Artist Christopher "CK" Wilde chose an expensive medium for his art: money.
From the website:
Wilde painstakingly cuts various shapes out of paper money from around the world to form collages with economic and political undertones and overlays. The relationship between art and commerce is another theme that cannot be avoided when an artist cuts and pastes with money. Wilde bases a lot of his works on found images that he develops into his own compositions, which he will lay down on museum board before skillfully applying his umpteen bits of currency so that they abut in order to keep to the ideal of an even surface. The resulting puzzle is then sealed with wax. A tidy alternative to keeping it under the mattress.
Salt is of crucial importance for life. It has served as money, played a vital part in the religious rituals of many cultures and has been the cause of bitter warfare.
The Salar de Uyuni, in Bolivia, is the largest salt desert in the world and is located at an altitude of 12000 feet. The Quechas Indians have harvested the salt since centuries. The glare on this huge white plain is extreme.
To nourish their animals, the Ethiopian Borenas, near the Somalia border, extract a valuable but muddy black salt from the deep crater lake of a volcano. The water is as thick as oil and acidic, and yet the workers dive here daily.
So there it is. A violin, shaped like a fine leg of Serrano Ham, created by Jaromir Bazant, 'Maestro Luthier' of Valencia. The booth showing this was so keen to demonstrate his artistry that they had a real leg of ham displayed under the violin.
They're not kidding when they call themselves Precise Modeling:
Fully scratch built, this model took just over 15 years (8000-10,000 hours) to complete. Begun in Kiev (Ukraine), in 1986 this masterpiece was profoundly difficult to construct due to the extreme scarcity of information on it. In 1986 the Mil-24 was still a top secret piece of military equipment. A set of blueprints was ultimately obtained from the manufacturer and over 1000 photographs were used to ensure complete accuracy in the reproduction. ...
This helicopter has many authentic features including: linked controls (pedals that work in parallel motion), a battery powered motor that spins the main and tail rotor in the actual ratio of the original, adjustable tail rotor pitch, fabric covered stabilizer, landing gear with pneumatic rubber tires, compressable shocks, working lights, locks ,fans, aimable guns and titanium engine parts.
Complete accuracy is followed right down to the rivets and screws whose diameter and separation are kept to scale.
Archaeologists discovered a 1,500-year-old pyramid under Mexico City:
The unnamed pyramid has the same sized base as the giant Pyramid of the Moon at the famous archeological site of Teotihuacan, an hour's drive northeast of the capital, which is known as the "City of the Gods" and is Mexico's biggest ancient city.
Archeologist Jesus Sanchez said on Wednesday the latest find was built by the same people who constructed Teotihuacan between A.D. 400 and 500, and has evidence that it was used for ceremonial purposes.
Seems like pyramids might be everywhere! Scientists have begun digging on what might be a pyramid hidden beneath a hill in Bosnia...
Known as Visocica, the 650m (2,120ft) triangular mound, overlooking Visoko, has long been shrouded in local legend.
The Bosnian archaeologist leading the project says it resembles pyramid sites he has studied in Latin America.
Initial excavations have revealed a narrow entrance to what could be an underground network of tunnels. ... The team found two intersections with other tunnels leading off to the left and right.
Their conclusion was that it had to be man-made. "This is definitely not a natural formation," said geologist Nadja Nukic.
Dated over 2,000 years old this skull is an extreme example of binding and elongation. Cranial binding is the shaping of the skull, when a child is very young, usually an infant. This wrapping is often done with rope or cloth by itself or against a wooden board. This results in the misshaping, flattening (see our cradle-board skull, BC-222) or in this case elongation. This wrapping, or binding is thought to be the oldest form of
body modifications, dating back 9,000 years. This particular skull is from Peru, but this practiced has occurred in other regions as well.
For other fantastic cast of bones, see: Link (via Jaf Project)
