Five Things | Manuel Lima
For the second entry in our ongoing Five Things series, we asked Visual Complexity author Manuel Lima to share what’s inspiring him these days.
1. Fabrico Próprio
As a Portuguese-turned-New-Yorker, I have my occasional cravings for our beautiful, delectable, well-crafted pastry cakes. Fortunately, a group of friends, even more obsessed than I, have recently published the mouthwatering second edition of Fabrico Próprio: The Design of Portuguese Semi-Industrial Confectionery.
2. Mortality
One of the saddest news this year has been the passing of Christopher Hitchens, a remarkable intellect, vigorous contrarian, and outstanding writer. His last book, published posthumously, is a deep, heart-wrenching look into this extraordinary man.
3. Rubin Museum of Art
I recently discovered this astonishing museum by accident, during a Friday night birthday party at its cocktail lounge. In case you’re interested in ancient visual culture, particularly from a non-westernized point of view, or have a genuine fascination for Mandalas, you’ll fall in love with this cultural gem.
4. Fernando Botero
After spending a few relaxing days in Colombia last month, and visiting the Museum Botero in Bogotá, I felt like I was given access to the astute artistic impetus of the painter who considers himself “the most Colombian of Colombian artists”. You can experience some of Botero’s captivating paintings at Marlborough Gallery in New York.
5. McNally Jackson Books
This is one of my favorite bookstores in New York and there’s rarely a weekend in the city when I don’t try to drag my wife inside, in order to peruse every book I can get hold of. Despite being immersed in digital technology every second of the day (ed: follow McNally Jackson on tumblr), there’s nothing more soothing and satisfying to me than spending some time surrounded by old media.
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A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and nominated by Creativity magazine as “one of the 50 most creative and influential minds of 2009,” Manuel Lima is a Senior UX Design Lead at Microsoft Bing and founder of visualcomplexity.com—a visual exploration on mapping complex networks.
