YES, BUT IS IT ART?

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I got this title from John Lennon, In His Own Write. This marvel of literature really should be checked out for its artistic content too. underline

Fort Myers Tattoo Studio - check out Bill Hammong's highly developed work! Makes all others seem crude by comparison. SITE "TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE" as at 14th January, 2005  But compare this prehistoric Scythian artist (scroll down for photo), who exploited muscle movement to get animated effects.

Distorted Barbie - interesting site of alternative Barbie art. Check out alternative Barbies. Note that this site (like the never to be sufficiently mourned Barbie's History of Art) is on the run from Mattel.

Cynthia's Gibson Girl - fantastic! Just wonderful, you have to see this site! Cynthia crochets costumes for Barbie Dolls. I've started you out on her Gibson Girl (hair should have been piled on top of her head, though), which is art historically interesting. Explore the rest - I suspect Eliza Doolittle and Scarlett O'Hara for starters. Beautifully done subversive humour. Find out about the historic Gibson Girl, if you like.

Fashion Dolls - two genuine Barbie issues to begin a page on fashion dolls generally.

Interesting Ideas - outsider art, art of all kinds, including writing. Emphasis on ideas. Great site.

The Tramp Art Gallery - this is a woodcarving artform directly descended from the chipcarving of the early Scandinavians and Anglo-Saxons. Now it has a strong folk-element too.

Strawser Folk Carvings - outsider art by Daniel Strawser, father of Jr, above. Just charming.

Apple Festival at Kivik - fancy using apples as mosaic pieces for enormous pictures and sculptures. This happens every September at Kivik in Sweden. Check out the pics and visit the linked festival site.

The Corn Palace - in Mitchell, South Dakota, this pavillion decorated ground to rooftop in multicoloured ears of corn (maize) is the chamber of commerce. This page includes a picture of the previous palace, 1914.

Mitchell Corn Palace - this site shows close-up details of the picture panels. The whole palace is redecorated every year and the palace website reflects this by replacing the images according to season (preparatory designs, in process, finished panels). So check back from time to time.

Royal Pavillion, Brighton, UK - now you must compare that 19th century Corn Palace with the contemporary Royal Pavillion at Brighton.

St Basil's Cathedral, Moscow, Russia - and now look at the 16th century marvel: St Basil's Cathedral.

The Gnome Museum - speaking of outsider art, how about garden gnomes? This page will show you four antique ones.

Painted Window Bug Screens - ve-ry slow loader. Just wait, and then scroll down. This is interesting - apparently it's an old Baltimore art form. On this page, Tom Lipka gives you the history (in red font, pity about that), shows you some of his own works, and links you to other screen painting sites. Take a look.

Lucy the Elephant Building - no, she's not doing the building, she is the building. And they want to pull her down! Go see why.

Roadside America, Sight of the Week - has to be seen to be believed. Revisit often, the featured sites/sights change.

The Magic Eye Home Page - can you squint? If not, pick out your reflection on the screen and concentrate on it while continuing to "notice" the stereogram behind it.

Diamond Images 3D Stereograms - still squinting, this time you superimpose the two parallel images. Easy. Just make a third one appear in the middle, and if it doesn't settle, tilt your head a bit. Some very powerful effects here. NEW LINK 12th January, 2005

World of Escher - slow loading but very rich site.

Conjuring Fish - amazing card trick by Andy and his fish, Sparky.

Fibonacci Patterns - glorious designs by Ned May.

Crop Circle Connector - if they aren't paranormal or alien phenomena, or even if they are, they must be art, physical or digital. They remind me of Ned May's Fibonacci patterns, above, Cynthia Lanius' fractals (way down this page), and spirographs. This is a maddeningly sluggish site, but great pics and links to others. LINK FIXED 14th January, 2005.

The Continuously Refreshing Fishcam! - a classic, see it for its historic value. ACCESS PROBLEMS as at 14th January, 2005

Dino-Source - Fascinating page of popular film history on dinosaurs and other monsters, from Michael Delahoyd of Washington State University.

Atlas Magazine - I'm increasingly interested in the web as art. You don't know what this site will do. Click on editorial and go back to main page. Then take a look at these amazing moving links.

Wake - remarkable work by Gary Simmons. You need Flash, but you probably have it by now anyway. This link takes you to the introduction. When you click on its "Wake" link, the blank window that opens may be half off your screen. Relocate it, and pass the mouse over it.

The Doors of Perception - an extraordinary site, hard to know how to classify it, which is perhaps the intention. Must visit this one. I've started you at the archive as it seems the easiest way about.

The Animated Hypercube - now this is amazing! A hypercube is a hypothetical four-dimensional cube as seen in three dimensions. On this site you can rotate it, speed it, contort it. You can detach the screen. Click on the "Stereo" button to change the stereo method (there are three). The last method works without equipment if you can squint. Otherwise, invest in a pair of red-blue spectacles!

Rainbow Symphony 3D Gallery - I've linked you into their 3-D cartoon pages, to make the point that illusion does not have to be visually realistic. Enjoy the placemat from Grandma's Saloon and Grill. Get that canoe!

Dimension 3 - stunning historic anaglyphic stereograms. I've started you in with an unbelievable shot of Gloria Swanson, but you should use the 3D "back" button to see the other images - the ship is a 3D Java Lake!

The THX Digital Dude - glorious animation and sound (if you like loud sound). You will need shockwave, and shockwave is a pain to download and install - but this site is worth it.

The Shadow Server - by Ken Goldberg, who is interested by the interface between art and technology. No longer live, sadly, but check out the pre-stored images anyway to see what he did - or try this one: Dislocation of Intimacy by the same artist/technologist.

Art Crimes: The Writing on the Wall - graffiti art. Very slow loading site but probably worth exploring.

Chaotic Attractors - Also called strange attractors, these seem to be chaotic patterns which are organized but unpredictable. They not only underlie much of nature (weather, plants etc) but are now being used as a means of discussing art. This site is by Tim Stilson. More links will probably follow.

Phenakistiscope - bet you don't know what this is! It's a Victorian optical toy, which you don't get to play with today, but Charl Lucasson has animated several. Lovely site.

The Bizarre Persistence of Vision - discusses and demonstrates Thaumotrope, Praxinoscope, and heaven knows what else-oscope. What are they? More bygone optical toys. Fascinating. LINK FIXED 14th January, 2005

Grand Illusions - a great site and well worth prolonged visit. Remember: optical illusion is a much neglected concept art historically - because those blasted philosophers think art is mere mimicry of nature, and art historians have wimpishly gone along. You'd think Cubism never happened. NEW LINK 14th January, 2005

Hollow Face Illusion - all my ex-students TAKE NOTE!!! THIS is what I was trying to tell you about the optical illusions used in Medieval apses like San Vitale - to show transubstantiation (which didn't have that name yet). Oh MAN!!. Download the latest Windows Media Player and VIEW THIS VIDEO. NEW 14th January, 2005

Paper Folding Project - by Paul Haeberli, four pages of instructions for a fascinating and complex dunnowot.

Grafica Obscura - oh man, you just have to visit this site, curated by Paul Haeberli. There is so much new and interesting on it. If you're an origami fan, there is stuff here you never even conceived of! If not into origami, there's much else here too.

Cynthia Lanius' Fractals Lesson - want to know how to make fractals by hand?!

Leonardo: Right to Left - want to know how Leonardo would have written your name? Try it and see.

The Sky in a Room - now, here's something Leonardo would have loved! This site shows and tells you how to turn your bedroom into a camera obscura! And you also have to enjoy the English ...

The Santa Monica Camera Obscura - now, come see a camera obscura in action! This site, from photographers Jack and Beverly Wilgus, shows you the still functioning camera obscura in Santa Monica - with a photo of the image it makes.

The Shroud of Turin - while we're on the subject of Leonardo, here is an extraordinary claim that he faked the shroud! Treat this site with the caution it RICHLY deserves. If you're seriously interested in the shroud issue, visit my shroud page as a starting point.

The Dialectizer - oh this is fantastic! To my mind, you can't beat the Cockney accent. Visit!!.

Create a Pot - choose a pot, choose colour, texture, glaze, firing time - and see what you produce. You can view this in VRML or just using Shockwave (easier). Have fun!

Paint With Us! - Want to paint a masterpiece but can't? This site will let you "borrow" the motifs and colours from the paintings in the cupola of Florence cathedral. Really fun.

Warp the Busdrivers! - an amazing Java-operated creative toy from the Internet Tourbus. Two ordinary men and a dog: just see what you can do with them! LINK FIXED 14th January, 2005

Green Sun - from Discovery Online, ultraviolet shots of the sun. Hit reload to see the changes.

The Spectre of the Bröcken - Marmot seems to have removed their page on this natural phenomenon - check out this very nice photo by Galen Rowell, and then start the "slide-show" to enjoy more of his nature photography. LINK FIXED 14th January, 2005

Halo Photography - from the German Halo Workgroup. Halos in the mountains, including more Spectre of the Brocken effects. Explore the rest of the site to see fantastic weather photographs. Don't miss the iridescent clouds. The explanations are in German only, but the photography is more than worth it!

Lightning by Stormguy - to complement the weather images above, take a look at these glorious photos of natural energy forms. Time we rebelled against the snobbery about enjoyable beauty! In any case, the interest in natural forces features in the work of todays most interesting artists. Tip: Open the site's navigation links in a new window,

Automatic Celtic Knotwork - Celtic knots seem fiendishly complicated. Want to know how to make them? Silver has made an automatic knot generator. Worth getting to know it. LINK UPDATED 15th January, 2005

Math Art Gallery - mathematical knots. Some animated. Truly beautiful. You have to see them. In my next life, I think I'll be a mathematician.

Wheat Weaving Art - corn dollies, waistcoats, natural corn applique pics, dyed corn marquetry. Some of it wierd, some of it rather interesting, much of it religious or sentimental, all of it skilled. Is it art.

The Hampster Dance - the classic and various others.

The Fremont Troll - no kidding, he lurks under a highway bridge! Take a look. 18' tall, clutching a car, and staring at you. LINK REPLACED 14th January, 2005

Over-the-shoulder, tongue-in-cheek web gallery museum - let it load and then visit this ostensible art gallery. Enjoy the other visitors to the gallery and click on the info links.

The World's Most Wanted Art - Komar and Melamid were commissioned by the Dia Center for the Arts to find out what people wanted. All over the world it was the same! Visit this site to find out what people want - and what they don't.

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Tips & Journals Prehistoric to Early Medieval Romanesque to Rococo NeoClassicism to Present Museums and Collections Yes, But is it Art?