Salmacis by François Joseph Bosio (19th Century):

Hermaphroditus: A Hellenistic myth of oriental origin that tells of a being who was half male and half female--the offspring of Hermes and Aphrodite (Mercury and Venus), hence his name. As a young man (he began life as a male) he once bathed in a lake where Salmacis, one of Diana's nymphs, dwelt. She fell in love with him at first sight and clung to him with such passion that their two bodies became united in one.

Hermaphroditus, marble, Roman copy of an original of the 2nd century B.C.

For my life drawing students:

An early example (second century B.C.) of foreshortening found in a pebble mosaic depicting a battle between Alexander the Great and King Darius of Persia. Note how convincingly that horse's rear end projects forward into space beneath the terrified, fleeing Darius.



A detail of the victorious Alexander:

Christopher Michlig at Track 16 (Los Angeles):

still from "La Brea", 2006 (2 minute video)

Why didn't I think of this?

Hiraki Sawa

Still from "Dwelling", 2003 (9 minute video)

Buy this book! (click here)

Written by the Center for Land Use Interpretation, this book reflects on how the nation's lands have been parceled out, put to use, and understood. Seeking out "the unusual and the exemplary," the CLUI serves as a kind of curator of the American landscape, a tour guide through ghost towns and show caves, past soap and shoelace factories, to open pit mines, casinos, landfills, and art installations, to the dry lakes where atomic bombs were tested and the ersatz villages where rescue workers train for toxic spills and other disasters. Sites like these rarely appear on street maps, but the Center believes that they are windows into the American psyche, landmarks that manifest the rich ambiguities of the nation's cultural history.

Natalie Jeremijenko at Postmasters (New York):

Then and Now: Air Traffic, 2006

Louis Hock at Cal State Long Beach:

Pirámide del Sol: a Monument to Invisible Labor (2000)

"The Hand Up Project: Attempting to Meet the New Needs of Natural Life Forms" by Elizabeth Demaray (click here:)

Paul Cadmus (for my life drawing students):

Eureka California's Balloon Track, September 17, 2006:

(An abandoned trainyard and my favorite local brownfield.)

Above: the base of the Balloon Track's once-operational fuel tank.


Above: inside this fuel tank.


Above: contaminated ground water awaiting analysis.

Lize Mogel

(Click on her name to learn about her many cool projects.)

"Proserpina was playing in that glade
with her companions.
Brilliant as butterflies
They flitted hither and thither excitedly
Among the lilies and violets. She was heaping
The fold of her dress with the flowers,
Hurrying to pick more, to gather most,
Piling more than any of her friends into baskets.
There the Lord of Hell suddenly saw her.
In the sweep of a single glance
He fell in love
And snatched her away--

Love pauses for nothing."

Antonio Canova's Cupid and Psyche (1787-93):

Edward Burtynsky

Todd Hido

Coming soon to a theater near you!

INTO ME / OUT OF ME at P.S.1 (New York):

Julie Heffernan at Catharine Clark Gallery (San Francisco):

(Cool Contemporary Baroque)

Peter Paul Rubens:

("The Horrors of War" 1638)

Detail: Venus and Mars