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This mind-blowing piece of transparent graffiti by Milane Ramsi makes a cement pillar disappear, leaving only 3D letters spelling the artist’s name backwards. Where some people may see a simple concrete pillar, Ramsi spied his next canvas, completing the work in Carlsbad, Czech Republic in just under a week. 

Since the image was posted on Reddit, speculation about how the illusion was created has been running rampant, but process images shared by the artist demonstrate the build up of background color to create the special effect, which works best from a single perspective. Playing with optics and perspective has a long tradition in painting—think Hans Holbein—with graffiti and street artists being no exception. Charged with working in public space and engaging with the environments, these artists often use optical illusions to great effect.

Work in progress:

Different images of the finished piece:

Image via Michael Rund

Image via Luiza Kazi

Milane Ramsi: Facebook | Instagram
via [Laughing Squid, Reddit]

All images via Milane Ramsi except where noted.

They say that life imitates art—and, as evident in filmmaker Vugar Efendi’s passionate project, Film Meets Art II, apparently the silver screen does, too.

As a film fanatic, Vugar writes, directs, produces, and edits short videos. His eclectic portfolio presents a wide range of material, from documentaries to experimental compilations. Earlier this year, he released Film Meets Art, a captivating piece that explores the relationship between fine art and cinema. Featuring excerpts from well-known movies like Django Unchained and Psycho as well as work from renowned painters like Leonardo da Vinci and Sandro Botticelli, the three-minute film combines two of Vugar’s passions: art and, of course, film.  Following the project’s success—and Vugar’s claim that “there are plenty of movies more to include”—he debuted a second installment, Film Meets Art II.

Like its prequel, Film Meets Art II features skillfully compiled, side-by-side comparisons of well-known movie scenes and the iconic paintings that inspired them. While the likeness between some of the juxtaposed works is obvious—like the sentimental scene from Steven Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun and the nearly identical Norman Rockwell painting that served as its muse—others are a bit less clear, like The Exorcist’s subtle reinterpretation of René Magritte’s L’Empire des lumières, and Metropolis’ understated homage to Brugel.

Whether crystal clear or more surprising, each captivating comparison spotlights Vugar’s astute and artistic eye, and once again illustrates his belief that “all art forms feed off from each other, and film is no different.”

Above image: Jacques-Louis David, Napoleon Crossing the Alps (1801) and Sofia Coppola, Marie Antionette (2006)

Jacques-Louis David, La mort de Marat (1793) and Alexander Payne, About Schmidt (2002)

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, La petite baigneuse – Intérieur de harem (1828) and Jean-Luc Godard, Passion (1982)

Jean-Hippolyte Flandrin, Jeune homme nu assis au bord de la mer (1836) and Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood (2007)

Norman Rockwell, Freedom from Fear (1943) and Steven Spielberg, Empire of the Sun (1987)

John Constable, Malvern Hall, Warwickshire (1809) and Stanley Kubrick, Barry Lyndon (1975)

Otto Dix, Portrait of the Journalist Sylvia von Harden (1926) and Bob Fosse, Cabaret (1972)

René Magritte, L’Empire des lumières (1954) and William Friedkin, The Exorcist (1973)

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Hunters in the Snow (1565) and Andrei Tarkovsky, The Mirror (1975)

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Tower of Babel (1563) and Fritz Lang, Metropolis (1927)

Vugar Efendi: Website | Vimeo | Youtube

My Modern Met granted permission to use media by Vugar Efendi.

Instead of constantly reaching for her phone and snapping her reflection in selfie mode, Michigan-based photographer Esha Biswas prefers to capture herself and the world around her in a more unconventional kind of mirror. For over four years, Biswas has taken over 30 self-portraits through the shiny surface of a tea kettle. For her, it is this unlikely prop that instills the mission of her project—to find the extraordinary in the most ordinary places.

“I was fascinated by the way the kettle stretched and transformed the world around me; it seemed to contain a whole little world inside of it, with my figure always at the center of the globe. Even familiar places, like bedrooms and backyards, were warped into whimsical reflections,” Biswas told us in an email. Her first portrait was taken at a transitional time in her life—just before graduating high school. The tea kettle has continued to travel with Biswas on her journey through time and space, and provides a comfort and a unique lens to keep her outlook fresh at all times. She’s carried the kettle with her to various settings, from her hometown to her dorm room at University of Michigan to the lamplit streets of Paris where she spent two months photographing French life and culture. 

Biswas’ ongoing series, The Tea Kettle Adventures, is growing as it lives and breathes alongside her. The artist’s portraits document the significant changes in her own life—from the changing of seasons to the many travels she embarks on, as well as the most significant moments and memories, such as graduation. Through her photography, Biswas’ hope is to “urge people to look more closely at the world around them—even if it means looking at a pot of tea.”

You can see more of The Tea Kettle Adventures on Esha Biswas’ website.

Esha Biswas: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Tumblr

My Modern Met granted permission to use photos by Esha Biswas.

This past summer, we featured a special cat-friendly hoodie that’s designed to tote your favorite feline around in style. The sleeveless garment featured a padded kangaroo pocket that holds a furry friend, along with drawstrings that double as toys for their entertainment. UNIHABITAT, the hoodie manufacturer, has updated this ingenious design to account for cooler temperatures—they added sleeves—and more importantly, bigger kitties.

Called the Large Pocket Mewgaroo Hoodie, this new front pouch is double the size of the smaller Summer Mewgaroo Hoodie. It can accommodate 12 liters (3 gallons) and spans the width of the garment. There’s a cozy, removable liner that can be pulled out and cleaned to help manage any shedding cat hair. Another human-friendly feature is a back-saver—UNIHABITAT has installed internal shoulder straps to help support you as you carry around the furry (but probably heavy) friend.

Like the Summer Mewgaroo Hoodie, this product is currently available from Amazon Japan, but doesn’t ship outside of the country.

If you don’t have a cat, this sweatshirt doubles as a grocery bag:

UNIHABITAT: Website | Facebook
via [RocketNews24]

Glasgow-based illustrator and graphic designer Jack Daly has developed the first five letters in a clever typographic collection called Wanderlust Alphabet. In this series, each alphabet letter is created to represent a specific city in the world. Drawing upon eye-striking landmarks, national customs and food, architecture, flags, flora, fauna, and pop culture, he beautifully blends the unique features of each city to form the letters. Even the color tones are warm or cool depending on each city’s personality and local spirit. A is for Amsterdam, B is for Barcelona, and D is for Dublin—the series is as much an inventive opportunity to learn the alphabet as well as a way to express city pride.

Daly’s alphabet is inspired by his love of travel, and so each letter is based on a city which he has visited. “Eventually,” he explains on Instagram, “some might be cities I want to [visit].” The alphabet is in its early stages, but there is much room for growth. Daly hints that once his alphabet is complete, there will be “lots of potential in spelling out [city names] and animation too.”

Keep an eye out for the next installment of Daly’s colorful Wanderlust Alphabet.

B is for Barcelona

C is for Copenhagen

D is for Dublin

E is for Edinburgh

Which cities should Daly draw next?

Jack Daly: Instagram | Twitter | Behance
via [We and the Color]

Artist Erin Hanson is known for expressing her love of the outdoors through vibrant landscape paintings. Using her contemporary technique of Open-Impressionism (a unique blend of Impressionism and Expressionism), she allows un-muddled hues and thick, energetic brushstrokes to showcase the grandiose beauty of locales like the National Parks. Continuing with this nature-driven theme, she’s recently produced paintings that focus on the color orange.

“I am always looking for ways to push myself artistically and challenge the way I think about color and composition,” she writes. “I came up with the idea of focusing on a single color for a whole collection as a way to really delve into the boundaries of ‘orange’ and explore how this color can be used in different landscapes to create an emotional impact.”

Orange cloaks the American West in both high and low ground. From towering mountainscapes to fall foliage to the base of rolling hills, this warm glow symbolizes the passage of time—the rising and setting sun as well as the changing seasons. Hanson’s meditation on orange demonstrates how it seeps into our lives so inconspicuously that we might not notice it, but her paintings are a beautiful reminder of its presence.

These new works are part of Hanson’s aptly-titled exhibition, The Orange Show. Set against midnight-blue walls, the pieces will be displayed at The Erin Hanson Gallery in Los Angeles from October 1 to October 28, 2016.

Erin Hanson: Website | Facebook | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to use photos by Erin Hanson.

Halfway between Iceland and Norway lies the rugged Faroe Islands. This windy and wet archipelago is home to the curious Lake Sørvágsvatn, a body of water that appears as if it’s situated hundreds of feet above the ocean. At first glance, it hardly seems real—Sørvágsvatn could easily find its place in an M.C. Escher drawing.

This, however, is a mind-bending optical illusion made possible with a well-positioned photograph. Taken at the right angle, the cliff seems enormous with the lake on the same level. In reality, Sørvágsvatn is only 30 meters (98 feet) above sea level, whereas the rock is 100 meters high (328 feet). Once you’re looking at it from another direction, the two seem less surreal.

Along the banks of Sørvágsvatn there are a couple of small towns with amazing opportunities for fishing. If you’re interested in seeing this sight for itself, the Faroe Islands are no more than a two hour plane ride from Denmark, Scotland, Iceland and Norway.

Above photo credit: InterTim

Photo credit: Didymus21

Photo credit: @thefella

Photo credit: Eileen Sandá

Photo credit: @thefella

Photo credit: Jeroen Weymiens

Photo credit: @thefella

Photo source: FFFFOUND

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKqwkppBEj4?rel=0&w=750&h=422]

via [Elite Reader]

Inspired by the dainty doily, street artist NeSpoon is known for her delicate designs that adorn—and subsequently spruce up—public spaces around the world.

Like in the past, the Warsaw-based artist and lover-of-lace fashions pieces that mimic the fine fabric’s elaborate patterns and fragile aesthetic. In an email, she tells us: “I create works that are somewhere in between street art, pottery, painting, and sculpture.” She produces an array of works with a range of materials. Using a classic combination of stencils and spray paint, she transforms plain facades and simple walls into canvases covered in whimsical patterns. She also molds site-specific ceramics that dress up everything from a conspicuous crack in the pavement to a tree trunk, as well as large-scale, crocheted installations that liven up dark corners with brilliant geometric spiderwebs.

So, why lace? “Because in laces there is an aesthetic code,” she explains, “which is deeply embedded in every culture. In every lace we find symmetry, some kind of order and harmony. Isn’t that what we all seek for instinctively?”  

Clearly more than meets the eye, NeSpoon uses her light and lacy art to channel and spread positivity—one doily at a time. 

NeSpoon: Behance | Facebook

My Modern Met granted permission to use photos by NeSpoon.

Yalonda and Kayla Solseng found their “princess charming” in one another, and like many in couples in love, decided to get married. To celebrate their engagement, they emphasized this fairytale feeling with a romantic photo shoot. Both the women dressed up as Disney princesses—Kayla as Belle from Beauty and the Beast while Yalonda donned Cinderella’s iconic blue dress—as photographer Taylor Snyder snapped the enchanting images. The resulting series features adoring looks and sweet kisses, with a little magic sprinkled throughout: the smiling Mrs. Potts tea set accompanies the ladies, and Snyder worked Cinderella’s feathered friends into a shot.

The theme was fitting for the couple, who have bonded over the TV show Once Upon a Time ever since they started dating two and a half years ago. “That show rewrites fairytales and this was our modern-day fairytale,” Kayla told The Huffington Post. Yalanda even worked in a classic line from these timeless stories into her proposal. “I asked Kayla, ‘Will you be my happily ever after?’” Yalanda recalled. “Of course she said ‘yes’ and cried.”

These images have gone viral after first being shared online, and they send a powerful reminder that love is love. “Gay marriage has been legalized in the U.S. for over a year and we hardly have gay or lesbian characters in children’s movies—let alone them being main characters,” Yalonda explained. “Kids want to be the characters they grow up with but when none of the characters represent you, then you feel alone. I want our photos to be shown to kids and families as a way of saying it’s okay to be who you are. It’s okay to be with the person you love.”

Taylor Synder Art & Photography: Facebook
via [The Huffington Post]

Women have a ton of options when it comes to wearing hair accessories. Men? Not so much—and this is especially true for their beards. Krato Milano is changing that with the “first ever jewelry collection for bearded men.” Known as a “jewel for the beard,” the designs feature tiny emblems—a skull and an anchor—that firmly attach onto a guy’s facial hair. The pieces are subtle but have a noticeable gold or silver glitz once the light strikes.

After over a year of design and development, Krato Milano has produced a functional triangular clip that hangs onto the hair and holds the jewelry in place. It’s shaped as a twisting spiral that catches the strands within its structure, ensuring that the hold is durable yet comfortable. They’ve tested the design on various beard types—including size, thickness, and texture—and it works across the board. However, they recommended that men have a minimum of one inch of hair before wearing the jewel.

Krato Milano sees the beard as an untapped canvas for self expression, perfect for those who want to display their individuality in an unconventional way. They’ve taken to Kickstarter to help launch the product and are now taking pre-orders for delivery in December 2016.

Krato Milano: Website | Instagram | Facebook | Kickstarter
via [Bored Panda]