John Berger’s Ways of Seeing on UbuWeb

All four episodes of John Berger’s Ways of Seeing are available on UbuWeb:

Ways of Seeing was a BBC television series consisting of visual essays that raise questions about hidden ideologies in visual images. The series gave rise to a later book of the same name written by John Berger.

About UbuWeb:

UbuWeb is a completely independent resource dedicated to all strains of the avant-garde, ethnopoetics, and outsider arts. All materials on UbuWeb are being made available for noncommercial and educational use only. All rights belong to the author(s). UbuWeb is completely free.

Couch Cushion Architecture

After finals are complete, you might consider taking a break and some inspiration from these couch cushion architects (critiqued by authors of the BUILDblog).

A brilliant synergy between the weighted foundation and the light tensile structure, this project impressed us with its attenuation of structure and bright interior spaces. The courtyard and formal entry are also well thought-out and provide a clear means of way-finding. Grade A+


The History of the Color Pink

Pink Is for Battleships: A history of a decidedly unladylike color by Slate writer Jude Stewart explores the history of the color pink from children’s toys to kamikaze planes. Click the image above to launch the slide show.

Automated Aesthetic Judgments

How would you rate this image?

James Z. Wang, associate professor of information sciences and technology, is one of the principal researchers on the Aesthetic Quality Inference Engine (ACQUINE), a system that judges the aesthetic quality of digital images. Wang said this tool is a significant first step in recognizing human emotional reaction to visual stimulus.

ACQUINE, which has been in development since 2005 and was launched in April 2009, can be found online at http://acquine.alipr.com. Users can upload their own images for rating or test the system by providing a link to any image online. The system provides an aesthetic rating within seconds. more…