National Portrait Gallery Opens Two Civil War Exhibits

by Sean McLachlan on


The National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., is commemorating the Civil War with two new exhibits.

“The Confederate Sketches of Adalbert Volck” looks at the work of a rebel dentist who became one of the Confederacy’s leading political cartoonists. Unlike most German immigrants, who sided with the Union, Volck was an active rebel who not only fought the Union with his pen, but also smuggled much-needed medical supplies to the South. The exhibit runs until January 21, 2013.

More famous is photographer Mathew Brady, whose portable photographic studio is shown above. “Mathew Brady’s Photographs of Union Generals” make up the second exhibition. Numerous high-quality images of the Union’s leading and lesser-known generals will be on display. The exhibit runs until May 31, 2015.

The exhibitions are part of a continuing series at the National Portrait Gallery marking the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War.

Photo courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Photo Of The Day: Catching Some Rays

by Meg Nesterov on

Today’s Photo of the Day was taken indoors but the bright lights and orange glow make it feel like a hot summer day, or perhaps the inside of a tanning bed. Either is likely at the Bulgarian resort town of Varna where Flickr user PMania85 captured this scene with an iPhone camera. The photo features one of the most popular summer spots on the Black Sea. Every year, thousands of Eastern Europeans flock to the Bulgarian coast to tan under the sun or under the lamp, but preferably both.

If you’d like your travel shots considered for a future Photo of the Day, add it to the Gadling Flickr pool and please make sure you have downloading enabled.

The art of William S. Burroughs on display in Germany

by Sean McLachlan on

William S. Burroughs is most famous for his experimental novels about heroin and gay sex, yet he was active in many arts. Now a new exhibition at the Center for Art and Media (ZKM) in Karlsruhe, Germany, is focusing on his lesser-known artistic output.

The exhibition, “the name is BURROUGHS — Expanded Media,” highlights the author’s film, photography, collage and audio experiments. Much of this work reflects the style of his writing. Burroughs developed what he called the “CUT-UP method” in which he wrote a text, cut the pages into pieces and rearranged them. What’s interesting about this technique is that the sense, style and tone still come through. Try it on a political speech and you’ll see what I mean.

The CUT-UP method is especially evident in his film work, which looks like it was edited with a paper shredder. Like his books, much of Burroughs’ art is more emotionally experienced than intellectually understood. His photography is often more straightforward and includes some interesting self-portraits from various periods of his life.

The exhibition runs from March 23 and does not yet have a scheduled end date.

Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Photo of the Day: another Internet cat photo

by Meg Nesterov on

If you spend much time searching the Internet, you’ll find millions of photos of cats. People spend hours browsing sites like ICanHasCheezburger? and CuteOverload to find funny or adorable images of animals. You might say that cat photos (okay, probably porn too) are the backbone of the Internet. Animals are a favorite photo subject of travelers as well, whether we’re marveling at the number of street cats in Istanbul or whale watching in California. Flickr user canomike spotted this lady in Thailand about to contribute more cat photos to the world and having a great time with her subjects.

Share your favorite animal photos in the Gadling Flickr pool for a future Photo of the Day.

Serene sunsets and self-reflection in Southern California

by Jessica Festa on

Who doesn’t love a gorgeous sunset? While nothing compares to seeing one in person, these photos of Southern California sunsets by Nick Chill are just as good, if not better, than viewing a setting sun with your own eyes. According to Chill, the trick is getting away from the developed coastline and clean, sandy beaches.

“You can still find high cliffs, rocky surf, and other beautifully natural settings from which to view the warm Pacific sunsets,” he explains in an interview. “Another challenge to photographing sunsets in Southern California is the inherent lack of clouds. While this is a dream for tourists, photographers aren’t so enthusiastic about a clear sky. Clear blue skies tend to make for less dramatic images.”

While most people can agree sunsets make for moving moments, it can sometimes be difficult to pinpoint exactly why this is.

For Chill, it is a magical time of day. “As the sun gets low in the sky, it casts a warm light over the land that seems to make everything beautiful. It’s sometimes hard to see the beauty of life when you are toiling away, at work or at home, but the magical light of sunrise and sunset is always there to remind us that life is beautiful. To watch the sun set over the horizon reminds me of the impermanence of life. It’s really a very spiritual, self-reflective experience for me, and I do my best to try and share that experience with the viewers of my work.”

To get a better idea of what he means, check out the gallery below.

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