“In a triumph of art, science and architecture, Argentine artist Tomás Saraceno’s site-specific exhibit 14 Billions scales a Black Widow’s web up to magnificent proportions. Currently on display at Stockholm’s Bonniers Konsthall, 14 Billions is an extension of the work he showed at the 2009 Venice Biennale called ‘Galaxy Forming along Filaments, like Droplets along the Strands of a Spider’s Web.’

“The Frankfurt-based artist worked in collaboration with astrophysicists, architects, engineers and spider researchers to create a stimulating series of installations with 14 Billions as the focal point. A massive undertaking, the project took two years to complete with the black rope spanning 400 cubic meters, consuming much of Bonniers Konsthall main gallery.

“Saraceno’s work looks to scientific study which uses the imagery and structure of spider webs to map the origin and structure of the universe. Referencing these studies, the sculptural pieces explore the delicate balance between ourselves and the earth.” (source: Cool Hunting)

posted by: Harold Johns III

Either it’s a beached whale or Rep. Charles Rangel catching some z’s on the beach at the Punta Cana Resort in the Dominican Republic where he owns and rents out a villa. This photo was taken in 2008 while he took some vacation time before attending the Democratic convention. (photo via NY Post)

From NY Times:
“Representative Charles B. Rangel of New York announced on Wednesday that he would temporarily step down from his powerful post as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee in an attempt to avert a politically bruising fight over permanently stripping the gavel from his hands…

“The ethics committee admonished Mr. Rangel last week for violating Congressional gift rules by accepting corporate-sponsored trips to the Caribbean in 2007 and 2008, even in his own party support for him had started to evaporate this week…

“The ethics panel is still investigating more serious accusations regarding Mr. Rangel’s fund-raising, his failure to pay federal taxes on rental income from a villa he owns in the Dominican Republic and his use of four rent-stabilized apartments provided by a Manhattan real estate developer.”

Read the full article here

posted by: Harold Johns III

“The suburb of Agbogbloshie in Ghana’s capital, Accra, has in recent years become a dumping ground for computers and electronic waste from Europe and the US. Of the 20 to 50 million tons of electronics discarded each year 70% will end up in poor nations, and in the EU alone 6.6 million tons of e-waste are unaccounted for every year.”

Children break apart CRT monitors to salvage metal from inside. Many children work at the dump salvaging metals which they sell to middlemen. They do not wear any protective clothing, exposing themselves to lethal doses of hazardous chemicals like mercury and lead.

“The Democratic Republic of Congo remains in turmoil 7 years later after the formal end of the 1998-2003 civil war. The International Rescue Committee estimated that 5.4 million people lost their lives in Congo during the last 10 years.”

IDP’s (internally displaced people) in the town of Kitchanga. People fled their homes in the surrounding area after fighting broke out between government forces and troops loyal to renegade general Laurent Nkunda.

Bio:
Andrew McConnell began his career covering the closing stages of the conflict in Northern Ireland and the transition to peace. He has since worked on stories worldwide, covering events in Europe, Asia and Africa. His work has appeared internationally in the New York Times, the Guardian, FT Magazine, L’Express, Sunday Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Newsweek, Time and National Geographic Magazine.

A couple embrace at one of the traditional 11th night bonfires in Northern Ireland. The bonfires are built by the members of the Protestant community ahead of the July 12 commemoration of William of Orange’s victory over the Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.

“The people of Katwe in western Uganda have worked the nearby salt lake for centuries. It is the most important natural resource in the area and the only source of income for many, some 700 men, women and children work in and around the lake everyday.”

Early morning and locals arrive for another day of monotonous toil in the salt pans of Lake Katwe, Uganda.

“Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in May, 1991, after a brutal civil war ended the overthrow of military dictator Siad Barre. For the past 16 years the country has operated as a de facto state with relative stability; it has a constitution, a working political system, government institutions, police and military and its own currency. However, despite its success, no country formally recognizes Somaliland’s sovereignty, which has lead to widespread unemployment, a high poverty rate and a lack of medical aid.”

Mother and daughter are treated for Cholera at Save the Children’s Cholera Treatment Center in Burao.

See more of McConnell’s photography here

posted by: Brent Carter

World’s Columbian Exposition: Ferris Wheel, Chicago, United States, 1893. (View through support wires from one gondola to the opposite gondola) Starks W. Lewis, Amateur, Brooklyn, N.Y. Brooklyn Museum Archives, Goodyear Archival Collection

William Henry Goodyear (1846–1923), who put together the World’s Columbian Exposition photo archive, was the Brooklyn Museum’s first curator of fine arts (1899–1923) and a renowned art and architectural historian. In addition to being a vital force in the early years of the Museum’s fine arts department, Goodyear did extensive research in art history and architectural theory.

The entire Goodyear Archival Collection can also be found on the Brooklyn Museum Web site and on the Museum’s flickr.

posted by: Harold Johns III

photo by: Duarte Sa/Reuters

People look on as a street with vehicles is engulfed by heavy flooding in downtown Funchal, Madeira February 20, 2010. Over forty confirmed deaths have been reported so far on the tiny Portuguese island.

See the entire Reuters photo slide show here

posted by: Brent Carter