February 2013 Blog Posts (184)

In what's got to be one of the cleverest print ad campaigns we've seen a very long time, HBO's hit show Game of Thrones was advertised in Monday's New York Times with a dragon casting its shadow over two pages of fake news stories. The "make you do a double-take" ad gives its viewers a taste of what's to come, as Khaleesi's dragons are sure to be central players of the new…

What exciting news! We just got word from the Google Currents Team that My Modern Met was just chosen as their "Pick of the Week." For those unfamiliar with Google Currents, it's a social magazine app, much like Flipboard, Zite and Pulse, that lets you browse through your favorite websites, on your tablet or smartphone, in a quick and easy way.

Currently available for all…

Sahelanthropus tchadensis

As part of the Safari zum Urmenschen exhibition (translated as Safari to Early Humans) at the Senckenberg Natural History Museum in Frankfurt, Germany,…

Equipped with a box of pencils and some carving tools, a Hungarian artist known simply as cerkahegyzo manages to produce incredibly detailed miniature sculptures. Each creation is constructed entirely out of its respective pencil, utilizing the wood and lead as its base and body. Cerkahegyzo uses the fine blades of razors and needles as well as the buffing capabilities of sandpaper, files,…

Japanese painter Hiroshi Senju makes large scale paintings of waterfalls using interesting materials and an age old technique. His method involves creating paints by grinding mineral pigments from natural materials like stone, shell and corals into powder, binding them with animal-hide glue, and then, with extreme delicacy, pouring this paint onto Japanese mulberry paper. This approach…

New York-based fashion photographer Torkil Gudnason is known for his ability to blur the line between fashion and art. He believes that editorial work "is a process of attrition: if the image outlives its commercial purpose (and what is fashion if not fleeting) then all that is left, for better or worse, is the art." Along with his extensive fashion portfolio, the talented photographer…

There are a variety of ways to recycle cardboard, but Cardboard Couture one way that is a bit more surprising than the rest. Every year, art and design students at Strode College in the UK are instructed to design and construct costumes out of cardboard. The first assigned project is meant to kick off the year with some unconventional inspiration. In their first few…

Back in June 2012, we came across the unique street art of Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic. Called a "new Banksy" by The Wall Street Journal, the then 25-year-old was just starting to make a name for himself with his incredibly clever street art works. The…

It seems impossible, but Italian sculptor Mario Ceroli is an artist who successfully captured the essence of an ocean wave and brought that magnificence indoors for everyone to enjoy. For more than 40 years, the Rome-based artist has produced all kinds of sculpted environmental wonders with materials like wood and glass.

The silhouetted shapes mimic the movement of the ocean, in…

As part of a series of US nuclear weapon tests known as Operation Crossroads in 1946, a 23-kilotun nuke called Baker was blasted at about 90 feet underwater at Bikini Atoll and caused a tidal wave that reached over 2 miles high. The images that resulted from the test are breathtaking, both in the beautiful and terrifying sense. The vertical movement of such an…

Seattle-based artist Kari-Lise Alexander, who simply goes by Kari-Lise, paints surreal portraits of females enveloped by nature. Inspired by her Scandinavian heritage, the painter focuses her art around themes of Norwegian folklore. She explains, "Innocent maidens float in worlds of their own making, oftentimes losing themselves in their daydreams."

Kari-Lise's body of work has an…

One of the most inspiring art projects we've come across lately is this new playroom at the Royal London Hospital. To show the healing power of art and play, Cottrell and Vermeulen architects and designer Morag Myerscough all worked together to create this bright and fun space for the children's ward of the new hospital complex. "We wanted it to be a complete escape for the…

New York-based Korean artist Yun-Woo Choi is taking the art world by storm with these massive newspaper sculptures. He uses rolled up magazine pages and newspapers, held together with wire and resin, to form shapes that swirl and spin throughout a gallery space, jutting out of walls and transforming the individually delicate pages into commanding structures.

At…

Photographer Murad Osmann creatively documents his travels around the world with his girlfriend leading the way in his ongoing series known as Follow Me To. Chronicling his adventures on Instagram, the Russian photographer composes each shot in a similar fashion. We see each landscape from the photographer's point of view with…

Comic book stained glass windows and a colorful skateboard ramp space? Last April, Paris' Palais de Tokyo reopened its doors after spending an astounding $26 million during 10 months of renovations. Now the largest contemporary art center in Europe, the museum has four levels and is as big as three soccer fields. With so much space, they've creatively let the building itself become part of…

Dihzahyners is a team of artists who strive to create a more bright and beautiful Beirut through colorful public art. Specifically, Paint Up! is an ongoing project in which teams of artists gather together and decorate the city, one step at a time. The group says, "We realized that we could add energy and vigor to our city by simply painting certain locations that needed it—and…

If you aren't looking closely, you might pass by this funny series by Sadi Tekin. The Istanbul-based illustrator and industrial designer created these lighthearted photos featuring chickpeas in tiny installations. Entitled Mr. Chick Pea And Friends, the series is filled with little illustrations drawn on the surface of chickpeas, which are then placed throughout the…

From beautiful landscapes and powerful portraits to colorful art prints and hilarious graphic designs, we're re-introducing the wonderful works of some of our favorite artists and photographers who have been featured here on My Modern Met. Better yet, prints and canvases of their works are available through My Modern Shop. As part…

Photographer Marat Akhmetaleyev captured some remarkable images of the Chebarkul meteorite as it ripped through the skies of Chelyabinsk, Russia nearly two weeks ago. The 31-year-old professional photographer was out on a routine shoot that Friday morning at one of his favorite spots, setting…

Photographer Yao Lu captures images of heaps of garbage covered in green protective netting and digitally manipulates them to look like a beautiful, mountainous expanse inspired by traditional Chinese landscape paintings. Yao's New Landscapes series manages to transform said garbage dumps with a few additions of carefully placed animals, ancient architecture, mist, waterfalls, and foliage.…