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New Post has been published on http://prafulla.net/graphics/art-graphics/sculptures-and-installations-with-wood-and-glass-by-sculptor-mario-ceroli/

Sculptures and Installations with Wood and Glass by Sculptor Mario Ceroli, The Pope of Arte Povera

Maestrale - Glass Sculpture by Sculptor Mario Ceroli

 

 

La Vague by by Sculptor Mario Ceroli

Masterclass of Mario Ceroli

Opera glass display at the Lodges of the Pope in Siena.

According to the New York Times sculptor Mario Ceroli is one of the least known yet most influential artists of the Italian post-war scene.

He really revolutionized the art of the twentieth century.  Ceroli one of the founders of Arte Povera, a movement called conceptual and Genoa in 1967. He was opposed to Pop Art by the refusal of traditional artistic means, such as painting, and the introduction of materials ‘poor’, wood, earth or industrial waste.

His signature style creates strikingly monumental images that begin as two-dimensional silhouettes, but go beyond even three dimensions: the fourth dimension — time — is represented by painstakingly built-up layers, which act like a still representation of sequenced movie frames.

The materials of choice are usually Russian pinewood, sometimes burnt, and glass and lead. But the medium isn’t what matters. “It’s not about the exaltation of the material — the material isn’t important, it is a convention,” said Enrico Crispolti, the curator of the exhibition, “it’s the image that is most important.”

 

 

New Post has been published on http://prafulla.net/graphics/news-and-people/guinness-world-records-by-veena-malik-for-receiving-137-kisses-on-her-hand-in-one-minute/

Guinness World Records by Veena Malik for Receiving 137 Kisses on Her hand in One Minute

Controversial Pakistani actress Veena Malik has entered the Guinness World Records by receiving 137 kisses on her hand in one minute. She admits it is for the sake of her upcoming film ‘The City That Never Sleeps’.

“I am a celebrity anyway and if you say that it is for publicity, ok, yeah, we need publicity for ‘The City That Never Sleeps’,” Veena said here Tuesday after breaking the earlier record set by Salman Khan of 108 kisses.

“We have to break 20 records for the film and this is one of the records,” she added.

In 2011, Salman had got 108 kisses in a minute on a TV reality show ‘Guinness World Record – Ab India Todega’.

It was Veena’s birthday Feb 26 and the men were chosen through contest ‘The City that Never Sleeps-Bollywood Hunt’.

“Long back we decided that I will break this record on my birthday and now we have to break 19 more records for ‘The City That Never Sleeps’,” Veena said.

“So if you call it publicity, then yes, it is for publicity. Films are for what? For publicity, right?”

New Post has been published on http://prafulla.net/graphics/fashion/missoni-fall-winter-13-14-milan/

Missoni Fall / Winter 13 -14 Milan

Missoni Fall / Winter 13 -14 Milan

New Post has been published on http://prafulla.net/graphics/art-graphics/realistic-human-figure-sculptures-at-fondation-cartier-paris-by-ron-mueck/

Hyper Realistic Human Figure Sculptures at Fondation Cartier, Paris by Ron Mueck

Highly acclaimed London-based artist Ron Mueck makes extremely realistic sculptures of human figures. The sculptures are painstakingly crafted primarily out of silicone, polyester resin, fiberglass and synthetic hair. They very widely in scale, from miniature, to life-size, to enormous sculptures that depict only a portion of the body.

Ron Mueck will be unveiling new work at the Fondation Cartier Pour L’art Contemporain, Paris in his first major exhibition in Europe since 2005, running from the 16th of april through to the 29th september, 2013. To complement six important recent sculptures, the show also includes three pieces produced especially for the event – two teenagers in the street, a mother and baby and an elderly couple on the beach.

to complement six important recent sculptures, the show also includes three pieces produced especially for the event
image © ron mueck
photo © gautier deblonde

 

the opus highlights mueck’s distinctive rendition of realism and powerful use of scale, proportion and placement
image © ron mueck
photo © gautier deblonde

 

his meticulously detailed human  figures draw from the world’s of pop art and hyperrealism
image © ron mueck
photo © gautier deblonde

 

‘mask II’, 2001
mixed media
image © ron mueck
photo courtesy of anthony d’offay, london
exhibition ron mueck, fondation cartier pour l’art contemporain, paris, april 16 › sept. 29, 2013

To see how he makes his sculptures, take a look at these behind-the-scenes photos by Gautier Deblonde.

New Post has been published on http://prafulla.net/graphics/fashion/salvatore-ferragamo-fall-winter-13-14-milan/

Salvatore Ferragamo Fall / Winter 13-14 Milan

Salvatore Ferragamo Fall / Winter 13-14 Milan

New Post has been published on http://prafulla.net/graphics/fashion/giorgio-armani-fall-winter-13-14-milan/

Giorgio Armani Fall / Winter 13-14 Milan

Giorgio Armani Fall / Winter 13-14 Milan

New Post has been published on http://prafulla.net/graphics/amazing/urbee-2-second-evolution-of-3d-printed-car-by-jim-kor-of-kor-ecologic/

‘Urbee 2’ : Second Evolution of 3D-Printed Car by Jim Kor of Kor Ecologic

Jim Kor of Kor Ecologic is currently working on Urbee 2, the second evolution of his 3D-printed car.

Urbee is a two-passenger hybrid car designed to be incredibly fuel efficient, easy to repair, safe to drive, and inexpensive to own.

There is much about Urbee that is highly innovative. However, the innovation does not lie in expensive ‘start-of-the-art’ technology, the use of expensive materials, or complicated manufacturing processes. Urbee’s innovation is that it uses widely available materials and components in original ways.

Urbee is designed to be environmentally sustainable. This is because it can efficiently store and use exactly the amount of solar and wind energy you can collect on a one-car garage in one day. If you want to go farther in a day, you can use its ethanol powered engine.

The designers of Urbee have attempted to maximize the distance that can be traveled per unit of energy consumed by minimizing seven important properties of the car: weight, coefficient of aerodynamic drag (Cd), rolling resistance (Crr), frontal area, maximum speed, maximum acceleration.

COEFFICIENT OF DRAG

The Coefficient of Drag (called “Cd”) for a vehicle is one of three things that affect how much energy is required to overcome aerodynamic resistance. It is a number that describes the ‘slipperyness’ of a shape as it passes through the air. Urbee is being designed to have a Cd about half that of a traditional sports car.

COEFFICIENT OF ROLLING RESISTANCE

We have attempted to make the coefficient of rolling resistance of Urbee as low possible by using large diameter motorcycle tires inflated to high pressure. As well, the cross sectional profile selected for the tire has a very small contact surface with the road.

FRONTAL AREA

The frontal area of a vehicle is approximately equal to its width multiplied by its height. We decided to make the roof of Urbee as low to the ground as the lowest production car ever made, the Ford GT-40, which was 40 inches above the ground. We also tried to minimize the width by placing the two occupants as close as comfortably possible to each other.

MAXIMUM SPEED AND ACCELERATION

By reducing the maximum speed and acceleration of Urbee compared to what many other cars are capable of, we can dramatically reduce the maximum horsepower required to power our car. The smaller motor/engine size in turn decreases the weight of the vehicle and increases the range.

With three wheels and a curb weight of less than 1,200 pounds, it’s more motorcycle than passenger car.

To further remedy the issues caused by modern car-construction techniques, Kor used the design freedom of 3-D printing to combine a typical car’s multitude of parts into simple unibody shapes. For example, when he prints the car’s dashboard, he’ll make it with the ducts already attached without the need for joints and connecting parts. What would be dozens of pieces of plastic and metal end up being one piece of 3-D printed plastic.

“The thesis we’re following is to take small parts from a big car and make them single large pieces,” Kor says. By using one piece instead of many, the car loses weight and gets reduced rolling resistance, and with fewer spaces between parts, the Urbee ends up being exceptionally aerodynamic.” How aerodynamic? The Urbee 2′s teardrop shape gives it just a 0.15 coefficient of drag.

Not all of the Urbee is printed plastic — the engine and base chassis will be metal, naturally. They’re still figuring out exactly who will make the hybrid engine, but the prototype will produce a maximum of 10 horsepower. Most of the driving – from zero to 40 mph – will be done by the 36-volt electric motor. When it gets up to highway speeds, the engine will tap the fuel tank to power a diesel engine.

The design puts a tubular metal cage around the driver, “like a NASCAR roll cage,” Kor claims. And he also mentioned the possibility of printed shock-absorbing parts between the printed exterior and the chassis. Going by Le Mans standards also means turn signals, high-beam headlights, and all the little details that make a production car.

To negotiate the inevitable obstacles presented by a potentially incredulous NHSTA and DOT, the answer is easy. “In many states and many countries, Urbee will be technically registered as a motorcycle,” Kor says. It makes sense. With three wheels and a curb weight of less than 1,200 pounds, it’s more motorcycle than passenger car.

No matter what, the bumpers will be just as strong as their sheet-metal equivalents. “We’re planning on making a matrix that will be stronger than FDM,” says Kor. He admits that yes, “There is a danger in breaking one piece and have to recreate the whole thing.” The safety decisions that’ll determine the car’s construction lie ahead. Kor and his team have been tweaking the safety by using crash simulation software, but the full spectrum of testing will have to wait for an influx of investment cash. “Our goal with the final production Urbee,” Kor says, “is to exceed most, if not all, current automotive safety standards.”

Kor already has 14 orders, mostly from people who worked on the design with him. The original Urbee prototype was estimated to cost around $50,000.

source

New Post has been published on http://prafulla.net/quick-tips/computer-tips/french-photographer-sebastien-laban-converts-still-images-into-videos-with-3d-effects-video/

French Photographer Sebastien Laban Converts Still Images Into Videos With 3D Effects (Video)

French photographer Sebastien Laban converts traditional still wedding photos into videos with 3D effects, giving them “depth and life.” .

Using compositing tricks you can transform your 2D images to 3D, a popular technique in video advertisements and motion design.

Premiumbeat.com has posted tutorials on how to create these kind of dimensional videos using compositing tricks.

New Post has been published on http://prafulla.net/graphics/fashion/anthony-vaccarello-fall-winter-13-14-paris/

Anthony Vaccarello Fall / Winter 13 -14 Paris

Anthony Vaccarello Fall / Winter 13 -14 Paris

 

New Post has been published on http://prafulla.net/life-style/study-producing-sons-may-shorten-mothers-life-span/

Study: Producing sons may shorten mother’s life-span

Producing sons is more stressful for mothers and could shorten their life spans, a study has suggested.

Researchers used demographic data from pre-industrial Finland to show, irrespective of access to resources, mothers but not fathers with many sons suffered from reduced survival, a media report said.

But this association reduced, as mothers got older, according to the Royal Society journal Biology Letters.

“Our results provide evidence that Finnish mothers traded long post-reproductive lifespan for giving birth to many sons,” Dr Samuli Helle, of the University of Turku, said.

Previous studies have suggested sons are especially costly for the mother because they are, on average, born heavier and place more physical stress on the body.

“They also raise levels of testosterone in their mothers”, which can age the immune system, making it is less able to defend the body.

Moreover sons need more care after birth. On the other hand daughters prolong mothers’ lives by helping in tasks such as obtaining food and rearing younger siblings, at least in the traditional society studied.

Dr Helle’ study found that women’s post reproductive survival declined with the number of sons they gave birth to, regardless of the socio-economic status.But was age dependent. That is, the survival costs of the number of sons born decreased linearly as women aged.

However, the number of daughters born was not connected to women’s lifespan and, in men, neither the number of sons nor daughters born were related to their survival, irrespective of their socioeconomic status.

Added Dr Helle: “Our results show producing sons shortened the post reproductive lifespan of Finnish women and this association deteriorated as mothers aged.”