This is the village of Dozza, a small but remarkable town in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. Dozza hosts a biannual art festival, called the Muro Dipinto, inviting muralists from the far reaches of the world to adorn the stucco walls of this medieval enclave. Murals are almost necessarily public-facing, and as a result, often take on more spiritual and/or political themes. Murals and frescos have long been a source of Italian national pride, historical tradition, and technological innovation. In the 14th century, a technology developed in Italy called Fresco Secco would result in artists being able to capture a level of realism previously unattainable using traditional fresco methods. Immersive Artistic Expression Fresco secco provided several advantages over the prevailing method of the day, which required the muralist to commit pigment to plaster while the plaster was still drying. This meant that muralists had to paint within a very confined and hurried window, and revisions would not be possible once the plaster set. In many ways, The Last Supper represented the culmination of the fresco secco method. And while it is easy to get lost in the obscurity of technological shop talk, it is important to understand […]
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The Temezcal has become an increasingly fashionable “spiritual”, “cleansing”, and “restorative” practice, even among some of America’s well-heeled elites. The metaphor of a grown man sliding through a brick and mortar uterus notwithstanding, a Temezcal, that is, a Mesoamerican steambath ceremony evokes thoughts of Plato’s Cave Allegory and evangelical “spiritual rebirth” dunking ceremonies. That said, this particular moment of “rebirth” was a bit marred by what preceded it. At the beginning of the ceremony, rocks were stoked in a nearby fire and brought into the dark and dank interior. Some unintelligible chanting ensued while water was added to the hot rocks at the center of the “house of heat”. For the cynic in me, witnessing white “new age” sweat lodge acolytes was a bit much without any additional irregularities. As steam started to envelop this womb-like space, I noticed an illuminated rectangle piercing the ethereal space like an apparition. At first glance, I wasn’t sure what it was. But as my mind started eliminating the possibilities, it became unambiguous: it was an iPad in a waterproof case. My uncontrollable laughter reverberated through space like a fart in a yoga studio, that is, it cut through the silly solemnity of what […]
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“I crashed into a South American mountain and lived — without ever leaving my couch” - the title of a wonderful review by Stav Dimitropoulos at Experience mag for our Patagonia VR app. Thanks Experience Mag for the coverage - we’re glad to hear you enjoyed it!
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As we approach President Trump’s ego-fueled fireworks extravaganza, it is important not to overlook the history of the garish Mount Rushmore monument, its sordid historical roots, and that of the national and state park system more broadly. Though it is unreasonable to expect a man that barely reads to understand the historical implications of throwing a campaign infomercial at Mount Rushmore, American’s ought to understand how provocative such an act is to the Sioux in particular, and Native-Americans generally. The history of Mount Rushmore and it’s role in Ethnic Cleansing The Black Hills from which Mount Rushmore was carved sat on land, codified in the Sioux Treaty of 1868, granted to the Sioux “in perpetuity”, that is, until George Armstrong Custer and his 7th Cavalry expedition reported gold deposits in the Black Hills in 1874. By 1876 the Sioux were ordered to vacate the Black Hills or be deemed “hostile” intruders. White prospectors would flock to the Black Hills in droves, forcibly displacing the Sioux in the process. By 1911, the park would be given “game preserve” status, thereby cutting off yet another vital economic resource from the Sioux, and subsequently named Custer State Park in 1919. To date, it is […]
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If you don't believe climate change has serious implications for humanity, I have a Believe Big, Receive Big "20-day devotional" self-help program from Joel Osteen to sell you that will entirely transform your life!
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The travel publication TravelMag selected us for one of the 10 Best Virtual Reality Travel Apps for our work on Patagonia VR. Thanks TravelMag for the coverage and vote of confidence!
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Who would have thought it would take a global pandemic to reveal the whereabouts of Tupac Shakur. For those children of the 90s, one would have expected a remote island in the Caribbean, but as it turns out, Tupac has been hiding in plain sight in Lexington, Kentucky.
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Yosemite National Park is — until further notice — closed to the general public. As there is clearly still a collective yearning to hit the trail, we thought we would bring you this serene slice of Yosemite Creek. This small secluded pool is about three clicks (or kilometers) from Upper Yosemite Falls...
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It is more than just a race, it’s a coming together of a community for a common purpose, and that is, the celebration of the human spirit in its pluckiest of forms! This part of the country is known for its work ethic...
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Humans are about as savvy at assessing risk as they are at predicting the weather. And while we have models that have the predictive capacity to inform better public policy for events like pandemics and natural disasters, politicians get more credit for handling preventable crises...
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