Eugene's Blog – January 2012 Archive (18)

Scheduled to be up and running this summer, the Mercedes House by Ten Arquitectos will provide a fresh new look to the bustling streets of Midtown Manhattan. With spectacular views of De Witt Clinton Park and the Hudson River, the building zig zags vertically and diagonally to preserve city side streets.

The winding feature of the structure also allows for each…

Here's an impressive optical illusion that's really worth the wait. Don't worry, it's not one of those impossible ones where you have to find a picture amongst thousands of little dots. Just follow the instructions above and prepare to be amazed!

Is this the girl you saw?

via […

It's not often that we see an image from this nauseating perspective. Viewed from above, we experience two scenes in the same frame. One features a woman sleeping in a messy, top-floor room, while the other shows a busy, lit-up street many floors below.

The scene is actually from the film Enter the Void. The contrast…

Artist Matthew Gallagher proves that we only need to see a part of our favorite characters to instantly identify them. From Captain America's ripped leather torso to Spiderman's mesh suit, the unmistakable details of these costumes bring to mind a powerful and iconic…

Lantern Festival in Shanghai, January 23, 2012. (Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images)



Yesterday, millions of people celebrated the start of the Chinese Lunar New Year, with 2012 being the year of the Dragon. In the Chinese astrological cycle, the dragon signifies good fortune and power. This particular year is also associated with the element of…

After looking at all the magnificent detail in this sculpture by Shinichi Hara, I couldn't visually pinpoint what it was made from. Given the large white block from which it started from, I considered that "White Dream" was made of styrofoam. When I learned that it was made of marble, however, it almost seemed too obvious. I was a bit shocked at how the artist seemed to…

Chicago-based firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) recently won an international competition to design the Greenland Group Suzhou Center in Wujiang, China. Resembling the eye of a needle, the 358-meter skyscraper features a 30-story-high atrium and will become a defining visual landmark for the city.

Located beside Taihu Lake, the skyscraper will include…

Living in a bubble must pose some real-life challenges. For example, how are you expected to get into a car or change your clothes? Photographer Alex Kisilevich documents this interesting phenomenon, but instead of answering these questions, he allows our…

Iowa-based digital artist Bao Pham pushes our imaginations over the edge with these gorgeous digital artworks. Pham's female subjects look like they're straight out of a sci-fi movie, with each representing a different element or theme. The artist does a phenomenal job at capturing emotion in each piece, leaving us…

Josef Kellndorfer and Wayne Walker of the Woods Hole Research Center recently worked with the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Geological Survey to create this highly detailed map of all the trees in America. Over six years, researchers assembled the national forest map from space-based radar, satellite sensors, computer models, and a massive amount of ground-based data. The…

Many of us have heard of Crocs before, but this is definitely not what we had in mind. Amsterdam-based artist Sit created these outrageous high heels as part of his contribtuion to the Hybrid Thinking exhibit currently being held at Jonahton Levine…

When he's not taking shots of mountain bikers in the summer, you'll probably find photographer Fabrice Wittner near a slackline. He says that the sport rules his summers, not just as a subject for photography, but because it is one of his many passions. As you can see from his shots, slacklining requires an immense amount of balance and strength, as well as incredibly steady nerves.

"The reach of balance is a constant fight that we bring to a next level…

Melissa Haslam



LeBasse Projects, one of Los Angeles' premier pop art galleries, is currently hosting a group show that puts the spotlight on some of the most talented artists in the world, who will be exhibiting their work at the gallery in 2012. The star-studded list includes many artists who we've already featured on My Modern Met, including:…

Street artist M-E-S-A traveled to the Sahara desert to live with Saharawi families in a refugee camp. During his stay, he learned about the incredible history of the Saharawi people, who have lived in exile for more than 36 years, fighting a peaceful way with art projects, such as Artifariti 2011, a student meeting, shown here.

"The Sahara, under hard conditions of life, living…

Grand Prize Winner: Splashing by Shikhei Goh



Back in November, we wrote a post about the amazing entries in National Geographic's 2011 photography contest. After more than 20,000 photographs from over 130 countries were…

What's the most effective way to motivate a person to run? According to Creative Director/Copywriter Annie Chiu, you take away their seat, effectively forcing them to hit the pavement. This clever ad is truly effective in sending its message, but I can only imagine some people getting pissed off in having to find another place to…

As I walked across New York City's famous High Line for the first time a couple years ago, I was stopped in my tracks by an extraordinary artwork that immediately caught my eye. After admiring it for a few minutes, I never really thought I'd come across it again.

As I was…