Today, links and recommendations.
From Bioephemera:- Folks who regularly troll art blogs will have read plenty about the ongoing dispute over the authentication of paintings attributed to
Jackson Pollock. Some of the posts have been very good, even
provocative, but I hadn't seen any posts highlighting an unspoken, but central debate, one between the humanities and the scientific method. Read it
here.
- A good friend of mine,
Michael McDevitt, used to spend hours assembling bones, found utensils, toys, bits of plastic detritus, and what have you, creating marvelous hybrid creatures in the process. Although he concentrates on painting these days, I fondly recall college afternoons spent hanging out in Michael's studio/ laboratory /bedroom with his old black lab,
Loki (RIP), while he worked away on those sculptural amalgamations. That work came to mind when I was introduced to
Jessica Joslin's sculptures (via
Bioephemera).
From Rigor Vitae:- An excellent, informative post from
Carel Pieter Brest Van Kempen,
this one discussing the ability (and inability) of different bird species to regulate metabolism or enter
torpor. Happily, one of my favorite bird families,
the nightjars (
Caprimulgidae), includes a real pro, the
Common Poorwill (
Phalaenoptilus nuttallii).
Also skilled in metabolic regulation are hummingbirds and, on that note, I recommend
this recent article/photo feature in a recent issue of
National Geographic.
Photo credit: WhipPoorWill -Plate LXXXII, by
John James Audubon, circa 1827
