offspring of a mammal, such as a dog or wolf". A whelping box is simply a specialized box designed for optimal birthing and raising of small mammals, specifically puppies.
You are probably thinking "well my grandma put our pregnant dog in a cardboard box or laundry basket with some towels when she was giving birth, isn't that the same thing?". I assure you it is not. Many people even view this simplistic, old-fashioned idea as neglectful these days.
Discussions about how pups can become injured during birth flood the internet. Pups can become tangled and injured when born in a laundry basket and without proper supervision a birthing mother can even unknowingly crush her pups in a cardboard box during the birthing process.
Whelping boxes are mainly a safety precaution for birthing mothers and their offspring and they are most commonly used by breeders. They are designed for easy clean up, optimum safety for the pups and they are reusable. which is a great benefit for multiple litter breeders. When you are breeding for money the care and survival of your pups is your livelihood.
Ensuring the safety and cleanliness of the pups in addition to finding convenience and efficiency in the breeding process is how whelping boxes became prevalent in the breeding world.
Whelping boxes are also now considered a necessity for many owners who find their pet has become pregnant. This is because whelping boxes are known to ensure the safety of the pups without extra supervision needed. They have specially placed rails within the box that'll keep mama from accidentally squashing a pup between herself and and the box wall during the birthing and afterward.
A whelping box keeps young pups confined while allowing the mother to easily enter and exit at will and a whelping box keeps the mess of birthing puppies off your floor. Additionally, whelping boxes are made to keep pups shielded from drafts which can make them sick and weak after birth.
In what way is a whelping box a source of artistic inspiration? This box provides safety, it allows life to come forth... it is no ordinary box!
Article by Elliot Jackson
Monday, September 13, 2010
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Source of inspiration 221 (click on this title!): Tativille!
These photos are stills taken from Playtime, a movie by Jacques Tati:
Comment on the last photo:
In the background, there are numerous grey cubicles, work boxes where people are confined. Everything seems well ordered; nothing unexpected can probably happen in their lives. It’s an image of a society where everything has to be perfectly organized and tidy. The fact that these people are closed up in boxes suggests they are strongly influenced by a society which dehumanizes them and prevents them from thinking for themselves or from communicating with each other. All these people, locked up in their geometric environment, seem trapped in an insane ideology.
Metallic grey is the dominant colour in this picture. It symbolizes the boring conformity of the characters.
The man in the foreground is Mr. Hulot, the main character of the film. He’s dressed conventionally in a grey coat and hat, and he’s holding a black umbrella.
Hulot does not seem to understand what is happening. He seems unsure of where he has to go. He appears to be an observer, alone, hesitating at the top of the escalator. He stands out from the mass of office workers by his behaviour.
Is he conscious of the absurdity of a world based on senseless work and order?
Article by Julie Botet
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Source of inspiration 219 (click on this title!): Wardrobe
This is no ordinary piece of furniture! It is through this wardrobe that children enter Narnia!
Clive Staples Lewis, better known as C.S. Lewis, was born on the 29th November 1898 in Belfast (Ireland) and died in Oxford (England) on the 22nd November 1963. He was a writer, and also a don at the University of Belfast. He worked on Medieval literature, was a literary critic, and a devout Christian. He is famous for writing the Narnia chronicles published in the 1950s.
What is the significance of the wardrobe in the Narnia stories? C.S. Lewis never explained it... Does it have something to do with his childhood or a particular event? Lewis was full of secrets... His perhaps excessive love of God sometimes made him write strange things; he sometimes made use of heavenly creatures as important characters in his stories.
The Narnia books have been adapted for the stage and film (the first, by Disney, in 2005), and there are video games based on the stories too.
A big wardrobe is impressive, especially for children (are there just clothes in there, or are there "skeletons in the cupboard"?!). It intrigues curiose kids... It can also be a refuge (that's the case in the Narnia story when the children are hiding from each other and then from a menacing adult). It is also the doorway to a better world, one of fabulous adventures in which children are no longer victims but become heros.
By Laura Caumel
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