conceptual

California artist rebuilds world economy with antimatter

The overlap with the title of this blog, Matter/Antimatter, is completely coincidental, but since most meaningful events are coincidental, it makes perfect sense that it prompted San Francisco-based conceptual artist Jonathon Keats to send me a note pointing to his upcoming exhibition "The First Bank of Antimatter."

Keats' previous artistic enterprises include applying string theory to real estate development, and in the wake of global economic collapse, Keats is now introducing a hedge against future catastrophe by creating a mirror economy designed to skyrocket as world markets plummet: the first holistic response to the great recession.

"… Read more

Cultivating a market for plant porn

Conceptual artist Jonathon Keats has few qualms about exploiting the behavior of nonhumans. For one of his projects, presented last year, he choreographed a ballet danced by honeybees. For his latest project--video pornography for plants--he has gone even farther off-species and, many would say, farther still off the deep end.

Keats calls the genre Cinema Botanica and billed its gallery premiere, scheduled for September 10 at the 1078 Gallery, in Chico, Calif., as the "world's first porn theater for house plants." The logic behind the project, which now includes a trailer on YouTube showing plants being pollinated, … Read more

Hello? Can you call back later? I'm playing Zelda Twilight Princess

This is a fake gadget. Of course it is; after all, these days it seems like the top trend in gadget rumormonging is to tack a cell phone feature onto some other device and say it's "in the works." There was the iPhone, which turned out to be real, and the Zune Phone, which looks like it will turn out to be real. Now here's a Photoshopped "Wii Phone," as seen on Gizmodo, which is certainly not real. Yes, Gizmodo has reported that Nintendo does have a patent for a gaming phone, but I'… Read more

The latest in personal transportation solutions

A "cultural engineering" group in France, called the HeHe Association, has come up with a transportation concept that's a whole lot cooler than Segways: a "personal rail service" that puts small single-person vehicles onto abandoned light rail and tram tracks.

It's definitely conceptual, and likely will never see actual implementation, as it would hit plenty of roadblocks (ha ha). It doesn't look like they've made any concrete outline for how they'd be powered, though the creators have stressed on their Web site that it would be eco-friendly. There are also logistical … Read more

Music for the monastery

Hey, friars! Taken a vow of silence, but still craving the new Decemberists album? (Give it a listen! It's good!) Well, your prayers may soon be answered--sorry, I had to throw that in there--if this prototype of a digital audio player hits the market. Called the "Saint B" and dreamed up by a Russian design studio, this little music player is shaped like a cross necklace and is sure to blend into any order's habits (though you'll have to find a way to hide your headphones). Just don't turn the volume up too loudly … Read more