Barry Rosenthal spends time collecting junk from beaches and organizing it into something beautiful, like this monochromatic look at bottles and other green objects. Check out more of Rosenthal’s work over at Slate. And also: Hurry! Go empty out the nearest garbage bag in case you’re missing something beautiful.
Volkswagen Sphere
Artist Ichwan Noor made this sculpture: yes, it’s a real 1953 Volkswagen Beetle, combined with aluminum and polyester, and rolled up into a sphere. It’s also an awesome series, which includes cube cars, too.
Sound Art
Sound artist Zimoun made this lovely noise installation out of a chemical tank: 329 motors with cotton balls attached bounce against the side, making a sound like a lot–_a lot_–of rain on a tin roof. Watch a video and listen to the project here.
Faces In The Clouds
Studio Shinseungback Kimyonghun created Cloud Faces, software that does exactly what you’d expect it to do: recognize faces in clouds like a kid lying down on a park bench. It seems to be pretty good at it, too, judging by this collection it spotted.
Pothole Spotter
So you’re pedaling your bike along, perhaps for a casual night-time ride, when, whoops, there’s a pothole that takes you out. If only there were some way to stop this! Well, here’s one idea: a team from Sichuan University in China created this design concept for LEDs that form a grid on the ground, mapping inconsistencies in the road. It’s still just a concept, though, so not available for purchase yet. How many more wipe outs have to happen before this is a reality?
Tiny Paper World
Photographer/photo manipulator Zev creates beautiful miniature worlds. Oh, and he’s also 14 years old. He’s been doing this since he was 8, and in the past couple years started sharing his work, under the screen name Fiddle Oak, on his excellent Flickr page.
A Human Cocoon
British designer Freyja Sewell created Hush, a human cocoon made from biodegradable materials that people can use to work or rest in private. By the time they come out, the people have transmogrified into beautiful butterflies are totally refreshed.
Black Hole Jets
Astronomers created this composite image of a black hole in the center of a distant galaxy. Space debris gets pulled into the black hole and, occasionally, spewed back outward in jets, visible here. Through an X-ray spectrum view, you can also see the million-degree-plus gas glowing at the center.
Soyuz Liftoff
Earlier this week, a Soyuz rocket took off, launching a multi-national team of three astronauts toward the International Space Station. Here they are, space-bound.
