Interview by Francisco Martínez (EHI, Tallinn Univ) & Larissa Vanamo (Dept of History, Univ. of Helsinki). “A democracy where there is freedom of consumption is the worst thing possible”  “The worth of an individual is smaller when there are a lot of humans” “Force and oppression are needed becauseContinue Reading

By Oliver Wainwright (forwarded by Fiona McDonald) The Guardian, Wednesday 16 January 2013 It has lined the interiors of everything from greasy spoon cafes to luxury cruise liners, from hospital wards to train cabins – bringing a fusion of wipe-clean practicality and sleek modern style. And now Formica is celebrating its 100th birthday. The braveContinue Reading

The Salvage Art Institute, a New York based project started by artist Elka Krajewska, surveys, catalogues, and investigates the status and value of art objects once they succumb to the effects of decay, damage or destruction. Its mission statement reads: Salvage Art Institute works to confront and articulate the conditionContinue Reading

Caught at the bus stop without your smartphone or tablet? Whatever are you to do?  (An apposite aside: do people still twiddle their thumbs or has thumb typing dexterity displaced the neural connectivity previously forged through such antique pastimes??) An Italian conceptual artist named Fra.Biancoshock has installed a solution in Milan: freeContinue Reading

[Greek Coffee Cup, 1960s; from the NY Times site] An artichoke and an elevator. A Checker taxicab and a conductor’s baton. A MetroCard and a mastodon tusk. Inspired by “A History of the World in 100 Objects,” the British Museum’s BBC radio series and book, the NY Times recruited historians and museumContinue Reading