Jean Baptiste Vérany’s Wildly Influential Cephalopod Chromolithographs Depict Sea Creatures in Stunning Opalescent Color

All images via The Biodiversity Heritage Library

In 1851, French pharmacist-turned-naturalist Jean Baptiste Vérany (1800–1865) published a collection of illustrations that captured the subtle colors and tonal variances of cephalopods. A class of mollusks that includes squid, octopus, cuttlefish, and nautilus, cephalopods have pronounced, often bulbous heads, symmetric bodies, and arms and tentacles known to produce ink. The marine creatures became a source of fascination for Vérany after a research expedition with Franco Andrea Bonelli, a preeminent ornithologist and entomologist, who helped usher in the young naturalist’s interest in zoology.

Some of Vérany’s most-recognized contributions to natural history include the chromolithographs—lithographs with several layers of color—released in his book Mollusques Méditeranéens: observès, decrits, figurès et chromolithographies d’après le vivant, or Mediterranean molluscs: observed, described, figured and chromolithographs from life. The volume includes 41 illustrations that are rendered in exacting detail and exemplify Vérany’s unparalleled understanding of color. Subtle shifts from pink to aqua, vivid reds, and vast explorations of opalescence characterize his works, which sought to capture “the suppleness of the flesh, the grace of the contours, the flexibility of the membranes, the transparency, and the coloring,” according to Public Domain Review.

In addition to depicting the lively sea creatures with unprecedented accuracy for the time, Vérany also affected the work of several influential figures, including novelist Victor Hugo, glass artists Léopold and Rudolf Blaschka, and even the lauded biologist Ernst Haeckel, who Vérany first introduced to cephalopods in 1856. Haeckel even copied some of his mentor’s plates for Kunstformen der Natur, a volume of 100 prints recognized as one of the first books to close the divide between art and science.

Explore more of Vérany’s pivotal works in the always free and accessible Biodiversity Heritage Library (previously).

 

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A Pair of Contrasting Prints by Seb Lester Gilds Popular Aphorisms in Elegant Lettering

All images © Seb Lester, shared with permission

Lewes-based artist Seb Lester (previously) vacillates between the maximal and minimal in a new pair of aphoristic prints. Die-stamped in gold ink, the calligraphic works are studies of the relationship between medium and message, all filtered through elegantly gilded lettering.

“Carpe Diem,” the popular Latin maxim to “seize the day,” is the ornate of the pair and embedded with swords, flowers, and elaborate motifs. “I’ve drawn from many influences, including Victorian Memorials, Medieval Cathedral Inscriptions, and the work of the finest Writing Masters of the 18th century,” Lester says. “The letterforms are all highly ornamental and drawn especially for the project—warm Lombardic Capitals paired with a softened Textura lowercase.”

As a counterpart, the other print is more austere, reading “Illegitimi Non Carborundum,” which roughly translates to “don’t let the bastards grind you down.” Using bespoke Roman Monumental Capitals depicted “as if lovingly carved and gilded in marble into a magnificent ancient monument,” the mock-Latin phrase is graceful and refined, a contrast to the otherwise audacious message.

Both limited-edition prints are available in Lester’s shop, and you can find more of his calligraphy on Instagram.

 

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Composite Images From NASA’s Most Powerful Telescopes Reveal Mind-Boggling Details of the Cosmos

X-ray: Chandra: NASA/CXC/SAO, XMM: ESA/XMM-Newton; IR: JWST: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI, Spitzer: NASA/JPL/CalTech; Optical: Hubble: NASA/ESA/STScI, ESO; Image Processing: L. Frattare, J. Major, N. Wolk, and K. Arcand

Combining data from some of NASA’s most powerful instruments, four new composites highlight the enormity of the cosmos in unprecedented detail. Imagery from the Chandra Observatory and the James Webb and Hubble telescopes—plus infrared information from the Spitzer telescope’s final missions—mesh together to generate mesmerizing views of iconic nebulae and galaxies.

Messier 74, a spiral galaxy more than 30 million light-years from Earth, is sometimes called the Phantom Galaxy due to its relative dimness (despite hosting around 100 billion stars!). Webb captured its swirling network in infrared, spotlighting gas and dust, while Chandra provided X-ray data of high-energy stars. Returning a little closer to home, for the Pillars of Creation in Messier 16, a.k.a. the Eagle Nebula—about 7,000 light-years away—Webb contributed the dusty forms that shroud fledgling stars and Chandra included the glowing blue and red dots.

Explore in-depth analysis of the images, plus the individual sources, on the Chandra Observatory’s website, which also include a star cluster called NGC 34 and the “barred spiral” galaxy NGC 1672. (via PetaPixel)

 

M74 346 Composite. X-ray: Chandra: NASA/CXC/SAO, XMM: ESA/XMM-Newton; IR: JWST: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI, Spitzer: NASA/JPL/CalTech; Optical: Hubble: NASA/ESA/STScI, ESO; Image Processing: L. Frattare, J. Major, N. Wolk, and K. Arcand

NGC 346 Composite. X-ray: Chandra: NASA/CXC/SAO, XMM: ESA/XMM-Newton; IR: JWST: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI, Spitzer: NASA/JPL/CalTech; Optical: Hubble: NASA/ESA/STScI, ESO; Image Processing: L. Frattare, J. Major, N. Wolk, and K. Arcand

M74 Composite. X-ray: Chandra: NASA/CXC/SAO, XMM: ESA/XMM-Newton; IR: JWST: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI, Spitzer: NASA/JPL/CalTech; Optical: Hubble: NASA/ESA/STScI, ESO; Image Processing: L. Frattare, J. Major, N. Wolk, and K. Arcand

M16 (Eagle Nebula) Composite. X-ray: Chandra: NASA/CXC/SAO, XMM: ESA/XMM-Newton; IR: JWST: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI, Spitzer: NASA/JPL/CalTech; Optical: Hubble: NASA/ESA/STScI, ESO; Image Processing: L. Frattare, J. Major, N. Wolk, and K. Arcand

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Guadalupe Maravilla Transforms a School Bus into an Immersive Installation for Sound-Based Healing

“Mariposa Relámpago” (2023), mixed media, approximately 13 × 8.5 × 35 feet. All images by GLR Estudio Gerardo & Eduardo Lopez, courtesy of the artist and P·P·O·W, New York, © Guadalupe Maravilla, shared with permission

Chrome plating, fringe made of humble kitchen cutlery, illuminated chandeliers, and symbolic sculptures of flora and fauna adorn a school bus parked at the ICA Watershed in the Boston Harbor Shipyard. The elaborately retrofitted vehicle is the largest project to-date by Guadalupe Maravilla and the latest addition to his Disease Thrower series.

Born out of the artist’s traumatic experience immigrating as an unaccompanied minor and suffering from colon cancer as an adult, the ongoing body of work evinces the healing power of sound and vibration. Titled “Mariposa Relámpago,” or lightning butterfly, the new work has had several lives before making its way to Boston: the bus was first used for transporting students in the U.S., then sent to the artist’s native El Salvador, and finally ended up in his studio where it underwent its current transformation.

 

Detail of “Mariposa Relámpago” (2023), mixed media, approximately 13 × 8.5 × 35 feet

Fastened to the vehicle’s body are several objects Maravilla found while retracing the 3,000-mile route he traveled as an eight-year-old to reunite with his parents, who had fled the country’s civil war. Included are references to Mayan cosmology and indigenous practices, spiritual emblems, and more contemporary imagery of disease and medicine, including a model of human anatomy resting atop the hood. Gongs and other tonal objects suspend from the sides, which Maravilla rings during his ritualistic sound baths. These sessions, which he’s hosted specifically for undocumented immigrants and those dealing with cancer, are known to reduce stress, anxiety, and tension that can worsen the pain of illness and injury.

Also in the exhibition at the Watershed are smaller paintings, scale models, and Disease Thrower sculptures made of mixed natural and synthetic materials that similarly reflect the artist’s exploration of displacement and recovery. Immersive and totemic, the works are part of the artist’s effort “to confront trauma in order to heal.”

Guadalupe Maravilla: Mariposa Relámpago is on view through September 4, with two sound baths scheduled for June 10 and August 13.

 

Detail of “Mariposa Relámpago” (2023), mixed media, approximately 13 × 8.5 × 35 feet

Detail of “Mariposa Relámpago” (2023), mixed media, approximately 13 × 8.5 × 35 feet

Detail of “Mariposa Relámpago” (2023), mixed media, approximately 13 × 8.5 × 35 feet

“Mariposa Relámpago” (2023), mixed media, approximately 13 × 8.5 × 35 feet

The artist in “Mariposa Relámpago” (2023), mixed media, approximately 13 × 8.5 × 35 feet

“Disease Thrower #14” (2021), cast aluminum, steel tubing, assorted welded details, 86 × 143 × 79 inches

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Conner Griffith Animates the World of Objects Through Historical Engravings in ‘Still Life’

“Still Life,” a short animation by Los Angeles-based filmmaker Conner Griffith, opens with a classic game of “guess which hand.” As the illustrated hands open and close, a tiny ball morphs into a series of tools and other household objects, and we are whisked off on a journey through more than 1,000 historic engravings. Collecting images from sources like the Iconographic Encyclopedia of Science, Literature, and Art and Gray’s Anatomy—both published in the 1850s and now in the public domain—Griffith examines how items and materials help to define lifestyles, attitudes, and consciousness of the world around us. “The film explores the idea that we live in a world of objects and a world of objects lives within us,” he says.

Find more of Griffith’s work on his website and on Vimeo.

 

All images © Conner Griffith

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Playful Illustrations by Yau Hoong Tang Layer Optical Illusions into Imaginative Stories

All images © Yau Hoong Tang, shared with permission

In Negative Space, Yau Hoong Tang derives imaginative and expansive storylines from minimal visuals. As its name suggests, the ongoing series plays with the relationship between presence and absence, layering optical illusions, embedded imagery, and other narrative cues within a single work.

The Kuala Lumpur-based illustrator is fond of weaving together several plots. In one work, an ink splatter also becomes wildlife inhabiting the world, with in another, a creature appears as a flying goose or a fox depending on where the viewer focuses. “I love using negative space in my illustrations as it creates more dynamics to an artwork and opens up a visual conversation,” he tells Colossal. “Its thought provoking nature invites viewers to discover the hidden meanings and spark imagination.”

While Negative Space is created digitally, Tang is currently working on a new collection that returns to more traditional, analog mediums. Shop limited-edition prints, and find more of his playful illustrations on Behance and Instagram.

 

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Gio Swaby Embarks on an Exploration of Self-Love and Acceptance in Her Vibrant Textile Portraits

“Together We Bloom 3” (2023), cotton fabric and thread sewn on muslin, 64 x 52 inches. All images © Gio Swaby, courtesy of Claire Oliver Gallery, shared with permission

From minimal outlines in black thread, empowering portraits of Black women emerge in new large-scale textile pieces by Toronto-based artist Gio Swaby (previously). Vivid fabrics with an emphasis on florals dominate her new body of work titled I Will Blossom Anyway, on view now at Claire Oliver Gallery, emphasizing brightness, joy, and self-love. Centering on a number of self-portraits, her recent artworks reflect on personal identity, embarking on an introspective journey toward acceptance and compassion.

Swaby’s interest in textiles ties her to a childhood surrounded by the materials her mother often used in her work as a seamstress. She was born and raised in The Bahamas before moving to Canada, where she has spent most of her adult life, and she draws on conflicted feelings about a sense of belonging and navigating what she poetically describes as her “many selves.” She says, “I reflected a lot on my own path and started to recognize how many parts of myself exist in the in-between spaces.”

In her nearly-life-size self-portraits, the artist looks directly at the viewer yet always appears relaxed, embracing tranquil moments of rest. Loose threads occasionally abandon their outlines, dangling or wandering around the canvas as if they have a mind of their own, highlighting the never-finished process of growth, evolution, and self-understanding.

I Will Blossom Anyway runs through July 29 in Harlem and coincides with her solo exhibition Fresh Up at the Art Institute of Chicago, which continues through July 3. Find more on the artist’s website and on Instagram.

 

“Where I Know You From 4” (2023) cotton fabric and thread sewn on muslin, 80 x 50 inches

“Where I Know You From 7” (2023), cotton fabric and thread sewn on muslin, 52 x 62 inches

“Where I Know You From 3” (2023) cotton fabric and thread sewn on muslin, 80 x 44 inches

“Where I Know You From 6” (2023), cotton fabric and thread sewn on muslin, 40 x 78 inches

“Self-Portrait 6” (2023), cotton fabric and thread sewn on muslin, 28 x 38 inches

“Where I Know You From 5” (2023), cotton fabric and thread sewn on muslin, 50 x 96 inches

“Self-Portrait 5” (2023), cotton fabric and thread sewn on muslin, 28 x 38 inches 

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