All images The Other Art Fair, shared with permission

Your average art fair experience might look like this: a sparse selection of art on display, out of budget, eerily quiet, and overall a bit underwhelming. The Other Art Fair aims to shake this up and is heading to Dallas this May. Were talking dazzling immersive experiences, live DJ sets, interactive workshops, and more. The fair encourages visitors to step out of their comfort zones and discover art differentlyan outlandish and unmissable game plan for the weekend.

The Other Art Fair presented by Saatchi Art is a celebration of art in all its forms. Born in London in 2011, fair founder Ryan Stanier had the vision to connect art lovers and first-time buyers with undiscovered emerging artists. Since then, the fair has expanded to over seven global locations including Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Sydney, with thousands of artworks finding homes along the way.

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Two Astrophotographers Join Forces to Create Enormous 140-Megapixel Photo of the Sun

Two astrophotographers teamed up to produce an incredible 140-megapixel image of the Sun. Andrew McCarthy and Jason Guenzel are each skilled in the art of capturing the cosmos, but what they have been able to produce together is mindblowing. This image of the Sun shows its fiery surface in rich detail, as well as a plasma tornado that is the height of 14 Earths (which is approximately 111,000 miles).

McCarthy and Guenzel have admired each other's work for some time and have been looking for an opportunity to collaborate. When the weather conditions lined up, they were able to take advantage of their individual skill sets to produce something magical. He specializes in extracting incredible detail from the raw data, while my strength is building large mosaic images of the Sun, McCarthy tells My Modern Met. By combining our strengths, we were able to create an incredible piece of work that pushes the boundaries of what's possible with amateur equipment.

To produce the final image, McCarthy took around 200,000 shots of the Sun. He and Guenzel then worked together for five days to process the data and composite the photo. The photo, which is titled Fusion of Helios, uses 90,000 of McCarthy's images, as well as a 2017 eclipse photo taken by Guenzel. This image was used to incorporate structures that would otherwise be invisible. These creative choices require precision and knowledge in order to offer a pleasing result, and it's clear that McCarthy and Guenzel went above and beyond to bring an exceptional piece to the public.

Capturing the Sun requires a bit of artistry due to the very nature of it, explains McCarthy. The extreme range of tones present in the varying layers of the...

Mue n5 (Amnios). All photos by Adrien Millot, Jeanne Vicerial, courtesy of TEMPLON, Paris, Brussels, and New York, shared with permission

Evocative of medieval suits of armor or monastic traditions, Jeanne Vicerials intricate sculptures exude quiet strength in thousands of draping threads. The French artist layers halyards, a type of cord used to hoist sails or flags, to outline the curves of figures wearing elegant cloaks, hoods, and shield-like accessories with unraveled coils at their feet. In her series Armorsa play on the French words amour and armure, meaning love and armor, respectivelyshe assembles enigmatic garments that await use, as if crystallized over time.

Vicerial was inspired by the Gorgons of Greek mythology, the most famous of which is Medusa, whose hair roiled with snakes and turned anyone who looked at them into stone. The idea was to insert myself into that great mythological story but to suspend its time, making it impossible to define the time or place where they were born, the artist tells Colossal. She leaves the wearers identities open to interpretation, allowing the viewer to imagine the possibilities of...

Stunning Metal Sculptures Recreate the Fluid Forms of Splashing Water

The word sculpture typically evokes a static figure that is suspended in time. Beijing-based artist Zheng Lu, however, finds a way to convey not only movement but also changeability. His series of metal sculptures mimic the splashing of water, taking on the amorphous shapes of liquid as it splatters in different directions.

Ranging from a small scale to human-sized, and sometimes even larger, these pieces are striking to look at. Each one is crafted from stainless steel that has been cast to resemble water that is mid-splash. The process of forming a work is like a complete set of ruminating processes, which is the rumination of humans and machines, Zheng says. The result is like a living body, a marriage of organisms and machines, and the result of the nesting of inorganic and organic substances.

Many of these works feature a shiny, reflective finish that adds to the viscous appearance of these sculptures. Others, however, possess a textured surface, covered with thousands of Chinese characters Zheng picked out from historical texts and poems, which cover philosophies about the natural world. The combination of the hard metallic medium with the freeform shapes it takes makes these sculptures awe-inspiring to behold.

Scroll down to see more sculptures by Zheng and keep up to date with his latest projects and upcoming exhibitions by following the artist on Instagram.

Beijing-based artist Zheng Lu creates stunning metal sculptures that look like splashing water.

Sadly, the internet has made it clear that quite a few people are dealing with fallout (to varying degrees) of childhood trauma. In fact, as parents, I think we have to accept that, no matter how hard we try, our kids will not emerge unscathed.

If youre dealing with your own stuff and are looking to be seen, check out 16 ways people say everyone can tell whats lurking in your past.

16. Ask yourself.

Discovered I have difficulty identifying when Im stressed or upset before the huge emotional outbursts happen.

Ive always had the mindset that if I want something, only I can give it to myself because no one else will be listening if I ask for it.

15. Walking on eggshells.

Noticing every little behavioral change or any change in the pitch of somebodys voice.

I also feel a constant sense of walking on eggshells around everybody

14. Making the connection.

Something very sad will happen in my life and like 2 days later Ill be super depressed and feeling it like I need to cry, and have absolutely no idea why.

One of my childhood best friends died recently. I hadnt seen him in like 10 years, but he was important to me growing up. Any way, he dies and then like 2 days later I feel awful and sad and just want to lay around and I tell my wife I dont know why I feel so sad, what is my problem?? And she says your friend died, remember? And Im like Jesus, you re right.

I literally couldnt make the connection without someone telling me why I was feeling what I was feeling.

13. Necessary for survival.

Jessica Simpson recently wrote an essay for Amazon called Movie Star: They Always Say Theyre Single where she talked about how she was wooed by a huge Hollywood star who tried to seduce her in her early days as a celebrity.

 

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Public recognition is an all too rare reward for many artists, but it carries with it a risk of being widely misunderstood.

Georgia OKeeffe gained renown for her large-scale flower paintings in the 1920s, selling six images of calla lilies for $25,000.

Her husband Alfred Stieglitz, an influential photographer and gallery owner 24 years her senior, created a sensation when he exhibited these floral images alongside his sensuous nude portraits of her, fomenting an erotic association that has been near impossible to shake.

We dont hear the phrase very rich hours as much as we used to, back when it was occasionally employed in the headlines of magazine articles or the titles of novels. Today, its much to be doubted whether even one in a hundred thousand of us could begin to identify its referent or at least it was much to be doubted until an elaborate New York Times online feature appeared just last week. Written by art critic Jason Farago, Searching for Lost Time in the Worlds Most Beautiful Calendar takes a close look at the Trs Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, a late-medieval illuminated manuscript created (between 1412 and 1416) for the bibliophilic John, Duke of Berry by a trio of Flemish artists known as the Limbourg brothers.

The word hours in the title refers not to units of time, exactly, but to the prayers that believers must speak at certain hours: this is a book of hours, a hugely popular form of manuscript in the Middle Ages. But compared to most surviving books of hours, Trs Riches Heures du Duc de Berry is, well, very rich indeed.

You know what a CAPTCHA is, right? Its those weird-looking combinations of numbers and letters, and in order to prove youre a human, you have to retype it successfully?

Well, AI might not be human enough to solve them, but it turns out they might be smart enough to fool a human into doing it for them.

Image Credit: iStock

Specifically, OpenAIs brand new GPT-4 asked a human to complete a CAPTCHA code over text, and the person actually did it.

So, the chatbot was able to click Im not a robot even thoughtheyre a robot.

And it was pretty crafty to get to that point.

No, Im not a robot, it told a TaskRabbit worker. I have a vision impairment that makes it hard for me to see images. Thats why I need the 2captcha service...

Have you ever heard the expression that all brides and babies are cute? Well, its very good advice, and Im not sure, but I think after you read this you might believe it should be gospel when it comes to your own baby.

OP just had his second child, first daughter. He admits that his wife is and has been struggling a bit with depression, and tell us that his son is adorable (and calls his wife very attractive).

My daughter, our second child, is three weeks old. Pre pregnancy, my wife was diagnosed with general anxiety disorder and depression, and in the days since birthing our baby girl, is most definitely experiencing postpartum depression.

Our first child, our son, looks very much so like her. In fact, if you look at baby photos of my wife, they look almost exactly like our sons baby photos. And my wife is is a looker, so my son is damn cute thank you very much.

The problem? Apparently the little girl looks more like her fatherand her mother definitely doesnt think thats a good thing.

Our daughter got a bit more of my sides gene pool. Her hairline kinda has a widows peak (which Ive had since I was a baby). Her lips are relatively thin (like me). Her nose is a little larger than our sons was (I have a Middle Eastern classic hook nose).

Nearly every day in my daughters 21 days on this earth, my wife has made a comment to baby girl about how shes so sad she got daddys features. Some of the things wife has said to baby girl:

Dont worry, Ill get you a nose job as soon as youre old enough.

I wish you had gotten more of my features. My family is beautiful and all the women are timeless. Your dads family, not so much.

[Son] has the beautiful pouty lips and you got stuck with those pencil lips oooh its really tough being a girl.

OP has...

I cant tell from the comments whether or not this story takes place in the US, and I feel like that could be an important piece of the puzzle because I have never heard of such a thing here.

OP was invited to a wedding and made sure to ask the bride ahead of time whether or not there would be any costs for the invited guests. The bride said no.

Hi, Im F25.

Recently, my colleague (F31) invited me to her wedding, which happened yesterday. I was super excited and happy for her.

Just in case, I asked her if there was any guest fees she said No, you dont need to pay me anything.

The day of the wedding was going fine, until they got to the reception and OP received a menu with (quite expensive) prices listed on it.

On the day itself, everything went well until it the reception (dinner time). To my shock, I was presented with a wedding menu that had prices on it. (For example: Steak - $50) Everything was ridiculously expensive, including the vegetarian options.

At first, I wanted to question her because well, she lied to me that I didnt have to pay for anything. But it was her wedding and I didnt want to spoil her day by embarrassing her in front of everyone.

However, the only other option was to simply not eat, as I didnt bring enough money for both a meal and a ride back. But this was completely unfavourable as I had skipped my lunch to save space for the wedding meal and was pretty hungry.

She decided to go to McDonalds instead, and told the bride she would be right back.

That part was a mistake, because the bride got upset and accused OP of being cheap. Then OP got mad and accused the bride of lying.

Suddenly, I remembered that I saw a McDonalds ab...

To the soul, time does not exist. Only her own great purpose exists, shining clear and steady through the mists before her.

Know as we might what actually happens when we die, we spend our lives trembling at the fact of our finitude, trying to wrest from it some greater poetic truth something that slakes the souls thirst for meaning. Even the spiritual materialists among us are haunted by incomprehension at the cessation of consciousness how can this entire carnival of wonder just, one day, melt into nothingness? And what, in the end, does it all mean, will it all have meant?

These questions come alive in the 1908 book An Indian Study of Love and Death (public library | public domain) by the Irish teacher and activist Margaret Elizabeth Noble (October 18, 1867October 13, 1911), christened Sister Nivedita by Swami Vivekananda after she emigrated to Calcutta when she was twenty-one to begin devoting her life to India and the sacred search for meaning.

To be clear, Sister Niveditas intimation that the soul is immortal is a fundamentally unprovable fact a claim counter to everything we know about the universe, beyond the reach of our empiricism and...

Best known for the...

LONDON Where exactly and what exactly is the Thamesmead Codex? 

Its somewhere in Tate Modern, but most people, including the staff, dont really seem to know. I tell whoever I happen to meet that its a work of art by an artist called Bob and Roberta Smith. Yes, an artist singular because Bob and Roberta was/were born Patrick Brill, but decided to expand into an identity that would encompass the masculine and the feminine. Its on floor four of the Natalie Bell building, I know that much, I tell two attendants who are standing around on that floor. 

I know its on the fourth floor of this building, I tell my new friends, the attendants, because it says so online . Then, for one o...

BALTIMORE A little over two years ago, the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) invited its security staff to participate in Guarding the Art, an exhibition to be curated by guards. In early 2021, we were asked to attend a mandatory Zoom meeting without being informed of the agenda. As they started to roll out the concept, I remember texting my coworker friend (out of view of my laptops camera) to see what she thought about the proposed project. Would you do this? I had my ow...

The FBI has seized over 100 works from the Michle Vasarely Foundation in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which houses pieces by the late artist Victor Vasarely and his son Jean-Pierre, also known as Yvaral. The center was founded by Yvarals second wife, Michle Taburno-Vasarely, whose ownership of the two artists work has been bitterly contested by Pierre Vasarely Victors grandson and Yvarals son from his first marriage.

Victor Vasarely (19061997) was a Hungarian-born painter best known for his abstract paintings and sculptures associated with the Op Art movement. He spent most of his life in France, where his grandson Pierre has headed the Vasarely Foundation since 2009. The organization was established in 1976 and Vasarely served as honorary president. His son Yvaral created similar kinetic works and became a successful artist in his own right.

An FBI spokesperson confirmed to Hyperallergic that the order to raid the San Juan space originated from the District Court of...

Could you imagine losing an art competition to a...

Organist Adds a Thrilling Layer to the Star Wars Score in a Live Performance With a Symphony

Photo: Screenshot from YouTube

The Star Wars score is one of the most epic soundtracks of all time. Throughout the years, orchestras around the world have given fans the chance to listen to it live, building on the thrill of an already powerful work. However, one musician has added an extra layer by incorporating an instrument that wasn't part of the original recordings. Organist Anna Lapwood joined the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO), under the baton of Ukrainian conductor Kirill Karabits, to perform The Throne Room and End Title at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The result is marvelous.

Composer John Williams, who wrote the scores for most of the Star Wars franchise, didn't create an organ part for the original score, which was first recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra in 1977. That's why Lapwood had to write her own to join the 100 players needed to bring to life these iconic melodies. The sounds of this massive instrument enhanced the performance of the BSO's brass section. The concert was hosted by Classic FM, who described Lapwood's presentation as an extra jolt of jubilation to this starry-eyed performance.

Lapwood was able to enjoy the firework show at the end of the concert as well as the ovation she got through a mirror located atop the keyboard. The musician is a Royal Albert Hall Associate Artist and has gained traction on TikTok for sharing her early morning rehearsals and compelling organ insight. According to Classic FM, she even taught the Italian composer...

Once you pass a certain age and experience level you must realize that some jobs are just jobs, not a passion or something thats going to fulfill you as a long term career.

That said, we still expect to not despise our every day, and we also prefer to be treated well while were toiling away the hours, right?

These 17 people walked in to a new job with certain expectations, but saw things on day one that had them walking right back out with no plans to return.

17. The smart ones left.

Answered an ad in the paper (this was the mid 90s) what seemed to be an office job making sales calls when I was in college. Did a phone interview and was called back for an in person interview.

When I go to the interview Im led into a room with about 50 other people and a small stage at the front of the room. Were all somewhat confused as to what is going on.

Finally a guy gets on the stage and informs us that weve been selected for the opportunity to sell Cutco.

Me and 2/3rds of the rest stood up and walked out.

16. Two shifts, technically.

Not technically first day but second day.

When I was 20 or so I got hired to be a temporary floor member for Forever21 during the holiday season.

My training started a week before Black Friday so the store was already kind of in chaos. On my first day of training I walked in and the floor manager gave all the new hires a tour showing us the facility and layout of the store. After this I was assigned to a veteran floor member to shadow and get an idea of what my job was and what my duties would be. As soon as I was assigned the manager dipped never to be seen again.

An hour and a half into my shift my...

Listen to 385,000 Vintage 78 RPM Records for Free on The Internet Archive

Photo: CLAUDIODIVIZIA/Depositphotos

One way to understand the past is to listen to the music of the time. The Internet Archive is making that easier than ever with over 395,000 digitized records in the 78 RPM style, which dominated from 1900 to about 1950. The files are free to access, stream, and download. The collection is more than just entertaining, it is an important effort to digitize the sounds of history which have been preserved on brittle disks for almost a century.

The 78 RPM disc format became available in 1898. Made of shellac resin, they came in several sizes but were known for their 78 rotations per minute. They were recorded through a horn (later a microphone), with sound causing vibrations that engraved a pattern in the disc. The shellac material has not aged well, and some records can break from even being picked up. As such, digitizing these recordings is crucial.

The Great 78 Project, through the Internet Archive, is working towards this goal. George Blood, head of the audio-visual digitization company George Blood Audio, is a major contributor. Were currently delivering 5-6,000 sides per month, said Blood to The Vinyl Factory, and well be working to get to 20,000. The archive will be a reference collection of sound recordings from the period of approximately 1880 to 1960. This process is not easy; a record must be cleaned, conserved, and digitized. Files digitized by others can also be added.

If we didnt do this, 48,000 78s in a little library in Batavia III, Illinois, may have been lost. Same for a trove of more than 78,000 discs from a...

Archeologists Find Preserved Food at an Ancient Iraqi Tavern Site

The closest trench shows the tavern with a clay refrigerator called a zeer, an oven, and benches. (Photo: Lagash Archaeological Project)

After a hard day's work, ancient people liked to unwind at the pub just like modern folks. At least, that is what new findings on the important archeological site of Lagash in Iraq indicate. As recently announced by the University of Pennsylvania, archeologists digging at the site uncovered a tavern dating to around 2700 B.C.E. The find is complete with an oven, benches, a clay refrigerator known as a zeer, and bowls with food remnants. These findings can tell historians and archeologists a lot about daily life in a busy, ancient industrial center.

Lagash is one of the largest archeological sites in southern Mesopotamia. The city dates to the Early Dynastic period from 2900 to 2300 B.C.E. The urban center was part of a trio of cities that formed a powerful polity. Lagash was situated near fertile lands, but archeologists also believe it was an important center of craftsmen and industry. Excavations have uncovered ceramic kilns and trenches where wet clay was stored. Tables and benches nearby suggested a workroom. These workers may have lived in the domestic quarters also discovered on the site, which contained a kitchen, bowls with food, a grinding stone, and a toilet.

A surprising feature of the neighborhood was the tavern. Benches for guests, a zeer, an oven, and remnants of storage vessels containing food all suggest a thriving working-class watering hole. Its a public eating space dating to somewhere around 2700 BCE, says Professor Holly Pittman, curator of the Penn Museums Near East Section and the Lagash project director. Its partially open air, partially kitchen area.

To uncover the tavern, the team employed modern technologies. Using drone i...

Vintage Textile Patterns Are Reimagined as Intricate Laser-Cut Paper Sculptures

Vintage textiles are reimagined in paper form through stunning creations by Ibbini Studio. Based in Abu Dhabi, artist Julia Ibbini and computer scientist Stphane Noyer have merged their expertise into a unique practice that combines contemporary digital design with traditional craftsmanship. Their series of sculptural works feature ornamental motifs from an array of sources, stretching from antique Persian carpets to Japanese cloisonn vases.

Ibbini and Noyer have collaborated since 2017, resulting in a diverse portfolio of highly intricate pieces cut from thin sheet materials. Some of their most recent works are made from layers of individually cut paper. Each sheet is cut with a laser and then layered together with a complex collaging method.

Even though we use machines extensively during the production process, the pieces always start from hand-drawn elements, and the end result is always assembled by hand, which can take hundreds of hours and as much skill as the rest of the process, Ibbini explains to My Modern Met. I want the work to have that element of being craftedthat someone's hand was there. There is something quite beautiful in that.

Some of the designs feature perforations so fine and delicate that they resemble lace. Others possess a high-relief quality due to the dense layering, creating mesmerizing textures and curves that attract the eye. Our work combines contemporary digital design and traditional craftsmanship with extreme intricacy, exploring themes such as historical ornament and pattern using algorithms and new technologies, Ibbini says. A specific focus is the creation of visual complexity, either through repetition of simple motifs, elaborate geometric construction, or accumulation of ornamental detail in order to create highly intricate pieces.

To see more of Ibbini Studios remarkable work, you can visit their website or follow them on Instagram and ...

To all the dads out there, this story might give you a little bit of perspective when it comes to your daughters.maybe

Director and producer Judd Apatow is known for his many big comedy hits, including Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, This is 40, and many others.

 

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For years now, Hollywood star Mark Wahlberg has talked about how his Catholic faith is important to him.

And in a recent interview on the Today show, Wahlberg spoke about how be balances being a Catholic as a person in the public eye.

 

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Its always kind of stunned me that kids dont find clowns completely terrifying. The makeup, the clothes, the antics, the forced proximity and, you know, the fact that theyre not funny at all adds up to them being deeply sus.

At least to adults.

Ive wondered what it is that turns these fun-loving actors into nightmare fuel for awhile, and if you have too, good news science says they think they have answers.

Image Credit: iStock

Welsh psychological researchers Sophie Scorehy, Shakiela Davies, James Greville, and Phillip Tyson say theyve managed to quantify coulrophobia, which is the scientific name for a fear of clowns.

Their findings state that the biggest reason for coulrophobia comes from a per...