Beating Bombs Into Plowshares

"An unusual chair currently tours Great Britain. Look carefully and you'll see its constituent parts: Portuguese rifles and Russian AK-47s collected after Mozambique's 16-year civil war ended in 1992. Throne of Weapons, by an artist named Kester, is one of dozens of sculptures made from firearms by members of the Maputo, Mozambique-based collective Nœcleo de Arte." Read the rest of Chris Dodge's Utne Reader article here. The chair on the left is "The Chair of the African King" by the artist Gonçalo.

The Album Cover's Evolution

Interesting article by Alice Rawsthorn on the history and the continuing evolution of the album cover, which looks to be about to head in new and interesting directions: "The musician David Byrne reckons that the role of the graphic designer will change from creating a couple of iconic images to represent the band and their music for album and singles covers, to inventing compelling ways of packaging all of this imagery and information for the listener." Be sure to check out the accompanying slide show of memorable covers, too. That's the (English edition of) The Kick Inside on the left - the debut album by Kate Bush - which was a memorable album cover (and album) for me. Crazy and wonderful, just like the music.