The World As You Know It

Ready to have your mind blown?  Then buckle up.

Because unless you had a unique schooling experience as a young child, chances are everything you were taught about the shape of the world is a lie.  Such was the case from my experience, anyway.

And why is that?  Because I was taught that THIS:

is what the world looks like.  That is the Mercator Projection, designed by Gerardus Mercator is 1569; it's the one we all know, and the one most people accept as the true face of the earth.

But reality paints a very different picture of our globe.

"Are you saying the map is wrong?"

Oh yes, dear reader.  Yes, indeed.  The map is so very, very wrong.

If it please the court, I'd like now to introduce

Exhibit A:  a little thing called the Gall–Peters Projection (Also simply called the Peters Projection):

The Peters Projection also states that North is South and East is West, making it extra complicated:

And THAT, sweet earthling, is where you actually live; the shape your world actually takes.

Not the same, is it?  Notice how the size of certain places change.

You see, the Mercator map has been distorted with inaccuracy to accentuate certain countries, while minimizing others --

-- because, as it is so elegantly explained in Episode 16, Season 2 of The West Wing,

"In our society we unconsciously equate size with importance... and even power."

Incredible?  Perhaps.

But true.

The World of Helen Warner

Entering the world of Helen Warner is to delve into a ghostly place, where haunting and magic are the standard, where all is sheathed in cloaks of dark mystery, and one can imagine witches and fairies and demons alike sharing secret corners of shrouded lands.

Ms. Warner's vision is gothic and vicarious, allowing the viewer to participate in her world while remaining just outside of it, like something glimpsed on the edge of the peripheral.  She takes an unobtrusive role and allows the intense, energetic subject matter to tell the story on its own, allowing us to feel like we stumbled upon the strange scene all by ourselves.
 

Her photos hold a dichotic balance of elegant and edgy, light and dark, welcoming and foreboding.

In short, I want to go to there.

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source; source.

tags:  art, dark, demons, fairies, fantasy, grotesque, helen warner, magic, mystery, photo, photography, portrait, vague, witches, woods, worlds

Designer Spotlight: John Galliano (slightly NSFW)

Fashion designer John Galliano has been pumping out haute couture gems since the late 1980s.  

His aesthetics lean toward anachronistic eccentricities and sculptural, bold shapes, 

creating a sensual world of drama, mystery and glamour in every garment.

With the likes of Anna Wintour and Andre Leon Talley as his cheerleaders, he's dressed some of the most famous men and women on earth, and continues to make his mark in the fashion world.

Here are some highlights from his prolific career.

1997/8:

 

 

 

2004:

2005:

 

2006/7:

 

 

 

 

2008/9:

 

 

2010 - Present:

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{ Galliano, the man. }

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{ way way way more than I could ever blog found here. }