Aesthetic Archives - Page 5 of 5

Top 10 Album Covers

January 12, 2021 by szachik@pvs.org 1 Comment

For this next “Aesthetic” post, Blogger Jake Sonderman incorporated his passion for music and compiled a list of his 10 favorite album covers.

By Jake Sonderman

This is a list of my top 10 album covers of all time. I did not take into account the album’s popularity or musical content, only how much I like to look at the cover art.

10. Iron Maiden – Piece of Mind

Iron Maiden is the only major band that comes to my mind that has a character on every single album cover. Steve Harris, the bassist and founding member, says the character comes from a mask they used to call “the head,” and they’re British so it was like, “the ed,” and they started calling the mask Eddie. There is even a video game built around Eddie.

9. The Who – Who’s next

A monolith and destruction for miles. This apocalyptic cover is simple. If you look closely, the guys are zipping up their shorts, and there are stains on the monolith. I’m not sure exactly what the message is, but man that is a cool cover.

8. Beastie Boys – Licensed to Ill

Beastie Boys - Licensed To Ill (1986, Vinyl) | Discogs

Beastie Boys - Licensed to Ill Lyrics and Tracklist | Genius

Of course, when you first look at this album you only see the front side. This is a clean and pristine lookin’ tail of a plane, pretty cool on its own. Then you flip it over to the plane crashing on the back side. The front is cool, but the connection to the surprising, chaotic back makes this a top 10.

7. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication

This album cover takes a bit of unpacking. For a while I thought the pool was lava because I never gave it more than a glance. The pool is really the sky during a sunset, and the sky is more obviously the water. The message is simply how backwards life in California is.

6. Led Zeppelin – Houses of the Holy

Creating Art from Failure: The 'Houses of the Holy' Album Cover | by David Deal | Festival Peak

Despite what many say, this is not a bunch of kids in blonde wigs. This mysterious album cover meant to mimic Arthur C. Clarke’s novel Childhood’s End was photographed multiple times with two blonde children, at sunrise and sunset. Truly genius.

5. Janelle Monáe: Dirty Computer

On 'Dirty Computer,' Janelle Monáe Reveals Herself, Sort Of | The ARTery

I couldn’t find a ton of backstory on this art, but I really like it. The color scheme is intoxicating, and every little detail pops out. It’s almost like when I look at it I have to back up and open my eyes more to really take it in.

4. Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures

Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures (180 Gram Vinyl) - Amazon.com Music

This is arguably the most iconic album cover of all time, but that’s not why I chose it. For a long time people speculated where this album art, seen on millions of t-shirts, came from (before the internet). Bernard Sumner from Joy Division found this image in the Manchester Central Library. He was searching for inspiration, and found this image in the The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Astronomy. It was the “stacked plots” of the radio emissions of a rotating neutron star.

3. Pink Floyd – Ummagumma

Ummagumma by Pink Floyd – top psychedelic album No. 22

This album was designed by popular English design company, Hipgnosis. They’ve designed album covers for more famous rock bands than any other design company, and this is my favorite art that they’ve done. The more I look at this cover the more I discover. If you look closely, in each “picture inside a picture” the bandmates have switched positions. This might be because the album is a combination of songs written by the individual band members.

2. Motley Crue – Too Fast For Love

Motley Crue - Too Fast For Love - Amazon.com Music

In case you didn’t already figure it out, this is a very clever copy of the Rolling Stones’s album cover art for Sticky Fingers. This is truly the album cover for all of 80s rock: all leather, studs, and spikes.

1. The Clash – London Calling

The Clash - London Calling (1979, Vinyl) | Discogs

I’m not sure anybody but Evan would agree with me on this one, but this is truly a masterful album cover. So much so that people know this album cover better than the album cover it is imitating. This is a play on Elvis Presley’s name album from 1956, but instead of playing his guitar like Elvis’s cover, Paul Simonon is smashing his bass. Truly Punk.

Aesthetics Editor: Elizabeth Shay

Celtic Costume or Soldier’s Skirt?

January 11, 2021 by szachik@pvs.org 3 Comments

Blogger Evan Spry has explored his culture in several articles. With his newest post, he dives into a traditional Scottish aesthetic, focusing on perhaps the most famous symbol of the culture: the kilt.

By Evan Spry

Since the end of the 16th century, Scots have been embracing and promoting their traditional culture to everyone by brandishing their skirt-like kilts. Very few cultural traditions have been able to infiltrate popular culture like that of the kilt. The Scottish kilt is such a popular symbol of Scottish culture that I guarantee the first thing an average person thinks when they think of Scotland is the famous kilt. But why are these kilts so popular? Well, for one, they’re comfortable because of their ergonomic and breathable design. The other reason is that the second a man puts on a kilt he transforms into a handsome, Gaelic warrior.

This popular traditional aesthetic has not changed very much since its debut in the 16th century. In the beginning, kilts were worn as full-length garments by the Gaelic men of the Northern Scottish Highlands. Apparently, “The word ‘kilt’ is a derivation of the ancient Norse word, kjilt, which means pleated, and refers to clothing that is tucked up and around the body” (authenticireland.com). The men’s kilts back then were also a little more risque than the modern version is now, as they usually cut off way before the knee. Nowadays, the majority of kilts you’ll see worn will go below the knee. These kilts were made “using self-colored garments, which were white or dull brown, green or black as opposed to the multicolored plaids or tartan designs recognized today” (authenticireland.com). As more efficient kilt-making techniques were introduced around the 1800s, a new tartan pattern was developed. The tartan cloth was dyed and designed in criss-crossed lines.

The plaid pattern never gets cut off in a traditional kilt.

History of the Kilt

Unfortunately, the power of the kilt grew too strong for the British monarchy. The kilt-wearing Scots launched a rebellion in the Highlands. So the British Parliament imposed the Dress Act of 1746. This act, steered by King George II, made it illegal to wear the beloved Scottish kilt. By the time the Dress Act was repealed in 1782, it was already too late for many kilt-wearing Scots. As decades of harsh enforcement didn’t allow the traditional kilt, many got used to not wearing them at all. However, this was not the end of the kilt. Since King George banned them almost completely on the basis that they represented Scottish culture and allegiance, they became iconic symbols of national pride for the Scots. Soon, this love for kilts gave way to the creation of specific tartan patterns for specific Scottish clans. The image above is the design for my family’s tartan kilt, which represents the Johnston/Johnstone clan. And, since I’m at least one quarter Scottish, I have enough Gaelic blood to wear our family kilt. Although I do not own any Johnston clan kilts, I would love to in the future.

In conclusion, the traditional Scottish aesthetic of kilt-wearing will live on indefinitely as a symbol of national pride. I found it super interesting finding out about the traditional “aesthetic” that my ancestors showed off. I encourage you to find out what your ancestors wore as their “aesthetic” because I’m willing to bet it’s probably pretty weird.

Source

https://www.authenticireland.com/scottish+kilts/

Aesthetic Editor: Elizabeth Shay

What to Expect in a Laboratory

January 8, 2021 by szachik@pvs.org Leave a Comment

Elizabeth tasked the Blog Staff with writing about “Aesthetic.” Erik chose to write about a science aesthetic and what you might find in his future lab.

Workrite Uniform Company: Top 5 Lab Safety Tips - Workplace Material Handling & Safety

The Lab Uniform

Laboratory uniforms may vary depending on what research is being conducted and/or what substances are being handled. But the basics (pre-COVID) are safety goggles, medical gloves, and a white lab coat. All aspects of the uniform are made to protect the wearer as much as possible in case of lab accidents. The safety goggles prevent harmful substances from entering the eyes. Medical gloves help prevent researchers from being contaminated by bacteria (this is especially true for doctors dealing with infected patients). The lab coat itself is made of cotton so it can absorb substances before they reach the skin.

How and Why to Balance Your Centrifuge | Vetlab Supplies Ltd

The Centrifuge

Centrifuges are used to separate particles from a solution of a sample. Separation varies depending on the sample’s shape, density, size, viscosity, and the centrifuge’s rotor speed. According to labmanager.com, while the sample(s) spin, “gravitational force will cause particles of higher density than the solvent to sink, and those less dense than the solvent to float to the top.”

COVID-19 helped this small syringe business boom. Then came the taxpayer-backed windfall.

The Syringes

One of the more simple tools of lab aesthetics are syringes. The concept of a syringe is very simple; it is a tool that can either withdraw or inject fluid into a body or sample. Syringes are fitted with a plunger that can either withdraw (with upward movement) or inject fluids (with downward movement). Syringes are often single-use because the needles often contain a little bit of the sample they were used on. If a blood sample is infected, and the blood comes in contact with the needle, anyone who sticks that needle in their arm can be infected with numerous blood diseases such as AIDs and HIV.

Borosilicate Griffin Beakers – Cambridge Environmental Products, Inc.

The Beakers

Beakers come in many shapes and sizes and are used to hold and measure various substances. Individually, glass beakers are fairly cheap; you can find them in stores such as Walmart and JCPenny for low prices.

The Microscope

As I’m sure you probably know, microscopes are used to enlarge images of small objects. Standard microscopes are used to analyse organic structures, but the strongest microscopes can be used at the cellular or even molecular level.

A culture plate (1887) | British Society for Immunology

The Petri Dish

Microbiologists are certainly familiar with the petri dish. Petri dishes are primarily used to grow and study cultures of microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. Being able to study these microorganisms allows scientists to better understand how they work and how these discoveries can help the world.

The Chemicals

The chemicals found in labs widely vary depending on the type of research being conducted. But, generally, chemicals are used to preserve samples and run tests.

Want to live for ever? Flush out your zombie cells | Ageing | The Guardian

The Test Subject(s)

Last but not least, every scientist’s favorite part of their career: experimenting on innocent creatures! Seriously though, when creating new medical drugs and therapy, scientists must test their work rigorously before their invention moves onto human trials. The best test subjects are ones that are in large abundance and able to reproduce quickly. The subjects must also be very similar to humans. Because of these qualities, mice often make the best test subjects. Mice share 97% of their DNA with humans, reach sexual maturity only two months after they’re born, and are capable of giving birth to as many as 80 offspring per year. Scientists are able to observe the long term effects of a treatment in a short amount of time, and thus make an accurate conclusion of what will happen to humans who take the treatment.

So, to fit in with your future lab, don your lab coat and grab your beakers.

Sources Referenced:

*www.macbicnj.com › purpose-of-a-beaker

*Google Images

*My mother who is a supervisor at Labcorp

*www.nationalgeograpic.org

*Dictionary.com

Aesthetic Editor: Elizabeth Shay

The Academia Aesthetic

January 6, 2021 by szachik@pvs.org 1 Comment

Social media, especially TikTok, has popularized the term “aesthetic” in recent years. There are hundreds of aesthetics, and in her post, Blogger Sara Habibipour addresses one of the most popular ones.

By Sara Habibipour

Perhaps one of the most famous trending aesthetics on TikTok and Instagram is the “Academia” aesthetic, characterized by “…classic literature, the pursuit of self-discovery, and a general passion for knowledge and learning” (Aesthetics.Fandom.Com).

Some of the key motifs of this aesthetic are books, darkness, history, and old architecture.

But wait…there’s more.

There’s actually a never-ending list of sub-academia aesthetics. Anything you can think of, there’s probably an academia aesthetic for it. Theater Academia, Chaotic Academia, Fairy Academia…it all exists. Here’s a list of the most famous, and, in my opinion, the most pleasant-to-look-at academia aesthetics.

Dark Academia

The Dark Academia aesthetic is heavily centered around classic Greek and Gothic architecture. Imagine attending a prep school in Europe, spending late nights in a Gothic-style library while sipping a cup of coffee as you watch the rain pouring down outside; that would be a perfect example of the Dark Academia lifestyle.

Dark Academia is heavily characterized by its distinct fashion as well, with a color palette mostly consisting of earth tones (browns, dark greens, grays, etc.). As far as the style, it’s very “preppy”; brown cardigans, vintage plaid skirts/pants, and leather satchels are the staples of the Dark Academia look.

Not “dark” enough for your taste? Well, there’s actually a subcategory of Dark Academia. And can you guess what it’s called?

…Darkest Academia

Here’s a photo that pretty much sums up the Darkest Academia aesthetic.

Light Academia

For those of you who don’t particularly care for darker colors but still like the Academic style, maybe Light Academia is your aesthetic.

Characterized by beige, cream, white, and light brown shades, the Light Academia fashion still is “preppy” but definitely distinct from its counterpart, Dark Academia. The architecture preferences are also less Gothic and more classic Greek, and there’s more of an emphasis on the arts and romance.

Green and Blue Academia

There are also more color-specific academia aesthetics.

For example, there’s Green Academia which fosters things like reading books in nature surrounded by greenery and earthy-green colors. There’s Blue Academia which appreciates the beauty of the night sky and royal blue (a Ravenclaw aesthetic, if you will).

***

Out of all the aesthetics mentioned above, I would have to say that Dark Academia is my personal favorite. What do you think of these aesthetics? Let us know in the comments!

Sources:

https://aesthetics.fandom.com/wiki/Dark_Academia

Image Sources:

https://images.app.goo.gl/Lmk2frB8aZv845tZA

https://images.app.goo.gl/uuSi8MTu3S7sGEeH7

https://images.app.goo.gl/hhMVC5FLBJ6DrzBm7

https://images.app.goo.gl/sPHdKyRyea6Hm3wW9

Aesthetic Editor: Elizabeth Shay