Turkey corruption protest
Turkey’s Prime Minister accused political enemies of hacking encrypted state communications to fake a phone conversation suggesting he warned his son to hide large sums of money before police raids in a graft inquiry that reached into government.
In a dramatic session of parliament after posting of an 11-minute audio tape on YouTube, Tayyip Erdogan described it as a shameless and treacherous “montage”. He did not name those he held responsible but made it clear he was talking of a network run by former ally, Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen.
The head of the main parliamentary opposition insisted the conversation was genuine, telling Erdogan: “My advice to you is either flee the country, take your helicopter, or resign.”
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David LaChapelle’s “Refineries,” and “Gas Stations” photographs
The photo exhibition "LAND SCAPE," currently on view at Paul Kasmin Gallery in New York City through March 1, displays two series of works by photographer David LaChapelle: “Refineries,” and “Gas Stations,” using a variety of media to depict the significance of petroleum in American culture.
“The sites depicted represent the globally networked industrial infrastructure of oil production and distribution,” notes writer Shana Nys Dambrot in the exhibit catalog for LAND SCAPE.
”Both bodies of work use handcrafted scale models, constructed of cardboard and a vast array of recycled materials from egg cartons to tea canisters, hair curlers, and other by-products of our petroleum-based, disposability-obsessed culture.”
The Gas Station series was shot on location in the rainforest of Maui, the Hawaiian island where LaChapelle lives, and the Refineries were photographed in the expansive deserts and along the coastlines of California.
In the Refineries series, LaChapelle treats scenes as shrines to the product and the lifestyle it makes possible, drawing on an immense lexicon of art history references, current events, and pop culture to make visually compelling images, each unique in their narrative and evocative content.
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Photos of the day - February 25, 2014
A laborer holds onto a bucket with his teeth as he descends from a single room tenement without proper access at a slum in New Delhi, India, boys peer through the gate of a police station to look at bodies of suspected militants in Lalpora and a protester holds flowers with a slogan as they mark the 28th anniversary of the revolt known as People Power revolution at the historic EDSA shrine in the Philippines are some of the photos of the day. (AP/EPA/Reuters)
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Art made from junk
One artist doesn’t mind if people class her work as rubbish. Thats because all of her pieces are made out of junk found in charity shops, garage sales and in and around her home. Using the likes of buttons, broken jewelry and toy parts, Jane Perkins, from Exeter, UK, has recreated the famous faces of Albert Einstein, David Beckham, Kate Middleton, The Queen, as well as some of the worlds most iconic paintings and photographs. Perkins, 55, came up with the idea for her quirky style in 2006, after writing a thesis about recycling materials to use them for art. Having tried her hand at recreating a junk version of a Matisse painting, Jane decided to focus her work on people that public would recognize most - starting with her very own take on Queen Elizabeth II. (CATERS NEWS)
(Photos by Jane Perkins/CATERS NEWS)
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'The People’s Republic of Grand Central': Photographer Gaia Light, captures the commuter culture
Grand Central Terminal is the iconic commuter and railroad terminal at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States. Nearly demolished during the decades of incessant urban renewal in the second half of the twentieth century, it survives amidst skyscrapers in all directions, including above. Manhattan proper is technically, and notably, the only borough in New York City entitled to call itself “New York, New York”. At the center of this world city, then, is another center.
The Main Concourse is both the center of Grand Central Terminal and the epicenter for the set of nearly infinite stories that constantly unfold in time, stories generated by the swirling crowds and the pulsing rhythms of one of the busiest commuter train stations in the world. Above it all the stars of the painted ceiling watch quietly.
The series documents two months of the centennial anniversary year, portraying the amazing humanity that, on a daily basis, courses through the main arteries of this quintessential urban hub, aiming to capture the intensity of the proverbial “other”, the complexity of present-day quotidian experience, I and not-I, I and Thou – or, human subjects dancing with and within an often-macabre, inhumane, and machinic metropolis.
(Photography and text and by Gaia Light)
Born in Rome Italy, Gaia Light’s work can be see in exhibitions worldwide. She, along with her partner Alessandro Cosmelli, was recently honored with Pictures of the Year International (POYi), 2013 Best Photography Book Award Finalist for their book Brooklyn Buzz.
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Pakistan monkey business
Performing monkeys are a common feature of life in many Pakistani cities where they can be seen doing tricks and entertaining people while dressed up in sparkly outfits and clothes.
For Pakistanis who raise and train the monkeys they are an important source of income in an impoverished country, and they form a strong bond with the animals. The monkeys are usually captured in the wild when they are babies and then trained. A trained monkey can fetch 20,000 to 30,000 rupees ($190 to $285).
One such trainer Ataullah Niazi, 46, owns three monkeys that he says he loves like they are his own children. His monkey can make around 500 rupees (about $5) a day, which helps him feed his family of eight. He’s been doing this type of work since he was 11 years old.
It takes at least three months to train a monkey to dance, salute, shake hands and perform the other tricks needed, Niazi said. Usually the owners go to the northwestern Swat Valley or the town of Murree, outside of Islamabad, to find the babies.
But animal rights activists criticize the practice of training monkeys to perform.
"This is a sheer violation of wildlife laws," said Atif Yaqub, an official at the Pakistan Wildlife Foundation. He said the monkeys are often abused by trainers who beat them with a stick during their training and put a rope around their neck so they don’t run away.
Here is a selection of photos of trained monkeys by Associated Press photographer Muhammed Muheisen.
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Photos of the day - February 24, 2014
A Sadhu looks into a small mirror as he prepares for the Maha Shivratri festival at the Pashupati Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, Palestinian girls take part in a karate class at al-Reyadi club in Gaza City and a woman takes photos of a “Wanted” notice for fugitive Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovich, plastered on the window of a car in Kiev are some of the photos of the day. (AP/EPA/Reuters)
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Photos of the day - February 23, 2014
People demolish the letters on the KGB officers monument in Kiev, Katharina Offel riding Charlie, clears a barrier during the Longines Grand Prix as part of the Hong Kong Masters equestrian international jumping competition and a reveller poses next to a graffiti during an annual block party known as “Ceu na Terra” (or Sky on Earth), Rio de Janeiro are some of the photos of the day. (AP/Reuters)
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Photos of the day - February 22, 2014
A man takes a photo at the temple of Abu Simbel at the upper reaches of the Nile in Aswan, a Jammu and Kashmir government employee shouts slogans from a police van after being detained during a protest in Srinagar and Ryota Murata, right, delivers a punch to Carlos Nascimento of Brazil during their middleweight eight-round boxing match are some of the photos of the day. (AP/Reuters)
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