Laurent Ballesta’s Luminous Photographs Reveal the Astounding Diversity of Ocean Life

All images © Laurent Ballesta, shared with permission

The earth’s oceans are mindbogglingly expansive, and less than 20 percent has been mapped, explored, or seen by humans. For Laurent Ballesta, the underwater world provides an endless stream of remarkable aquatic personalities. The French photographer seeks exciting formations of fish, coral, and crustaceans, capturing their behaviors and honing in on individual traits: a hefty crab carries numerous barnacles on its back, a colony of shrimp look as if they want to say hello, and a shiver of sharks swarms around a meal.

Trained as a marine biologist, Ballesta has been a photographer for National Geographic since 2011 and won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year award three times, capturing life below the surface with an eye for beauty and a focus on scientific inquiry. As the director of Andromède Océanologie for more than 20 years, in addition to leading group dives through Gombessa Expeditions, Ballesta emphasizes undersea exploration where there is “a scientific mystery to be solved, a diving challenge to be met, and the promise of unprecedented images.”

Prints are available for purchase on Ballesta’s website along with a selection of books. Follow updates on Facebook and Instagram to stay apprised of new releases. You might also enjoy taking a deep dive into footage of rare jellyfishes spotted over the past few years. (via Blind Magazine)

 

 

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Go Behind the Scenes To Glimpse the Exacting Process of Creating Tiffany-Style Lampshades

Huge sheets of colored glass transform into intricate, illuminated floral designs in a new video from Process Discovery that glimpses the manufacturing process of Tiffany-style lamps. A timeless design originally made popular by artist Louis Comfort Tiffany in the late 19th century, the colorful, luminescent shades remain popular today. And while original models produced for Tiffany sell for tens of thousands of dollars, mass-produced versions like the ones shown here are much more accessible. The process comprises complex steps that follow an intricate diagram, from cutting individual shapes to assembling in a mold to soldering every seam.

You might also enjoy more behind-the-scenes videos from Japan-based Process X.

 

All images © Process Discovery

  

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An Abandoned Cabinet Unearths a Trove of Unseen Kodachrome Slides Documenting 1960s San Francisco

All images courtesy of David Gallagher, shared with permission

There’s a Vivian Maier-esque story out of San Francisco that’s drawing attention to a newly discovered body of work from a largely unknown photographer.

Back in 2020, David Gallagher, who runs the historical archive known as SF Memory, received a hefty cabinet that was found abandoned in San Francisco’s Mission District. Inside were 920 Kodachrome slides capturing life in the California city throughout the 1960s, with no identifying details about the photographer.

The images document a period of major infrastructural development in the area, including the construction of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system and the subway beneath Market Street, in addition to quieter moments. There are children at play, an officer showing off a chunky, white rabbit, and families swimming in Fleishhacker Pool before the public saltwater complex closed in 1971. Together, the collection creates a distinct photographic tapestry of life in the city during a time of massive change and growth.

 

Earlier this month, Gallagher spoke to the San Francisco Chronicle about the findings and their mysterious origin, and very quickly, a local named Ted Martin identified the images as those of his late father, James A. Martin. Ted shared that the cabinet was purged from the family’s possessions following James’ death in 2019 along with two others just like. That pair, which presumably holds more photos, is still missing—Gallagher has been feverishly searching for the remaining cabinets and plastering signs throughout the city asking about their whereabouts.

According to his son, James was a teacher and technophile who “loved San Francisco. He lived here his entire life, all 90 years. He was a big sports fan: Giants, Warriors, 49ers. He worked hard. He did his day job and then did night school and other things for extra money.” Those odd gigs included photography for weddings and other local happenings. He developed the images in his home dark room, and apparently, stored the slides in the aforementioned metal cases where they remained hidden.

Now, there’s growing interest in James’ photos and in locating the rest of the collection. While the search continues, Gallagher has been sharing some of the slides on SF Memory, which is definitely worth a look. (via PetaPixel)

 

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Humans Bond with Animals and Nature in Adrian Arleo’s Poetic Ceramic Sculptures

“Internal” (2021), clay, glaze, wax encaustic, gold luster, and mixed media, 13 x 20 x 12.5 inches. All images © Adrian Arleo, shared with permission

Honeycomb faces, a hound with hands for fur, and the all-seeing eyes of a badger are just a few of the hybrid figures in Adrian Arleo’s striking sculptures. For four decades, the Missoula-based artist has explored poetic imagery that creates strong emotional bonds. “Often, there’s a suggestion of a vital interconnection between the human and non-human realms; the imagery arises from associations, concerns, and obsessions that are at once intimate and universal,” she says in a statement.

Working primarily in clay and porcelain, sometimes with the addition of encaustic, gold luster, and other materials, Arleo’s pieces reveal an interest in mythology and archetypes. She focuses on themes of change and transformation, both personal and in our environmental, social, and political realities. Each work harbors a story, like “Internal,” which references “the vastness of our internal space and experience.” She says:

The small figure that’s cradled in the woman’s hair has a surface coloration that references the night sky: a deep blue-black with gold flecks, like the cosmos. That references the beautiful frescoed chapel ceilings I’ve frequently seen in Italy, the blue with gold stars. The piece was made during the pandemic, and the isolation of that period created a kind of turning inward, since outward was so restricted.

 

Detail of “Internal”

Ideas for Arleo’s pieces often arise from everyday observations. For example, one day she was watching her chickens and noticed the texture of their feathers, prompting her to imagine numerous hands overlapped in a caressing formation and to create a series experimenting with the motif. The symbolism of hands as the source of protection, communication, and creation provide a deep well of possible interpretations. In “Dog With Hands,” the creature might suggest the therapeutic way that dogs can calm us or indicate how well they are cared for and loved.

“Much of my work arises from a kind curiosity,” Arleo says. “I’ll observe something, either in nature, in a relationship, in an experience, and images start to form, and I feel compelled to see it take shape. That curiosity has stayed with me for most of my life and is really the essence of why I make work.”

Radius Gallery in Missoula will host a solo exhibition of Arleo’s work next summer, and she regularly teaches workshops. You can follow Instagram for updates, and find more work on her website.

 

“Dog With Hands” (2007), clay and glaze, 20 x 34 x 14 inches

Detail of “Dog With Hands”

“Three Flora Cups” (2020), cast, altered, and sculpted porcelain, and glaze, each approximately 4 inches tall

“Dog Tulipiere” (2021), porcelain and glaze, 8.5 x 10 x 5 inches

“Echo” (2020), clay, glaze, and wax encaustic, 15 x 13 x 6 inches

“Persistence Badger” (2020), from ‘Awareness’ series, clay, glaze, and gold leaf, 9.5 x 22 x 11 inches

Detail of “Persistence Badger”

“Embodiment II” (2005), clay and glaze, 6 x 11.5 x 11 inches

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Humans Bond with Animals and Nature in Adrian Arleo’s Poetic Ceramic Sculptures appeared first on Colossal.

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Tens of Millions of Ink Dots Fill Xavier Casalta’s Remarkably Detailed Stipple Illustrations

“Marcus Aurelius” (2021-22), stippled black ink, 140 x 100 centimeters. All images © Xavier Casalta, shared with permission

It took Xavier Casalta a phenomenal 2,300 hours over the course of 15 months to complete his largest work to date. Featuring numerous blooms surrounding a marble bust of Marcus Aurelius—one of ancient Rome’s most celebrated emperors and philosophers—the artist (previously) estimates that the illustration contains about 48 million dots of meticulously stippled black ink.

Known for his remarkably detailed depictions of flowers, architecture, and antiquities, Casalta applies China ink to paper one speck at a time. Densely clustered areas produce darker features that contrast more minimally inked highlights. He often depicts individual historical objects, like a Penny Black stamp or impressions of people and animals on early coins. He also fills entire sheets of paper with florals or geometry, like an intricate Roman mosaic or his Four Seasons series, created in collaboration with florist Swallows & Damsons.

Casalta is currently working a new, large-scale architectural piece–he’s spent 1,200 hours on it so far–which he plans to reveal in October. In 2024, that work will also become available as a limited-edition print. You can stay tuned to the artist’s Instagram for updates, and find more information on his website.

 

Left: Naxos Tetradrachm with Dionysus. Right: Penny Black stamp

“Summer,” part of ‘Four Seasons’ in collaboration with Swallows & Damsons, stippled black ink, 56 x 56 centimeters

Tetradrachm featuring a lion’s head from Cyzicus, Mysia

“Winter,” part of ‘Four Seasons’ in collaboration with Swallows & Damsons, stippled black ink, 56 x 56 centimeters

Detail of “Winter”

Detail of “Marcus Aurelius” in progress

Detail of a mosaic in progress

Detail of a work in progress

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Tell Me More: Colossal Releases a Limited-Edition Print with Liz Flores

Liz Flores, “Tell Me More”

We’re beyond excited to announce our latest limited-edition print collaboration with Chicago-based artist Liz Flores (previously). “Tell Me More” features one of Flores’ signature color-blocked figures in warm shades of pink and neutral tones. Lounging on a patterned rug with delicate tassels lining the perimeter, the woman lets her long braids drape over her body as she entreats the viewer for more.

The giclée print is signed and numbered and available in an edition of 100 from the Colossal Shop.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Tell Me More: Colossal Releases a Limited-Edition Print with Liz Flores appeared first on Colossal.

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NASA’s James Webb Telescope Captures the Fiery Remains of a Dying Star in Unprecedented Detail

Image courtesy of ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, M. Barlow (University College London), N. Cox (ACRI-ST), R. Wesson (Cardiff University)

More than a year after NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope brought us images of the Southern Ring Nebula, the world’s most powerful observer captured the remains of another celestial body with stunning clarity.

Nebulae are massive clouds of dust and gas that sometimes emerge from dying stars. Both the Southern Ring Nebula and the Ring Nebula, which is the subject of the newly released images, were born from a star discarding its outer layers as its fuel reserves dwindle. Located about 2,000 light-years away, the latter is bright and often discernible from Earth with the use of simple binoculars.

Documented with the telescope’s Near-Infrared Camera, the Ring Nebula is now visible in unprecedented detail. The bright red outer ring is comprised of approximately 20,000 enormous globules of molecular hydrogen gas about the size of Earth. Inside, astronomers explain, “is a narrow band of emission from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs–complex carbon-bearing molecules that we would not expect to form in the Ring Nebula. Outside the bright ring, we see curious ‘spikes’ pointing directly away from the central star.” These prongs were barely visible in earlier images captured by the Hubble Space Telescope and were largely only seen through infrared.

The most intriguing discovery, though, is the ten evenly spaced features nestled inside the halo surrounding the bright outer ring. Astronomers explain:

These arcs must have formed about every 280 years as the central star was shedding its outer layers. When a single star evolves into a planetary nebula, there is no process that we know of that has that kind of time period. Instead, these rings suggest that there must be a companion star in the system, orbiting about as far away from the central star as Pluto does from our Sun. As the dying star was throwing off its atmosphere, the companion star shaped the outflow and sculpted it. No previous telescope had the sensitivity and the spatial resolution to uncover this subtle effect.

According to a statement, research into the Ring Nebula is ongoing, so expect more information in the coming months. Until then, head to NASA  to see the images up close.

 

Image courtesy of ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, M. Barlow (University College London), N. Cox (ACRI-ST), R. Wesson (Cardiff University)

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