Andy Warhol's Forgotten Floppy Disk Art

A Graphic Art of Campbell's Soup by Andy Warhol
(Courtesy: ggpht.com)

Vice Article: Andy Warhol's Forgotten Floppy Disk Art

The link above directs to Vice.com where readers can learn more about the forgotten floppy disk art by Andy Warhol.

The art piece you see above is one of Andy Warhol's digital drawings that was recovered in 2014 by the Carnegie Mellon Computer Club. What is great about this story is that the digital drawings were formatted with a obsolete file format on a set of floppy disks. In order to recover the drawings, the team of computer specialists had to use a Kyroflux device which allowed them to run obsolete file formats and then run an emulator of Amiga, the program Warhol used to make the drawings. This was quite the discovery as 28 unseen Warhol images were recovered. This is in some respect digital archeology. It is truly amazing what technology has the capability of considering its ability to interact with outdated hardware and software. It is also amazing that a file that was written more than 20 years ago has maintained its integrity and is able to be viewed with today's technology. Thanks to the Carnegie Mellon Computer Club, the world has more Warhol art pieces to admire and appreciate. This is truly a great time for art and technology.

The Evolution Of Stage Entertainment

Youtube Video Of Various Vaudeville Performances 

(Courtesy: Galloping Alligator's Muck Pond)

After watching the video shown above, it is fascinating to see how Broadway has evolved from vaudeville, burlesque, and cabaret.

I was particularly impressed with the woman who could pick up a chair with her teeth and swing it around effortlessly. This is impressive by today's standards, as many people would usually break their teeth or be sent to the dentist expecting a hefty bill. It certainly holds weight against some acts seen on the television show America's Got Talent. This burlesque dancer could have made quite a living if she were born in the 21st century. 

Surprisingly, I enjoyed the footage and the various acts despite being from 1898 to 1910. The acrobat in particular is worth noting. She was able to fully exercise her talent and skill without any limitations or safety nets, making her performance exquisite and enthralling. Nowadays almost every professional performance artist has a manager who advises against many of the death-defying acts for the purposes of safety. In many cases, some acts do not get clearance and force the performer to limit their routine. This puts a damper on many performers who do not get a chance to fully express themselves. This as opposed to freelance exhibitionists, who seem to hold a reputation for doing whatever they feel inspired by and can pull off to draw a crowd, make headlines, or leave a lasting message.

Broadway is now reserved for large feature productions yet has deeply ingrained roots within vaudeville, burlesque, and cabaret. It is difficult to recognize a Broadway show for its brilliance without paying homage to the three performance styles that it has stemmed from. Today's Broadway shows are so elaborate and feature performance art, digital imaging, and an ensemble. Talent is just as good as it was as the art form developed over the years.

Battery

Various Battery Types (Courtesy: durham.ca)

About.com Article: History Of The Battery 

The link above directs you to About.com where readers can learn about the history of the battery

By reading this article, it becomes clear that the battery was far from a modern day invention. In fact its concept dates back to the 18th century, when Benjamin Franklin coined the term battery. According to the article, he described it as "an array of charged glass plates" . The concept of containing electricity in a confined space for future use may seem like a mediocre explanation of an electrical cell, however, at the birth of this concept was a groundbreaking technology. By the mid 19th century improvements had been made and further revolutionized in 1859 when Gaston Plante, a French inventor made the first rechargeable battery. It was only in 1901 when Alkaline batteries were invented and 1954 when solar cells reached the market. All of which are taken for granted now that almost every small appliance or device requires some form of battery.

With a majority of the world carrying around their own personal rechargeable battery cell in their pockets on the daily basis, it is difficult to forget about its humble beginning. Yet somehow society still manages to overlook this detail integrated into their cell-phone(s). Perhaps it is all the distractions and applications that can be installed on today's smartphones. Consideration towards the battery only occurs when the owner has expended their battery life low enough to where they receive notification. It is during this event that the owner experiences a sense of panic and then urgency to recharge the cell takes precedence in order to remain connected to the digital world. The point of all this being that despite being disposable as well as negligible in many modern day instances, the battery has had a long journey since its introduction to the world, one that if suddenly nonexistent would change the lives of many.