PhilosophySciencePsychologySocietyCulture
EssaysVideos

Popular

About
DONATENEWSLETTER
/
/
Aeon
DONATE//
/

Ceramic designs spin to life in a tactile meditation on the art of pottery

Capturing the deeply tactile process of making ceramics from start to finish, the US multimedia artist Gordon Moore’s short film Rain Pot (2020) is a meditative look at the ancient art form of pottery. Moore kneads, fires and spins life into the clay, documenting his process while integrating stop-motion animations created from spinning the earthenware, causing his rustic designs to dance. Through the process, animations and the sound of rain throughout, Moore seems to emphasise both the essential and cyclical qualities of the work.

Director: Gordon Moore

25 April 2022
Photo of a hand holding an ornate tarot card with a decorative illustration, two other cards on a black surface in the background.

videoDesign and fashion

Beyond fortune-telling – the enduring beauty and allure of tarot

16 minutes

Painting of philosophers gathered in a grand classical building, featuring figures in colourful robes with an archway framing the sky in the background.

videoHistory of ideas

How to read ‘The School of Athens’ – a triumph of Renaissance art

25 minutes

Photo of a man in a colourful patterned shirt lying in water looking upwards with a focused expression.

videoArt

Finding the spirit of Haiti through a tour of its contemporary art

20 minutes

Photo of ancient stone ruins with large boulders on top surrounded by trees under a blue sky with clouds.

videoHistory

The dry-stacked stones of Zimbabwe are a medieval engineering wonder

7 minutes

Illustration of a blue dragonfly, a green leaf insect and a brown butterfly wing on a light background.

videoHistory of science

Insect aesthetics – long viewed as pests, in the 16th century bugs became beautiful

8 minutes

Illustration of three people, one with wide eyes and mouth open, another holding their head, third timing with a pocket watch.

videoMedicine

Drinking wine from toxic cups was the 17th century’s own dubious ‘detox’ treatment

11 minutes

Painting of a vast landscape featuring rocky hills, a woman with a child and distant snow-capped mountains under a cloudy sky.

videoNature and landscape

After independence, Mexico was in search of identity. These paintings offered a blueprint

15 minutes

Vintage photo of people erecting tall structures in a tropical setting with palm trees and a thatched building.

videoArt

A young Rockefeller collects art on a fateful journey to New Guinea

7 minutes

3D rendering of an ancient water clock with zodiac signs and blue water flowing into a container on a wooden surface.

videoEngineering

How water-based clocks revolutionised the way we measure time

10 minutes