The Woman Who Slept at the Top of the Eiffel Tower

It started out simply enough. At the age of 17, the artist Sophie Calle dropped out of university where one of her professors was Jean Baudrillard – yes, the philosopher – and spent the next seven years travelling through the French mountains, then Crete, China, the United States, and Mexico. When she returned to Paris,…

The Strange, Unspoken Glorification of Sexual Assault in Art History

There’s something not quite right about that painting, wouldn’t you say? The many depictions of Leda and the Swan are hanging on the walls of some of the most prestigious museums and galleries across the world, and yet, there’s a conversation we’re not having. The Greek myth in which the Spartan queen Leda is seduced…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. DXCIV)

1. When Architects design Dollhouses In 1983 Architecutral Design Magazine launched a competition to for architects to design a doll house. Found in a book and scanned by Present & Correct. 2. These virtual reconstructions of archaeological buildings Adam Nemeth has been working as a 3D artist specializing in archaeological renderings for a decade. Follow his…

The Suffragette Who Turned British Society Ladies Into Greek Goddesses

Before Polaroids and Kodak colour, before we could snap a selfie and pass it through a colour filter with a click of a button, there was Vivex. If you’ve never heard of it, you’re not alone. The Vivex colour process was produced in just one British factory that shut down at the start of World…

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Paris Inspiration & Events Guide for Spring and Summer 2022

It begins with the first sightings of cherry blossoms, those warm evenings that take you by surprise and before you know it, Spring is here. Paris is finally swinging open its doors, polishing its wine glasses and getting its groove back. As always, we’re here to accompany you with a little inspiration and guidance as…

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Lulu White and her Belle Epoque Mansion of Interracial Sex Work

In New Orleans, stories seem to seep out of the soggy ground. Something about the heady mix of influences– African, Caribbean, Native American and French – against a landscape of backwaters and bayous creates a culture of permissiveness where characters invent the most outlandish versions of themselves in ways that would be dismissed as implausible…

Not Your Granny’s Old China: Her Plates Tell Stories of Feminist Rebellion

How might one celebrate International Women’s Day? Why not stick it to the patriarchy while simultaneously feasting on feminist chinaware. Ceramicist Pollyanna Johnson runs her cottage studio in the landscapes of Sussex, England, and claims the pastoral, rolling hills of her homeland as her first muse before “her experience of being a woman, and portraits…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. DXCIII)

1. The Home of architect Vittorio Garatti in Milano Designed in 1989. Found on Archilovers. Additional imagery by Federicotorra.com. 2. Italian Panoramic Trains in 1950-51 Renzo Zavanella designed the “Belvedere”, the “O.M. 990”. Found here. 3. This Space age Petrol Station in Ukraine An ex Lada gas and now Avias petrol station in Kviv. Found…

She was Ukraine’s Folk Art Heroine

One of the most heartbreaking cultural losses of the conflict in the Ukraine is the Ivankiv Historical and Local History Museum, which Russian forces burned down. Most notably in the Kyiv collection are 25 works by Ukrainian folk artist Maria Prymachenko, who garnered international acclaim for her decorative paintings honouring her country’s heritage. We’re taking…

The Maximalist Hippies Who Brought Drag to the Mainstream

On New Year’s Eve in 1969, drag as we know it came kicking and screaming into the world. Just before the midnight movie at the Pagoda Palace, the raucous sounds of Offenbach’s can-can crackled over the speaker system. Out sprang a chaotic kick-line of queers in ragged vintage dresses with glitter in their beards and…