[gemmoides]

More than 400 million years ago plants had barely colonized the land. New terrestrial forms consisted of hardly anything other than stems. Roots and leaves had evolved. While the wide open emptiness of land on Earth wouldn’t last very long, it was at this time ripe for the taking. A fungus called Prototaxites towered more than 24 feet (8m) over most of the land plants of the Silurian Period and was as much as three feet (1m) wide. (via)

[gemmoides]

(#NSFW)

EXTERLIEN (エクスタリアン) D.O. Corp, 1990

[gemmoides]

The genius puppetry behind War Horse

"Puppets always have to try to be alive," says Adrian Kohler of the Handspring Puppet Company, a gloriously ambitious troupe of human and wooden actors. Beginning with the tale of a hyena's subtle paw, puppeteers Kohler and Basil Jones build to the story of their latest astonishment: the wonderfully life-like Joey, the War Horse, who trots (and gallops) convincingly onto the TED stage.

“An actor struggles to die on stage, a puppet has to struggle to live.”

[gemmoides]

“The Owl” by I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness

animated by Emmanuel Ho

[gemmoides]

Net-winged midges (Diptera: Blephariceridae) are one of the most distinctive and specialized insect families.  The immature stages of these flies are highly specialized for life in the cascades, rapids, and waterfalls of mountain streams.  (via)

[gemmoides]

The Tortoise automaton

(Source : PAGÈS Créateur d'automates)

The “Tortoise” automaton is the result of several years of work that have gone into the search for excellence. All the parts that go into the movement — a total of over 300 — were produced by craftsmen in the greatest respect of watchmaking traditions. Great care has been given to the finishing : hand bevelling, guilloche work, Côtes de Genève.

The shell was engraved and enameled by craftsmen in the area. The shell, the legs and the head are made out of 18-cts gold. Diamonds have been inserted in the claws and the eyes are decorated with sapphires. A key is used to wind up the Tortoise which then moves forward while moving its legs and head.

... The tortoise is the emblem of longevity, wisdom and perseverance, values that Raúl Pagès seeks to express in his automata.

[gemmoides]

Ys III: Wanderers from Ys (イースIII – ワンダラーズフロムイース Īsu Surī – Wandarāzu Furomu Īsu)  Nihon Falcon,1989

[gemmoides]

The  Sea Organ (morske orgulje) is is a natural musical instrument, seventy meters long with  thirty-five organ pipes built under the concrete. The musical pipes are located so that the sea water and wind movements  produce musical sounds that are heard by passers by so that it achieves a communication  with nature and promotes a unity of architecture and environment. As sea forces  and energies are unpredictable in terms of tides and winds, this organ offers   never-ending concert of numerous musical variations in which the performer is  nature itself.

(via)

[gemmoides]

“Colibri is a wooden kinetic sculpture that simulates the motion of a hummingbird in flight. Every element of motion has been completely mechanized, from the beating wings to the flaring tail. Intricate systems of linkages and cams bring the sculpture to life with a continuous flow of meticulously timed articulations. As each mechanism has been linked to the next, Colibri cycles through its complete range of motions by the simple turn of a crank.“

(via http://www.derekhugger.com/colibri.html)

[gemmoides]

The Room of Endangered and Extinct Species

“Like most natural history museums, the Grande Galerie de l'Évolution in Paris is a swarm of children and corralling parents, all trailing through the stunning exhibitions of taxidermy elephants and whale skeletons. However, up on the second level you'll find a room that isn't frequented as much, where the lights are barely on. In each of the wood and glass cases is a creature that is disappearing, or already gone.

La Salle des Espèces Menacées et des Espèces Disparues, or the Room of Endangered and Extinct Species, has 257 specimens from the animal and plant kingdoms. Many are the only remaining examples of their species, such as the skeleton of a black emu. Others represent a species that is on the brink of obliteration, including the Sumatran tiger . . .

It's a haunting experience to walk through the hall, with most visitors struck silent by the assemblage of these ghosts . . . Yet more than a memorial, the space is meant to be a call to action, to consider what has been forever lost, but also what can be saved.” (source)

[gemmoides]

The Terrible Thing of Alpha-9!

[gemmoides]

Uninvited (1986)