The Museum of Unnatural History is a quirky exhibition by Washington, DC based artist Oliver Munday.
It is a play on the long standing traditional natural history museums of the world. While natural history museums showcase dioramas and presentations of animals in their habitat, and other scientific wonders, the Museum of Unnatural History showcases things of a slightly different nature. "Unicorn soup" and "Existentially Distraught Wood" are among some of the mock items created for this project.

My attention is brought to a specific Species Identification Flowchart that Munday has put together to give this  project a great touch of sarcasm. The first thing that stood out to me was the overall form of this document. It really fits together, almost jigsaw-like. One can tell that every line is deliberate, every twist and turn of the lines is intended to be a piece of the overall composition.

Color is quite seamless in this document as well. I appreciated the background having an off-white, or manilla tint to it, making it not too harsh on the eyes and providing some texture. The badges all follow the same color scheme, with a black badge denoting questions, and green ones providing answers or actions. In the case of the "Gross" badge on the right hand side, it stands out because it is a mere border of the other green badges, yet, still we can see that it is a member of the green family of badges.

Wether or not you even follow the flowchart in the manner intended, the image has a pleasing flow to the eyes. All the lines, shapes and fonts are quite smooth, leading me to believe that the artist utilized vector graphics in his creation of this piece. The flowchart is riddled with humor, as in the first few levels "Is the specimen devouring you? Can you see it? From the neck down? -- It's you!" Whilst traditional species classification systems use a system based on latin names and different trees and families, this system throws that out in place of the practical. The title denotes it is "Field-Tested." This chart is not for scientists and laboratory assistants, it is for true trekkers, facing any sort of danger in reach of scientific exploration!

Apple of my Eye

Samira Makhmalbaf's The Apple is a 1999 film that blurs lines between genres. Blending elements of documentary, fiction, and dramatization, The Apple is indeed a special case in film making. Makhmalbaf's vision began when she read the story of a family who had kept their twin daughters locked up for eleven years until the state welfare department came out and handled the situation. Makmalbaf (who's father headed a production company in Iran) decided to get in touch with the specific individuals mentioned in the story, and decided to cast them in her movie, stressing to tell the stories and perspectives of each family member.

The film begs the viewer to consider the difference between realism and fiction. The characters are real, but situations are scripted to an extent. The film has an extremely gritty feel to it. While portions of the movie were filmed on video, most of it was captured on film. This variation in quality coupled with the frequent handheld camera and tracking shots effectively brings the viewer into the streets of Iran, validating the reality of the movie in the audiences eyes.

The Apple is a relatively simple film, but perhaps that is why it works. Makhmalbaf utilizes longer scenes to exemplify symbols and imagery in her production. In one scene that goes on for three to four minutes, the two girls jump and reach for an apple dangling on a stick, certainly representing their freedom. In another scene, the girls observe flowers in the distance, and make handprints on the wall of their "cell" resembling the flowers. Observing the outside world, and trying as hard as possible to recreate it while locked up. Towards the end of the movie, in a climactic five minute long struggle to unlock the gate from the outside in, the girls find power in their ability to take their father out to buy them some watches. These extended scenes do well to hammer in the central themes and motifs of the film.

This was the first film by Samira Makhmalbaf, and it was no small start. While she has since gone on to direct more acclaimed films, her technical decisions still remain effective to portray the realistic, multi-faceted story of The Apple.