Eye | Natural Artistry From Nunzio Paci & Edouard Martinet | Man As Tree

The Legend of Lilith

In Jewish folklore, from the 8th–10th century Alphabet of Ben Sira onwards, Lilith becomes Adam’s first wife, who was created at the same time (Rosh Hashanah) and from the same earth as Adam. This contrasts with Eve, who was created from one of Adam’s ribs. The legend was greatly developed during the Middle Ages, in the tradition of Aggadic midrashim, the Zohar, and Jewish mysticism. For example, in the 13th century writings of Rabbi Isaac ben Jacob ha-Cohen, Lilith left Adam after she refused to become subservient to him and then would not return to the Garden of Eden after she coupled with the archangel Samael. The resulting Lilith legend is still commonly used as source material in modern Western culture, literature, occultism, fantasy, and horror. via Wiki

GlobeTracker

Journalism Ethics On Covering China

Why journalists should be free speech partisans BoingBoing

Following on the New York Times’s decision to continue its critical coverage of China, despite the Chinese government’s retaliation against it, Dan Gillmor calls on journalists and news organizations to abandon the pretense of “neutrality” and take a partisan stand for free speech in questions of censorship, surveillance, net neutrality, copyright takedown, and other core issues of speech in the 21st century.

More reading: Opinion: A Response To President Xi Jinping New York Times

DesignTracker

Sauna For Sensualists

Canada’s Partisans Design Group brings a curvaceous sensuality and organic beauty to traditional sauna design with this 800-square-foot structure nestled on the shores of Lake Huron. Health and wellness permeate every cedar tile segment, inviting us to sink deeply into the nurturing environment and splendid views. View more images at My Modern Met.

Kickstarter Bee App

A Gorgeous App for Getting To Know the World’s Bees Wired

Filmmaker Callum Cooper and Ana Tiquia are raising money on Kickstarter for 1,000 Bees, a free interactive app that examines 1,000 bee species. The effort hopes to inform and educate us about the world of bees and also discuss their threatened status.

AOC has a long history of writing about the endangered status of our bees, most recently in early November.

An app about bees might sound a little dry or a little unsettling, depending on your outlook, but 1,000 Bees is surprisingly engaging. It’s a rich visual experience, with images of each bee gathered from research collections around the world. You can swipe through the bees or let them flicker across your screen in an animated film. You can sort by color, geographic habitat or behavior and even create animated films based upon parameters you choose. Want to see only red bees indigenous to the American Midwest? No problem. Clicking on a bee takes you to its backstory, where you can learn even more about your new favorite insect. “What we’re doing is a make a lot stuff that’s available to academics and research scientists available to the greater public and in an accessible form,” says O’Toole, a collaborator on the project.

ArtTracker

Nunzio Paci At Copenhagen’s Oxholm Gallery Dec. 12-2014-Jan. 11-2015

The body of work featured ‘In the Garden of Idne’ focuses on the Jewish folklore of the Vegetable Man. An exploration of the theme of closeness to Nature, Paci’s imagines a return to the beginning.

While it’s known to me that Adam had more than one wife and that Lilith preceded a more yielding Eve, I am not aware that some verses of The Book of Genesis suggest that “God had created 1.000 different worlds which were destroyed and then forgotten. Others indicate that God had made various attempts at making man. “

Little record remains on these early attempts, but it is known in Jewish mythology that the first one was Idne or Adne Sadeh. Idne was described as a manlike creature who was regarded as a plant rather than a man. Read on for more Nunzio Paci images from ‘In the Garden of Idne’.

Related: Christina Hendricks Reveals Our Inner Lilith Woman It Girl

Edouard Martinet’s Flights of Fancy

Edouard Martinet’s Virtuoso Steampunk Insect Sculptures Soar With Creative Perfection

Martinet scours flea markets and auto parts sales in serch of old used parts that he rebirths into luxury-level creatures, fueled by his limitless creative imagination, fantastic wit and painstaking pursuit of perfectionism. Read on in AOC Global Mind