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Carrie Siu is a researcher at Argonne who is working on synthesizing and characterizing new cathode materials for batteries that will make them more efficient and effective.
To find out more, visit - Argonne People of Climate Change »
“I feel that lithium-ion batteries hold the most promise [because they are already on their way to replacing fossil fuels in all vehicles] and reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Siu. “I am enthusiastic about my research at Argonne because I know that I am contributing towards a future that will be less dependent on [fossil fuels …] We are making advancements to increase the energy of lithium-ion batteries [and find better] ways to recycle them!”
Clearly, Siu is a deeply motivated person when it comes to the climate crisis. In fact, she states that recent extreme weather events, such as wildfires, flooding and droughts, have sparked her desire to address the threat of climate change. Outside of her research, Siu said she finds comfort in being mindful about her purchases when it comes to one-use plastics, reducing water or eating less meat.
What’s more, Siu is even able to find inspiration when times get tough for her.
“At times when I feel down about the current situation or news on the climate, I think about being out in nature,” said Siu. “I think about the native flora and fauna and how important it is to preserve the nature we have left.”
The Sony ICF-2001D (ICF-2010 in the US) is a LW, MW, SW and FM digital PLL Synthesized Receiver made by Sony in Japan and launched in 1984. It remained in production till 2003 despite newer and smaller models were introduced. Its predecessor, launched in 1980, was the ICF-2001. Although it was a commercially available civil-class receiver, the ICF-2001D was used in the spionage world (www.cryptomuseum.com/spy/icf2001d/index.htm) It is as superb SW receiver, even by current standards (youtu.be/8fp6XiSh3Xc).The ICF-2001D co-existed with the much smaller ICF-7600D launched in 1983, that was replaced by the slightly improved ICF-7600DS in 1986, both of which have a general coverage from 153 kHz to 30 MHz.
Testosterone Therapy Time Frame Palm Beach Gardens, Fl
What Is Testosterone Therapy?
The idea of producing and possibly using synthesized hormones dates all the way back to 1939, with work that won a Nobel prize in chemistry. Since that time, scientists have been pursuing additional data and gaining new answers about how helpful low testosterone therapy can be.
Any man considering testosterone replacement therapy is likely conducted online research first. This is fine. However, there is a lot of conflicting opinions and research out there. “Testosterone therapy is bad for you,” says the uneducated blogger. “Testosterone treatment is the new miracle fountain of youth,” says the manufacturer of an expensive gel. How do you sift through all of this to know what’s true?
The only way to make an informed decision about this therapy is to visit a licensed medical doctor, who is also a testosterone specialist, like Dr. Mikhail Berman. He is a physician experienced in male hormone replacement that has invested years researching and treating patients.
He can be trusted to properly diagnose low T, and prescribe the right low testosterone treatment if it’s warranted. Men with low testosterone or hypogonadism may experience a wide range of discomforting symptoms. Extreme fatigue, increased body fat, especially in the belly area, a reduced sex drive, difficulty concentrating, these are just a few of the issues men live with who have low T.
Hormone replacement therapy introduces bioidentical hormone into the system, so your body goes quickly back to normal. Dr. Berman has found the highest degree of practical success with testosterone injections.
Testosterone Clinic: Dr. Mikhail Berman
8295 N Military Trail, Suite G-1
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
(561) 841-1837
plus.google.com/106990328128651242148
5-MeO-DALT or N,N-diallyl-5-methoxytryptamine is a psychedelic tryptamine first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin.
The first material regarding the synthesis and effects of 5-MeO-DALT was sent from Alexander Shulgin to a researcher named Murple in May 2004, after which it was circulated online. In June 2004 5-MeO-DALT became available from internet research chemical vendors. In August 2004 the synthesis and effects of 5-MeO-DALT were published by Erowid.
Doses ranging from 12-20 mg were tested by Alexander Shulgin's research group.
MiTo Festival 2010:
Play your Phone!
Interactive performance-concert for performers and pubblic
Chris Chafe
Siren Cloud, for piano, electric guitar and public
Robert Hamilton
Tale-Harmonium, for piano and virtual performers
Jieun Oh, Robert Hamilton
Dichotomous Harmonies, for analogical and synthesized trombones
Juan-Pablo Caceres
Perkussionista, for piano, virtual percussions
Luke Dahl, Jorge Herrera, Carr Wilkerson, Robert Hamilton
Tweet, for public, Twitter and iPad controllers
Sept 7 2010:
www.mitosettembremusica.it/en/programma/07092010-2200-pla...
Sept 8 2010:
www.mitosettembremusica.it/en/programma/08092010-2200-pla...
Convergence is a performance in which human musicians and their AI-generated avatars play together. A computer voice gives commands, scans the people on the stage, and creates digital images on canvases in the dark space. These characters are fed by synthesized image and sound data, from which the artificial intelligence then shapes the process. Neither the musicians nor the composer know in advance what effect these images and their music will have—it only becomes clear at the moment of the performance and has something threatening about it due to the screams requested by the AI. The machine intervenes in this cycle of action and reaction with its own algorithms and becomes an even stronger counterpart to self-perception. Alexander Schubert translates this plot with his large team of developers, AI experts, the Ensemble Resonanz, and the IRCAM team into an exciting musical theater performance of about 30 minutes that triggers both anxiety and fascination.
"Convergence" won the golden Nica at the Prix Ars Electronica 2021.
Credit: Ars Electronica - Robert Bauernhansl
Forbidden Planet (MGM, 1956).
Opening scene
It is late in the 22nd Century. United Planet cruiser C57D a year out from Earth base on the way to Altair for a special mission. Commander J.J Adams (Leslie Neilsen) orders the crew to the deceleration booths as the ship drops from light speed to normal space.
Adams orders pilot Jerry Farman (Jack Kelly) to lay in a course for the fourth planet. The captain then briefs the crew that they are at their destination, and that they are to look for survivors from the Bellerophon expedition 20 years earlier.
As they orbit the planet looking for signs of life, the ship is scanned by a radar facility some 20 square miles in area. Morbius (Walter Pigeon) contacts the ship from the planet asking why the ship is here. Morbius goes on to explain he requires nothing, no rescue is required and he can't guarantee the safety of the ship or its crew.
Adams confirms that Morbius was a member of the original crew, but is puzzled at the cryptic warning Morbius realizes the ship is going to land regardless, and gives the pilot coordinates in a desert region of the planet. The ship lands and security details deploy. Within minutes a high speed dust cloud approaches the ship. Adams realizes it is a vehicle, and as it arrives the driver is discovered to be a robot (Robby). Robby welcomes the crew to Altair 4 and invites members of the crew to Morbious residence.
Adams, Farman and Doc Ostrow (Warren Stevens) arrive at the residence and are greeted by Morbius. They sit down to a meal prepared by Robbys food synthesizer and Morbius shows the visitors Robbys other abilities, including his unwavering obedience. Morbius then gives Robby a blaster with orders to shoot Adams. Robby refuses and goes into a mechanical mind lock, disabling him till the order is changed.
Morbius then shows the men the defense system of the house (A series of steel shutters). When questioned, Morbius admits that the Belleraphon crew is dead, Morbius and his wife being the only original survivors. Morbius's wife has also died, but months after the others and from natural causes. Morbius goes on to explain many of the crew were torn limb from limb by a strange creature or force living on the planet. The Belleraphon herself was destroyed when the final three surviving members tried to take off for Earth.
Adams wonders why this force has remained dormant all these years and never attacked Morbius. As discussions continue, a young woman Altaira (Anne Francis) introduces herself as Morbius daughter. Farman takes an immediate interest in Altaira, and begins to flirt with her . Altaira then shows the men her ability to control wild animals by petting a wild tiger. During this display the ship checks in on the safety of the away party. Adams explains he will need to check in with Earth for further orders and begins preparations for sending a signal. Because of the power needed the ship will be disabled for up to 10 days. Morbius is mortified by this extended period and offers Robby's services in building the communication facility
The next day Robby arrives at ship as the crew unloads the engine to power the transmitter. To lighten the tense moment the commander instructs the crane driver to pick up Cookie (Earl Holliman) and move him out of the way. Quinn interrupts the practical joke to report that the assembly is complete and they can transmit in the morning.
Meanwhile Cookie goes looking for Robby and organizes for the robot to synthesize some bourbon. Robby takes a sample and tells Cookie he can have 60 gallons ready the next morning for him.
Farman continues to court Altair by teaching her how to kiss, and the health benefits of kissing. Adams interrupts the exercise, and is clearly annoyed with a mix of jealous. He then explains to Altair that the clothes she wears are inappropriate around his crew. Altair tries to argue till Adams looses patience and order Altair to leave the area.
That night, Altair, still furious, explains to her father what occurred. Altair takes Adams advice to heart and orders Robby to run up a less revealing dress. Meanwhile back at the ship two security guards think they hear breathing in the darkness but see nothing.
Inside the ship, one of the crew half asleep sees the inner hatch opened and some material moved around. Next morning the Captain holds court on the events of the night before. Quinn advises the captain that most of the missing and damaged equipment can be replaced except for the Clystron monitor. Angry the Capt and Doc go back to Morbius to confront him about what has occurred.
Morbius is unavailable, so the two men settle in to wait. Outside Adams sees Altair swimming and goes to speak to her. Thinking she is naked, Adams becomes flustered and unsettled till he realizes she wants him to see her new dress. Altair asks why Adams wont kiss her like everyone else has. He gives in and plants one on her. Behind them a tiger emerges from the forest and attacks Altair, Adams reacts by shooting it. Altair is badly troubled by the incident, the tiger had been her friend, but she can't understand why acted as if she was an enemy.
Returning to the house, Doc and Adams accidently open Morbius office. They find a series of strange drawings but no sign of Morbius. He appears through a secret door and is outraged at the intrusion. Adams explains the damage done to the ship the previous night and his concern that Morbius was behind the attack.
Morbius admits it is time for explanations. He goes on to tell them about a race of creatures that lived on the planet called the Krell. In the past they had visited Earth, which explains why there are Earth animals on the planet. Morbius believes the Krell civilization collapsed in a single night, right on the verge of their greatest discovery. Today 2000 centuries later, nothing of their cities exists above ground.
Morbius then takes them on a tour of the Krell underground installation. Morbius first shows them a device for projecting their knowledge; he explains how he began to piece together information. Then an education device that projects images formed in the mind. Finally he explains what the Krell were expected to do, and how much lower human intelligence is in comparison.
Doc tries the intelligence tester but is confused when it does not register as high as Morbius. Morbius then explains it can also boost intelligence, and that the captain of the Belleraphon died using it. Morbius himself was badly injured but when he recovered his IQ had doubled.
Adams questions why all the equipment looks brand new. It is explained that all the machines left on the planet are self repairing and Morbius takes them on a tour of the rest of the installation. First they inspect a giant air vent that leads to the core of the planet. There are 400 other such shafts in the area and 9200 thermal reactors spread through the facilities 8000 cubic miles.
Later that night the crew has completed the security arrangements and tests the force field fence. Cookie asks permission to go outside the fence. He meets Robby who gives him the 60 gallons of bourbon. Outside, something hits the fence and shorts it out. The security team checks the breach but finds nothing. A series of foot like depressions begin forming leading to the ship. Something unseen enters the ship. A scream echos through the compound.
Back at the Morbius residence he argues that only he should be allowed to control the flow of Krell technology back to Earth. In the middle of the discussion, Adams is paged and told that the Chief Quinn has been murdered. Adams breaks of his discussions and heads back to the ship.
Later that night Doc finds the footprints and makes a cast. The foot makes no evolutionary sense. It seems to have elements of a four footed and biped creature; also it seems a predator and herbivore. Adams questions Cookie who was with the robot during the test and decides the robot was not responsible.
The next day at the funeral for Chief Morbius again warns him of impending doom facing the ship and crew. Adams considers this a challenge and spends the day fortifying the position around the ship. After testing the weapons and satisfied all that could be done has, the radar station suddenly reports movement in the distance moving slowly towards the ship.
No one sees anything despite the weapons being under radar fire control. The controller confirms a direct hit, but the object is still moving towards the ship. Suddenly something hits the force field fence, and a huge monster appears outlined in the energy flux. The crew open fire, but seem to do little good. A number of men move forward but a quickly killed.
Morbious wakes hearing the screams of Altair. Shes had a dream mimicking the attack that has just occurred. As Morbious is waking the creature in the force field disappears. Doc theories that the creature is made of some sort of energy, renewing itself second by second.
Adams takes Doc in the tractor to visit Morbius intending to evacuate him from the planet. He leaves orders for the ship to be readied for lift off. If he and Doc dont get back, the ship is to leave without them. They also want to try and break into Morbious office and take the brain booster test.
They are met at the door by Robby, who disarms them. Altair appears and countermands the orders given to Robby by her father. Seeing a chance Doc sneaks into the office. Altair argues with Adams about trying to make Morbius return home, she ultimately declares her love for him.
Robby appears carrying the injured Doc. Struggling to speak and heavy pain, Doc explains that the Krell succeeded in their great experiment. However they forgot about the sub conscious monsters they would release. Monsters from the id.
Morbius sees the dead body of Doc, and makes a series of ugly comments. His daughter reminds him that Doc is dead. Morbius lack of care convinces Altair she is better off going with Adams. Morbius tries to talk Adams out of taking Altair.
Adams demands an explanation of the id. Morbius realizes he is the source of the creature killing everyone. The machine the Krell built was able to release his inner beast, the sub conscious monster dwelling deep inside his ancestral mind.
Robby interrupts the debate to report something approaching the house. Morbius triggers the defensive shields of the house, which the creature begins to destroy. Morbius then orders Robby to destroy the creature, however Robby short circuits. Adams explained that it was useless; Robby knew it was Morbius self.
Adams, Altair and Morbius retreat to the Krell lab and sealed themselves in by sealing a special indestructible door. Adams convinces Morbius that he is really the monster, and that Morbius can not actually control his subconscious desires.
The group watch as the creature beings the slow process of burning through the door. Panicked Morbius implores Altair to say it is not so. Suddenly the full realization comes, and he understands that he could endanger or even kill Altair.
As the creature breaks through Morbius rushes forward and denies its existence. Suddenly the creature disappears but Morbius is mortally wounded. With his dying breath he instructs Adams to trigger a self destruct mechanism linked to the reactors of the great machine. The ship and crew have 24 hours to get as far away from the planet as possible
The next day we see the ship deep in space. Robby and Altair are onboard watching as the planet brightens and is destroyed. Adams assures Altair that her fathers memory will shine like a beacon.
A nanographene molecule exhibiting carbon-carbon bonds of different length and bond order imaged by
noncontact atomic force microscopy using a carbon monoxide functionalized tip. This molecule was
synthesized at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in Toulouse.
the largactil shuffle
Chlorpromazine (as chlorpromazine hydrochloride, abbreviated CPZ; marketed in the United States as Thorazine and elsewhere as Largactil) is a typical antipsychotic. First synthesized on December 11, 1950, chlorpromazine was the first drug developed with specific antipsychotic action, and would serve as the prototype for the phenothiazine class of drugs, which later grew to comprise several other agents. The introduction of chlorpromazine into clinical use has been described as the single greatest advance in psychiatric care, dramatically improving the prognosis of patients in psychiatric hospitals worldwide; the availability of antipsychotic drugs curtailed indiscriminate use of electroconvulsive therapy and psychosurgery, and was one of the driving forces behind the deinstitutionalization movement.
Chlorpromazine works on a variety of receptors in the central nervous system, producing anticholinergic, antidopaminergic, antihistaminic, and weak antiadrenergic effects. Both the clinical indications and side effect profile of CPZ are determined by this broad action: its anticholinergic properties cause constipation, sedation, and hypotension, and help relieve nausea. It also has anxiolytic (anxiety-relieving) properties. Its antidopaminergic properties can cause extrapyramidal symptoms such as akathisia (restlessness) and dystonia. It is known to cause tardive dyskinesia, which can be irreversible. In recent years, chlorpromazine has been largely superseded by the newer atypical antipsychotics, which are usually better tolerated, and its use is now restricted to fewer indications. In acute settings, it is often administered as a syrup, which has a faster onset of action than tablets, and can also be given by intramuscular injection. IV administration is very irritating and is not advised; its use is limited to severe hiccups, surgery, and tetanus.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Gunnison County, CO.
This is among the most sheer-walled gorges in North America, being 500 to 740 meters deep while being as narrow as 400 meters rim-to-rim in spots. The cause is a swiftly-flowing stream cutting through hard metamorphic rock in a semiarid area, with little local rainfall to cause lateral erosion. In places, the drop from rim to river approaches the vertical.
Synthesized IRG-->RGB cross-sampled image from a single exposure. Full-spectrum camera, 525LP dichroic filter. Worked up in Pixelbender and Photoshop.
The Manueline (Portuguese: estilo manuelino), or Portuguese late Gothic, is the sumptuous, composite Portuguese style of architectural ornamentation of the first decades of the 16th century, incorporating maritime elements and representations of the discoveries brought from the voyages of Vasco da Gama and Pedro Álvares Cabral.
This innovative style synthesizes aspects of Late Gothic architecture with influences of the Spanish Plateresque style, Mudéjar, Italian urban architecture, and Flemish elements. It marks the transition from Late Gothic to Renaissance. The construction of churches and monasteries in Manueline was largely financed by proceeds of the lucrative spice trade with Africa and India.
The style was given its name, many years later, by Francisco Adolfo de Varnhagen, Viscount of Porto Seguro, in his 1842 book, Noticia historica e descriptiva do Mosteiro de Belem, com um glossario de varios termos respectivos principalmente a architectura gothica, in his description of the Jerónimos Monastery.
Varnhagen named the style after King Manuel I, whose reign (1495–1521) coincided with its development. The style was much influenced by the astonishing successes of the voyages of discovery of Portuguese navigators, from the coastal areas of Africa to the discovery of Brazil and the ocean routes to the Far East, drawing heavily on the style and decorations of East Indian temples.
Although the period of this style did not last long (from 1490 to 1520), it played an important part in the development of Portuguese art. The influence of the style outlived the king. Celebrating the newly maritime power, it manifested itself in architecture (churches, monasteries, palaces, castles) and extended into other arts such as sculpture, painting, works of art made of precious metals, faience and furniture.
Creativity is connecting things that you experience in life, synthesizing them in a musical pattern. im sure a creative person is incapable of answering how he does what he does. he just connects bits and pieces he experience from life and his mistakes.
The Hippodamian grid is a historic relic both physically (in our cities) and conceptually (in our planning).
Raher than forcing an anachronism to solve contemporary planning issues, let's pull lessons from all past patterns and synthesize them to suit modern conditions.
Two examples stand out as good genetic material for a new species: the Savannah cellular plan and Ladd's addition, allso a celllular plan. Through a recombination we arrive at the Fused Grid that has all the desirable features of each and none of their deleterious characteristics.
This is Stage 3 of my Human Interface presentation outlining: For my "Human Interface" talk, I used tiny post-it notes to gather and organize my mountains of research and concepts into an overarching structure. I simply wrote down everything I wanted to talk about in my talk, and tried to group them and sequence them in a way that I thought would make sense.
These three photos document the process of grouping, adding and removing, sequencing, and editing the flow of my talk from a super high level view. These three images represent several days of work, where I kind of revised the chart at random every so often, letting the result marinate for a day or so each time.
This process really helped me focus on the overall flow, and it also allowed me to extract my three overall themes: Sentience, Intimacy, and Personality. I wasn't able to synthesize those themes until I was able to see all the ideas in my head and in my research all in the same place at the same time.
Check out Stage 2.
Check out Stage 1.
You might not see it like I do, but there is a flow and hierarchy embedded in the above -- the post-its connect in a sequence here and there, and there is an overarching 1-2-3-4 phasing to the whole thing if you split it into quadrants. The green tags were added later, replacing yellow tags once I realized that these three tags were the emergent themes from the jumble of related concepts.
My whole process looked like this:
1. Do research and collect information, all the while writing a bunch of short essays or notes about ideas. Some can be summaries of big things, others are interesting details. Sort these as best you can into folders (I use Scrivener), but don't worry about it becoming a slideshow or presentation. It's just ideas and concepts. This phase, in my case, took about eight months, all told.
2. Do the above post-it exercise, creating tags for all the little and big ideas and finding connections. Try to take the jumbles and find linear paths through them all. Find a small number (3 to 6) of large concept chunks. Recognize that some ideas are tangents and others are core. This took about a half hour a day for a few days.
3. Turn the main pathways into a linear outline. This took a few hours, and was revised throughout the remaining stages.
4. Write a long essay or speech following that outline. A linear straightforward text piece (in my case, a 3,000 word essay). For a presentation, it's helpful to structure the flow in short bursts -- one or two paragraphs for each burst works for me. This is in part to eventually correspond to slides, but also recognizing that a speech needs to have a rhythm. Establish that foundation rhythm here.
5. Start thinking of slides:
a) Start collecting imagery for a slideshow. Some of this will be found in your initial research, too.
b) Start finding key messages that can be made into slides: Quotes, pity statements, bulleted lists of concepts. Only do this for stuff that you think the audience should write down. Everything else, find a picture or just say it. Don't ever copy your essay text onto a slide unless it's a key takeaway.
c) Start identifying places where charts are necessary. Find or make those charts.
6. Open up Keynote and start making slides. Make blank slides if you don't have the pictures yet. Go back and forth between editing slides, researching slides, and revising the raw-text speech. Work in both text and slides in parallel, but don't think of them quite yet as the same thing.
7. At some point (often only a day or two before showtime!), make that final leap into Keynote: copy all the speech into the slideshow as speaker's notes, slide by slide. Stop working in the text editor and work exclusively in Keynote.
8. Rehearse repeatedly, aloud and in silence, in whole and in segments. Add and removes slides like crazy, and add and remove text from the speaker's notes like crazy. This is what I think of as the "sculpting" part -- the core ideas are all there as an armature, but this is where the content of the talk actually takes shape. Every time you rehearse, ignore the speakers notes more and more.
9. As showtime approaches, start deleting anything that doesn't roll off the tongue and generate real passion in me. Delete anything you don't completely and deeply understand. Delete segments of text, delete whole slides, delete entire sections. Leave only the best stuff.
10. At showtime, pretty much ignore the speakers notes and just wing it. All the slides will be the stuff you've loved all along and feel completely natural talking about at length.
I'm starting to follow a pattern now, I think, and this is pretty much it.
This receiver was conceived in the early 70s, when rapid advances in the field of semiconductors, mixers and synthesizers led to a radical change in shortwave receiver design. Mechanical tuning elements were eliminated, and a compact, lightweight, fully synthesized desktop HF receiver with superior performance became a reality.
Technetium, from the greek word "technetos" : "artificial" . The first human synthesized element. Used in medical imaging in a host of ways, and possessing a densely packed hexagonal structure when crystalized.
idiot me, i forgot..50 is L in roman numerals. i wonder if i can save it somehow. arrgh!
not sure if this is done.. should i clear out the bones, or leave them as silhouettes? help me decide?
this is part of the periodic table collaborative print project:
printmakers, feel free to join in, full story is here:
This still image is from a video installation, "Against the Current" by artist Joan Truckenbrod. This is a full size hospital bed with digitally synthesized videos of a salmon run and a nude body tumbling in water.
This is known as a GUV. It is the closest in vitro "model" for a cell. We're working on building cells rather than taking them apart which is the way that scientists currently study cells. The fluorescent dye is one that I designed, and was synthesized by collaborators at UCSD.
Visit us at: www.redlinextremeracing.com/
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Satya Paul unleashes exquisite off-the -rack, mod and voguish garments intrigued to provide an ultimate seduction to the soul. Dress up in vogue to create mesmerizing moments in your life.
The range comprises of vivid tops, trendy tunics, fabulous kaftans, and sensuous blouses specially synthesized to reveal the perfection and conceal the imperfection.
These ready to wear garments are crafted envisaging the needs of the leading- edge women. These are the products for that niche clientele who crave for comfort with an urge for glamour.
I think both cameras have a lot to offer, and I like them both. However, I do find them both problematic and feel a bit frustrated that their strengths and flaws seem to be complimentary. If Panasonic do buy Olympus's camera division (as opposed to just the medical imaging part), I'd love to think that they could synthesize the best of these two cameras, or their newest equivalents.
Basically it seems that Panasonic have created a camera (and system) which is lovely to hold and nice to use but whose JPEG engine clearly loses more of the quality of its RAW output than we have the right to expect these days from a reasonably serious camera.
Olympus, on the other hand, have a camera (and system) which as everyone knows has a rather sweet JPEG engine, an EVF which is simply excellent (and clearly superior to the very good one built into the Panny) and an extremely tweakable interface where it is possible to set the camera up to get just the desired results. The downsides? Their cameras are seriously fiddly to use, even after you've spent months familiarising yourself with their intricacies, and come set up with a hideously strong tonal optimiser (auto gradation) defaulted to ON, which is guaranteed to have anyone experienced in shooting in low light believing they have a dud in this machine which wants black to be a noisy, speckled grey. Then after a period of reading and fiddling, it becomes apparent that not only can you turn this hideous feature off (OK, to be fair it doesn't ruin most outdoor daylight shots), but you can actually tweak the tone curve used manually and that there are 45 different possible settings for it. That's LOW, NORMAL and HIGH...and each has 15 different settings, accessed through a rather well-hidden trick of pressing the +/- button followed by the INFO button.
Anyway, that's all for now...
P4242526
International Labor Studies (ILS) Executive Director Ahmma Charisma Lobrin-Satumba synthesizes the consultative forum on Violence and Harassment in the World of Work. The forum was held in Manila on 12 April 2019, in line with the standard-setting agenda for the upcoming 108th International Labour Conference. For more information, visit www.ilo.org/ilc/ILCSessions/108/reports/reports-to-the-co...
Photo © ILO/L. Gonzalez
The work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 IGO License. To view a copy of this license, visit creativecommons.org/license/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo/deed.en_US
Owen Dippie’s incredible mural of Max Gimblett.
Maxwell Harold Gimblett, ONZM (born 5 December 1935) is a New Zealand and American artist. His work synthesizes postwar American and Japanese art using abstract expressionism, modernism, spiritual abstraction, and Zen calligraphy.
Photo showing Werner Jauk (AT) and his project touch the sound 2.0 / sound-sculpting, which is an effort to focus auditory attention on the importance of the interface that is the human body and to explore the reality-constructions of two dissimilar, sensory forms of interaction—on one hand, mechanical, passive, analytical hearing of fleeting sounds; on the other, active deployment of our sensory apparatus and thus synthesizing vision.
credit: Florian Voggeneder
Led by Theme "Long-term Adaptation", the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) coordinated a side event on Agriculture in NAPs at the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP19) in Warsaw, Poland.
The side event reviewed the NAP process for climate change adaptation in the agriculture sector by synthesizing the experiences of 10 countries from Africa, Asia and Latin America, drawn from a 2-day workshop on NAPs and agriculture held in the days leading up to COP 19.
Photos: C.Schubert (CCAFS)
Synthesizing a number of sources both Stephanie and I enjoy learning with and from. This model is informed by the work of Beth Kanter, Chris Brogan, colleagues at CPSquare and the Native teachings of the late Paula Underwood. Our most solid framework so far :o) Comments and insights are most welcome.
MLEF student Troy Christiansen from Rowan University. Troy's project at NETL in Morgantown, W.Va focuses on natural gas and natural gas liquids, which are important chemical commodities used in the United States for the manufacturing of a wide variety of products. The conversion reactions can be performed with or without oxygen over different types of catalysts, but can become complicated by formation of carbon over the catalyst or the over oxidation of the hydrocarbons to combustion products. A potential solution to avoiding these issues is the application of microwave energy which provides advantages of conducting the reactions at lower temperatures which may eliminate the formation of carbon, less energy consumption, and improved selectivity to the desired product. Work for this project will include a literature review to determine potential formulation that will react under MW-enhanced conditions, synthesizing the catalysts, characterizing their chemical and physical properties using equipment like XRD, Raman, SEM, and then testing under relevant reaction conditions in our MW reactor systems. Troy's mentor is Daniel Haynes.
Another one from the archives.
The Church of the Gesù (Italian: Chiesa del Gesù ; Italian pronunciation: [dʒeˈzu]) is the mother church of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic religious order also known as the Jesuits. Officially named Chiesa del Santissimo Nome di Gesù all'Argentina[1][2] (English: Church of the Most Holy Name of Jesus), its facade is "the first truly baroque façade", introducing the baroque style into architecture [3],. The church served as model for innumerable Jesuit churches all over the world, especially in the Americas. The Church of the Gesù is located in the Piazza del Gesù in Rome.
First conceived in 1551 by Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits Society of Jesus, and active during the Protestant Reformation and the subsequent Catholic Reformation, the Gesù was also the home of the Superior General of the Society of Jesus until the suppression of the order in 1773.[4]
Although Michelangelo, at the request of the Spanish cardinal Bartolomeo de la Cueva, offered, out of devotion, to design the church for free, the endeavor was funded by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, grandson of Pope Paul III, the pope who had authorized the founding of the Society of Jesus. Ultimately, the main architects involved in the construction were Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, architect of the Farnese family, and Giacomo della Porta. The church was built on the same spot as the previous church Santa Maria della Strada, where Saint Ignatius of Loyola had once prayed before an image of the Holy Virgin. This image, now adorned with gems, can be seen in the church in the chapel of Ignatius on the right side of the altar.
Construction of the church began on 26 June 1568 to Vignola's design. Vignola was assisted by the Jesuit Giovanni Tristano, who took over from Vignola in 1571. When he died in 1575 he was succeeded by the Jesuit architect Giovanni de Rosis.. Giacoma della Porta was involved in the construction of the cross-vault, dome, and the apse.
The revision of Vignola's façade design by della Porta has offered architectural historians opportunities for a close comparison between Vignola's balanced composition in three superimposed planes and Della Porta's dynamically fused tension bound by its strong vertical elements, contrasts that have sharpened architectural historians' perceptions for the last century (Whitman 1970:108). Vignola's rejected design remained readily available to architects and prospective patrons in an engraving of 1573.
The design of this church has set a pattern for Jesuit churches that lasted into the twentieth century, its innovations require enumerating. The Jesuit Mother Church was built according to the new requirements formulated during the Council of Trent. There is no narthex in which to linger: the visitor is projected immediately into the body of the church, a single nave without aisles, so that the congregation is assembled and attention is focused on the high altar. In place of aisles there are a series of identical interconnecting chapels behind arched openings,[5] to which entrance is controlled by decorative balustrades with gates. Transepts are reduced to stubs that emphasize the altars of their end walls.
The plan synthesizes the central planning of the High Renaissance,[6] expressed by the grand scale of the dome and the prominent piers of the crossing, with the extended nave that had been characteristic of the preaching churches, a type of church established by Franciscans and Dominicans since the thirteenth century. Everywhere inlaid polychrome marble revetments are relieved by gilding, frescoed barrel vaults enrich the ceiling and rhetorical white stucco and marble sculptures break out of their tectonic framing. The example of the Gesù did not completely eliminate the traditional basilica church with aisles, but after its example was set, experiments in Baroque church floor plans, oval or Greek cross, were largely confined to smaller churches and chapels.
The Church of the Gesù is home to the venerated 15th-century Madonna Della Strada shown here after its 2006 restoration.
The church was consecrated by Cardinal Giulio Antonio Santori, the delegate of pope Gregory XIII on 25 November 1584.
[edit]Façade
The façade of the church is divided into two sections. The lower section is divided by six pairs of pilasters with Corinthian capitals, while the upper section is divided with four pairs of pilasters. The upper section is joined to the lower section by a volute on each side. The main door stands under a curvilinear tympanum, while the two side doors are under a triangular tympanum. Above the main door one can see a shield with the christogram IHS, representing the name of Jesus Ihesus. Detractors sometimes explain this monogram as Iesuiti Habent Satis (Jesuits have enough). The façade also shows the papal coat of arms and a shield with the initialism SPQR, tying this church closely to the people of Rome.
The present high altar, designed by Antonio Sarti (1797–1880), was constructed towards the middle of the 19th century. It is dominated by four columns under a neo-classical pediment. Sarti also covered the apse with marble and made the drawings of the tabernacle. The angels surrounding the IHS aureole were sculpted by Rinaldo Rinaldi (1793–1873). The two angels kneeling at each side of the aureole are the work of Francesco Benaglia and Filippo Gnaccarini (1804–1875). The altarpiece, representing the "Circumcision", was painted by Alessandro Capalti (1810–1868). The ceiling of the apse is adorned by the painting "Glory of the Mystical Lamb" by Baciccia (Giovanni Battista Gaulli).
The most striking feature of the interior decoration is the ceiling fresco is the grandiose Triumph of the Name of Jesus by Giovanni Battista Gaulli. Gaulli also frescoed the cupola, including lantern and pendentives, central vault, window recesses, and transepts' ceilings.
The first chapel to the right of the nave is the Cappella di Sant'Andrea, so named because the church previously on the site, which had to be demolished to make way for the Jesuit church, was dedicated to St. Andrew. All the painted works were completed by the Florentine Agostino Ciampelli. The frescoes on the arches depict the male martyrs saints Pancrazio, Celso, Vito, and Agapito, while the pilasters depict the female martyred saints Cristina, Margherita, Anastasia, Cecilia, Lucy, and Agatha. The ceiling is frescoed with the Glory of the Virgin surrounded by martyred saints Clemente, Ignazio di Antiochia, Cipriano, and Policarpo The lunettes are frescoed with Saints Agnes & Lucy face the storm and St. Stephen and the Deacon St. Lawrence. The altarpiece depicts the Martyrdom of St Andrew.
The second chapel to the right is the Cappella della Passione, with lunette frescoes depicting scenes of the Passion: Jesus in Gethsemane, Kiss of Judas, and six canvases on the pilasters: Christ at the column Christ before the guards, Christ before Herod, Ecce Homo, Exit to Calvary, and Crucifixion. The altarpiece of the Madonna with child and beatified Jesuits, replaces the original altarpiece by Scipione Pulzone.[7] The program of paintings is indebted to Giuseppe Valeriani and painted by Gaspare Celio. The altar has a bronze urn with the remains of 18th century Jesuit St. Giuseppe Pignatelli, canonized by Pius XII in 1954. Medals on the wall commemorate P. Jan Roothaan (1785–1853) and P. Pedro Arrupe (1907–1991), the 21st and 28th Superior General of the Society of Jesus.
The third chapel to the right is the Cappella degli Angeli has a ceiling fresco of the Coronation of Virgin and altarpiece of Angels worshiping Trinity by Federico Zuccari. He also painted the canvases on the walls, Defeat of rebel angels on right, and Angels liberate souls from Purgatory on the left. Other frescoes represent Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory. The angles in the niches of the pilasters were completed by both Silla Longhi and Flaminio Vacca.
The larger Saint Francis Xavier Chapel in the right transept, was designed by Pietro da Cortona, originally commissioned by cardinal Giovanni Francesco Negroni. The polychromatic marbles enclose a stucco relief representing Francis Xavier welcomed to heaven by angels. The altarpiece shows the Death of Francis Xavier in Shangchuan Island by Carlo Maratta. The arches are decorated with scenes from the life of the saint, including Apotheosis of the saint in the center, Crucifixion, Saint lost at sea, and at left, Baptism of an Indian princess, by Giovanni Andrea Carlone. The silver reliquary conserves part of the saint's right arm (by which he baptized 300,000 people), his other remains are interred in the Jesuit church in Goa.
The last chapel on the far end of the nave, to the right of the high altar, is the chapel of the Sacro Cuore (holy heart of Jesus).
The sacristy is on the right. In the presbytery is a bust of Cardinal Robert Bellarmine by Bernini.
The first chapel to the left, originally dedicated to the apostles, is now the Cappella di San Francesco Borgia, the former Spanish Duke of Gandia, who renounced his title to enter the Jesuit order, and become its third "Preposito generale". The altarpiece, Saint Francesco Borgia in Prayer by Pozzo, is surrounded by works by Gagliardi. Ceiling frescoes of (Pentecost) and lunettes (left Martyrdom of St. Peter, to sides Faith and Hope and right, Martyrdom of St. Paul) with allegorical Religion and Charity are works Nicolò Circignani (Il Pomarancio). Pier Francesco Mola painted the walls, on left with St. Peter in jail baptizes saints Processo & Martiniano, to right is the Conversion of St. Paul. There are four monuments by Marchesi Ferrari.
The second chapel on the left is dedicated to the Nativity, and called Cappella della Sacra Famiglia, commissioned by patron Cardinal Cerri, who worked for the Barberini family. The altarpiece of the nativity by Circignani. In the roof, the Celestial celebration on the nativity of Christ, on the pinnacles are David, Isaiah, Zechariah and Baruch, on the right lunette, an Annunciation to the Shepherds, and on the left, a Massacre of the Innocents. Also are frescoes on Presentation of Jesus to the Temple and Adoration by Magi. Four allegorical statues represent Temperance, Prudence on right; and Fortitude and Justice.
The third chapel to the left is the Cappella della Santissima Trinità, commissioned initially by the clerical patron Pirro Taro, is named due to the main altarpiece by Francesco Bassano the Younger. The frescoes completed mainly by three painters and assistants during 1588-1589; the exact attributions are uncertain, but it is said the Creation, the angels on the pilasters, and the designs of some of the frescoes by the Florentine Jesuit painter, Giovanni Battista Fiammeri. Painted with assistants was the Baptism of Christ on the right wall. The Transfiguration on the left wall and the Abraham with three angels on the right oval were by Durante Alberti. God the Father behind a chorus of angels in the left oval and in the pinnacles, angels with God’s attributes, were completed by Ventura Salimbeni. The reliquary on the altar holds the right arm of the polish Jesuit St. Andrew Bobola, martyred in 1657 and canonized by Pius XI in 1938.
The imposing and luxurious St. Ignatius Chapel, located on the left side of the transept, is the church's masterpiece, designed by Andrea Pozzo between 1696 and 1700. It houses the saint's tomb. The altar by Pozzo shows the Trinity on top of a globe. The lapis lazuli, representing the Earth, is thought to be the largest piece in the world, but is actually mortar craftly decorated with lapis lazuli. The four lapis lazuli-veneered columns enclose the colossal statue of the saint by Pierre Legros. The latter is a copy, probably by Adamo Tadolini working in the studio of Antonio Canova Pope Pius VI had the original silver statue melted down, ostensibly to pay the war reparations to Napoleon, as established by the Treaty of Tolentino, 1797. Originally the project was designed by Giacomo della Porta , then by Cortona ; but ultimately Pozzo won a public contest to design the altar. A canvas of the Saint receives the monogram with the name of Jesus from the celestial resurrected Christ attributed to Pozzo. The urn of St. Ignatius is a bronze urn by Algardi that holds the body of the saint, below are two groups of statues where Religion defeats heresy by Legros (with a putto - on the left side - tearing pages from heretic books by Luther, Calvin and Zwingli), and Faith defeats idolatry by Jean-Baptiste Théodon.
The St. Ignatius Chapel also hosts the restored macchina barocca or conversion machine of Andrea Pozzo. During daytime the statue of St. Ignatius is hidden behind a large painting, but every day at 17.30 loud religious music is played and the painting slides away in the floor, revealing the statue, with large spotlights switched on to show the piece[8].
The last chapel on the far end of the nave, to the left of the high altar, is the Chapel of the Madonna della Strada. The name derives from a medieval icon, once found in a now-lost Church in the piazza Altieri, venerated by sant'Ignazio. The interior is designed and decorated by Giuseppe Valeriani, who painted scenes from the life of the Virgin. The cupola frescoes were painted by G.P. Pozzi.
[edit]Legacy
The Church of the Gesù was the model of numerous churches of the Society of Jesus throughout the world, starting from the Church of St.Michael in Munich (1583–1597) and the Corpus Christi Church in Niasviž (1587–1593). Various parishes also share the name of the Church of the Gesù in Rome.
Source: Wikipedia
Our line of Sunburst Cuffs synthesize a medley of sprinkler heads and coinage from around the world hand-riveted onto various cuffs of brass, bronze and silver-plated estate trays.
Born June 23, 1957 in Novara, Italy, David Larible has been seen in many European circus rings, on television, and on theater stages; he had an amazing career in the United States and Mexico, and has made frequent appearances in Russia and Eastern Europe. His is by far the most famous (and most copied) circus clown in the world.
David is the first traditional circus auguste to have brilliantly synthesized the virtuosity of old musical augustes and the classic clown entrée repertoire with new trends such as the Russian lyrical interpretation of clowning, and the street-rooted audience participation that appeared in Europe in the early 1980s.
A former acrobat, and an accomplished and versatile musician, David has a fertile imagination and a wonderful sensibility that led him to continuously work on new comedy material: He has, at the time of this writing (2009), developed about twenty different pieces, some of which he has gathered into a one-man show for the theater stage. [read on]
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David Larible (* 23. Juni 1957 in Verona) ist ein italienischer Clown.
Die Familie Larible kommt ursprünglich aus Frankreich. David Larible blickt auf sechs Generationen von Artisten zurück. Es bestehen verwandtschaftliche Bindungen mit zahlreichen anderen europäischen Zirkusfamilien. Sein Urgroßvater Pierre Larible war Akrobat und Tänzer, der Großvater Clown. Laribles Vater ist der ehemalige Trapezkünstler und Jongleur Eugenio Larible, der heute noch an der Zirkusschule von Verona unterrichtet. Die Mutter Lucina Casartelli (1931–2003) war Zirkuskind und Artistin wie ihr Mann.
David Larible hat drei Schwestern: Eliana Paul, verheiratet mit Bernhard Paul, Cinzia Larible-Gerard und die Trapezkünstlerin Vivien, verheiratet mit Noè España von der Ikarier-Truppe Flying Españas.
Larible ist seit 1982 mit der (damals noch aktiven) mexikanischen Trapezkünstlerin America Olvera Jimenez verheiratet. Das Paar hat zwei Kinder – die Tochter Shirley (* 1989) und den Sohn David Pierre (* 1997). Beide wollen Artisten werden. [weiterlesen]
@ Circus Roncalli (German only)
FOV: 5" wide
Home made fluorescent paint made with synthesized fluorescent minerals combined with white glue and water and painted on charred wooden blocks. The glue fluoresces blue under UVa (something I didn't realize until I'd painted the blocks).
Contains:
Willemite (FL+PHOS Green >UVc)
Calcite (FL Red >UVc)
Sphalerite (FL+PHOS Orange, Blue-green >UVabc)
Shown under UVabc light.
Key:
WL = White light (halogen + LED)
FL = Fluoresces
PHOS = Phosporescent
UVa = 368nm (LW), UVb = 311nm (MW), UVc = 254nm (SW)
'>' = "stimulated by:", '!' = "bright", '~' = "dim"
Obtained from the basement lab.
..Fluorescent Art\Fluorescent Paint\Blocks
Series best viewed in Light Box mode using Right and Left arrows to navigate.
Photostream best viewed in Slideshow mode (in the dark).
18 Watt Triple Output UV lamp from Polman Minerals - Way Too Cool UV lamps
Mammut americanum (Kerr, 1792) - American mastodon skull from the Pleistocene of Colorado, USA. (DMNH specimen, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, Colorado, USA)
Colorado's Snowmass fossil site was discovered in 2010 and has become one of the most significant and richly fossiliferous Pleistocene locality in the world. The first fossil was noticed during bulldozer excavation at Ziegler Reservoir in the town of Snowmass Village. Tens of thousands of individual fossils have been recovered. The most common species of vertebrate is the tiger salamander, Amystoma tigrinum. The most common species of mammal is the American mastodon, Mammut americanum. The skull shown above is an example.
The Snowmass fossil site occurs in a long-lived Pleistocene-aged, high-altitude glacial lake deposit in Colorado's Elk Mountains. It is located near the intersection of Snowmass Creek Valley and Brush Creek Valley (= tributary). During the Pleistocene Ice Age, the Snowmass Creek Valley was filled with an alpine glacier. After the Bull Lake glaciation receded from the Elk Mountains about 155,000 to 130,000 years ago, a then-new moraine deposit blocked drainage from Brush Creek and formed a ~10 meter-deep glacial lake. The lake eventually filled up with fine-grained siliciclastic sediments, interbedded with some coarse-grained, poorly-sorted intervals near the lake margin. The latter units likely represent landslide deposits and subaqueous mass wasting events.
Fossil-hosting lacustrine sediments have been dated by various methods to between ~140,000 years ago and over 45,000 years ago.
Classification: Animalia, Chordata, Vertebrata, Mammalia, Proboscidea, Mammutidae
Locality: Snowmastodon site, Ziegler Reservoir, Snowmass Village, central Pitkin County, western Colorado, USA
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Site-specific info. mostly synthesized from:
Pigati et al. (2014) - Geologic setting and stratigraphy of the Ziegler Reservoir fossil site, Snowmass Village, Colorado. Quaternary Research 82: 477-489.
Mahan et al. (2014) - A geochronologic framework for the Ziegler Reservoir fossil site, Snowmass Village, Colorado. Quaternary Research 82: 490-503.
Sertich et al. (2014) - High-elevation Late Pleistocene (MIS 6-5) vertebrate faunas from the Ziegler Reservoir fossil site, Snowmass Village, Colorado. Quaternary Research 82: 504-517.
Fisher et al. (2014) - Taxonomic overview and tusk growth analyses of Ziegler Reservoir proboscideans. Quaternary Research 82: 518-532.
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See info. at:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastodon
and
bioLogic is growing living actuators and synthesizing responsive bio-skin in the era where bio is the new interface. Natto bacteria are harvested in a bio lab, assembled by a micron-resolution bio-printing system, and transformed into responsive fashion, a “Second Skin”. The synthetic bio-skin reacts to body heat and sweat, causing flaps around heat zones to open, enabling sweat to evaporate and cool down the body through an organic material flux.
credit: Florian Voggeneder
Futel radiation monitor. Select option 2, hold the sample to the monitor, and hear a recording of how many millisieverts per hour it is emitting on the handset.
We had been planning on running a hostile conference call, where every phone in the camp would be called at once and connected to the conference - an ancient prank phone call trick. But Shadytel had a hardware failure with the machine that was providing us SIP service, and we only had equipment to bridge one PSTN line to our VOIP box at a time. So instead we called every phone, randomly, one phone every minute, and had a synthesized voice read the current ambient radiation.
Led by Theme "Long-term Adaptation", the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) coordinated a side event on Agriculture in NAPs at the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP19) in Warsaw, Poland.
The side event reviewed the NAP process for climate change adaptation in the agriculture sector by synthesizing the experiences of 10 countries from Africa, Asia and Latin America, drawn from a 2-day workshop on NAPs and agriculture held in the days leading up to COP 19.
Photos: C.Schubert (CCAFS)
‘Roussillon’ - The French Railways - 1969
By Paul Chimera, former publicity director of the original Salvador Dali Museum of Beachwood, Ohio
Noted by many as one of the most beautiful villages in France, Roussillon – a stop along the French National Railway system – was the subject of one of six magnificent posters Salvador Dali was commissioned to create to help promote train travel.
Dali was a master at synthesizing a variety of visual elements to create a work of art greater than the sum of its parts. ‘Roussillon’ is a dynamic print that embodies Dali’s penchant for melding different elements in order to create a spectacular final impression.
Against a solid red background in the upper half of the print, we see the appearance of Dali’s famous masterwork, whose stupefying title – usually shortened to simply “The Perpignan Railway Station” – is “Pop, Op, Yes-Yes, Pompier in which one can contemplate the two anguishing characters from Millet’s ‘Angelus’ in a state of atavistic hibernation, standing out of a sky which can suddenly burst into a Gigantic Maltese Cross, right in the heart of the Perpignan Railway Station, where the Whole Universe must begin to converge.”
Dali developed something of an obsession with the railway station at Perpignan, a town about 150 miles from Roussillon, and through which Dali and his artwork would travel each year, at summer’s end, to Paris and then on to the United States. It’s the closest French railway station to Dali and Gala’s villa in Port Lligat, Spain. In fact, a large image of Dali – jumping in the same manner in which he depicted himself in the painting – appears as a statue on the roof of the station.
A key and stunning part of the huge “Perpignan Railway” painting is the giant Maltese Cross – painted in luminous gold – that stretches to the edges of the canvas. Here, in the “Roussillon” print, Dali extends the four points of the cross beyond the confines of the painting’s edges, running infinitely off the edges of the print.
The Maltese Cross helps lend a 3-dimensional effect to the “Perpignan” painting, which captures Dali’s declaration that it was there – at the station in Perpignan—where he discovered how to achieve three-dimensionality in painting. And where he pronounced that Perpignan was the center of the universe!
The large block of red over which all this appears was inspired by Dali’s awareness of the unique characteristics of Roussillon itself, which is noted for its large ochre deposits found in the clay surrounding the village. Ochres are pigments ranging from yellow and orange to red. This region of France is also noteworthy because of the curious shape of rock formations found in the region – always appealing to Dali, who gained so much of his inspiration from topographical surroundings. In fact, the color of the rocks in Roussillon’s mines mirrors the colors of the houses in the village itself, lending a special charm and appeal to Roussillon. It may also be significant to note that Roussillon is known for its bullfighting – a spectacle Dali enjoyed (and which his wife Gala detested!).
It’s not difficult, therefore, to see why “Roussillon” is an important print from Dali’s diverse print-making catalog.
As we turn our attention now to the lower half of the print, we find a large butterfly, standing sentry-like, casting a heavy shadow on a barren plain – again picking up the yellow hues consistent with the ochre of the earth. Three other images of the insect appear on the “Perpignan Railway Station” painting itself. Butterflies are seen frequently in Dali’s works, most typically symbolizing metamorphosis or transformation. Interestingly enough, butterflies appear in four of the other five prints in The French Railways print suite.
The butterfly is widely known as a multicultural symbol of nature’s beauty, as well as a representation of ethereal, sensual and heavenly qualities. And it’s not coincidental that the wings of the butterfly resemble the structure of the Maltese Cross – both underscoring the beauty of symmetry, which appealed to Dali’s respect for a certain orderly precision. In fact, was it intentional that the space formed between the legs of the foreground butterfly (in which we see a human figure) essentially forms a triangle, similar to the shape of the four parts of the cross? That’s open to the viewer’s own interpretation – a fact that lends such interest and fascination to most any work by Salvador Dali.
What’s perhaps a surer bet is that Dali no doubt was also trying to link the lightness and free-spiritedness of the butterfly to travel by train, as France was improving its rail system with a faster and more comfortable experience. In fact, in 1976, Dali sort of re-created the original Roussillon poster, this time supplanting the four glowing beams of the Maltese Cross with a collage of four high-speed train locomotives.
As a print, “Roussillon” affords the collector the opportunity of enjoying Dali as synthesizer, taking an image of one of his most important masterworks and combining it with other elements to help tell a story and convey a mood. The result adds up to quintessential Dali – bold, different, dynamic.