caseyroonan:

“Darwin’s Finches,” digital (ink on bristol), 12 1/2” x 12 1/2,” 2012.

An assignment for a science illustration class. We were supposed to come up with a new, more effective way to portray the process of evolution than the common image of man “ascending” from ape. I decided to build on this sequential element rather than completely abandon it - creating a series of linear progressions that branch off in many directions from one common ancestor.

I also thought it would be helpful to move away from the loaded (and frankly tired) imagery of Man’s evolution, and instead work in a smaller time frame and from a humbler place in the animal kingdom… Taking Darwin’s own drawings of Galapagos Island “finches” as direct inspiration.

My drawings are not entirely accurate to actual species of course, but my hope is that the ideas driving the images more eloquently express some of the misunderstood aspects of evolutionary theory. Namely, the idea of constant mutation and variation - as opposed to the single chain of “progress” that the more common, hierarchical images suggest - and of a shared ancestry.

-CR 

dresdencodak:

People can be oversensitive, sure, and I think a lot of social justice/outrage on the internet is completely overblown and mostly the product of very young people forming an identity around being offended or being offended on behalf of other people. Self-righteousness of this kind is a lazy kind of behavior done in the place of being legitimately socially conscious. Reblogging or retweeting something someone said and repeatedly calling them a bigot is not the same thing as actually raising public awareness about an issue or (ideally) working to solve it.

On the other hand, that doesn’t in any way mean there isn’t a massive amount of horrible, hurtful things being said by people everywhere, and that there isn’t a huge amount of the public mindset that has some screwed up ideas of how to treat people. Every thoughtful human being has a moral obligation to combat bigotry and all forms of intolerance, but the way you combat bigotry is extremely important. Doing it incorrectly or for the wrong reasons can make matters worse.

How do you strike the balance? Here’s my rule of thumb: Before saying something, ask yourself: am I doing this to realistically change the mind of this person or others’, or am I doing this to show how much more progressive I am? Nothing’s more venomous than attacking someone simply to assert your place in a subculture, even if it’s a subculture of activism. It’s important to always think pragmatically: if what you’re about to say/type/do seems like it’s more about making your feel better, you should rethink how you’re doing it. Lashing out or even mildly nitpicking can potentially hurt what you’re actually trying to accomplish.

The purpose of calling out hurtful language, etc is to ultimately change human behavior for the better. Anything you do without that goal in mind has the potential to be toxic. Don’t release more hate into the world, it’s the opposite of what you set out to do.

This is truth.

bouletcorp:

Expo “Hypermnésie” - dessins de différents moments, de souvenirs. (2011)

I’m back on tumblr! I love this picture!

fuckyeahwakfu:

Wakfu - Together by *DS-Hina

oh god, words cannot express