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Colorful living sculptures
Squeezing brightly dressed performers into tight urban spaces, Companie Willi Dorner creates surprising living sculptures. Dorner aims to shift our perspective and cause us to reflect on the scale and...
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Eerie aesthetics of a red sky
A brief departure from the aesthetics of joy to consider a very different kind of aesthetic…. I’ve never seen anything like these Sydney dust storms and I must say they freak me out. A world gone red...
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Portals to somewhere special
Painted by street artists El Tono and Nuria in Cordoba, Spain, these doors look like portals to somewhere special. And they probably are. Cordoba is known for its courtyard gardens, of which the...
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Laundry gnome
Weirdest thing. The other day when my laundry came back, I opened the bag and started to put away my clothes, and there in amongst the hand towels I discovered this little guy. A hitchhiker! He was...
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Joyspotting: magenta hair
Yes, the Georgia O’Keefe show at the Whitney was joyful, but this magenta-haired lady in the lobby stole the spotlight this weekend. Pink hair on a teenager is ho-hum, but the same shocking hue on a...
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Happy housewares
I’m loving these new offerings from the brilliant duo behind quirky housewares company Alice Supply Co. The new nautical color scheme gives the plungers a kind of Dr. Seussian vibe — like the long...
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The transformative power of snow
I am a big fan of snow. I know it’s inconvenient. I know it piles up in big drifts that make it hard to get around. I know you have to shovel it within 4 hours in Brooklyn or you’ll get a ticket. I...
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Joyful repair
Matt sent me these whimsical images of public structures “fixed” with legos. The pieces are done by artist Jan Vormann, in an attempt to “support Mayor Bloomberg in his everyday-struggle to make this...
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Joyful underdogs
This unassuming little book caught my eye the other day. Inside is a series of simple photos highlighting a phenomenon I’ve long considered joyful: plants that have managed to break through hard urban...
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The joy of jumping on the bed
Yes, that is Desmond Tutu in the midst of all those children jumping on a bed! For a project called Play Jump Eat, Kelly Wainwright of Messy Monkey Arts managed to coax not just the Reverend...
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Polka-dotted walkways in Times Square!
It is out of control how much joy the world is putting out there today! I can’t keep up. These polka dots were spotted on a pedestrian walkway in Times Square by my friend Maggie. She says, “The...
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Joyful weekend: celebrate Bastille Day early
If you happen to be in Brooklyn or a subway ride away, add some joy to your weekend by celebrating Bastille Day two days early this Sunday on Smith St. As usual, the street will be covered with sand...
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Smile in the mind
Ben sent me these wonderful photos of hidden smiley faces. He writes, “I think you have to look at the world in an optimistic way to see them in the first place.” While the human brain is wired to see...
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The joy of undirected positive energy
Recently I’ve come across a lot of projects related to the idea of seeding joy and hope by just putting some positive energy out there. The good vibes aren’t directed at anyone in particular — they’re...
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Caught green-handed!
The city has caught the polka-dot bug, and it’s spreading like wildfire. I was pleasantly surprised to see a new crop of green dots in Herald Square, so new they were still surrounded by yellow...
View ArticleThe joy of hidden worlds
Let the Outside In from Caitlin Parker on Vimeo. Oh wow. I love this weird, whimsical look into a world we usually pay no attention. via @design_sponge The post The joy of hidden worlds appeared first...
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The joy of outdoor art
Today’s NYT has an interesting article by Ken Johnson on outdoor art, suggesting that there has been a thematic shift from grand, ideological monuments to works that are designed simply to “divert,...
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New joyful architecture in London
An attempt to bring “joyous vibrancy” to the city is how Renzo Piano describes his plan to cloak the facades of the new Central Saint Giles development with brightly colored ceramic cladding. He says:...
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Colorful living sculptures
Squeezing brightly dressed performers into tight urban spaces, Companie Willi Dorner creates surprising living sculptures. Dorner aims to shift our perspective and cause us to reflect on the scale and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Eerie aesthetics of a red sky
A brief departure from the aesthetics of joy to consider a very different kind of aesthetic…. I’ve never seen anything like these Sydney dust storms and I must say they freak me out. A world gone red...
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