Imagine that you are in a contest and you can choose between two prizes: a diamond or a bottle of water. It’s an easy choice: diamonds are more valuable. But if you are given the same option when you are dehydrated in the desert, after wandering for days, would you choose differently? Why? Are not diamonds still more valuable? Akshita Agarwal explains the paradox of value.
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Many of humanity’s greatest problems stem not from a shortfall of technical or financial intelligence, but what we term emotional intelligence. It is through the acquisition of Emotional Intelligence that we stand to become better lovers, workers, friends and citizens. We are rarely systematically taught Emotional Intelligence and pay a heavy price for this gap in learning. The School of Life is dedicated to fostering Emotional Intelligence.
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Author: Jenny Zhang
Via My Modern Met | August 20, 2015
A globe is the only “true” representation of the world that doesn’t distort the shape or the size of the earth’s features. Terrestrial (showing a map of the world) and celestial (showing the apparent positions of the stars in the sky) globes are known to have been made since the mid-2nd century B.C., but the earliest surviving terrestrial globe was made in 1492 by Martin Behaim, a German mapmaker, navigator, and merchant. Globe making developed rapidly during the Renaissance as a result of technological developments like the mechanical printing press, as well as the increasing availability of Latin translations of Ptolemy’s treatise Geographica. By the end of the 15th century, globe making had become a well-established craft in Europe, further motivating voyagers such as Christopher Columbus to go forth and explore new lands.
In the modern age, with the advent of GPS in addition to the abundance of mass-produced globes and maps, the art of globe making has fallen by the wayside. Only two workshops in the world still make handcrafted globes; one of them is Bellerby & Co. Globemakers, a studio based in Stoke Newington, London. Founded by Peter Bellerby in 2008, the artisan shop was born when Bellerby struggled to find a quality globe for his father’s 80th birthday present. Faced with a choice between a cheaply made modern globe or a fragile, expensive antique model, Bellerby decided to spend a few months and a few thousand pounds making his own, instead. The process turned out to be more complicated, costly, and time-intensive than he thought, eventually leading to the creation of his own globe-making studio.
Now, Bellerby and a small team of dedicated globemakers construct high-quality, handmade, artisan globes that are as much works of art as they are scientific instruments. From the stand, to the painting, to the mapmaking, each piece is expertly crafted in-house using traditional and modern globe-making techniques. Globe making is a difficult art to learn, with the act of applying the strips of map to the sphere (known as “goring”) alone usually taking a year to master, but the stunning results speak for themselves. In a day and age when digital reigns supreme and cheap products fall apart quickly, Bellerby & Co.’s classically beautiful, handcrafted globes are a testament to the wonderful quality and aesthetic of goods made by true artisans.
Bellerby & Co. has gained international acclaim for its globes, which range in size from mini 23-cm desk versions to massive 127-cm spheres. The globes have been used for BBC productions, in Hollywood films like Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, and by artists in installations. Other customers have commissioned customized globes that highlight their favorite places, fanciful illustrations, or the locations they wish to visit someday. Timeless in appearance and built to last over a century, Bellerby & Co.’s globes memorialize the ancient art of globe making while looking forward to a future of possibilities in craftsmanship, science, and art.
Autor: Faena Aleph
Vía Faena Aleph | Agosto 22, 2015
Estas son algunas razones por las que todo niño y adulto debería tomar un lápiz y un papel e intentar recrear lo que tiene enfrente.
Es curioso cómo nuestros tiempos cada vez piden más a gritos regresar al mundo análogo, al mundo de las cosas, al que sentimos con la piel. Los que tienen voz y perspectiva sugieren silencio, aburrimiento, caminatas, o dejar el teléfono y ponernos a dibujar. Basta notar cómo los libros para colorear se colocaron en los primeros lugares de la lista de más vendidos de Amazon. Esto es: los libros de colorear para adultos. Y ya lo decía Jung en su momento: “dibujar es una herramienta magnífica de sanación”.
Lo anterior sugiere que estamos de alguna manera “enfermos” de tanta abstracción tecnológica, y quizás algo de cierto haya ahí. Aún estamos comenzando una era digital que nos ha dejado alucinados y no sabemos del todo cómo regresar a esto, a la tierra y a la piel. No sabemos cómo combinar los mundos para no enfermar. Las recomendaciones para dibujar –que el escritor británico John Ruskin remarcó tanto en su tiempo sin que entonces fuera una urgencia como lo es hoy– son especialmente oportunas, desde luego, por el asunto ubicuo de los teléfonos con cámara.
Las fotografías tienen un encanto propio y único, pero hemos en gran medida reemplazado la fotografía del paisaje por el paisaje mismo. Esto es grave en tanto que nos despoja de una capacidad valiosa y fundamental para disfrutar el planeta: maravillarnos al investigar las formas y los pliegues de la naturaleza. Ruskin daba como ejemplo a una pareja que sale a caminar al bosque. Uno de ellos es un dibujante y el otro no. Hay una gran diferencia en el paisaje en cómo lo perciben ambos individuos. El que no dibuja verá un árbol y percibirá que ese árbol es verde pero no pensará mucho más de él. Verá que el sol brilla y que tiene un efecto alegre. Eso es todo. Pero el dibujante, con sus ojos acostumbrados a buscar la fuente de belleza, penetrará en partes escondidas de la naturaleza. Mirará arriba y observará cómo los rayos de luz tocan cada hoja. Verá aquí y allá una rama emergiendo del follaje. Verá el brillo del musgo esmeralda y las formas extrañas del liquen. ¿No valdría la pena ver esto?
Con el simple acto de intentar recrear lo que vemos lo estudiamos como nunca hacemos cuando tomamos una fotografía. El mundo se revelaría para nosotros como las claves se revelan a los espías que saben mirar. En el siguiente video animado, The School of Life nos habla de este hermoso arte que debíamos implementar. El manual de Ruskin para dibujar, por otro lado, es una lectura estupenda y altamente contagiosa.
Imagen cortesía de Arttextum
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