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The central disappointment of these spaces is not that they are so narcissistic, but rather that they seem to have such a low view of the people who visit them. Observing a work of art or climbing a mountain actually invites us to create meaning in our lives. But in these spaces, the idea of “interacting” with the world is made so slickly transactional that our role is hugely diminished. Stalking through the colorful hallways of New York’s “experiences,” I felt like a shell of a person. — The New York Times
In this snarky piece, New York Times critic-at-large Amanda Hess recounts what it was like visiting as many of these hyped-up Instagrammable "museums" that have popped up around the U.S. in recent years. “What began as a kicky story idea became a masochistic march through voids of meaning. I... View full entry
Sam Picardal is a New York based artist and architectural illustrator running the Instagram account @21.am, which shows off their sketching process for drawing buildings by famous architects. Capturing their practice via timelapse, the page posts videos of Picardal hand drawing landmark works such... View full entry
Mixed media artist Michael Velliquette has been making imaginary architecture models. A prolific artist who favors paper as his medium, his latest is a series of carefully detailed installations. Using hand-cut paper shapes, Velliquette assembles countless pieces of paper into complex forms he... View full entry
“Designing from Instagram for Instagram seems like a snake eating its own tail. Everywhere looks like everywhere else and the eye grows tired of bananas or concrete tiles or mirror rooms.” — The Guardian
The built environment, this article from Bella Mackie suggests, is increasingly being designed as a 'backdrop;' a stage for those masses which might otherwise be disinterested in the fields of aesthetics and art production. This phenomenon can be felt when traveling the world just as apparently... View full entry
Photogenic is probably not the first word that comes to mind upon hearing the phrase “public restroom”. But the Instagram account toilets_a_go_go by Tokyo-based photographer Hidefumi Nakamura proves that public toilets shouldn't have to look bland and gross. Since starting the Instagram... View full entry
Brutalism is having quite the moment right now. What was once seen as the architecture of the lower class, has today, become the proud badge of aesthetic quirkiness for the creative one. Embraced by a band of architects, architecture enthusiasts, and preservationists, these concrete structures... View full entry
This post is brought to you by Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc). Instagram is an integral part of how we communicate architecture today. It’s unclear how many offices, architects, or students use the social media app, but what is clear is that for many of us who have... View full entry
London photographer Rich McCor, who is better known by his instagram handle @paperboyo, travels the world transforming some of the world's most notable buildings through the use of black paper cutouts. By placing the intricate, shapes in the foreground of his image, McCor playfully gives his... View full entry
It’s this learned self-confidence that has become the center of Giulia’s graphic collages, allowing her to push boundaries regarding sexuality and censorship of the female form.
By strategically placing architectural elements onto images of the female body, Giulia is ever so slightly bypassing Instagram’s strict censorship rules, but while the Brooklyn-based artist’s near-pornographic collages are technically safe for IG, she says it hasn’t been an easy road on the platform.
— Highsnobiety
Highsnobiety interviews Giulia, the provocative Brooklyn-based artist who is better known by her Instagram handle @scientwehst. When asked what inspired her to create erotic collages by inserting architectural images in place of female genitalia: "It started with me creating random pornographic... View full entry
Spaces like the Museum of Ice Cream and the Paul Smith Pink Wall offer a perfect setting for a highly shareable image—and that’s it. What happens to art, or travel, or the outside world in general when taking a photograph becomes an experience itself?
As photo-driven social networks continue to grow more powerful, they are both transforming boutique economies and exercising visual influence over our modern day cuisine, travel destinations, clothing labels, and makeup trends.
— The Ringer
From museums to music festivals to that cool-looking, brightly colored wall there, this article looks into how image-driven social media like Instagram is increasingly changing the way people are consuming art and culture in practically identical ways. In one interesting part of the article... View full entry
Citing the street as their favorite workplace and the whole world as their canvas, Valencia-based couple Anna Devis and Daniel Rueda inventively interact with architecture. When paired with their love of travel, this playful interest culminates in a quirky and creative collection of photos that'll make you look twice. — My Modern Met
For those of you who "curate" your Instagram feeds with your photogenic other, there's some artfully posed competition in town: illustrator Anna Devis and trained architect Daniel Rueda not only know their architecture, but they're determined to pose winningly in front of it, as this article in My... View full entry
The World Monuments Fund (WMF) launched its first Instagram campaign [...] to draw attention to the plight of the world’s Modern buildings, an increasing number of which are at risk because of the lack of regulations or political will needed to protect them.
The fund kicks off the programme with a list of 30 sites nominated by architects, experts and students posted on its website and is appealing to the public to add to this list by submitting nominations via Instagram.
— theartnewspaper.com
"The list will be sent to an advisory council formed of architects, including Annabelle Selldorf, designers and critics, who will advise the WMF on the next phase of the Modern Century programme."The sites included on the initial list of 30 nominees are:Hall of Nations (pictured in the cover photo... View full entry
The grueling pace of architecture school notoriously leaves little room to catch up on your beauty sleep. But even the most rigorous students need a bit of shuteye every once and a while, whether under a desk or inside an installation. @usczzz documents passed out students from the USC School of... View full entry
The Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei is visiting Lesbos to document the plight of thousands of refugees who arrive daily on the Greek island by boat from Turkey. For the past two days, Ai has been photographing orange rubber dinghies coming into shore, families huddled around fires, people queuing to register at the Moria refugee camp and piles of discarded lifejackets, among other scenes [...]
It is understood Ai will be creating a work in response to the refugee crisis.
— theartnewspaper.com
Here are just a few of Ai Weiwei's recent photos from the Lesbos refugee camp; giving a human face to people and entire families escaping war and persecution in their home countries of Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, as well as documenting humanitarian workers, such as the Norwegian group, Drop... View full entry
Many in the west too often think of Beirut as a city scarred by war and terror. But the capital of Lebanon is a beautiful, modern city, one utterly remade after the country’s civil war ended in 1990. Gleaming skyscrapers tower over historic and pre-war modernist architecture, drenched in color and bathed in sunlight. It provides no end of inspiration for Serge Najjar, whose gorgeous photos of the city fill his Instagram. — Wired
