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#16 on our 2013 Most Creative People list is Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.
Every day, as his every move is monitored in Beijing, Ai Weiwei does not silently suffer the blows of being an enemy of the Communist Party. “I have a voice,” he says, “and I have a lot to say before going to my grave.”
Chinese artist Ai WeiWei has created his first music video, for his single called “Dumbass.” The video recreates the environment of his 2011 prison stay right down to the wallpaper.
Weiwei sees “Dumbass” as a kind of therapy, and an activist message all by itself—it contains criticism of Chinese intellectuals who are trying to change China from within the system.
A Beautiful Cheat Sheet For Two Dozen Espresso-Based Drinks
Ugh. Just when you kinda sorta started to get a handle on the wide world of wine, along comes another new liquid metric for how cosmopolitan you really are (or aren’t): coffee.
Love this one! Here’s another.
Image manipulation site Worth1000.com’s latest Photoshop contest called on entrants to insert celebrities into works of Renaissance art(yes, some of the entrants applied a liberal interpretation to Renaissance—many of the paintings spill out of that time period).
The sitting Congress has the most women of any in history. Artist Emily Nemens is capturing each of them in paint, and using their likenesses in graphics to show how far we still have to go to bring gender equality to Washington.
The women of Congress, in fabulous watercolor infographics
Big philosophical ideas reduced to simple shapes, from graphic designer Genís Carreras .
How color-coded notes make you a more efficient thinker:
Separating “branches” of your map by color stimulates the creative side of your brain, helps you visually separate and recall distinct themes of the stuff you’re working through, and encourages you to map through even boring topics that seem cut-and-dry.
“Add a dash of color … and all of a sudden the notes come alive. They are unique, they are unusual, they are memorable and they are more interesting.”
Ashley Kolodner wants viewers’ reactions to her photo series GayFace to be something along the lines of, ”‘Hey, that kind of looks like my cousin,’ or ‘My aunt kind of looks like that.’”
Can these beautiful photos of gay Americans help gay rights?
What Rihanna, Lady Gaga, And Britney Spears Eat Backstage, Rendered As Classic Still Lifes
“Britney Spears orders fish and chips, McDonald’s cheeseburgers without the buns, 100 prunes and figs, and, maybe most crucially, a framed photo of Princess Diana.”
“Hygge” (Danish): Comfort and coziness. The feeling of enjoying food and drink with friends and family.
Infographic: 19 emotions for which English has no words
An Artist Attempts To Draw All The Buildings In New York
John Gulliver Hancock is working on a new book called All the Buildings in New York.
This cataloging of buildings has “become an almost ritualistic undertaking, a therapy of sorts, helping me to organize the overwhelming infinity and chaos of New York into something I can know and understand.”
See and read more here.
“It fascinates me that older objects were so well-built, and were most likely put together by hand. These items were repaired when broken, not discarded like our devices of today.” —Photographer Todd McLellan tears apart objects to expose their hidden complexity.
The Smith-Corona typewriter from 1964 has 621 parts. The Swiss Army Knife? 38.
Only four days left to enter our INNOVATION BY DESIGN contest. Winners will be featured in the October design issue!
“We want to give innovators and businesses a record of the year’s most intriguing design ideas—and a catalogue of designers to hire. And we want to celebrate those designers whose influence rarely goes appreciated on a large, mainstream platform.”
If you have friends who are designers, spread the word! Here’s how to enter.
