Last year, MACK Books published Architecture from Below, which anthologized writings by the French Brazilian architect, theorist, and painter Sérgio Ferro. (Douglas Spencer reviewed it for AN.) Now, MACK follows with Design and the Building Site and Complementary Essays, the second in the trilogy of books dedicated to Ferro’s scholarship. The following excerpt of the author’s 2023 preface to the English edition, which preserves its British phrasing, captures Ferro’s realization about the working conditions of construction sites in Brasília. The sentiment is likely relatable even today for young architects as they discover how drawings become buildings. Design and the Building Site and Complementary Essays will be released on May 22. If I remember correctly, it was in 1958 or 1959, when Rodrigo and I were second- or third year architecture students at FAUUSP, that my father, the real estate developer Armando Simone Pereira, commissioned us to design two large office buildings and eleven shops in Brasilia, which was then under construction. Of course, we were not adequately prepared for such an undertaking. Fortunately, Oscar Niemeyer and his team, who were responsible for overseeing the construction of the capital, had drawn up a detailed document determining the essential characteristics of all the private sector buildings. We followed these prescriptions to the letter, which saved us from disaster. Nowadays, it is hard to imagine the degree to which the construction of Brasilia inspired enthusiasm and professional pride in the country’s architects. And in the national imagination, the city’s establishment in the supposedly unpopulated hinterland evoked a re-founding of Brazil. Up until that point, the occupation of our immense territory had been reduced to a collection of arborescent communication routes, generally converging upon some river, following it up to the Atlantic Ocean. Through its ports, agricultural or extractive commodities produced by enslaved peoples or their substitutes passed towards the metropolises; goods were exchanged in the metropolises for more elaborate products, which took the opposite route. Our national identity was summed up in a few symbols, such as the anthem or the flag, and this scattering of paths pointing overseas. Brasilia would radically change this situation, or so we believed. It would create a central hub where the internal communication routes could converge, linking together hithertoseparate junctions, stimulating trade and economic progress in the country’s interior. It was as if, for the first time, we were taking care of ourselves. At the nucleus of this centripetal movement, architecture would embody the renaissance. And at the naval of the nucleus, the symbolic mandala of this utopia: the cathedral. Rodrigo and I got caught up in the euphoria. And perhaps more so than our colleagues, because we were taking part in the adventure with ‘our’ designs. The reality was very different — but we did not know that yet. At that time, architects in Brazil were responsible for verifying that the construction was in line with the design. We had already monitored some of our first building sites. But the construction company in charge of them, Osmar Souza e Silva’s CENPLA, specialized in the building sites of modernist architects from the so-called Escola Paulista led by Vilanova Artigas (which we aspired to be a part of, like the pretentious students we were). Osmar was very attentive to his clients and his workers, who formed a supportive and helpful team. He was even more careful with us, because he knew how inexperienced we were. I believe that the CENPLA was particularly important in São Paulo modernism: with its congeniality, it facilitated experimentation, but for the same reason, it deceived novices like us about the reality of other building sites. Consequently, Rodrigo and I travelled to Brasilia several times to check that the constructions followed ‘our’ designs and to resolve any issues. From the very first trip, our little bubble burst. Our building sites, like all the others in the future capital, bore no relation to Osmar’s. They were more like a branch of hell. A huge, muddy wasteland, in which a few cranes, pile drivers, tractors, and excavators dotted the mound of scaffolding occupied by thousands of skinny, seemingly exhausted wretches, who were nevertheless driven on by the shouts of master builders and foremen, in turn pressured by the imminence of the fateful inauguration date. Surrounding or huddled underneath the marquees of buildings under construction, entire families, equally skeletal and ragged, were waiting for some accident or death to open up a vacancy. In contact only with the master builders, and under close surveillance so we would not speak to the workers, we were not allowed to see what comrades who had worked on these sites later told us in prison: suicide abounded; escape was known to be futile in the unpopulated surroundings with no viable roads; fatal accidents were often caused by weakness due to chronic diarrhoea, brought on by rotten food that came from far away; outright theft took place in the calculation of wages and expenses in the contractor’s grocery store; camps were surrounded by law enforcement. I repeat this anecdote yet again not to invoke the benevolence of potential readers, but rather to point out the conditions that, in my opinion, allowed two students (Flávio Império joined us a little later) still in their professional infancy to quickly adopt positions that were contrary to the usual stance of architects. As the project was more Oscar Niemeyer’s than it was our own, we did not have the same emotional attachment that is understandably engendered between real authors and their designs. We had not yet been imbued with the charm and aura of the métier. And the only building sites we had visited thus far, Osmar’s, were incomparable to those we discovered in Brasilia. In short, our youthfulness and unpreparedness up against an unbearable situation made us react almost immediately to the profession’s satisfied doxa. Unprepared and young perhaps, but already with Marx by our side. Rodrigo and I joined the student cell of the Brazilian Communist Party during our first year at university. In itself, this did not help us much: the Party’s Marxism, revised in the interests of the USSR, was pitiful. Even high-level leaders rarely went beyond the first chapter of Capital. But at the end of the 1950s, the effervescence of the years to come was already nascent:  […] this extraordinary revival […] the rediscovery of Marxism and the great dialectical texts and traditions in the 1960s: an excitement that identifies a forgotten or repressed moment of the past as the new and subversive, and learns the dialectical grammar of a Hegel or an Adorno, a Marx or a Lukács, like a foreign language that has resources unavailable in our own. And what is more: the Chinese and Cuban revolutions, the war in Vietnam, guerrilla warfare of all kinds, national liberation movements, and a rare libertarian disposition in contemporary history, totally averse to fanaticism and respect for ideological apparatuses of (any) state or institution. Going against the grain was almost the norm. We were of course no more than contemporaries of our time. We were soon able to position ourselves from chapters 13, 14, and 15 of Capital, but only because we could constantly cross-reference Marx with our observations from well-contrasted building sites and do our own experimenting. As soon as we identified construction as manufacture, for example, thanks to the willingness and even encouragement of two friends and clients, Boris Fausto and Bernardo Issler, I was able to test both types of manufacture — organic and heterogeneous — on similar-sized projects taking place simultaneously, in order to find out which would be most convenient for the situation in Brazil, particularly in São Paulo. Despite the scientific shortcomings of these tests, they sufficed for us to select organic manufacture. Arquitetura Nova had defined its line of practice, studies, and research. There were other sources that were central to our theory and practice. Flávio Império was one of the founders of the Teatro de Arena, undoubtedly the vanguard of popular, militant theatre in Brazil. He won practically every set design award. He brought us his marvelous findings in spatial condensation and malleability, and in the creative diversion of techniques and material—appropriate devices for an underdeveloped country. This is what helped us pave the way to reformulating the reigning design paradigms.  We had to do what Flávio had done in the theatre: thoroughly rethink how to be an architect. Upend the perspective. The way we were taught was to start from a desired result; then others would take care of getting there, no matter how. We, on the other hand, set out to go down to the building site and accompany those carrying out the labor itself, those who actually build, the formally subsumed workers in manufacture who are increasingly deprived of the knowledge and know-how presupposed by this kind of subsumption. We should have been fostering the reconstitution of this knowledge and know-how—not so as to fulfil this assumption, but in order to reinvigorate the other side of this assumption according to Marx: the historical rebellion of the manufacture worker, especially the construction worker. We had to rekindle the demand that fueled this rebellion: total self-determination, and not just that of the manual operation as such. Our aim was above all political and ethical. Aesthetics only mattered by way of what it included—ethics. Instead of estética, we wrote est ética [this is ethics]. We wanted to make building sites into nests for the return of revolutionary syndicalism, which we ourselves had yet to discover. Sérgio Ferro, born in Brazil in 1938, studied architecture at FAUUSP, São Paulo. In the 1960s, he joined the Brazilian communist party and started, along with Rodrigo Lefevre and Flávio Império, the collective known as Arquitetura Nova. After being arrested by the military dictatorship that took power in Brazil in 1964, he moved to France as an exile. As a painter and a professor at the École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Grenoble, where he founded the Dessin/Chantier laboratory, he engaged in extensive research which resulted in several publications, exhibitions, and awards in Brazil and in France, including the title of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in 1992. Following his retirement from teaching, Ferro continues to research, write, and paint.

This edition of the Venice Biennale includes 65 national pavilions, 11 collateral events, and over 750 participants in the international exhibition curated by Italian architect and engineer Carlo Ratti. Entitled Intelligens: Natural Artificial Collective, its stated aim is to make Venice a ‘living laboratory’. But Ratti’s exhibition in the Arsenale has been hit by mixed reviews. The AJ’s Rob Wilson described it as ‘a bit of a confusing mess’, while other media outlets have called the robot-heavy exhibit of future-facing building-focused solutions to the climate crisis a ‘tech-bro fever dream’ and a ‘mind-boggling rollercoaster’ to mention a few. It is a distinct shift away from the biennale of two years ago twhen Ghanaian-Scottish architect Lesley Lokko curated the main exhibitions, including 89 participants – of which more than half were from Africa or the African diaspora – in a convincing reset of the architectural conversation.Advertisement This year’s National Pavilions and collateral exhibits, by contrast, have tackled the largest themes in architecture and the world right now in a less constrained way than the main exhibitions. The exhibits are radical and work as a useful gauge for understanding what’s important in each country: decarbonisation, climate resilience, the reconstruction of Gaza, and an issue more prevalent in politics closer to home: gender wars. What's not to miss in the Giardini? British Pavilion (photography: Chris Lane) UK Pavilion The British Pavilion this year, which won a special mention from the Venetian jury, is housing a show by a British-Kenyan collab titled GBR – Geology of Britannic Repair. In it, the curators explore the links between colonialism, the built environment and geological extraction. Focusing on the Rift Valley, which runs from east Africa to the Middle East, including Palestine, the exhibition was curated by the Nairobi-based studio cave_bureau, UK-based curator, writer and Farrell Centre director Owen Hopkins and Queen Mary University professor Kathryn Yusoff. The pavilion’s façade is cloaked by a beaded veil of agricultural waste briquettes and clay and glass beads, produced in Kenya and India, echoing both Maasai practices and beads once made on Venice’s Murano, as currency for the exchange of metals, minerals and slaves. The pavilion’s six gallery spaces include multisensory installations such as the Earth Compass, a series of celestial maps connecting London and Nairobi; the Rift Room, tracing one of humans’ earliest migration routes; and the Shimoni Slave Cave, featuring a large-scale bronze cast of a valley cave historically used as a holding pen for enslaved people.Advertisement The show also includes Objects of Repair, a project by design-led research group Palestine Regeneration Team (PART), looking at how salvaged materials could help rebuild war-torn Gaza, the only exhibit anywhere in the Biennale that tackled the reconstruction of Gaza face-on – doing so impressively, both politically and sensitively. Read more here. Danish Pavilion (photography: Hampus Berndtson) Demark Pavilion A firm favourite by most this year, the Danish exhibition Build of Site, curated by Søren Pihlmann of Pihlmann Architects, transforms the pavilion, which requires renovation anyway, into both a renovation site and archive of materials. Clever, simple and very methodical, the building is being both renewed while at the same time showcasing innovative methods to reuse surplus materials uncovered during the construction process – as an alternative to using new resources to build a temporary exhibition. The renovation of the 1950s Peter Koch-designed section of the pavilion began in December 2024 and will be completed following the biennale, having been suspended for its duration. On display are archetypal elements including podiums, ramps, benches and tables – all constructed from the surplus materials unearthed during the renovation, such as wood, limestone, concrete, stone, sand, silt and clay. Belgian Pavilion (photography: Michiel De Cleene) Belgium Pavilion If you need a relaxing break from the intensity of the biennale, then the oldest national pavilion in the Giardini is the one for you. Belgium’s Building Biospheres: A New Alliance between Nature and Architecture brings ‘plant intelligence’ to the fore. Commissioned by the Flanders Architecture Institute and curated by landscape architect Bas Smets and neurobiologist Stefano Mancuso, the exhibit investigates how the natural ‘intelligence’ of plants can be used to produce an indoor climate – elevating the role of landscape design and calling for it to no longer serve as a backdrop for architecture. Inside, more than 200 plants occupy the central area beneath the skylight, becoming the pavilion’s centrepiece, with the rear space visualising ‘real-time’ data on the prototype’s climate control performance. Spanish Pavilion (photography: Luca Capuano) Spain Pavilion One for the pure architecture lovers out there, models (32!), installations, photographs and timber structures fill the Spanish Pavilion in abundance. Neatly curated by architects Roi Salgueiro Barrio and Manuel Bouzas Barcala, Internalities shows a series of existing and research projects that have contributed to decarbonising construction in Spain. The outcome? An extensive collection of work exploring the use of very local and very specific regenerative and low-carbon construction and materials – including stone, wood and soil. The joy of this pavilion comes from the 16 beautiful timber frames constructed from wood from communal forests in Galicia. Polish Pavilion (photography: Luca Capuano) Poland Pavilion Poland’s pavilion was like Marmite this year. Some loved its playful approach while others found it silly. Lares and Penates, taking its name from ancient Roman deities of protection, has been curated by Aleksandra Kędziorek and looks at what it means and takes to have a sense of security in architecture. Speaking to many different anxieties, it refers to the unspoken assumption of treating architecture as a safe haven against the elements, catastrophes and wars – showcasing and elevating the mundane solutions and signage derived from building, fire and health regulations. The highlight? An ornate niche decorated with tiles and stones just for … a fire extinguisher. Dutch Pavilion (photography: Cristiano Corte) Netherlands Pavilion Punchy and straight to the point, SIDELINED: A Space to Rethink Togetherness takes sports as a lens for looking at how spatial design can both reveal and disrupt the often-exclusionary dynamics of everyday environments. Within the pavilion, the exhibit looks beyond the large-scale arena of the stadium and gymnasium to investigate the more localised and intimate context of the sports bar, as well as three alternative sports – a site of both social production and identity formation – as a metaphor for uniting diverse communities. The pavilion-turned-sports bar, designed by Koos Breen and Jeannette Slütter and inspired by Asger Jorn’s three-sided sports field, is a space for fluidity and experimentation where binary oppositions, social hierarchies and cultural values are contested and reshaped – complete with jerseys and football scarfs (currently a must-have fashion item) worn by players in the alternative Anonymous Allyship aligning the walls. Read Derin Fadina’s review for the AJ here. Performance inside the Nordic Countries Pavilion (photography: Venla Helenius) Nordic Countries Pavilion Probably the most impactful national pavilion this year (and with the best tote bag by far), the Nordic Countries have presented an installation with performance work. Curated by Kaisa Karvinen, Industry Muscle: Five Scores for Architecture continues Finnish artist Teo Ala-Ruona’s work on trans embodiment and ecology by considering the trans body as a lens through which to examine modern architecture and the built environment. The three-day exhibition opening featured a two-hour performance each day with Ala-Ruona and his troupe crawling, climbing and writhing around the space, creating a bodily dialogue with the installations and pavilion building itself, which was designed by celebrated Modernist architect Sverre Fehn. The American pavilion next door, loudly (country music!) turns its back on what’s going on in its own country by just celebrating the apathetical porch, making the Nordic Countries seem even more relevant in this crucial time. Read Derin Fadina’s review for the AJ here. German Pavilion (photography: Luca Capuano) Germany Pavilion An exhibit certainly grabbing the issue of climate change by its neck is the German contribution, Stresstest. Curated by Nicola Borgmann, Elisabeth Endres, Gabriele G Kiefer and Daniele Santucci, the pavilion has turned climate change into a literal physical and psychological experience for visitors by creating contrasting ‘stress’ and ‘de-stress’ rooms. In the dark stress room, a large metal sculpture creates a cramped and hot space using heating mats hung from the ceiling and powered by PVs. Opposite is a calmer space demonstrating strategies that could be used to reduce the heat of cities, and between the two spaces is a film focusing on the impacts of cities becoming hotter. If this doesn’t highlight the urgency of the situation, I’m not sure what will. Best bits of the Arsenale outside the main exhibitions Bahrain Pavilion (photography: Andrea Avezzù) Bahrain Pavilion Overall winner of this year’s Golden Lion for best national participation, Bahrain’s pavilion in the historic Artiglierie of the Arsenale is a proposal for living and working through heat conditions. Heatwave, curated by architect Andrea Faraguna, reimagines public space design by exploring passive cooling strategies rooted in the Arab country’s climate, as well as cultural context. A geothermal well and solar chimney are connected through a thermo-hygrometric axis that links underground conditions with the air outside. The inhabitable space that hosts visitors is thus compressed and defined by its earth-covered floor and suspended ceiling, and is surrounded by memorable sandbags, highlighting its scalability for particularly hot construction sites in the Gulf where a huge amount of construction is taking place. In the Arsenale’s exhibition space, where excavation wasn’t feasible, this system has been adapted into mechanical ventilation, bringing in air from the canal side and channelling it through ductwork to create a microclimate. Slovenian Pavilion (photography: Andrea Avezzù) Slovenia Pavilion The AJ’s Rob Wilson’s top pavilion tip this year provides an enjoyable take on the theme of the main exhibition, highlighting how the tacit knowledge and on-site techniques and skills of construction workers and craftspeople are still the key constituent in architectural production despite all the heat and light about robotics, prefabrication, artificial intelligence and 3D printing. Master Builders, curated by Ana Kosi and Ognen Arsov and organised by the Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO) in Ljubljana, presents a series of ‘totems’ –accumulative sculpture-like structures that are formed of conglomerations of differently worked materials, finishes and building elements. These are stacked up into crazy tower forms, which showcase various on-site construction skills and techniques, their construction documented in accompanying films. Uzbekistan Pavilion (photography: Luca Capuano) Uzbekistan Pavilion Uzbekistan’s contribution explores the Soviet era solar furnace and Modernist legacy. Architecture studio GRACE, led by curators Ekaterina Golovatyuk and Giacomo Cantoni have curated A Matter of Radiance. The focus is the Sun Institute of Material Science – originally known as the Sun Heliocomplex – an incredible large-scale scientific structure built in 1987 on a natural, seismic-free foundation near Tashkent and one of only two that study material behaviour under extreme temperatures. The exhibition examines the solar oven’s site’s historical and contemporary significance while reflecting on its scientific legacy and influence moving beyond just national borders. Applied Arts Pavilion (photography: Andrea Avezzù) V&A Applied Arts Pavilion Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) is having a moment. The US-based practice, in collaboration with V&A chief curator Brendan Cormier, has curated On Storage, which aptly explores global storage architectures in a pavilion that strongly links to the V&A’s recent opening of Storehouse, its new (and free) collections archive in east London. Featured is a six-channel (and screen) film entitled Boxed: The Mild Boredom of Order, directed by the practice itself and following a toothbrush, as a metaphor for an everyday consumer product, on its journey through different forms of storage across the globe – from warehouse to distribution centre to baggage handlers down to the compact space of a suitcase. Also on display are large-format photographs of V&A East Storehouse, DS+R’s original architectural model and sketchbook and behind-the-scenes photography of Storehouse at work, taken by emerging east London-based photographers. Canal Café (photography: Marco Zorzanello) Canal café Golden Lion for the best participation in the actual exhibition went to Canal Café, an intervention designed by V&A East Storehouse’s architect DS+R with Natural Systems Utilities, SODAI, Aaron Betsky and Davide Oldani. Serving up canal-water espresso, the installation is a demonstration of how Venice itself can be a laboratory to understand how to live on the water in a time of water scarcity. The structure, located on the edge of the Arsenale’s building complex, draws water from its lagoon before filtering it onsite via a hybrid of natural and artificial methods, including a mini wetland with grasses. The project was recognised for its persistence, having started almost 20 years ago, just showing how water scarcity, contamination and flooding are still major concerns both globally and, more locally, in the tourist-heavy city of Venice. And what else? Holy See Pavilion (photography: Andrea Avezzù) The Holy See Much like the Danish Pavilion, the Pavilion of the Holy See is also taking on an approach of renewal this year. Over the next six months, Opera Aperta will breathe new life into the Santa Maria Ausiliatrice Complex in the Castello district of Venice. Founded as a hospice for pilgrims in 1171, the building later became the oldest hospital and was converted into school in the 18th century. In 2001, the City of Venice allocated it for cultural use and for the next four years it will be managed by the Dicastery for Culture and Education of the Holy See to oversee its restoration. Curated by architect, curator and researcher Marina Otero Verzier and artistic director of Fondaco Italia, Giovanna Zabotti, the complex has been turned into a constant ‘living laboratory’ of collective repair – and received a special mention in the biennale awards. The restoration works, open from Tuesday to Friday, are being carried out by local artisans and specialised restorers with expertise in recovering stone, marble, terracotta, mural and canvas painting, stucco, wood and metal artworks. The beauty, however, lies in the photogenic fabrics, lit by a warm yellow glow, hanging from the walls within, gently wrapping the building’s surfaces, leaving openings that allow movement and offer glimpses of the ongoing restoration. Mobile scaffolding, used to support the works, also doubles up as furniture, providing space for equipment and subdividing the interior. Togo Pavilion (photography: Andrea Avezzù) Togo Pavilion The Republic of Togo has presented its first pavilion ever at the biennale this year with the project Considering Togo’s Architectural Heritage, which sits intriguingly at the back of a second-hand furniture shop. The inaugural pavilion is curated by Lomé and Berlin-based Studio NEiDA and is in Venice’s Squero Castello. Exploring Togo’s architectural narratives from the early 20th century, and key ongoing restoration efforts, it documents key examples of the west African country’s heritage, highlighting both traditional and more modern building techniques – from Nôk cave dwellings to Afro-Brazilian architecture developed by freed slaves to post-independence Modernist buildings. Some buildings showcased are in disrepair, despite most of the modern structures remaining in use today, including Hotel de la Paix and the Bourse du Travail, suggestive of a future of repair and celebration. Estonian Pavilion (photography: Joosep Kivimäe) Estonia Pavilion Another firm favourite this year is the Estonian exhibition on Riva dei Sette Martiri on the waterfront between Corso Garibaldi and the Giardini.  The Guardian’s Olly Wainwright said that outside the Giardini, it packed ‘the most powerful punch of all.’ Simple and effective, Let Me Warm You, curated by trio of architects Keiti Lige, Elina Liiva and Helena Männa, asks whether current insulation-driven renovations are merely a ‘checkbox’ to meet European energy targets or ‘a real chance’ to enhance the spatial and social quality of mass housing. The façade of the historic Venetian palazzetto in which it is housed is clad with fibre-cement insulation panels in the same process used in Estonia itself for its mass housing – a powerful visual statement showcasing a problematic disregard for the character and potential of typical habitable spaces. Inside, the ground floor is wrapped in plastic and exhibits how the dynamics between different stakeholders influence spatial solutions, including named stickers to encourage discussion among your peers. Venice Procuratie (photography: Mike Merkenschlager) SMAC (San Marco Art Centre) Timed to open to the public at the same time as the biennale, SMAC is a new permanent arts institution in Piazza San Marco, on the second floor of the Procuratie, which is owned by Generali. The exhibition space, open to the public for the first time in 500 years, comprises 16 galleries arranged along a continuous corridor stretching over 80m, recently restored by David Chipperfield Architects. Visitors can expect access through a private courtyard leading on to a monumental staircase and experience a typically sensitive Chipperfield restoration, which has revived the building’s original details: walls covered in a light grey Venetian marmorino made from crushed marble and floors of white terrazzo. During the summer, its inaugural programme features two solo exhibitions dedicated to Australian modern architect Harry Seidler and Korean landscape designer Jung Youngsun. Holcim's installation (photography: Celestia Studio) Holcim x Elemental Concrete manufacturer Holcim makes an appearance for a third time at Venice, this time partnering with Chilean Pritzker Prize-winning Alejandro Aravena’s practice Elemental – curator of the 2016 biennale – to launch a resilient housing prototype that follows on from the Norman Foster-designed Essential Homes Project. The ‘carbon-neutral’ structure incorporates Holcim’s range of low-carbon concrete ECOPact and is on display as part of the Time Space Existence exhibition organised by the European Cultural Centre in their gardens. It also applies Holcim’s ‘biochar’ technology for the first time, a concrete mix with 100 per cent recycled aggregates, in a full-scale Basic Services Unit. This follows an incremental design approach, which could entail fast and efficient construction via the provision of only essential housing components, and via self-build. The Next Earth at Palazzo Diedo (photography: Joan Porcel) The Next Earth At Palazzo Diedo’s incredible dedicated Berggruen Arts and Culture space, MIT’s department of architecture and think tank Antikythera (apparently taking its name from the first-known computer) have come together to create the exhibition The Next Earth: Computation, Crisis, Cosmology, which questions how philosophy and architecture must and can respond to various planet-wide crises. Antikythera’s The Noocene: Computation and Cosmology from Antikythera to AI looks at the evolution of ‘planetary computation’ as an ‘accidental’ megastructure through which systems, from the molecular to atmospheric scales, become both comprehensible and composable. What is actually on display is an architectural scale video monolith and short films on AI, astronomy and artificial life, as well as selected artefacts. MIT’s Climate Work: Un/Worlding the Planet features 37 works-in-progress, each looking at material supply chains, energy expenditure, modes of practice and deep-time perspectives. Take from it what you will. The 19th International Venice Architecture Biennale remains open until Sunday, 23 November 2025.

Study the Secrets of Early American Photography at This New Exhibition “The New Art: American Photography, 1839-1910” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art will feature more than 250 photographs Lillian Ali - Staff Contributor June 6, 2025 This image, taken by an unknown photographer in 1905, is an example of a cyanotype. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, William L. Schaeffer Collection A new exhibition at the crossroads of art, history and technology chronicles the beginnings of early American photography. Titled “The New Art: American Photography, 1839-1910,” the show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City features more than 250 photographs that capture “the complexities of a nation in the midst of profound transformation,” says Max Hollein, the Met’s CEO, in a statement. Curator Jeff Rosenheim tells the Wall Street Journal’s William Meyers that the exhibition focuses “on how early artists used the different formats to record individuals and the built and natural environments surrounding them.” A daguerrotype from around 1850 depicts a woman wearing a tignon, a headcovering popular among Creole women of African descent. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, William L. Schaeffer Collection The oldest photographs on display are daguerreotypes, named for inventor Louis Daguerre, which were introduced in 1839 as the first publicly available form of photography. Creating a daguerreotype was a delicate, sometimes painstaking process that involved several chemical treatments and variable exposure times. The process yielded a sharply detailed picture on a silver background and was usually used for studio portraiture. The exhibition moves through the history of photography, from daguerreotypes and other photographs made on metal to those made on glass and, eventually, paper. It even features stereographs, two photos showing an object from slightly different points of view, creating an illusion of three-dimensionality. Installation view of "The New Art: American Photography, 1839-1910" Eugenia Tinsely / The Met Rosenheim believes that early photographic portraits empowered working-class Americans. “Photographic portraits play a role in people feeling like they could be a citizen,” Rosenheim tells the Guardian’s Veronica Esposito. “It’s a psychological, empowering thing to own your own likeness.” Photographs in the exhibition also spotlight key moments in American history. Items on view include a portrait of formerly enslaved individuals and an image of a conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. The exhibition features big names in American photography, such as John Moran, who advocated for the recognition of photography as an art form, and Alice Austen, a pioneering landscape photographer. Group on Petria, Lake Mahopac​​​​​​, photographed in 1888 by Alice Austen The Metropolitan Museum of Art, William L. Schaeffer Collection Many of the photographs on display were taken by unknown artists. One of the most recent photos in the exhibition, taken by an unknown artist in 1905, is a cyanotype depicting figures tobogganing on a hill in Massachusetts. Cyanotypes were created by exposing a chemically treated paper to UV light, such as sunlight, yielding the blue pigment it was named for. Beyond portraits and landscapes, the exhibition features several enigmatic images, such as one of a boot placed in a roller skate and positioned on top of a stool. Rosenheim tells the Guardian that the mysterious photo “asks more questions than it answers.” An unknown photographer took this unconventional still life in the 1860s. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, William L. Schaeffer Collection “It’s very emblematic of the whole of 19th-century American photography,” he adds. The exhibition features photographs from across time and economic divides, with portraits of the working-class and wealthy alike. “The collection is just filled with the everyday stories of people,” Rosenheim tells the Guardian. “I don’t think painting can touch that.” “The New Art: American Photography, 1839-1910” is on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City through July 20, 2025. Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.

“Pillars” (2024), oil on linen, 84 x 96 inches. All images courtesy of Mario Moore and Library Street Collective, shared with permission Mario Moore’s Oil Paintings Bridge Past and Present to Spotlight Black Resilience and Style June 4, 2025 Kate Mothes In large-scale works in oil, Detroit-based artist Mario Moore taps into the legacy of European painting traditions to create bold portraits exploring the nature of veneration, self-determination, and the continuum of history. Moore’s work is currently on view in Beneath Our Feet at Library Street Collective alongside fellow Detroiter LaKela Brown. His new pieces nod to the Dutch and Flemish tradition of devotional painting, particularly religious garland paintings. Within elegant arrangements of flowers and foliage, he highlights Black figures relaxing or tending to gardens. “The Patron Saint of Urban Farming” (2025), oil on linen, 72 x 48 inches In “Watermelon Man,” a stone altar is surrounded by hibiscus and watermelons, both symbols of resilience. Historically, the latter represented self-sufficiency and freedom for Southern African Americans following Emancipation, but whites flipped the narrative into a stereotypical exemplar of poverty. Moore reclaims the fruit in the spirit of refined 17th-century still-lifes. The artist has long drawn on the culture and legacies of both Detroit and the U.S. more broadly through the lens of the Black diaspora. Earlier works like “Pillars” position Black figures in elegant dress within the vast wildernesses of the American frontier, bridging the past to explore how racial divisions continue to shape the present. An exhibition last summer at Grand Rapids Art Museum titled Revolutionary Times took his series A New Republic as a starting point, revisiting the history of Black Union soldiers during the Civil War. Moore learned that one of his ancestors, who had been enslaved as a child, later enlisted in the Union Army, spurring the artist’s exploration of the seminal mid-19th-century period of conflict and Western colonization. He positions present-day figures in contemporary dress within historical contexts, interrogating political and racial segregations. “Watermelon Man” (2025), oil on linen, 51 1/2 x 42 inches Through tropes of European painting like a self-portrait of the artist in mirrored reflections and poses in three-quarter profile, Moore renders individuals whose direct, confident gazes and elegant dress invoke Detroit style and pride. For Beneath Our Feet, Brown and Moore collaborated on a five-foot-wide bas-relief bronze coin. Each artist completed one side, with Mario’s contribution taking the form of a portrait of Brown. “Her profile echoes the conventional format of traditional American coinage, confronting the historic absence of Black women in national symbolism and positions of authority,” the gallery says. On the opposite side, Brown depicts a bouquet of collard greens symbolic of nourishment and community. For this exhibition, Brown and Moore “reflect on the wealth held in the earth beneath us—and the enduring question of who holds the rights to till, own, and shape that land,” says an exhibition statement. Detroit is home to ambitious urban gardening initiatives that aim for local food sovereignty, mirroring the resourcefulness of Black farmers throughout history. The artists “consider land not just as property but as history, inheritance, and possibility,” the gallery says. Beneath Our Feet continues through July 30 in Detroit. See more on Moore’s website and Instagram. “International Detroit Playa: Sheefy” (2022), oil on linen, 108 x 96 inches “These Are Not Yams But They Are Damn Good” (2025), oil on linen, 51 1/2 x 42 inches “Creation of a Revolutionary (Helen Moore)” (2023), oil on linen, 76 x 52 inches “Black” (2023), oil on linen, 48 x 48 inches “Garland of Resilience” (2025), oil on linen, 51 1/2 x 42 inches “Birth of Cool” (2023), oil on linen, 72 x 48 inches Installation view of ‘LaKela Brown and Mario Moore: Beneath Our Feet’ at Library Street Collective, Detroit Previous articleNext article

$45For some people, note-taking is serious, serious business. That’s why your dad’s great ideas, errant thoughts, to-do lists, and appointments deserve a worthy notebook. Traveler’s leather-bound travel journals are great for jotting down all of the above, especially since they come in a slew of sizes.$45 at Traveler’s Company (various sizes)$69Whether your dad is a fan of the Indiana Jones flicks or he digs MachineGames’ excellent Wolfenstein titles, there’s plenty to like in The Great Circle. The first-person exploration game lets you crack the whip, punch Nazis, and traverse the globe to retrieve precious relics. It’s good fun.Anker Laptop Power Bank$110$13519% off$110There are plenty of portable batteries out there, but few are as versatile and powerful as Anker’s 25,000mAh Laptop Power Bank. The handy pack features two built-in, retractable USB-C cables — one of which serves as a lanyard — allowing you to quickly charge most devices on the go.Backbone Pro$170$170The best mobile controller is the Backbone Pro. It retains the same overall design and feel as the company’s cheaper model, only with some comfort-boosting improvements. It also features a built-in battery and Bluetooth support, so your dad can use it for gaming on his TV, computer, VR headset, or handheld PC.$170 at Best Buy$170 at BackboneAncel AD410 OBD2 Scanner Professional Diagnostic Scanner$40$5020% off$40The more ways you know how to diagnose a possible issue with your car, the less time you’ll spend at the mechanic (sorry, mechanics). Ancel’s diagnostic scanner plugs into the OBD2 port found in most US cars dating back to ’96, letting you see exactly why certain lights on your dash keep popping up.$40 at Amazon (with Prime)$50 at AncelSony WH-1000XM6$448$4500% off$448The latest iteration of Sony’s best-in-class noise-canceling headphones has finally arrived. The newfangled XM6 make subtle improvements to every facet, from sound quality to comfort to ANC, while wisely bringing back the foldable design last seen on the last-gen XM4.Hoto SnapBloq System$216$30028% off$216Hoto’s modus operandi is to make svelte, handsome tools, with the SnapBloq being its sleekest yet. Buying all three sets — which, as the name implies, snap together to form a block — nets you a precision screwdriver, drill pen, and rotary tool, all of which are rechargeable. Dad may already own enough tools, but we bet they don’t look nearly as good as these do.$216 at Amazon$240 at HotoSatechi Vegan-Leather Magnetic Wallet Stand$28$4030% off$28Satechi’s MagSafe-ready wallet addresses two specific needs that may make it a must-have for some dads: it’s crafted from vegan leather, and it doubles as a kickstand. That means the durable wallet provides a hands-free way to watch videos or hop on a call, whether you place it in portrait or landscape mode. AirPods 4$119$1298% off$119Most of Apple’s high-end earbud tech can be found in the AirPods 4, which cost significantly less than the latest Pro model. They’re relatively small, offer great sound, and even support USB-C charging, making them a great pick if you can do without active noise cancellation.James$18$2836% off$18Percival Everett’s first work of fiction earned him the Pulitzer this year — and it’s no surprise. The bold 2024 tale serves as a reworking of Huck Finn as told by the enslaved man who travels with him down the Mississippi, and although it’s dead serious at times due to the subject matter, it’s also inventive, poetic, and surprisingly funny.Xiaomi Sound Pocket$27$3010% off$27Xiaomi doesn’t have as much of a presence in the US as it does globally, but thankfully, the classy Sound Pocket is readily available. The compact Bluetooth speaker supports hands-free calling with its built-in microphone, and its IP67 rating means it can even handle some water — so long as you don’t submerge it for too long.$27 at Amazon (with on-page coupon)$30 at Walmart (with on-page coupon)$35While writing Cat’s Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut needed to pay the bills, so he tried his hand at making board games. His creation, a tactical war-themed tabletop game called GHQ (General Headquarters), never saw the light of day — that is, until recently. Needless to say, the two-player game is a great title for Vonnegut fans and scholars alike.$35 at Barnes & Noble$35 at Kurt Vonnegut’s GHQ Museum and Library$550The Forerunner 570 has no business looking as good as it does for a running watch. Garmin’s new wearable features a bright OLED display, a slick translucent band, and several new features, including skin temperature sensors and a built-in speaker / mic. The only real question is what size to get for dear ol’ dad: 42mm or 47mm?$70Magic: The Gathering isn’t as difficult to get into as you might think, and the Final Fantasy-themed expansion might be the perfect place to start. The upcoming collection has sent the internet into a proverbial spiral, with many products selling out as a result of a very dedicated fan base. Lucky for dad, the entry-level starter kit is still readily available.Nitecore BB21 electric blower$65$707% off$65All of dad’s precious tech is prone to dust and other debris, which can impact usability if left unchecked. Fortunately, with Nitecore’s rechargeable air blower as a companion, he can easily rid his mechanical keyboards and other tough-to-reach crannies of unwanted grime, ensuring all of his gadgets are in tip-top shape.$31Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon has come a long way from the fabled Wisconsin cabin where he supposedly holed up to record his debut. Sable, Fable, his latest LP, is a welcome kaleidoscope of sounds and feelings, from familiar strummers and beat-heavy ballads to the kind of sultry, R&B-flecked tracks that would make Prince swoon.$450Telepathic Instruments’ retrofuturist keyboard is a vibes machine, one designed for people who want to easily produce cool sounds. It only houses a few piano keys, but it has dedicated major, minor, and other inputs that let you get creative without necessarily having to know how to play.$450 at Telepathic InstrumentsChef’n S’mores Roaster$50$7432% off$50You can effortlessly replicate the magic of making s’mores while camping with Chef’n’s small, safe machine. The contained flame on the tidy indoor / outdoor roaster is built to toast marshmallows, while its ceramic dome can melt chocolate onto graham crackers. All you’ll need to supply is a fuel can, plus all the s’mores ingredients you can muster.Panasonic 4K Blu-ray player (DP-UB420-K)$245$2502% off$245Like all of us, your dad deserves to watch movies at the best possible resolution, which is where a 4K Blu-ray player comes in. Panasonic makes some of the best models you can buy, and when paired with the right TV, 4K Blu-rays look and sound better than even the most high-res streaming apps. Plus, it’s still fun to collect discs.$125If your dad’s shaving gadget repertoire is outdated, try treating him to a fantastic — and customizable — beard trimmer. Panasonic’s washable, wide-tipped model comes with 19 adjustable settings and can cut hair, too, just in case dad wants to keep a short ’do or touch up his sideburns.$125 at Amazon$125 at PanasonicOntel Battery Daddy storage system$15$2025% off$15Most modern gadgets are rechargeable via USB-C, but many households still rely on traditional batteries for all sorts of things. Your dad is sure to be impressed with your moxie when you gift him this deluxe battery organizer, which has dedicated compartments for coin cell batteries, large D-cell batteries, and all of the smaller sizes in between.Baseus Free2Pull Retractable USB-C Cable 100W$10$2255% off$10Most people don’t want to wrangle cables… and who can blame them? Not us, which is why several folks at The Verge own Baseus’ handy, retractable USB-C option. The Free2Pull comes in two sizes, each of which conveniently pulls the excess cable into a small puck that’s far tidier and easier to manage than a loose cord.$200Most Lego creations occupy some desk or table space, which can be annoying if you’re trying to tidy up. However, every item from Lego’s Vincent van Gogh collection, which consists of several brick-ified paintings from the artist’s late-1800s heyday, can be assembled and then mounted to your wall.$220A massage gun is a gift that keeps on giving. When muscles and tendons are tight or sore, the Theragun Mini serves as a quick and easy remedy, allowing dad to get on with his day with less discomfort. The third-gen model is just a little smaller, making what was already an ultra-portable device even more compact.Birdfy Feeder 1$120$22045% off$120Looking at birds is cool, and we’re all better off spending more time doing it. And while birdwatching typically requires patience and a decent pair of binoculars, you could summon birds with Birdfy’s entry-level smart feeder, which features a 1080p camera and an app that lets you view birds up close as they munch on seeds.Xreal One smart glasses$499$499The Xreal One aren’t the most affordable augmented-reality glasses available, but they are some of the best for displaying movies and games on the go. You can connect them via USB-C to your smartphone, tablet, or handheld gaming PC, making the 84-gram spectacles the ultimate upgrade for both plane flights and your commute.$499 at Amazon$499 at XrealTime Timer MOD (Home Edition)$20$2520% off$20A basic timer may seem like a thoughtless gift, but there are many tasks we procrastinate on every day that could be more easily managed if we dedicated a little bit of time to them. A visual Pomodoro timer, such as the colorful MOD (Home Edition), is key to helping break tasks into manageable chunks or take them on all at once.Nintendo Switch 2$449$449The Switch 2 could make for a stellar gift for any dad — that is, if you can manage to preorder one ahead of the console’s arrival on June 5th. Nintendo’s latest hybrid console packs a larger 7.9-inch 1080p display, magnetic Joy-Con controllers, and a host of other minor but welcome improvements that build upon what was already a winning formula.

Alex Garland is set to adapt Elden Ring, and the director has the perfect stylistic inspiration rooted in his most unconventional horror film. Garland first gained notoriety as a writer, penning scripts for 28 Days Later and Dredd. He even worked in the video game world, as co-writer of the underrated gem Enslaved: Odyssey to the West and the reboot game DMC: Devil May Cry. Garland later ventured into directing after rumors circulated that he "ghost-directed" Dredd when problems arose with credited director Pete Travis. He made waves with his official directorial debut, Ex Machina, continuing to helm films like Annihilation, Civil War, and Warfare.

A rumored Elden Ring movie became a little more of a reality on Thursday night when Bandai Namco announced that Alex Garland (Civil War, Ex Machina) was set to direct a film adaptation of the FromSoftware action role-playing-game for indie-studio darling A24. George R.R. Martin, who provided game director Hidetaka Miyazaki with a murky amount of mythological foundation for the original game, will serve as a producer on the film. Garland might look like an odd choice for Elden Ring based on his filmography; the writer-director has never made a fantasy epic, nor has he orchestrated the kind of medieval combat that would make him an obvious choice to bring Miyazaki’s tough-as-hell boss fights to live action. But Garland’s “gamer cred” is indisputable and an understanding of play is core to much of his work. Hot take time: I’d say his 2012 film Dredd is the greatest video game movie that isn’t actually based on a video game ever made. Starting out as a novelist before pivoting to screenwriting and directing, Garland has made his gaming inspirations known throughout his career. He has said that his time outrunning zombie dogs in Resident Evil was the direct inspiration for the fast zombies in 28 Days Later, which he wrote for director Danny Boyle. When he and Boyle teamed up to adapt Garland’s own novel, The Beach, the collaboration resulted in the closest thing we will ever get to Leonardo DiCaprio’s Banjo-Kazooie movie. In 2005, riding high off 28 Days Later’s success, Garland was tasked by Microsoft with adapting Halo into a feature film — a project that stalled out and sat on a shelf for so long that streaming television was invented and Halo became a decent Paramount Plus show instead. He also went on to collaborate on actual video games: He worked with Ninja Theory and Bandai Namco on 2010’s Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, and he served as a story supervisor on 2013’s DmC: Devil May Cry. At some point around that time, he played and fell hard for The Last of Us. (In fact, Garland thinks TLOU is better than 28 Days Later, but hey, none of us are right about everything.) Garland’s gaming tastes are all over the map — in 2020 he aggressively kept up an Animal Crossing island like the rest of us — but his visible influences veer toward the AAA action experience. His adaptation of Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation has the pace and encounters of an open-world game. His FX show Devs seems right up the alley of anyone looking for Deus Ex or Control vibes. Both Civil War and his 2025 film Warfare bring audiences closer to the kind of tactical military action that we rarely see in movies, but that is all over multiplayer shooters. But for my money, his off-the-leash translation of video game aesthetics and experience in cinematic form happened with Dredd. Written and produced by Garland and technically directed by Pete Travis (Vantage Point), Dredd drops the classic 2000 AD comic antihero, played by The Boys’ Karl Urban, into a The Raid-esque action scenario: To stop a violent drug lord (Lena Heady), the Judge must blast his way through 200 stories of a highly barricaded Mega-City One high-rise. Between the slo-mo effects induced by the illicit drug (appropriately named “Slo-Mo”) and the psychic abilities of Dredd’s sidekick Cassandra, Dredd is a dizzying array of action beats that plunges viewers into a bullet hell without resorting to any gimmicky first-person shooting. By all accounts, the making of Dredd was a fraught experience for all involved, with the studio losing enough faith in Travis that Garland remained on set for the entire shoot and supervised the edit. Urban even claims Garland “actually directed the movie.” When you see it, that makes sense — even the Slo-Mo effects feel specifically like a bullet-time mechanic rather than a complete acid trip. Will Garland make a great Elden Ring movie? What does that even look like? The good news is he’s probably been thinking about it for years, as a fan of FromSoft games. In interviews over the years, the filmmaker has cited Dark Souls as a particular favorite franchise, and even offered an explanation for why an adaptation would be such a challenge. “The Dark Souls games seem to have this embedded poetry in them,” Garland told Gamespot in 2020. “You’ll be wandering around and find some weird bit of dialogue with some sort of broken song with a bit of armor outside a doorway and it feels like you’ve drifted into some existential dream. That’s what I really love about Dark Souls. These spaces are so imaginative and they seem to flow into each other and flow out of each other. It’s very dreamlike […] I can’t imagine how that would [be adapted]. The quality that makes Dark Souls special is probably unique to video games.” The joy Garland finds in Dark Souls games isn’t far off from what Elden Ring offers him as a director — in the end, a successful adaptation will ride on mood and pace and some wicked fights. That’s what Dredd nails, even without a game as actual source material. Dredd broods without relying on too much exposition. Cassandra’s ethereal psychic powers thread a bit of innocence and whimsy into a heavy-metal dystopia. The action is brutal to the point that it often feels like a horror movie (a style Garland pushed to even more gut-wrenching, realistic extremes in Warfare).  “Elden Ring from the guy who brought us Dredd” makes a lot of sense. Now to find an actor with eight arms…

Hollywood is about to get Tarnished (Bandai Namco) A film adaptation of FromSoftware’s Elden Ring is in the works, with George R.R. Martin on board as a producer. After rumours emerged earlier this month, FromSoftware has officially announced it is partnering with A24 to make a live-action film adaptation of Elden Ring. As announced in a press release, Alex Garland will write and direct the project. He’s best known for directing films like Ex Machina, Annihilation, and Civil War, but he’s also served as writer on several Danny Boyle films, specifically Sunshine, 28 Days Later, and its upcoming sequel 28 Years Later. Garland has worked on video games too, serving as a co-writer on 2010’s Enslaved: Odyssey To The West and a story supervisor on 2013’s DmC: Devil May Cry. George R.R. Martin, who contributed to the story of Elden Ring alongside the game’s director Hidetaka Miyazaki, is a producer on the film. He’s joined by Game Of Thrones producer Vince Gerardis, Peter Rice, and Andrew Macdonald and Allon Reich from DNA Films. Interestingly, Miyazaki’s name isn’t mentioned, which suggests he’s not involved. Speaking to The Guardian last year, he expressed his interest in making a film adaptation of Elden Ring but said he doesn’t think he has the ‘knowledge or ability to produce something in a different medium’. Adapting Elden Ring’s dark fantasy world to live-action will certainly be a challenge, but the biggest task might be translating the game’s lore into a tight narrative, unless it opts to tell its own story within the same universe. More Trending Between Garland and Martin though, this is probably the most promising film based on a video game currently in development. Others in the works include a BioShock movie at Netflix, a new Street Fighter movie, a Death Stranding film, OutRun with Sydney Sweeney, along with countless more. There is no indication of when the Elden Ring film will be released, or when it will start shooting, so it will likely be a few years away yet. This announcement comes a week ahead of Elden Ring: Nightreign, a roguelike multiplayer spin-off which is set to launch on May 30 across PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Nightreign launches this month (Bandai Namco) Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. GameCentral Sign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

Nightreign is right around the corner, but it seems we'll be getting a different kind of opportunity to visit Elden Ring's Lands Between with a movie in the worksTech10:00, 17 May 2025This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn moreWe could be getting an Elden Ring movieElden Ring is one of the best games of the last few years, expertly weaving FromSoft's challenging combat and flexible character customisation into an open world full of secrets.While Nightreign is on the horizon, rumours have circulated about a potential Elden Ring movie adaptation. The game, which is set in a universe built by both famed director Hidetaka Miyazaki and Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin, could see a new cinematic project if reports are anything to go by.We've rounded up all we've heard about the project, including the director reportedly leading the chase–and it may surprise you.Expect some pretty messed up creaturesSpeaking with IGN earlier this year, Martin said: "Well, I can't say too much about it, but there is some talk about making a movie out of Elden Ring,” while also acknowledging he's still trying to finish the next A Song of Fire and Ice Book that Game of Thrones was based on.“We'll see if that [the Elden Ring movie] comes to pass and what the extent of my involvement was, I don't know,” he said at the time.“I'm a few years behind with my latest book, so that also limits the amount of things that I can do.”That was in February, and things had gone quiet since then until one site, Nexus Point News, reported that Hollywood director Alex Garland was attached to the movie for A24.Content cannot be displayed without consentThat report was then removed, leading some to ponder its veracity, but longtime Hollywood insider Jeff Sneider published in his newsletter that Alex Garland is indeed looking likely to direct.Given Garland has worked on the 2013 Devil May Cry reboot and 2010's Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, in between racking up huge critical successes across Ex Machina, Warfare, and Annihilation, he's certainly got an understanding of video games and what it takes to make a great movie.The project is reportedly the most expensive movie A24 has produced, and will surpass Garland's Civil War in terms of budget.The studio is also responsible for horror movies like Hereditary, Talk To Me, and Heretic, which is handy given how creepy some of Elden Ring's vibes can be.Article continues belowWe'll naturally keep an eye out for more details, and it seems the deal for Garland isn't done just yet. Still, the idea of a new adventure in The Lands Between is certainly exciting.For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.‌

Three Formerly Enslaved Artists Created Beautiful Pottery 150 Years Ago, and Now Their Wares Are Coveted Around the World The stunning vessels from the H. Wilson & Company were forgotten for generations, only to gain new appreciation for the craftsmanship that went into them Photographs by DeSean McClinton-Holland Jacoba Urist June 2025 A jar made by H. Wilson & Company in Capote, Texas. Right, the muddy banks of Salt Creek, a tributary of the Guadalupe River about 50 miles northeast of San Antonio, where Wilson’s pottery company sourced its fine red clay.  The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; DeSean McClinton-Holland In 1856, the Reverend John McKamie Wilson Jr., a Presbyterian minister and entrepreneur interested in clay science, relocated from North Carolina to Texas. There in the Capote Hills—a rural, sparse enclave in Guadalupe County, 12 miles from the town of Seguin—Wilson opened a business called Guadalupe Pottery. Wilson mainly sold jugs, churns, crocks and cemetery flower jars. The pots featured crescent handles and a deep chocolate-colored interior of liquefied clay. Before refrigerators and iceboxes, high-fire, nonporous pottery was essential to life—the Tupperware or Ziploc bags of the 19th century. Clay pots preserved everything from grains, beef and butter to whiskey and even drinking water. The potters who worked under Wilson’s direction mostly used alkaline glaze, one of the oldest methods in ceramics, to create a glassy exterior from a slurry of wood ash, sand and clay. An arduous process in the 1850s, it took days to stoke underground wood-burning kilns to a high enough temperature for a successful firing. Three of Wilson’s potters were enslaved servants who traveled to Texas with him—Hiram, James and Wallace. For more than a decade, these men were responsible for nearly every facet of Guadalupe Pottery’s production: from mixing clay and expertly “throwing” the pots on a kick wheel to glazing and stacking vessels and meticulously controlling the temperature and duration of the kiln’s flames. The men kept working for the reverend even after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. In Texas, slavery didn’t end until June 19, 1865, when Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston and issued General Order No. 3, informing the people of Texas that all who’d been enslaved were free—the event commemorated as Juneteenth.  Paula King Harper, a descendant of Hiram Wilson, sits on the steps of the Sebastopol House in Seguin, Texas, with Wilson vessels from her own collection. Harper leads the Wilson Pottery Foundation and coordinates the Wilson Pottery Show each October. DeSean McClinton-Holland Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine now for just $19.99 This article is a selection from the June 2025 issue of Smithsonian magazine In 1869, Hiram founded his own stoneware business at a new site with James and Wallace, H. Wilson & Company. (Though not biologically related, all three took their enslaver’s surname, the practice of some Black Americans at the time.) Some scholars believe that H. Wilson & Company was the first business in Texas founded and owned by formerly enslaved people.  Pots created by the hands of Hiram Wilson and his colleagues have been passed down through households and sold at garage sales over the course of many generations. Today, their rich history, as well as their distinctive styles and glazes, make the jugs sought-after acquisitions for museum collections. Left to right: A preserve jar, a three-gallon butter churn and a large jar with a lid from the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; a stoneware jar from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.  The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (3); NMAH A century and a half later, the pots they made are celebrated in the ceramics world. In silvery grays and greens, with uneven salt drips and textured glazes that resemble the moon’s surface or, sometimes, an orange peel, Wilson wares are coveted both as objets d’art and for their extraordinary story of Black self-determination in the postwar South. Wilson pottery now resides in museums across the United States, from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston—an indelible part of the country’s entrepreneurial and creative heritage.   The story of Hiram, James and Wallace Wilson is woven through with threads of folklore, given the sparse records kept at that time, particularly for people born into slavery. But over the last 50 years, researchers have uncovered more details about the Wilsons. Georgeanna Greer—a San Antonio pediatrician and ceramics collector-aficionado—was passionate about locating abandoned kilns, and she left a trove of Wilson information behind, including a 1973 taped interview with James Wilson’s son, James Wilson Jr.  Capote Baptist Church has been in the midst of a restoration since 2012. After a new pastor, Terry Williams, arrived, its membership surged from 4 congregants to 85. DeSean McClinton-Holland A wooden cross on the property of the Capote Baptist Church that Hiram Wilson founded in 1872 DeSean McClinton-Holland Emancipation offered the Wilsons an opportunity none had ever expected. Establishing a pottery business was complex and costly. It meant finding a suitable site, testing clay, constructing a kiln and hiring proficient workers. And the men did all this in an “intensely dangerous environment,” said Ashley Williams, a recent fellow at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. In the late 1860s, Black residents of Guadalupe County “filed almost 200 complaints with the Freedmen’s Bureau for unpaid wages and violent crimes” perpetrated against them. A Baptist missionary from Maine, the Reverend Leonard Ilsley, helped Hiram buy 600 acres of land for $500 and likely either gave Hiram a personal loan or served as a guarantor in the transaction. When Hiram died in 1884­—survived by his wife, Senia, and 11 children—Ilsley served as administrator of his estate. One of Hiram’s great-great-granddaughters, LaVerne Lewis Britt, first discovered her connection to the potters after her retirement, when she became interested in genealogy. Over the course of five years, she researched and wrote a book called In Praise of Hiram Wilson, which describes how her ancestor created a thriving post-slavery community in Capote. Hiram set aside 10 of his 600 acres for a Baptist church and became its minister. The white steepled chapel remains active today, beside a cemetery with cedar and crape myrtle trees. Many Wilsons have been laid to rest there, including Hiram, whose grave is marked by a tall obelisk.  Pastor Terry Williams has been leading the Capote Baptist Church since 2015. When he arrived, he says, he felt the spirit of Hiram Wilson and other former slaves who founded the church in 1872—“a cold breeze coming up in the summertime.”  DeSean McClinton-Holland A Bible rests on the piano at Capote Baptist Church. Right, the building has been in the midst of a restoration since 2012. After Pastor Williams arrived, its membership surged from 4 congregants to 85. Hiram also founded a one-room schoolhouse where Paula King Harper, another of his descendants, says her grandmother once taught. King Harper is the current president of the Wilson Pottery Foundation. On the phone, she described how interest in her celebrated ancestor’s technique has spread in collector circles since the organization’s founding in 1999. A pottery collector in San Antonio was at a garage sale and noticed the green salt glaze drip from underneath dirt that had dried on a gallon jug. “They purchased it for less than $10, went home, cleaned it up, and guess what it was? A stamped H. Wilson.” Finding that stamp is now the equivalent of finding a signed painting by a renowned artist. King Harper once sat at an auction that included several pieces of Wilson pottery from someone’s private estate. “There was a beautiful, pristine five-gallon jug I watched sell for $12,000,” she said. Traditionally, clay artists, who made quotidian jugs and jars rather than purely aesthetic works, have been considered second-tier makers, ranking below sculptors. But over the last few decades, contemporary and historic ceramicists like the Wilsons are receiving new scholarly and art-world attention. Williams, the recent Smithsonian fellow, is researching the Wilsons as part of her doctorate at Columbia University. She notes that most enslaved potters wouldn’t have been able to inscribe their names or initials on a pot. But once the Wilson potters were free, they added a maker’s mark, which made all the difference. Future generations were able to dive into the records and find out more about the remarkable potters. “Because we can tie the makers to these objects, which is so rare, it allows us to see the story about the resilience of the Wilson potters during slavery, and their extreme success and survival,” Williams said. Elmer Joe Brackner Jr. was a graduate student in anthropology at the University of Texas when he unearthed buried ceramic shards and located the original kilns at two different H. Wilson & Company sites. DeSean McClinton-Holland Ashley Williams, a recent pre-doctoral fellow at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, has been researching the Wilson potters as part of her PhD dissertation on crafts made by enslaved and imprisoned artists. DeSean McClinton-Holland The Wilsons’ style may have been influenced by the works coming out of the Edgefield district in South Carolina, a place then known as a kind of pottery Mecca. It was famous for massive, bulbous jars and glazes, features that the early Wilson pots share. Edgefield has its own significant history of highly skilled Black craftsmen, including David Drake, the earliest known enslaved potter to inscribe his work. CollectorsDeSean McClinton-Holland Later, the Wilsons’ pottery took on more distinctive features. The men started out using alkaline glaze, but once they opened their own business they switched to salt glaze, likely for its strength and waterproofing properties. Salt glaze also produces more consistent colors and textures, such as the bumpy orange-peel finish admired by H. Wilson & Company collectors. At the time, the method was uncommon in Texas, according to Michelle Johnson, project manager of the William J. Hill Texas Artisans and Artists Archive at the Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens, part of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. “And it was dangerous,” she said, because salt glaze produces highly toxic chlorine gas from the wet salt thrown into the kiln during firing. (For this reason, contemporary ceramicists avoid the method altogether.) The Wilsons may have learned the technique from Isaac Suttles, an Ohio-born potter known for salt glazing, who is listed in the United States census as living in Seguin at the time.  The Sebastopol House, a Greek Revival home, was built in the 1850s by enslaved laborers who had advanced skills in working with concrete. Today, the building houses the Wilson Pottery Museum.  DeSean McClinton-Holland Lid rims are another notable element of H. Wilson & Company’s jars. At the first pottery-making site, during their enslavement, the men made more tie-down rims—jars without lids that require paper or cloth as a cover, which were easier and faster to make. Later, at their own shop, they crafted rims fitted for lids. Those lid rims allowed for more watertightstorage, but they also required more sophisticated expertise.If you think you may have stumbled on one of these treasures at a garage or estate sale, look for a horseshoe-like handle—the most significant visual identifier of a Wilson pot. It’s still unclear why Hiram, James and Wallace switched to these thicker, rolled handles from their original Edgefield-inspired crescents. It may have been because horseshoe handles are sturdier, offering more surface connection to the pot’s body. It’s another puzzling question that Williams is pursuing and hopes to answer in the future.  It took a long time for the art world to discover the Wilsons’ creations. After Hiram’s death in 1884, James and Wallace Wilson went on to work at another pottery site run by Marion Durham, a potter from South Carolina who had moved to Texas with John Chandler, who was most likely his enslaved servant at the time. By the time the Wilsons joined them, Durham and Chandler were in business together. That site closed in 1903. These pots remained in circulation, but many details of their story were lost.  Modern replicas of the Wilson pottery logo created by Earline Green. DeSean McClinton-Holland Earline Green, an educator and a member of the Wilson Pottery Foundation’s board of directors. Green helps promote the potters’ legacy by demonstrating their innovative 19th-century techniques.  DeSean McClinton-Holland Decades later, an anthropology graduate student named Elmer Joe Brackner Jr. conducted a magnetometry survey to find buried pottery. (Clay contains iron oxides that can become magnetized.) At the original Guadalupe Pottery site he found what’s known as a “groundhog kiln,” a uniquely Southern, semi-subterranean kiln used in the 19th century for firing alkaline-glazed pottery. At the second site, home of the independent H. Wilson & Company, Brackner found ceramic-glazed shards and another groundhog kiln. His research, and that of Georgeanna Greer, the ceramic historian, helped piece together the Wilsons’ unusual story. After many years of advocacy by the Wilson Pottery Foundation, art historians and curators began scouring land deeds, court documents and handwritten capacity marks (numbers that denote the volume of each jug) to present a fuller picture of the Wilsons, sometimes correcting previous theories about their methodology and timeline. Texas ceramic artist Earline Green researches the Wilsons’ past while creating her own pottery to honor their legacy. In 2018, she interviewed Wilson descendants and collectors and visited historical societies in Texas for archival information. Two years later, she curated an exhibition on her campus in Fort Worth; the show also displayed ceramic pieces she created based on the work of the Wilson potters. Deacon Willie Hightower Sr., a descendant of Hiram Wilson and one of the current deacons at Capote Baptist Church. DeSean McClinton-Holland Hiram Wilson’sDeSean McClinton-Holland The narrative continues to evolve, due in no small part to proud descendants of Hiram, James and Wallace. Every three years, hundreds of people gather in Seguin, Texas, for a jubilant three-day Wilson family reunion that is open to the public. In 2023, festivities included the Wilson Pottery Foundation gala and a tenth anniversary celebration at the Wilson Pottery Museum. The last reunion fell on the weekend before Juneteenth, and the reunion committee arranged a kickoff concert Sunday evening followed by Juneteenth events in Seguin’s downtown square. “I was fortunate to grow up in Texas in the 1980s, around the time when our cousin LaVerne Lewis Britt had uncovered the history,” explains DeSean McClinton-Holland, the photographer of this story and a Wilson descendant through his maternal grandmother. “I grew up knowing bits of the story and visiting the church.” He describes the process of documenting Hiram Wilson’s legacy as a healing journey. “To think, he was born into slavery and was able to accomplish so much shortly thereafter,” he says. “It’s inspiring and motivating to think of all the freedoms we have now, and that we really have to push a bit harder.”  Get the latest Travel & Culture stories in your inbox.