This week's links. Enjoy.
Women Artists of the Hudson River School
I would love to see this. Remember the Ladies: Women of the Hudson River School is an exhibition at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill, New York — it highlights the contributions of the 19th century women artists who ventured into the American wilderness, painting the scenery that inspired America’s first art movement. It runs until the end of October.
Hot on the Trail
A fascinating history of Alexis Soyer (1810-1858), inventor of the very first portable stove — one that will make you look at your little Coleman camping stove with new eyes. Via Cabinet magazine.
A $200 Million Contest to Save the World
Check out the beautifully designed infographic for GE's Ecomagination Challenge, an open call for ideas for saving the world. There's three categories — renewables, grid efficiency, and eco buildings — but the contest closes in four days, so hurry if you'd like to enter or vote. The reward for the best ideas is generous — $200 million in seed grants from top-tier venture capital funds. Via Co.Design.
Ultimate Comfort Reads
Author India Knight recently compiled a lovely list of comfort reads — books she describes as "... the literary equivalent of hot chocolate." Looking forward to discovering the titles new to me — and re-reading old favourites, too.
Inside Mad Men
This month's Rolling Stone magazine has a great series of photos on the set of Mad Men — follow the link to see a sampling. Beautifully shot — and a fascinating glimpse at how it's made.
An Ode to Eggplant
Monica Bhide shares childhood memories of eating eggplant, how she's wooed eggplant skeptics — and offers some delicious recipes, too. Yum.
Graphic Content
Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth is also the co-founder (with editor/publisher Eva Prinz) of Ecstatic Peace Library, which features art, design, photography and poetry books — including Fly Me by Yoko Ono, a limited-edition book and box of kites, each with a kite frame, strings, instructions on flying and a message from Ono. Very cool.
Terra Infirma: The Rise and Fall of Quicksand
Not long ago audiences used to watch in thrilled horror as the movie hero battled to escape the treacherous clutches of quicksand. Daniel Engber has a look at why it's fallen out of cinematic fashion — and some curious sidelights of the quicksand phenomenon, too.
(photo from remodelista via brydie brown)