/ before

keenpeach:

25 abandoned Yugoslavia monuments that look like they’re from the future

“These structures were commissioned by former Yugoslavian president Josip Broz Tito in the 1960s and 70s to commemorate sites where WWII battles took place or where concentration camps stood. They were designed by different sculptors and architects, conveying powerful visual impact to show the confidence and strength of the Socialist Republic. In the 1980s, these monuments attracted millions of visitors per year, especially young pioneers for their ‘patriotic education.’ After the Republic dissolved in early 1990s, they were completely abandoned, and their symbolic meanings were forever lost. From 2006 to 2009, Kempenaers toured around the ex-Yugoslavia region with the help of a 1975 map of memorials, bringing before our eyes a series of melancholy yet striking images.”


(8:50am)

jtotheizzoe:

Vintage Space Travel Posters

From the genius (I think it’s safe to call him that) that brought us those awesome Star Wars travel posters, Steve Thomas, comes a collection of planetary vacation advertisements. Come to think of it, these may predate the Star Wars ones, but that’s not important right now.

Despite the scientific impossibility of the artwork (skiing on Pluto would be difficult with 8% of Earth’s gravity), they invite dreams of a manned era in solar system exploration that I think we can all support.

If you like Steve’s art, visit his store and purchase posters, iPhone cases or postcards of these works and many more.


(8:40am)
16 notes • Reblog bassman5911: A fireman at the top of a new 100-foot (30,48 m) turntable ladder, which has just been delivered to the London Fire Brigade. (Photo by J. A. Hampton/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images). 26th February 1937 via avaxnews.com

bassman5911:

A fireman at the top of a new 100-foot (30,48 m) turntable ladder, which has just been delivered to the London Fire Brigade. (Photo by J. A. Hampton/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images). 26th February 1937

via avaxnews.com

14 notes • Reblog omgthatartifact: Figure Olmec, 12th-9th century BC The Metropolitan Museum of Art “Ceramic figures from central Mexico made during the late second millennium B.C. usually depict women. Commonly described as fertility figurines, their attenuated limbs and occasionally disturbing facial features have been interpreted as abnormalities indicative of special access to the supernatural realm. As there is a wide range of representation and type among these figures, such interpretations are not necessarily exclusive. Certain figurines have details that may indicate social status, such as the earspools and hairstyle seen here, while others clearly relate to Olmec imagery. Most of the details reflect regional traditions in which facial and body treatments can be recognizably precise. The crisp narrow eyes and mouth of this figurine, for instance, recall the so-called pretty lady figures from Tlatilco, an early site in the Basin of Mexico, but the bodily proportions are less distorted than those of Tlatilco figures. A possible source may be further to the south, as the figure is said to be from the site of Las Bocas in the present-day state of Puebla.”

omgthatartifact:

Figure

Olmec, 12th-9th century BC

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Ceramic figures from central Mexico made during the late second millennium B.C. usually depict women. Commonly described as fertility figurines, their attenuated limbs and occasionally disturbing facial features have been interpreted as abnormalities indicative of special access to the supernatural realm. As there is a wide range of representation and type among these figures, such interpretations are not necessarily exclusive. Certain figurines have details that may indicate social status, such as the earspools and hairstyle seen here, while others clearly relate to Olmec imagery. Most of the details reflect regional traditions in which facial and body treatments can be recognizably precise. The crisp narrow eyes and mouth of this figurine, for instance, recall the so-called pretty lady figures from Tlatilco, an early site in the Basin of Mexico, but the bodily proportions are less distorted than those of Tlatilco figures. A possible source may be further to the south, as the figure is said to be from the site of Las Bocas in the present-day state of Puebla.”

5 notes • Reblog The Wuppertaler Schwebebahn, a suspension railway in Wuppertal, Germany, circa 1913. Designed  by Eugen Langen, the first track opened in 1901, and the Wuppertaler Schwebebahn is still in use today.

The Wuppertaler Schwebebahn, a suspension railway in Wuppertal, Germany, circa 1913. Designed  by Eugen Langen, the first track opened in 1901, and the Wuppertaler Schwebebahn is still in use today.

164 notes • Reblog theancientworld: Incense burner supported by Nike Greek, Taras, South Italy, about 500 - 480 B.C. Terracotta and pigment The J. Paul Getty Museum

theancientworld:

Incense burner supported by Nike

Greek, Taras, South Italy, about 500 - 480 B.C.
Terracotta and pigment

The J. Paul Getty Museum

9 notes • Reblog The Palitana Temples of Jainism on Mount Satrunjaya, Palitana, Gujarat India.

The Palitana Temples of Jainism on Mount Satrunjaya, Palitana, Gujarat India.
16 notes • Reblog Tsar Bell -1733–1735 - commissioned by Empress Anna, niece of Peter the Great. The bell is currently the largest bell in the world, weighing 216 tons, with a height of 6.14 m ( 20.1 ft) and diameter of 6.6 m ( 21.6 ft). The bell was never rung — during a fire in 1737, a huge slab (11.5 tons) cracked off while it was still in the casting pit. For a time, the bell served as a chapel, with the broken area forming the door.

Tsar Bell -1733–1735 - commissioned by Empress Anna, niece of Peter the Great. The bell is currently the largest bell in the world, weighing 216 tons, with a height of 6.14 m ( 20.1 ft) and diameter of 6.6 m ( 21.6 ft). The bell was never rung — during a fire in 1737, a huge slab (11.5 tons) cracked off while it was still in the casting pit. For a time, the bell served as a chapel, with the broken area forming the door.
❝
[I won’t tell you where the place is, the dark mesh of the woods
meeting the unmarked strip of light—
ghost-ridden crossroads, leafmold paradise:
I know already who wants to buy it, sell it, make it disappear.

And I won’t tell you where it is, so why do I tell you
anything?] Because you still listen, because in times like these
to have you listen at all, it’s necessary
to talk about trees.

— Adrienne Rich, from “What Kind of Times Are These” (via the-final-sentence)

(8:52am)
9 notes • Reblog avdeeezyk: Borobudur, Java, Indonesia A 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist monument.

avdeeezyk:

Borobudur, Java, Indonesia

A 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist monument.

22 notes • Reblog absurdonio: endilletante: “Le Mexique : des origines aux Aztèques” de ignacio Bernal y Garcia Pimentel & Mireille Simoni-Abat. Gallimard, 1986. Vase à l’effigie de Tlaloc, dieu de la pluie, civilisation aztèque. Mexico: origins of the Aztecs “by ignacio Garcia Bernal y Pimentel & Mireille Simoni-Shade. Gallimard, 1986.Vessel with the image of Tlaloc, god of rain, Aztec civilization.

absurdonio:

endilletante:

“Le Mexique : des origines aux Aztèques” de ignacio Bernal y Garcia Pimentel & Mireille Simoni-Abat. Gallimard, 1986.

Vase à l’effigie de Tlaloc, dieu de la pluie, civilisation aztèque.


Mexico: origins of the Aztecs “by ignacio Garcia Bernal y Pimentel & Mireille Simoni-Shade. Gallimard, 1986.

Vessel with the image of Tlaloc, god of rain, Aztec civilization.

14 notes • Reblog omgthatartifact: Ornaments Xiongnu, 5th-4th century BC Christie’s Chinese sources from the 3rd century BC report the Xiongnu as being a nomadic-based people that became a dominant power on the steppes of eastern Asia.

omgthatartifact:

Ornaments

Xiongnu, 5th-4th century BC

Christie’s

Chinese sources from the 3rd century BC report the Xiongnu as being a nomadic-based people that became a dominant power on the steppes of eastern Asia.

3 notes • Reblog extremelywonderfulplaces: Chiapas, Mexico by Carlos Cruz C Palenque was a Maya city state in southern Mexico that flourished in the 7th century.

extremelywonderfulplaces:

Chiapas, Mexico

by Carlos Cruz C

Palenque was a Maya city state in southern Mexico that flourished in the 7th century.

21 notes • Reblog triglifos-y-metopas: Pendant with Ram-headed sphinx, gilt siver, lapis lazuli and glass. El-kurru, Nubia (Sudan). 743-712 B.C. [Museum of Fine Arts - Boston]

triglifos-y-metopas:

Pendant with Ram-headed sphinx, gilt siver, lapis lazuli and glass.

El-kurru, Nubia (Sudan).

743-712 B.C.

[Museum of Fine Arts - Boston]

8 notes • Reblog extremelywonderfulplaces: Temple, India >Samovasaran Temple, Palitana India.

extremelywonderfulplaces:

Temple, India

>Samovasaran Temple, Palitana India.