内容简介
In October 2014, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, will reopen to the public after a major multiyear renovation. To commemorate the reopening, beloved artist and bestselling author Maira Kalman will curate the inaugural exhibit of its Collection Selects series. The exhibit will be based upon Kalman’s selection of her 45 favorite objects from the Museum’s vast collection of more than 217,000 pieces. To accompany the exhibit, Kalman has also created a gorgeous volume-with more than 50 original paintings-that follows in the highly innovative vein of her bestsellers The Principles of Uncertainty and The Elements of Style.
Insightful and witty, this book and exhibit speak to people of all ages and walks of life, as it touches upon significant aspects of the human experience, from what we wear to where we sleep, from what we remember from childhood to how the culture around us shapes our life experience and world view. Among the 45 objects chosen for the exhibit and book are: the pall that covered President Abraham Lincoln’s coffin as well as the pocket watch he was carrying when he was shot, original editions of
Winnie-the-Pooh and
Alice in Wonderland, a handkerchief in memoriam to Queen Victoria, an Ingo Maurer lamp, Reitveld’s Z chair, and so on. Additionally, Kalman references as well as includes objects from her own collections, from pants from a suit owned by Arturo Toscanini to lists of characters in novels to images from a collection of photographs she has taken of people walking away from her or walking towards her.
Approaching her subject with the same colorful, engaging paintings, observations, and reflections that have won her a following the world over, Kalman’s
My Favorite Things addresses the universal subject of the object as a beloved entity, examining it as a catalyst for memory and conjurer of philosophical musing. While the book includes her illustrations of the objects she has chosen for the show and identifies them, placing them in a cultural context, those objects serve as the catalyst for her own exploration of what constitutes meaningful and enduring memory. Kalman uses these objects to embark upon an excursion in time that includes observations on numerous beloved objects in her personal possession and consequently, her own life. A pictorial index at the back of the book provides photographs of the actual objects and a short description of them, enhancing the reading experie.
作者简介
MAIRA KALMAN is an illustrator, author and designer who has written and illustrated a dozen children’s books, including Lemony Snicket’s 13 Words. Her artwork has been featured on the cover of The New Yorker and she has been a visual columnist for The New York Times. She lives in New York City.
前言/序言
好的,这是一份关于一本虚构图书的详细简介,旨在展现丰富的阅读体验,同时完全避开您提供的书名《My Favorite Things [精装]》中的任何元素。 --- 《星尘编年史:失落文明的回响》 作者: 伊莱亚斯·凡·德·海姆 装帧: 硬壳精装,附赠手绘星图索引 页数: 890页 出版信息: 赫尔墨斯秘典出版社,第三版修订 --- 内容导览:一场跨越时间与空间的史诗探寻 《星尘编年史:失落文明的回响》并非一部简单的科幻小说,它是一份对“已知历史”提出深刻质疑的宏大叙事。作者伊莱亚斯·凡·德·海姆,一位在考古学、天体物理学和古代语言学领域均有建树的学者,用他毕生的研究结晶,构建了一个令人窒息的、细节丰富的世界观。 本书的核心聚焦于一个在人类文明的官方记录中从未被提及的远古超级文明——“亚特兰提斯纪元”(The Atlantean Epoch)。根据海姆博士的理论,这个文明在数万年前达到技术与哲学的高峰,其衰亡并非源于内部冲突或自然灾害,而是一场主动选择的“升维迁徙”。 第一部:破碎的线索与初始的谜团 (The Fractured Clues) 故事始于二十世纪初的安第斯山脉深处。年轻的语言学家维拉·科瓦奇,在追踪一份看似无关的印加口述传说时,偶然发现了一组与任何已知地球语言体系都不匹配的几何符号。这些符号被刻在一块只有在特定星象条件下才会显现的玄武岩上。 维拉的发现立刻引起了国际学界的争议。主流考古学家斥之为伪造,但一位隐退的量子物理学家——卡尔·泽维尔教授——却从中辨认出了“引力场调谐”的数学模型。泽维尔教授坚信,这些符号是通往亚特兰提斯知识库的钥匙。 第一部着重于解密工作。读者将跟随维拉和泽维尔,深入到被遗忘的沙漠遗址、深海热泉口的神秘结构,以及欧洲中世纪修道院的禁忌手稿之中。海姆对细节的描摹令人信服,他巧妙地将真实的古代文明遗迹(如复活节岛、哥贝克力石阵)融入到亚特兰提斯文明的宏大布局中,模糊了虚构与现实的界限。我们目睹的不仅仅是解谜,更是科学方法论在面对“超验证据”时的挣扎与演变。 第二部:结构与哲学——失落的知识体系 (The Architecture of Thought) 随着核心文本的破译,第二部揭示了亚特兰提斯文明的惊人面貌。他们没有依赖化石燃料,而是掌握了“零点能提取”的技术,他们的城市并非建立在地面,而是漂浮在特定的地磁共振场之上。 本书的精髓在于对亚特兰提斯人“时间观”的阐述。他们视时间为可塑的纤维而非线性河流。书中详细描述了他们的“记忆矩阵”——一种能够存储个体意识并进行跨代传输的生物计算系统。然而,这种近乎永恒的存在模式,最终导致了他们文明内部对“存在意义”的终极拷问。 海姆博士花费了大量的篇幅,以近乎学术论文的严谨性,构建了亚特兰提斯的社会结构、艺术形式(如“以光为介质的交响乐”)以及他们的伦理准则。特别是对“纯粹知识的诱惑”的探讨,揭示了为何一个拥有无限潜力的文明会选择自我放逐。他们不是被毁灭,而是集体选择了“超越局限”。 第三部:回响与继承者 (The Echoes and the Heirs) 第三部将叙事推向高潮。维拉和泽维尔发现,亚特兰提斯人在离开前,留下了一个“保护机制”——一个分布在全球各地,以艺术品和建筑为载体的信标网络。这个网络旨在防止其技术被尚未准备好承担其后果的文明所滥用。 然而,一个名为“秩序之手”的秘密组织,早已知晓这些信标的存在。他们认为亚特兰提斯的“升维”是一种逃避责任的行为,他们试图通过激活信标,强行将地球拉入一个不稳定的、被改造过的“超维度稳定区”,以期建立一个“完美”但僵化的全球秩序。 读者将被带入一场跨越七大洲的追逐战。从西伯利亚冰层下的能源节点,到亚马逊雨林深处的活体数据中心,维拉和泽维尔必须与时间赛跑,在“秩序之手”完成其仪式之前,理解并重构亚特兰提斯人留下的最终警告:真正的进步,不在于掌握力量,而在于懂得放手。 风格与深度: 《星尘编年史》的语言风格是典雅而富有韵律感的。海姆运用了大量的古典文学意象与尖端的理论物理术语进行对比,创造出一种独特的“史诗感”。本书成功地融合了以下元素: 1. 硬科幻的严谨性: 对时间、空间、能源理论的探讨扎实可靠。 2. 失落的智慧: 借鉴了神秘学、炼金术和古代哲学中的符号学。 3. 人文关怀: 最终探讨了人类在面对终极知识时的道德困境——是追求完美的永恒,还是拥抱有限但充满变数的生命? 本书不仅仅是一次阅读冒险,更是一次对我们自身历史观和未来潜能的深刻反思。它将挑战读者对“进步”一词的所有固有认知。 读者对象: 喜爱安德烈·赛金斯的结构复杂性、对古代历史谜团抱有浓厚兴趣,并对哲学思辨型科幻作品有高要求的读者。装帧精美,适合收藏。