fine-arts

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  • Free VIEW Magazine is filled with intriguing photography

    by 
    Mel Martin
    Mel Martin
    05.20.2013

    View Magazine is a nicely put-together coffee table ebook for the iPad or iPhone that contains photos that are interesting and certainly not run-of-the-mill sunsets and flowers. A variety of photographers have combined to submit some of their favorite work, and they offer some commentary about the images. There are shots of urban landscapes, people, and nature images, but none are what I would call the standard 'pretty pictures'. That said, the images are striking, and the thoughts behind the images are often illuminating. You won't like everything you see, but there is plenty to choose from. VIEW Magazine used to require a paid subscription, but it has just gone free, and you can manually download an issue or set it up for automatic downloading to Apple's Newsstand app. I found the content stimulating and interesting. Any image can be shared to Facebook or via email. You scroll horizontally to move form article to article, and scroll vertically to explore the content within an article. Bookmarks are available if you find something you want to refer to again. %Gallery-188869% VIEW Magazine is a pretty hefty download; the current issue is about 250 megabytes. The app allows you to save or discard issues, so if you start filling your iOS device you can always dump past issues. VIEW Magazine is universal, but really isn't as effective on an iPhone as it is on the iPad. The newest version supports the Retina display on newer iPads, and the app requires iOS 5 or later. VIEW Magazine is a worthy download, and I think you may find it enjoyable and thought provoking.

  • Interactive Robotic Painting Machine begs the question: Art for art's sake, or for its master's? (video)

    by 
    Joseph Volpe
    Joseph Volpe
    08.17.2011

    If Warhol were still around, we're pretty sure the man would've snatched up this contraption as a Factory-approved objet d'art. Born from visual artist Benjamin Grosser's existential musings regarding the soul of AI-enhanced technology, the Interactive Robotic Painting Machine lets the sounds of its environment be its canvas maneuvering guide. For what it's worth, the artist claims that criticism fed into the apparatus' microphone often results in less than stellar compositions from the fine art automaton. We'll refrain from speculating as to the qualitative merits of the stationary bot's abstract flair, and leave you to the high art critique in the comments below. Be sure to jump past the break for a full video of this beaux arts concept.