15 mobylettes, huit écureuils et deux Symphonies

"A quoi bon posséder, puisqu’on va perde ce qui nous perdra ? Ne rien avoir puisqu’on est rien, cela me semble être un juste équilibre."

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Lyandrah Lima Sierra

"Il est temps"

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Le Louvre-Lens. Oeuvre d’Olga Kisseleva & Sylvain Rynal, it’s time, 2010

« Si les profondeurs de notre esprit recèlent d’étranges forces capables d’augmenter celles de la surface, ou de lutter victorieusement contre elles, il y a tout intérêt à les capter, à les capter d’abord pour les soumettre ensuite, s’il y a lieu, au contrôle de notre raison. » André Breton, Manifeste du Surréalisme, 1924.

artspotting:

lentonnoire:

(via Kristen Gaylord on Mary McDonnell)

Mary McDonnell, Untitled

xwidep:

Upside Down South Up World Map
via we-are-star-stuff:

Who says North is up?
Upside Down maps (also known as South-Up or Reversed maps) offer a completely different perspective of the world we live in.
Technically speaking, even referring to the earth with words like “up” or “down” or comparing places with words “above” or “below” is flawed, considering that the earth is a spherical body (it’s actually slightly “fatter” at the equator) and flying through 3 dimensional space with no reference of up or down. However, the issue of “up” and “down” does become an issue when viewing the surface of the earth projected onto a flat piece of paper (a map). And the effect of the orientation of a map is more significant than you might realize.
As all maps require orientation for reference, the issue of how to layout the map orientation is as old as maps themselves. As map orientation is completely arbitrary, it is not surprising that they differed throughout time periods and regions.
The convention of North-up is usually attributed to the Egyptian astronomer Ptolemy (90-168 AD). Justifications for his north-up approach vary. In the middle ages, East was often placed at top. This is the origin of the term “The Orient” to refer to East Asia. During the age of exploration, European cartographers again followed the north-up convention…perhaps because the North Star was their fixed reference point for navigation, or because they wanted (subconsciously or otherwise) to ensure Europe’s claim at the top of the world.
In modern times, reversed maps are made as a learning device or to illustrate Northern Hemisphere bias. Different from simply turning a north-up map upside down, a reversed map has the text oriented to be read with south up.
The famous “Blue Marble” photograph of the Earth taken from on board Apollo 17 was originally oriented with the south pole at the top, with the island of Madagascar visible just left of center, and the continent of Africa at its right. However, the image was turned upside-down to fit the traditional view.
While the orientation of a map might seem harmless, it can have a significant effect on one’s perception of the world, and the relative importance of the different place in it.
In speech, we often refer to places being “above” or “below” others. Think of how you would say you’re about to travel to the state or country to your north or south (to go “down” to Kentucky from Indiana, or “up” to Canada from the US). Without even mentioning geography, ask any grade school student whether Mexico is “above” or “below” the United States. We’re all familiar with the “land down under”. As we often correlate importance to relative height (think how a citizens of a country will fly their flag higher than all other flags), the north-up convention reinforces the idea that northern bodies are more important than their southern neighbors. Suddenly, traveling “down” to the South might have an inference much deeper than geographic location.
After looking at the map more closely, you may realize that the South-Up orientation may change your perception of the relative status of different places. For example, South America suddenly looks to have more prominence, and Africa and the Middle East completely dwarf Europe. Likewise, tucking Northern Europe, Canada, and Russia away at the bottom of the map, subconsciously takes away their status.
To summarize, unconditionally accepting the north-up map convention without at least appreciating the effect stands at odds with viewing all people and places within the world equally. x x

Que l’on ferme les portes et que l’on couvre les fenêtres.
Eteignez les bougies et les lumières de nuit.
Faites taire les oiseaux et laissez la mer transpercer le vent.
Que le temps se fasse absent et que le silence jaillisse.
Décrochez les peintures, les miroirs, et les souvenirs des murs.
Que les arbres en fleur laissent leur progéniture faner au sol.
Décomposez les notes de musiques et faites-en un vacarme.
Que le Soleil s’habille d’une robe de velours noir.
Mettez les drapeaux en berne et séparez-vous.

Mettez au feu tous les livres et tous les encriers,
les plantes sauvages, la faune et vos grandes valeurs.
Jetez les belles robes et les chemisiers de soie.
Découpez les grands chefs d’oeuvres au ciseau à tissus.
Oubliez vos rires, ceux de vos enfants et le chant des oiseaux.
Versez dans l’eau les derniers poisons qu’il vous reste.
Que l’on réouvre les tombeaux et que les morts puisse parler.
Baissez vos mains jointes, vos regards vers le Ciel, votre garde,
Rien ne sera plus pareil, rien ne vibrera plus dans l’oscillation du temps.