Fan Ho's rare colour photographs of Hong Kong in the 1950s and 60s

The cinematic quality in the paintings of Henri-Paul Motte (1846–1922)


If you’re wondering, the first painting, the top left, painted by Motte in 1881, shows Cardinal Richelieu standing on the sea wall of La Rochelle during the siege (le siège de La Rochelle), which occurred during the conflict between the French royal forces, led by Louis XIII, and the Huguenots of La Rochelle, from 1627 to 1628. And the name Cardinal Richelieu might sound familiar also because of his appearance in The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

Vernacular architecture

1. Bedouin tents in Morocco Drawings by Spanish anthropologist, historian, linguist Julio Caro Baroja (1914–1995), from his book 'Estudios saharianos' (1955)

The accidental dystopian beauty of oil rigs

1. Brage oil field, located in the North Sea 120 km northwest of the city of Bergen. Photo by David Hecker 2. The Cormorant Alpha platform, located 161 kilometres north east of Lerwick, Shetland, Scotland

A deer-maid from the Tsaatan tribe in Mongolia as photographed by explorer, photographer and filmmaker Hamid Sardar-Afkhami “We exist in relation to three things,” a Duhalar shaman told Hamid Sardar, “the forest, wild animals, and our ancestor spirits. Once we lose the connection to these things, we invite demons to take hold of our destiny” doorofperception.com/2019/10/hamid-…

Just a reminder that Hariton Pushwagner's visual novel ‘Soft City’ (1969–1975) is one of the most astounding depictions of dystopian, alienating reiteration





The narrative of Soft City is deeply rooted in traditional dystopian science fiction. While it recalls the societal divide of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis and the aesthetic of Blade Runner, as well as Hilberseimer’s imagery in Großstadt, Terje Brofos (Pushwagner’s birth name) drew his primary inspiration from the dystopian visions of novelist Axel Jensen, whose works he illustrated

Here are my ten current favourite landscape painters from the 1950s to the present (not exactly in order of preference, but close...)

1. Jean-Pierre Ugarte (born 1950)





2. Nigerian painter Abiodun Olaku (born 1958)

The unintentional dystopia of dams, sluices, and watergates

1. The Hoover Dam, Black Canyon (1934)



2. Xiluodu Dam, Yangtze River, Yunnan Province, China (2012) as photographed by Edward Burtynsky

These are my twelve favourite landscape painters from the 1950s to the present (not entirely in order of preference, but almost...)

1. Jean-Pierre Ugarte (born 1950)





2. Nigerian painter Abiodun Olaku (born 1958)

Beautiful relics from the future past: 1980s ex-Yugoslavian 'Modularni kiosk'





Sources: @/rememberingyugoslavia and @/leksikonyumitologije

Just a reminder that the Mazda MX-81 Aria has the most incredible steering wheel I've ever seen





Design by Bertone, of course

Vernacular architecture

1. Bedouin tents in Morocco Drawings by Spanish anthropologist, historian, linguist Julio Caro Baroja (1914–1995), from his book 'Estudios saharianos' (1955)

Interpretation of Calvino's Le città invisibili, published in Italy in 1972 and two year later in English as Invisible Cities

1. Gérard Trignac’s wondrous illustrations


2. Illustrations by David Fleck

Interpretation of Jorge Luis Borges's 'La biblioteca de Babel' (1941)

1. Andrew DeGraff
(from 'Plotted: A Literary Atlas', 2015)





2. Concept by brother-sister duo Kate Bernheimer (writer) and Andrew Bernheimer (architect). Illustration by Rice+Lipka Architects (2013). More here placesjournal.org/article/fairy-…

In a galaxy far, far away...

between J. M. W. Turner's sky studies and the overlapping planes of Analytical Cubism

The gorgeous space art of John Berkey (1932–2008)


I probably should have added that they are oil paintings—to be precise, a combination of oil and casein typical of Berkey's art

Hyperbolic dystopias in the paintings of Michael Kerbow

Regarding cinematic quality avant la lettre, 150 years ago, Kobayashi Kiyochika (1847–1915) began crafting woodblock compositions that profoundly influenced filmmakers of the 20th century

Augustus Knapp's illustrations for the science fiction novel 'Etidorhpa; or, The End of the Earth' (1895) by John Uri Lloyd



The title, 'Etidorhpa', is the backward spelling of the name 'Aphrodite'

Utsuro-bune, a mysterious ship-like object that appeared on the Japanese coast in 1803.

According to legend, a young & attractive woman came aboard this ship. Fisherman questioned her, but she was shy and did not speak Japanese—so they returned her and her vessel to the sea





'Utsuro' derives from the Japanese term meaning 'hollow' and combines with '-bune', which translates to 'boat.' So: the hollow-boat... Records of this incident can be found in four texts: Oushuku Zakki (1815), Toen Shōsetsu (1825), Hyōryū Kishū (1835), and Ume-no-chiri (1844).

The Sibley breaker, Pennsylvania, as captured in 1886, destroyed by fire on June 23, 1906 William A. colliery, Lackawanna, Pennsylvania

Alternative thread of cities seen from above

1. Ronda, Spain, as photographed by James Relf-Dyer



2. Grammichele, Catania, Sicily