Untitled - George Berking 

The wicked technique of George Berking transforms this image from simple landscape into a cyclical design, turning the windmill subject matter into a double play.

I love how the hill on the left looks like a cornea, giving the overall effect that the image is giving the viewer the hairy eyeball.  Making a statement? Maybe.

Claustral - Morris Louis (1961) 

Some of the exploration of line that is visible in art from the 60s is really interesting.  This beautiful, richly coloured cupcake for the retinas brings to mind a melted-crayon version of Max Ernst's surrealist piece from the 1920s.

Forest - Max Ernst (1928)

Javanese Shadow Puppet

Wayang Kulit, or Javanese shadow puppetry, probably originated sometime in the first century CE.  Puppets like the one above are brought out by professional storytellers on special occasions to give entertaining or didactic performances (or both).  Often, scenes from the Indian epics The Mahabharata or The Ramayana are depicted.

Each puppet is hand carved from buffalo hide, with details like hair and build indicating class standing.  The intricate carving is picked out in sharp relief when the puppet is backlit against a screen.  The delicate features are as complex and intricate as the stories the puppets tell, blurring the boundaries between sculpture and performance art.

It kind of reminds me of the scene from the latest Harry Potter movie with the Tale of Three Brothers:

So fantastic.  Harry Potter the movie finally manages to deliver in style.

I love the design of these stamps, which depict Bauhaus (bow hows) art and the Bauhaus design school.  The Bauhaus movement, which started in post WWI Germany, strove for order in a society recovering from chaos.  Their architectural model, based on function and efficiency, is the reason why skyscrapers have the geometry that we see today.

A boa constrictor swallowing a wild beast - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

At first glance this drawing from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's Le Petit Prince seems quick and child-like.  And it's cute, for sure, but a second look reveals that this artist wasn't breaking in his first box of crayons.  Check out the balance in the snake's body, the wild-eyed panic in the eyes of the fuzzy purple thing, and the way that the negative space in the snake's mouth reflects the composition as a whole.  One thing's for sure; my 12-year-old cousin's never churned out anything like this.