Review of Guido Van der Werve, Montevideo, Amsterdam
The mix of high production values and macabre undertones catapult his works from throwaway one-liners into more nuanced examinations of irony and solitude.
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World Press Photo under pressure as picture-taking evolves
The proliferation of cameras in more and more devices, like cellphones, is gradually turning everyone into an aspiring shutterbug. But World Press Photo is open to professionals only, which explains why some of the biggest news photos of 2004 were conspicuously absent.
Continue ReadingRotterdam round-up: hybrids and affinities
Though Rotterdam plays host to weighty institutions, many local artists indicate that they nonetheless go abut their work much as artists do in cities that don’t boast such a rich cultural infrastructure.
Continue ReadingBoycott urged for Epson ink jet printers
The boycott suggested that Epson ink cartridges prematurely block printers from churning out more pages even when there is enough ink to keep going.
Continue ReadingPlastic bridges on the rise
New design and construction techniques mean that bridges can be put together in a matter of days—and they can even be made out of plastic.
Continue ReadingCould your voice betray you?
Beyond their applications in law enforcement, lie-detector tests are being used in everything from telemarketing to matchmaking. But the technology's reliability is still a matter of debate.
Continue ReadingReview of Yto Barrada, Witte de With, Rotterdam
Throughout a series whose scope almost recalls The Beatles’ White Album, in which every song sounds different than the one before, we witness Barrada’s hand at nature photography, photojournalism, painterly landscapes, and more.
Continue ReadingOutspoken Dutch film director slain
Writer-director Theo Van Gogh, a descendant of the artist Vincent Van Gogh, was attacked Tuesday morning as he rode his bicycle through Amsterdam's tree-lined streets.
Continue ReadingPC as power plant
When the technology first appeared, U.S.B. meant keyboards, joysticks and the like. But manufacturers began cottoning to U.S.B.'s ability to provide a power source, leading to a host of gizmos that have nothing to do with computers: radios, reading lights, even massage balls and air purifiers.
Continue ReadingTinkebell's revenge
Dutch artist Tinkebell gets lots of hate-mail, so now she's turned the tables on the senders: by using some clever Internet sleuthing, Tinkebell uncovered the identities behind the e-mails, and compiled them in a book with their names, addresses, (naked) photographs, LinkedIn accounts, phone numbers, Facebook pages, and more.
Continue ReadingA minor problem: no cigs for kids
Customers will still be able to buy tobacco from the machines using cash or coins, provided they insert the AgeKey-encrypted card beforehand, which electronically "unlatches" the machine.
Continue ReadingAttention, cows: please speak into the microphone
Though it all sounds very Dr. Dolittle, the sounds that many animal species make can be analyzed and identified using many of the same techniques that have allowed human voice recognition to make the leap from high-tech novelty to valuable application.
Continue ReadingHigh-speed walkways
New moving walkways have been given a speed boost. But will pedestrians in airports and shopping centres be able to cope?
Continue ReadingThe doctors were real, the patients undercover
It had all the markings of a television detective show. Posing as patients, three undercover observers got themselves admitted as patients to a locked psychiatric ward to investigate conditions on the inside. And a remote team monitored the project via hidden cameras and microphones from a command center in a nearby hotel.
Continue ReadingBetter vision for the world, on a budget
Self-adjustable spectacles, which let untrained wearers set the right focus themselves in less than a minute, greatly reduce the need for trained optometrists, who are rarely available in Africa and many parts of Asia. But the competition is sometimes palpable amongst the companies that want to be the first to distribute adjustable glasses in the millions...
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Review of 'I’m Not Here – An Exhibition Without Francis Alÿs', De Appel, Amsterdam
This exhibition is meant to recall that atmosphere of Francis Alÿs, while at the same time critiquing the very format of the solo exhibition – in this case, a group show standing for a solo exhibition whose protagonist is only conceptually alluded to.
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Review of Pieter Hugo, Gallery Cokkie Snoei, Amsterdam
South African photographer Pieter Hugo, who rose to prominence in 2005 with ‘The Hyena and Other Men’, his controversial series of images of itinerant hyena tamers, has again made a series of large-scale colour portraits, this time of Nollywood actors.
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Better vision for the world, on a budget
Self-adjustable spectacles, which let untrained wearers set the right focus themselves in less than a minute, greatly reduce the need for trained optometrists, who are rarely available in Africa and many parts of Asia. But the competition is sometimes palpable amongst the companies that want to be the first to distribute adjustable glasses in the millions...
Continue Reading -
Collapsible shipping container, packed flat
A Dutch engineer has invented a collapsible plastic shipping container which, he hopes, will replace the steel ones. Because it is made of a fibreglass composite, it weighs only three-quarters as much as a standard container but—more importantly— when it is empty, it can be folded down to a quarter of its size.
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