Environmental Graffiti

All images via b-o-r-g.org

It’s hard to believe that the image above is not a painting but a painstakingly put together paper collage. The artist is Are Mokkelbost, a young talent from Oslo, Norway. His collages have been on view in Oslo and Paris and are currently making the blog circles. For those who really can’t believe that Mokkelbost’s creations are not paintings, read on for proof…

Mokkelbost’s ION-OMNI No. 08, paper collage, 90 x 60 cm:

Mokkelbost’s ION-OMNI series, which he created between 2005 and 2008, is what currently fascinates art lovers and the public alike. His pictures emit a raw energy that is contained only by the medium of collage: random pieces of paper, determined by the artist’s vision, are put together to create these strangely beautiful images. They are like fires made of geometrical shapes that have the power, phoenix like, to create life – strange heads of hair that become the fire rather than being destroyed by it.

Mokkelbost even displays what is usually hidden from viewers: the back of the artwork. In his case, the question “How does he do it?” gets answered and makes his artworks even more interesting.

ION-OMNI No. 02, front and back:

According to his web site, here’s how Mokkelbost worked on the ION collages:

“Images from life style magazines are cut out and organized by color and contrast, according to six categories or elements in the ION universe. The collages gradually build up and a specific lighting evolves for each collage, the available material deciding the approximate amount of each color and element.”

The artist at work on the ION series in his studio in Oslo:

Image: Pal Laukli

For the group poster and video exhibition “Giving People What They Want” in 2006 at Glassbox in Paris, Mokkelbost scanned the back and front of this only 10 x 4 cm paper collage and then enlarged it to poster size. It’s amazing how back and front blend together to create what one could call a psychedelic Rorschach-Test.

Here’s an earlier work from Mokkelbost’s 2003 group exhibition “Let’s Get Physical” in Oslo, using posters, paper collage, spray paint, paper and a light box:

Mokkelbost, who graduated from Oslo’s National Academy of the Arts in 2002, seems to be an all-rounder: He records and performs his own music as well. It’s understood that he’s doing his own album cover art.

He is currently in New York and can be seen at a group exhibition of Norwegian artists from March 5th to 8th at the Pulse Art Fair and Chashama in New York.

We first spotted Are Mokkelbost on booooooom.com.

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Crab Nebula at multiple wavelengths
Photo – NASA

Many of us know the Crab Nebula that resides in the constellation Taurus and is portrayed here in a stunning mosaic image composed of 24 photographs. This region of the Milky Way was first noticed when the star at its center underwent a spectacular supernova explosion in 1054 AD. Astronomers in China and Arabia recorded what appeared to them as an exceptionally bright star in the night sky. The supernova that created the Crab Nebula was likely first visible from earth in April or May of 1054 AD. By July, it was brighter than anything else in the night sky except a full moon, and it remained visible to the naked eye for two years.

The Crab Nebula itself was first observed and understood by John Bevis in 1731. Independently discovered in 1758 by the French astronomer Charles Messier, the Crab Nebula became the first object in his stellar catalogue and is also known as Messier 1. John Ross in the 1840s first described the nebula as shaped like a crab.

Crab Nebula filaments
Photo – NASA

Although not very far from earth, the distance to the Crab Nebula has proven difficult to measure; it is approximately 6,000-7,500 light years distant. The portion of the nebula studied in these photos is 6 light years wide. The entire nebular has a diameter of 11 light years and its expansion rate is now 1500km/sec. The orange filaments are mostly hydrogen in the remnants of the star that exploded in 1054AD. The bluish glow in the center of the Crab Nebula indicates electrons moving at speeds up to one half the speed of light. Blue in the outer parts of the nebula reveals neutral oxygen, green represents singly ionized sulfur and red reveals doubly ionized oxygen. Extremely strong X-ray and gamma ray emissions make the Crab Nebula the strongest persistent energy source that can easily be observed.

Filaments in the nebula are remnants of the atmosphere of the star that exploded and they consist mostly of ionized helium and hydrogen. Temperature in the filaments is 11,000 K to 18,000 K with a particle density of 1,300/cm2. The blue region in the Crab Nebula is synchrotron radiation that is produced by electrons given off by the neutron star and moving in curved paths at up to 50% the speed of light. The expansion of the nebula is slowly accelerating as energy from the neutron star (pulsar) feeds into the nebula’s magnetic field, thereby enhancing expansion and forcing the filaments outward. The east-west band crossing the Crab Nebula in this photo is a helium rich torus which comprises about 25% of the material that can be seen in visible light. This torus remains mysterious and there is no good explanation for its structure. At the center of the nebula, the pulsar’s equatorial wind slams into the nebula material creating a shock wave that is seen as wisp like structures that brighten then fade as they move away from the neutron star.

Crab Nebula – Visible Light and X-ray
Photo – NASA

This composite photo combines a visible light image (red) with that revealed by X-rays (blue). The area of the X-ray image (blue) is smaller because the higher energy X-ray electrons radiate their energy away more rapidly than the lower energy electrons that emit radiation at visible light (red) wavelengths. There are two faint stars at the center of the Crab Nebula, one of which is the neutron star (pulsar).

Crab Nebula Pulsar
Photo – NASA

The pulsar is visible in this red photograph as the left of the pair of stars near the center of the frame. It was first discovered in 1942 because of unusual features in its optical spectrum but was not directly observed until 1967. The pulsed emissions from early pulsar discoveries were briefly considered as possible signals from advanced civilizations because the physics of neutron stars were at first very difficult to understand. Thomas Gold and Franco Pacini first suggested that pulsars were rapidly rotating neutrons stars and this theory was confirmed by features of the Crab Pulsar. The very rapid rotation of pulsars concentrates radiation emission into narrow beams. The Crab Pulsar at the center of the nebula is only about 6 miles in diameter and is spinning at 30.2 times per second. It emits pulses of radiation every 33 milliseconds across much of the electromagnetic spectrum, from gamma rays to radio waves. Think of this neutron star as a cosmic slingshot that rapidly revolves as it repeatedly emits two rapidly pulsing beams of radiation. This release of pulsed energy powers the synchrotron radiation of the filamentous region. The Crab Nebula’s total luminosity is about 75,000 times that of the Sun.

This post is the third in the series at EG that presents some of the best astronomy photos from NASA and the ESA. ‘Best’ refers to exceptionally compelling images that are not only data rich and therefore extremely valuable for ongoing research, but also drop dead gorgeous.

Sources -
1, 2, 3, 4

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Images via Gizmodo

Spice up your morning shower by singing a little song and watching the colours change in your new temperature-sensitive wall tiles from Inventables. Responding to heat from your bathwater, the tiles shift shades over three phases, manifesting a different colour for each 6 – 10 degree rise in temperature. The tiles also respond to changes in air temperature, body heat (not unlike those mood rings girls used to wear in the ’70s) and other hot or cold sources. Made of 20 – 80% recycled glass, they’re not only different from those boring old everyday tiles, they’re a green product to boot.

The glass tiles can be created to match almost any decor and come in six different textures. You can also choose specific temperature-activated colour change points to suit your needs and wants – maximum range for the “Liquid” line is -30°C (-22°F) to 120°C (248°F) – and you’re not limited to using these trendy tiles in your shower stall either; you can also incorporate a new kind of floor mosaic in your foyer or countertop.

Image via bookofjoe

Standard issue tiles are 4″ x 4″ that cost an average of $15 each, but you can ask for custom tiles at custom prices too. If you’re looking for a unique artpiece, this might be the option for you: examples of artwork include a daytime cityscape that transforms into a nighttime scene when the temperature changes. The Disneyland Hotel even jumped onto the design bandwagon by incorporating specially designed tiles into the Mickey Mouse Penthouse. As the glass tiles change color, silhouettes of Mickey Mouse appear on the outer edge of the shower.

Image: disneyandy

With all these options available, it seems the possibilities for this technology are endless. But the question remains: will it be a lasting trend in our fickle world? We’re not sure, but if the mood strikes you, we say go for it. Everyone needs a bit of colour and variety in their life!

Sources: 1, 2

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Image: E. S. Ross

Remember the guess-what games where you see close-ups of everyday objects and you have to guess what it is? Well, this is one of those. But because we’re not talking about everyday objects, we’ll give you a few clues. We’re only talking about plants. Think smelly (for some) and large (for all). Oh, and the picture above does not show the inside of a mouth. Any ideas? Read on for astonishing insights into the plant world.

This is an inside view from the same plant into the outside world. The plant was not dissected or otherwise harmed; the snap was taken with a micro camera. Looks like a plant cocoon, doesn’t it?

Image: Troy Davis

It’s the Rafflesia arnoldii, the world’s largest single flowering plant with a diameter of one metre (39 inches) and a flower weight of 10 kg (22 lb)! Because of their strong smell, which reminds one of rotting meat, they’re also called “corpse flowers.” Carrion flies love it and get inspired to transport pollen from male to female flowers. For more details of this fascinating plant, read our October article.

Image: Antoine Hubert

Here’s the next close-up. Looks like corn on the cob on top and a spiky hairbrush at the bottom, doesn’t it? Hint: this plant has the same nickname as the previous one.

Image: Waldo Jaquith

Okay, one more picture though it might be a bit misleading. This is the plant’s fruit, which contains two to three seeds. There’s actually a stem at the bottom which can’t be seen very well here.

Image: Cambridge 2000

Here’s the Titan arum (amorphophallus titanum) in all its glory. This beauty is a native of the equatorial rainforests of central Sumatra, Indonesia. Its blooming stalk can reach a height of three metres (ten feet) and one metre (three to four feet) in diameter. Like the Rafflesia, even Titan arum emits a strong, repulsive odour to attract pollinators like carrion and flesh flies, which is why both plants are also nicknamed “corpse plants.”

Image: Ingrid Taylar

This picture of a collapsed Titan arum reminds one of a weird designer chair, doesn’t it?

Image: saw2th

Moving on, this next close-up looks like strands of white thread, but the green leafs on the right are pretty typical and should be a dead giveaway.

Image: Cumulus Clouds

Right, it’s a palm tree but not any old palm tree. This is the Talipot palm (corypha umbraculifera) and, with heights up to 25 metres, it’s one of the largest palms in the world. It also bears the largest cluster of flowers on a single stem – 6 to 8 metres long. This remarkable palm flowers only once in its life, when it is 30 to 80 years old, and dies after fruiting.

Flowering Talipot palm at Foster Botanical Gardens, Honolulu, Hawaii:

Image: Cumulus Clouds

Because the next plant is a very recently discovered species, here are two pictures of its flowers (left) and seeds (right). Any ideas?

Images: Xavier Metz, Palmtalk

The Tahina spectabilis is as self-destructing as the Palipot palm; it flowers only once in its 100-year-lifespan and then dies. It grows to a proud height of 20 metres (60 feet) and can have leaves up to 5 metres (16 feet) long. As the tallest in its region, Madagaskar, it should have stuck out but was only discovered in 2007, and then only by chance. Says William Baker, head of palm research at the UK’s Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew: “It’s a species that is so significant from all sorts of perspectives, it’s kind of embarrassing as a botanist that we didn’t find it until now.”

Image: hduc

Now, last but not least, only one more picture that looks quite unspectacular. Posidonia oceania is a flowering marine plant of the seagrass species. It is found around the Mediterranean coast and southern Australia. In 2006, a huge clonal colony – meaning of a single ancestor – of posidonia oceania was found off the island of Ibiza. With a length of 8 km (4.3 miles) and 100,000 years old, it may easily be the world’s largest and oldest clonal colony.

Image: Alberto Romeo

Source: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

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Images via DRB

Ever wondered what the Victorian era, in all its gloom and grime of the industrial revolution, would have felt like? Or wished to meet Dickensian characters like that wicked schoolmaster or the clever shoeshine boy? Well, you can, at Dickens World in the UK. Find out what other bizarre theme parks make one look forward to coming back to even the gloomiest of economies…

There’s Diggerland in the UK – no, not what you think. This family entertainment theme park is all about digging in the dirt with bulldozers, diggers and other construction vehicles. To get an idea, visit the park’s web site first – with your computer’s sound on – for a Bob-the-Builder-meets-the-Beach-Boys kind of an experience.

And there’s more: Dark Roasted Blend discovered seven more actual or planned of the world’s strangest theme parks.

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All images via Dezeen

What will the city of the future look like? If MAD architects have anything to say about it, urban centres will no longer resemble the concrete jungles of the industrial revolution. MAD and their design friends have come together to create a conceptual model of the Huaxi city centre of Guiyang, China, that brings nature into every consideration when building with the most modern technologies of the 21st century.

Says MAD:

“The city is no longer determined by the leftover logic of the industrial revolution (speed, profit, efficiency) but instead follows the ‘fragile rules’ of nature.”

According to Dezeen architecture and design magazine, the urbanization of Chinese cities over the past 15 years has been marked by “high-density, high-speed and low-quality duplication” that renders urban spaces “meaningless, crowded and soulless.” The Huaxi project aims to reverse this trend, creating a new reality for urban centres that encourages a more seamless connection between humans and the surrounding natural world. With 200 to 400 new Chinese cities being built in the next 20 years, this sounds like a great idea!

Working with Shanghai Tongji Urban Planning and Design Institute, Studio 6, MAD developed a masterplan for Hauxi city. They invited ten other international young architectural firms to Huaxi for a three-day workshop to learn about the area’s natural and cultural features, then charged them with creating their own design for their assigned part of the plan.

Design by MAD (China):

Mountain peaks serve as the backdrop to a structure that resembles rolling foothills. Windows and terraces pepper the building throughout, allowing for beautiful views of the surrounding country. Design by Serie (UK/India):

The building leans to one side to accommodate its sloping hillside site. Design by BIG (Denmark):

Design by Dieguez Fridman (Argentina):

Design by Mass Studies (Korea):

Drawings show the development of the final concept, a multi-level building with circular courtyards and terraces:

Design by HouLiang Architecture (China):

Close-up:

Design by Atelier Manferdini (USA):

This one resembles a growing crystalline structure, perhaps not unlike Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. Design by Sou Fujimoto Architects (Japan):

Close-up:

Design by Rojkind Arquitectos (Mexico):

Design by JDS (Denmark/Belgium):

Design by EMERGENT/Tom Wiscombe (USA):

For more pictures and building plans, check out the article over at Dezeen.

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Image: HA’a (Robert Berman)

They may look like regular folks frolicking in the water on a hot summer’s day, but they’re really much more remarkable than that. They are the Moken, a group of about 2,000 to 3,000 people who are born, live and die traveling the Andaman Sea around Southern Thailand and Myanmar (Burma). Settling only during monsoon season, these “Sea Gypsies” live more than half the year in boats called kabang, each made from a single tree. They are master fishermen and expert divers, catching fish on spears with ease, while collecting a variety of other fruits of the sea by hand, such as sea cucumbers at low tide and shellfish at high tide.

Image: Ronnakorn Potisuwan

Moken children learn how to swim before they can walk. The Moken can plunge to depths of 75 feet without any life support gear and can also lower their heart rates in order to hold their breaths for twice as long as other humans. And that’s not all: Swedish scientist Anna Gislen also found that Moken children have the power to constrict their pupils to tiny pinpoints when they’re in the water, enabling them to sharpen their sight and see much better underwater than the rest of us.

Image: Ronnakorn Potisuwan

But how do they do it? At first, scientists thought that there might be some super-sighted genetic variation in play; after all, the Moken have been diving for hundreds of years. Perhaps, but Gislen’s studies with European children showed some pretty cool results – after four to six months of training, Swedish youngsters would automatically constrict their pupils when they came in contact with water, though not to the extent of the Moken children, who have been practising this exercise far longer.

Image: jameschew

With their almost superpower diving abilities, the Moken could easily exploit the sea, reaping more than they require to sell or trade, but they choose not to. They live simple, low-impact lives, never catching more than is required to survive. A peaceful and nonviolent people, the Moken treat everyone as family, sharing what they have and abstaining from the accumulation of worldly possessions.

To be sure, the Moken’s animist beliefs led them to worship the sea and respect its power. They know how to read the signs that the mighty ocean herself sends them, enabling them to find higher ground before anyone else knew that the 2004 Tsunami would hit.

Watch this interview with an old Moken about how they knew the tsunami was coming:

When asked how the Moken people knew that the tsunami would come, they speak of the Laboon, or the “wave that eats people,” a legend that has been passed down through the generations. Angry ancestral spirits bring on this “Big Wave,” but before it arrives, the sea recedes. Saleh Kalathalay, the village headman, recognized these signs before the 2004 Tsunami struck, and ran to warn everyone to move to higher ground to avoid the impending wave. Everyone was spared, except for one handicapped tribesman who was forgotten on the beach, and for this lapse of memory, the tribe believes it is cursed and will not rebuild their village in the same spot.

And although the Moken survived the devastating disaster of 2004, the traditional nomadic life and the knowledge of the sea that comes part and parcel with it, could soon be lost. Only about 1,000 Moken still lead the traditional life and the numbers continue to dwindle.

Image: Scruffy Dan and Breanne

Until the 1980s, the Sea Gypsies were largely untouched by modern civilisation. With the influx of entrepreneurs and tourists over the past 30 years and pressure from government, some Sea Gypsies are being forced to settle in permanent villages. Moken men are overworked by Burmese fishermen, often dying from the bends after diving deep and resurfacing quickly. And military presence restricts free movement of the Moken, resulting in difficulties ranging from an inability for young people to find spouses to a lack of trading opportunities for staples such as rice.

Dire though the situation seems, there is still hope. Moken leaders continue to forge ahead to bring people together and pass down the stories and rituals that have enabled these people to live for so long in partnership with the sea. Certainly, the knowledge that the Sea Gypsies have passed on to the rest of the world is something we won’t soon forget.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

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Image via: The Three Monkeys

Darwin himself might have raised a bushy eyebrow at the idea that monkeys and apes have a sense of morality and the capacity to tell right from wrong. Such moral qualities have been widely held to be part and parcel of what distinguishes us from our furrier simian relatives – but fresh research implies otherwise. In a series of studies, scientists have found that monkeys and apes can make judgments about fairness, offer sympathy and selfless help to others, and even appear to have consciences and the ability to remember obligations.

Moral questions: has morality evolved and is it unique to humans?

Orangutan photo by: Kabir Bakie

The research indicates that morality has developed through evolution and is not an exclusively human attribute. But if our primate cousins share some of our moral scruples as the findings suggest, it is likely to anger those who believe such traits are God-given and set humans apart, according to reports on the Times Online and Telegraph websites. Frans de Waal, professor of psychology at Emory University, who led the study, said:

“I am not arguing that non-human primates are moral beings but there is enough evidence for the following of social rules to agree that some of the stepping stones towards human morality can be found in other animals.”

It’s not fair: apes object when others are unfairly rewarded

Lar gibbon photo by: Matthias Trautsch

In tests to see whether monkeys and apes understood the idea of fairness, the animals performed a set of tasks and were rewarded at random with food or affection. The researchers discovered that the primates objected acutely when others were rewarded more than themselves for the same task, and even sulked and refused to take further part.

Help! I need somebody: chimpanzees will offer altruistic help

Photo by: Unknown Researcher

Another more encouraging study found that chimpanzees were willing to spontaneously help both humans and one another in controlled tests, even when no reward was offered. This backs up evidence of similar such altruistic behaviour; a key example, cited in a 2007 New York Times article, described chimps who were unable to swim drowning in zoo moats while trying to save others.

The beast that keeps on giving: capuchin monkeys are keen to share

Photo courtesy of: Frans de Waal

Other researchers have discovered comparable qualities in Latin American capuchin monkeys, who are also eager to share food and gifts with companion monkeys – simply so it seems for the pleasure of giving. Related research found that primates can remember and will endeavour to repay individuals who have done them a favour.

Moral backbone: morality and our place in evolution

Image via: Fastfission

These community-focused precursors to human morality seem to point to more of an overlap between the behaviour of humans and other social primates than we previously thought – though influences such as religion and reason would still separate us. Professor de Waal argues that morality came about through natural selection at a time when people living in small foraging groups had to make split second life-or-death decisions that were also moral choices.

Moral fibre: morality as a means of survival for groups of early humans

Diorama photo by: VSmithUK

Some researchers believe our morals developed due to climate change – particularly a period of global warming at least 50,000 years ago when early humans were forced to band together and adapt to survival in hostile plains. Others think communities were compelled to devise moral codes to stop bigger alpha males monopolising the food, and that if anyone went against the rules they and their amoral genes would be disposed of.

Who sees no evil? The three wise monkeys

17th Century Japanese carving photo by: lyss_003

Incidentally, while we usually imagine “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” to mean ignoring the wickedness of something we are involved in, in earlier times it had other meanings. It was a reminder not to let immorality appear in the social actions of looking, listening and chattering. And while we naturally assume the three wise monkeys stand for humans, what if they’re just meant to be monkeys? Perhaps the originators of the proverb knew something we don’t.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

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Image via Rajee Sulekha

Many people know the Tree of Life, which is part of Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park in Florida. However, at the other end of the world, in India, where few people have heard about it and even fewer will ever visit this tree, its image has been used for an email hoax for months.

Since around June 2008, a mysterious email made the rounds in India, featuring full images of the tree and close-ups, trying to make recipients believe that the tree was: “A huge living tree located in India in which figures of animals have miraculously grown naturally all over the tree’s trunk without human influence.” Depending on which region in India the email was circulated in, the tree was said to either be located in Andhra Pradesh or in Palakkad, Kerala.

Monkey and snake detail of the tree included in the email:

Image via Rajee Sulekha

The crafty senders even encouraged comparison with the Baobab tree, a tree species native to Africa and Australia (not India) known for its large trunks, 7 to 10 metres in diameter. This was to set the stage, no doubt, for the final assumption that the animal carvings were all natural, fossilized remains of animals or magical creatures that one day appeared by mysterious forces but not by human hand.

For those who think that most people would have shrugged this off as rubbish and deleted the email, listen to these facts: the email survived from June through October, being forwarded by trusting recipients. And, for those still not convinced, try googling “mysterious tree in Andhra Pradesh” or “mysterious tree in Nalgonda”; you’ll get tens of thousands of results!

Picture of a real Baobab tree:

Image: Michael Gray

Which proves what? That this could have happened only in India? Just think about the reverse, the western world falling for mysterious oriental objects or phenomena. No, the Tree-of-Life hoax generally seems to tap into our fascination with the supernatural or magical. We want to believe! And it proves, no doubt, that the craftsmen and -women Disney employed did a marvellous job.

Source: 1, 2, 3

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Image: Walter Tape

Colourful light pillars often appear in winter when snow or ice crystals reflect light from a strong source like the sun or moon. Aided by extreme cold, light pillars appear when light bounces off the surface of flat ice crystals floating relatively close to the ground. The pillars look like feathers of light that extend vertically either above or below the light source, or both.

Diagrams showing the formation of light pillars from street lamps (left) and the reflection of light rays from plate ice crystal surfaces (right):

Images: Keith C. Heidorn

Light pillars also form from strong artificial light sources like street lamps, car headlights or the strong light sources of an ice-skating rink as in the picture above of Fairbanks, Alaska. Though they are local phenomena, light pillars can look distant like an aurora. The closer an observer is to the source of the light pillar, the larger it seems.

National Geographic has more pictures of recent light pillars in Idaho, California, Belgium, Latvia and Canada. You can also view another Environmental Graffiti article on more incredible light phenomena here.

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