Apr
24

The Arts and Crafts ethic stressed simplicity, use of natural materials, and a return to individual craftsmanship. A Craftsman style lamp is a wonderful expression of this ethic.

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Electric light, although valued for its usefulness, seemed harsh and unnatural to Arts and Crafts designers. To tone down the glare and create a soft, subtle light, they used a wide variety of materials to shade the bulbs. The results were lamps of great beauty. Unlike earlier shades, Arts and Crafts shades were designed to throw light downward into the room or onto the table. This not only increased the useful light in the room but also allowed heat generated by the light bulb to escape more easily, so a greater range of materials could be used for the shade.

Incandescent bulbs were covered with shades made of stained glass, mica, or colored blown glass, all of which satisfactorily softened their glaring light. Shades were also made of linen, silk, and heavy parchment. Mica, a transparent or subtly colored mineral that naturally occurs in thin layers, was highly valued for shades. Shards of mica layered with shellac were often placed in a frame of copper, which gave the shade its shape. The mica, in tones of palest ivory through amber, softly filtered electric light and cast a golden glow over rooms. Dirk Van Erp was famous for his mica shades, which are valuable objects today.

Stained glass was also a favorite material used to shade Craftsman style lamps. From the simple cone-shaped shades of the Roycrofters to the curving forms designed by Tiffany, stained glass was valued both the soft glow it imparted and the motifs it could express. Handel Company lamps are particularly prized by collectors of Craftsman style lamps.

Frosted glass was also popular. Gustav Stickley designed hanging fixtures like lanterns in his Craftsman Workshop. They were elegantly simple frosted glass tubes set in hammered copper frames and suspended on matching chains. This simple design is a classic choice today.

The bases of Craftsman style lamps were as beautiful as the shades. Many materials were used to make the bases for table lighting, including quartersawn oak, walnut, or mahogany; art pottery and leaded glass; and metal such as wrought iron or beaten copper and bronze. Teco Pottery, in Terra Cotta, Illinois, was famous for the architectural shapes of its art pottery, and it used the same aesthetic in designing lamp bases. A Teco lamp is a prized possession for collectors.

Arts and Crafts architects designed interiors as well as exteriors, using one inspirational theme to unify all elements of a design. The motif would be repeated, perhaps with some variation of form, in the lamps and shades as well. Frank Lloyd Wright invented the indirect alcove lighting so popular in modern construction. The frosted glass globes suspended in wooden frames created a bright band over windows or built-in furniture. Greene and Greene designed a lantern of wood and stained glass in shades of amber, caramel, gold, and green that repeated the cloud motif they used as a unifying theme throughout the house. It hung over the dining table and could be raised or lowered with a system of pulleys.

Harsh electric light was forced to conform to the values of simplicity and naturalness with a great variety of beautifully designed Craftsman style lamps.

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Apr
23

Admired for its simplicity and directness, Craftsman architecture is experiencing a resurgence of popularity today, more than a hundred years after its beginnings. Like the architecture of the Arts and Crafts movement in Europe, it relied on readily available native materials and reflected the historical influence of the builder. Architects sought to harmonize the structure with the site, blurring the line between interior and exterior. New ideas about health encouraged outdoor living on terraces and porches.

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Gustav Stickley’s houses were the first to carry the Craftsman name, which he also used for his Craftsman Workshops, his Craftsman Home Builder’s Club, and The Craftsman magazine. Strictly speaking, the only houses that can be truly called “Craftsman” are the ones built from designs that appeared in the magazine, but his style was so popular that the term was soon used for other houses of similar style. Stickley’s floor plans usually included suggestions for an exterior architectural scheme, including Tudor, Spanish Mission, Dutch Colonial, and Bungalow styles.

Gothic and Tudor styles were very popular. The first Roycroft buildings were influenced by St. Oswald’s Church in Grasmere, England, echoing its style with plain Gothic windows and post-and-beam construction from natural logs. The crenellated tower of the print shop echoes the medieval castles of England but is built of native glacial stones. Fourteen buildings on the original Roycroft Campus have been designated as National Historic Landmarks. Fonthill, built by the tile manufacturer Henry Mercer, was inspired by the medieval fortresses of Europe and was filled with a fabulous tile collection.

In California and throughout the Southwest, Mission or Craftsman architecture reflected the Spanish history of the area. Houses characteristically included stucco walls, wrought-iron grillwork, and glazed accent tiles. They usually had courtyards or other outdoor living areas. Terra-cotta tile roofs were common.

In the heartland of North America, Craftsman architecture reflected the unbroken horizon with Prairie style, developed by Frank Lloyd Wright. These houses were characterized by low, nearly flat roofs with deep overhangs. Heavily squared columns supported the porches, and geometric art glass windows were favored. The Darwin Martin complex in Buffalo, New York, is arguably Wright’s finest work of that period, and is now being restored.

Four-Square houses, which developed in the American Midwest, are another version of Craftsman architecture. The straightforward lines and practical squared shape represent the “honesty” prized by Arts and Crafts reformers. These houses were characterized by a square footprint and second story; sometimes the attic had dormers and was used as a third floor.

The most famous style of Craftsman architecture was the Bungalow, which could range from a tiny cottage to a very large house. Greene and Greene designed the Gamble House, now a museum, in Pasadena in the early 1900s, incorporating many Oriental elements. Other architects followed their lead, incorporating low, sweeping rooflines and verandas in their house plans.

The diversity of Craftsman architecture is fascinating. Each region created its own version of Arts and Crafts architecture, using local materials and honoring individual heritage.

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Apr
21

Contemporary furniture is made from a variety of materials. The furniture can be constructed from several types of hard materials, and the fabric can range as well. This article will differentiate some of the different materials used to create contemporary furniture.

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Contemporary furniture construction materials range widely in quality and source. Every type of material can be used from wood to metal to plastic, depending on how the item is manufactured, and who designed it. Outlined below you’ll find some of the materials you can use in furniture; hopefully it can help you decide what it is you need for your furniture.

Woods are still very popular, and can be ornately decorated or sparely engraved in woods such as oak, birch, cherry, and more. In contemporary furniture that utilizes wood, the quality of the material is tantamount to the price of the piece. You won’t be able to find a good quality wood in a low-priced furniture piece.

Plastics are also used in contemporary furniture, especially in mass produced items. Plastic is much easier to work with in a factory setting, so it can be difficult to find couture items in plastic. Before buying anything in plastic, be sure that the thickness and quality of the material will stand up to the test of time.

Another material used on contemporary furniture is metal. Metals are very popular because they’re easy to use in both couture and mass production pieces, and they compliment fabrics well. Anything from steel to aluminum to chrome is used in contemporary furniture.

The fabric used in furniture plays an enormous role in the beauty of the object. Generally, you can find one of two types of fabric on a piece of furniture: synthetic or natural.

Natural fibers, such as wool or cotton or silk are very popular in furniture. Wool and cotton are very durable, and they’re able to come in several colors – and many times you can have a piece of wool or cotton dyed to the perfect color to match your room. Silk, however, is a much more delicate fiber and isn’t used as often in furniture as a main fiber. Silk is a very high-maintenance material, whereas wool and cotton require much less maintenance.

Synthetic fibers such as nylon and olefin are very popular machine woven fabrics, which are very colorfast and soil resistant. It is relatively easy to clean the materials; therefore it is recommended that you place these types of materials in high-traffic areas of your home.

As you can see, contemporary furniture uses a range of fabric and construction materials. It can be as simple as going to the local furniture store to find the perfect contemporary piece for your home. Just make sure the materials you use are suited to your area, traffic, and aesthetic needs. The materials of your furniture are sure to last if you pick the right material the first time.

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Apr
21

The Craftsman style home has been an American classic for over a century. These houses are characterized by the use of natural materials, an emphasis on structural form, and the integration of interior and exterior spaces. Their open floor plan prefigured the ‘ranch’ houses so popular in the second half of the 20th century.

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Strictly speaking, only house plans published in Gustav Stickley’s The Craftsman magazine can be called Craftsman homes. He published descriptions, drawings, and floor plans for his homes starting in 1901, and he considered everything about the home as his subject. He wrote, “The word that is best loved in the language of every nation is home, for when a man’s home is born out of his heart and developed through his labor and perfected through his sense of beauty, it is the very cornerstone of his life.” His Craftsman houses, like his furniture, were an attempt to provide that cornerstone. His magazine featured at least one house a month for years, and subscribers could request building plans for one house from the series per year, free of charge.

The Craftsman style home can be recognized by the refinement of design and the quality of construction and finish. It is usually related harmoniously to the building site and is often placed to advantage using the site. The house is built with natural materials native to the region. Sticklely’s house designs rely on exposed structural elements for decorative details. The variety of natural materials included provide textures for light to play on. Visual interest is created by recessed porches and entryways. The interiors of Stickley’s houses emphasize form and function. Space is conservatively and creatively used for living, with design elements utilizing wood and built-in spaces such as inglenooks, benches and cabinets. Light fixtures and hardware are integrated as design elements.

Stickley intended his home designs “to substitute the luxury of taste for the luxury of costliness; to teach that beauty does not imply elaboration or ornament; to employ only those forms and materials which make for simplicity, individuality and dignity of effect.” Other designers and architects, like Greene and Greene, Elbert Hubbard of Roycroft, and Frank Lloyd Wright had similar intentions, and soon their houses too were referred to as Craftsman style homes. Stickley designed over 241 houses in the course of his career, and his decorative details were expensive to execute. Although his houses were idealistically conceived for the masses, they were built primarily by the middle class.

The rich could commission homes by Greene and Greene or Wright. The working class could order not only plans but entire kits from Sears and Roebuck’s mail-order catalog. The house would be delivered with pre-cut lumber, nails, doors, etc., as well as a sheet of instructions. Every necessary building component was included, and a local craftsman could easy assemble the house. The middle class used Stickley’s plans to create their Craftsman style home.

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Apr
19

Modern art a term used to represent most of the artistic production from the late 19th century to the 1960s. Since the invention of photography, it has been somewhat obsolete for artists to reproduce subjects realistically. With their new vision they found new ways of experiencing nature and the materials and function of art, and often led their art in the abstract persuasion.

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This style of artwork began in printing and painting, and eventually expanded into architecture and sculpture in the 1800s. By the end of the 1800s, the Impressionism Style (characterized with painting which includes visible brushstrokes, light colors, and usual angles) and Expressionism Style (which is the distortion of reality for an emotional effect) emerged, both of which influenced highly influenced modern art and encouraged its expansion.

In the time period of the late 1800s, the standard belief of art was that it should express the subject accurately; express the idea of any given situation or subject, and it should highlight the domestic nature of things. The most successful painters of the pre-modern era usually worked on commissions or through public exhibitions, and there were even government sponsored unions and exhibits of new fine arts.

When the art form broke the depiction of idealization, it was an enormous artistic and social statement, with vast economic implications. While the artists of the new art movement didn’t identify themselves as being associated with progress or personal artistic freedom, they did argue that they should be able to paint the world as they saw fit.

The movement of modern art identified itself as the representation of universal values and reality. They argued that people do not see objects, they see the reflection of light off objects, and therefore painters should paint in natural light and should capture the effects of natural light on their work. Despite internal and external tensions, the modern artists were able formed groups to promote their works.

This modern art style was embraced by artists from around the globe, and often was chosen over the preferred local or national style. Therefore, the art style was considered a ‘movement’ because of several events: the establishment of a working technique vital to the art, the visible support core, and the international adoption of the art. This would be repeated by artists across the globe in support of the modern art movement.

World War I brought an end to the modern art phase, but began a number of anti-art movements such as Dada, Duchamp, and Surrealism. The style was introduced to the United States of America in 1913, and through European artists who relocated to the United States of America in World War I. After World War II, the United States became the focal point of the new artistic movement and saw the emergence of abstract expressionism, pop-art, op-art, and minimal art. After World War II, fewer artists were using the Modern Art, and instead moved to postmodern works.

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Apr
18

Wrought iron entry doors are not made exclusively of wrought iron. In fact, many of the doors in this category make relatively little use, in terms of overall materials, of wrought iron. The term is used to describe any entry, or main, door that features ornamentation or decoration made of wrought iron. With a huge and always growing selection of wrought iron entry doors, one can certainly find a door for any home. The timeless beauty and elegance of these doors makes them a perfect fit for many homes.

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Wrought iron entry doors come in a variety of styles. Some may appear almost gothic, featuring an extensive bar-like pattern in wrought iron. Others may mimic the styles so often seen in outdoor gates, including arching and loops in iron. Usually, this wrought iron pattern is integrated with the overall look of the door. A wooden door may feature a few wrought iron accents and its windows may have an elaborate wrought iron pattern. A door’s hardware may also be made of wrought iron.

Homeowners love these doors for at least three reasons. First, they are quite beautiful. A plain door can seem almost out of place on many beautiful homes and adding the decorative touch of a wrought iron door can make things look a great deal better. At the same time, wrought iron entry doors can actually spruce up and “elevate” a rather plain home. Many incredibly striking door options make liberal use of wrought iron artistry.

Second, these doors often increase the overall value of the home. They add what a real estate agent may call “curb appeal,” making the home more attractive to buyers. In many cases, the price of adding an elegant wrought iron front door will add a great deal more in value to a home than the cost of the door itself. In a way, wrought iron entry doors are an investment in a property.

Finally, the addition of wrought iron to a door can actually serve a vital protective process. Often, wrought iron patterns are laid over large windows built into the door. The presence of this ironwork can stave off many potential sources of a major glass break. Additionally, many doors are built in such a way that the most common accidents are borne by the strong metal instead of the wood of a door, increasing the doors overall longevity and appearance.

Even though there are some very pragmatic advantages to wrought iron entry doors, the primary factor motivating their acquisition does tend to be appearance. A wrought iron door can be a stunning addition to any home.

If you are building a new home or are considering remodeling your existing property, you may want to consider improving the appearance and value of your home with gorgeous, yet completely functional wrought iron entry doors.

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Apr
17

Even though the practice hasn’t changed much in several hundred years, modern sculpture is still a very popular form of art. It is a form of artistic expression where hard or plastic materials are worked, by carving, molding, or welding, into three dimensional art objects. The designs may be embodied in existing objects, reliefs on surfaces, or in environments ranging from tableaux to context that envelop the spectator. Sculpture can be made of clay, wax, stone, fabric, wood, plaster, rubber, and other seemingly ‘random’ materials and objects. These materials can be carved, molded, modeled, cast, wrought, welded, sewn, assembled, or otherwise manipulated into the sculpture.

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Modern sculpture is not a tem that applies to a fixed or permanent category of objects or activities. The term and practice of modern sculpture grows and changes and continually extends the range of its activities and evolves into new kinds of objects and designs. The definition has changed much more dramatically in the second half of the Twentieth Century than it had in much of the period before, thus turning ‘modern sculpture’ into a fluid state of creation that seemingly no one can predict it’s next inception.

Before ‘modern,’ sculpture was considered to be a solid form of art, or mass that represented something. While the voids and hollows have always had their space in the pieces, modern sculpture has shifted the focus to the spatial aspects of the works of art. Also, before the age of ‘modern,’ sculpture was considered a representational art. While it had long been accepted that three-dimensional objects such as furniture, pots, and buildings were expressive and beautiful, it was not until the Twentieth Century that nonfunctional, nonrepresentational, three-dimensional works of art began production.

Modern sculpture has not been confided to the two traditional forming processes of carving and modeling, nor to such traditional materials such as stone, metal, wood, ivory, bone, and clay. Sculptures can use any form of material and manufacture that serve their purpose, therefore the art of sculpture can not be identified with these techniques.

Even though there has been a great many changes in the mechanics of creating sculptures, the essential thing that remains the same is the fact that is the branch of the visual arts that expresses in three dimensions. Sculpture can either be in ‘round’ (a separate, detached object, with independent space) or ‘relief’ (sculpture which is an integral part or attached to something) forms. Sculpture does not conjure up the illusion of space by optical means – it has a reality, a physical presence that is denied to all other art forms. The forms of sculpture are tangible as well as visible, therefore it appeals greatly to both the touch and vision.

Because three dimensional forms are perceived as having a ‘character’ as well as spatial properties, the use of sculpture has evolved from representational art to an art that, while it takes up actual space, is abstract in thought and form. Modern sculpture manipulates our perceptions of art, bringing beauty, simplicity, and abstraction to prominent art form everyone appreciates.

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Apr
15

In the style of Art Deco, lighting is used to accent and highlight other pieces. Although, a skilled art deco lighting designer will be quick to point out that their pieces can be the center point of any room. Art deco lighting is characterized by the materials (and their characteristics) they’re created from, the fixtures used to create the pieces, the figure of the lamp and more.

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The materials and characteristics common in art deco lighting are aluminum, tubular steel, plastic, pressed glass and plywood. In the early 1920s, electricity began to flow around the world, and thus art deco designers turned to materials that highlighted this new found commodity. In modern times, you can find art deco lighting created from many materials, from steel to plastic. Many art deco lighting fixtures are in mass production; therefore it is relatively easy to find a beautiful fixture made out of modern, conservatively priced materials.

Art deco is characterized by its sleek lines and angularness, and art deco lighting is no different. Lighting techniques can also be used to accent the rest of the décor of the room, creating lighting that not only fits with the theme of the room, but also creates a beauty of its own. Because of the nature of the style, the shapes of the shades and the fixture can create a glow across the room not only for functionality, but also to highlight what the interior designer intended. Many couture art deco lighting fixtures are used to create an ambiance within a room; and many of those pieces have been turned into mass production items, making them available to those without a couture budget.

There are several styles of fixture to choose from, ceiling and wall lights, table and floor lamps, pendant and figure lights. Choosing a fixture is as difficult as choosing any other piece of artwork, but here is a simple guide for you to go by:

Pendant Lights are common, and they highlight a marble glass bowl hung upside down by three chains. The bowl is often round (sometimes it is in the shape of a hexagon, stepped, or cone) and is pattered (usually with animal, flower, or shape designs).

Figure lamps are a classic art deco lighting fixture. The figure lamp usually portrays a coquettishly draped glass female figure holding a globe. You can find reproductions of the original Parisian and Viennese models today.

Other fixtures, such as ceiling, wall, and table lights vary in their characteristics greatly. They can be created from glass and sandblasted with shapes and colors, they can be glass and chrome, with ziggurat shell step or fan shapes, they can have columnar bases with shapes above that are made of plastic, silk, parchment or molded glass, and they can even be dressed up with sunray, gazelle or other animal motifs.

Of the many styles of art fixtures, it is very easy to find one that will compliment your home, even if you don’t have the budget for couture styles. With a few minutes of research, you’ll be able to find the perfect art deco lighting fixture to match your home décor.

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Apr
13

Contemporary sculpture is not your mother’s sculpture! Since the end of the 1960s the only real definition of ‘contemporary sculpture’ is the fact that it fits no mold – it fits into no other sculpting genre. It’s not limited by materials or source, indoor or outdoor setting, function or design or influence. Contemporary sculpture as taken a life of its own – and thanks to the modern sculptors the movement keeps changing and morphing to fit the whims of the artists.

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Many of contemporary sculpture exhibits are practiced outdoors, and this article will focus on those motifs. There are several styles of outdoor contemporary sculpture, ice sculpture, kinetic sculpture, mobile sculpture, snow sculpture and sand castle sculpture.

Ice sculpting is very difficult due to the vulnerability and volatility of the material. Is must be carefully selected to be used for sculpting; the ideal material will be made from pure clean water and have a minimum of air bubbles. The temperature affects how quickly the piece must be completed to avoid melting, and if the sculpting does not take place in a cold environment, an ice house is usually required. Though ice sculpting is becoming more common in a smaller scale at weddings and other festivities, ice sculpting is still very restricted to places that are not warm or temperate.

Often implemented as ‘installation art,’ kinetic sculptures are contemporary sculptures that are designed to move. The name is derived from the Greek “kinesis” (meaning motion) and is related to the scientific term ‘kinetic energy.’ The kinetic element in the sculpture can be caused by any number of things from wind to water to electricity to motors.

Snow sculpture is often performed in full view of spectators, and therefore is sometimes considered a performance art. The materials and tools of change with each sculptor, but usually hand tools like shovels, hatchets and saws are used. The sculptor usually begins with a block of snow ranging from six to fifteen feet that can weigh up to thirty tons. The result is a beautiful snow packed sculpture that is often a sight to behold.

Finally, sand sculpture of castles is another form of contemporary sculpture. Using just sand, water, and tools, the sculptor will create miniature or scale buildings or castles using the sand. A variant on this is the drip castle, which is made by mixing extra water with the sand and dripping the sand onto the earth below using a fist.

While contemporary sculpture can’t be bound by type or form, sculpture today is still held as a beautiful form of art. With themes ranging from aesthetic to politically charged, finding contemporary sculpture that ignites the imagination and flights of fancy isn’t difficult. Support your local artists and sculptors by viewing their shows and seeing their work in action. You can find local showings by checking listings in your local community calendar or newspaper.

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Apr
13

Contemporary ceiling fans follow the contemporary style very well. Made of almost futuristic materials such as brushed nickel, chrome, and steel, contemporary ceiling fans provide a radiant beauty from above along with much needed air movement – providing a functional alternative to standard lighting fixtures. This article will help guide you to find the perfect ceiling fan for your space.

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Although many contemporary ceiling fans are made of brushed nickel, chrome or steel, many are still made in the traditional wood material or even plastic. The material of the ceiling fan doesn’t affect its effectiveness of air movement, but the different materials allow for the light to reflect differently on the surface, allowing the room a different glow with each surface.

Contemporary ceiling fans can have any number of blades, with many different blade shapes. While many conform to the normal long rectangular tradition, you can also find the blades of varying shapes and sizes on one ceiling fan, with anywhere from three to ten blades of different proportions. The shape of the blade has an effect on both the air flow and the light reflection, so make sure you pay attention to both factors when buying the contemporary ceiling fan. Concave other oddly-shaped ceiling fan blades can scatter light in directions you don’t intend, so before buying the ceiling fan make sure you know where you want the light to disperse.

Contemporary ceiling fans mount to the wall in different ways, so that’s another factor to take into consideration when buying. When you look at the room you’re installing your ceiling fan in, think of the direction you want your light, and how far away from the ceiling you want it. Since most ceiling fans are detached from the ceiling, the lighting style changes from normal lighting fixtures – it will reflect light toward the ceiling and then back down – so make sure the ceiling isn’t stark white to blind you when looking up or turning on/off the fan.

Many contemporary ceiling fans also have different means of operating the light fixture and fan. The most common means of operation is a simple cord dangling from the fan, and with each pull of the cord ignites a separate mechanism to work. Thus, this cord will be seen and used very frequently. Make sure the cord meets your room aesthetics and will last a long time with the amount of usage it gets. While they are easy to replace, you may not be able to find the exact style again.

Contemporary ceiling fans can come in many makes and models, styles, elements, colors, and geometries.Ultimately finding the perfect ceiling fan is dependent on the room structure, lighting and air movement needs. Make sure to shop around and talk to a lot of salesmen before buying a ceiling fan so you can ensure yourself that you’ve found the perfect one to withstand the test of time in your space.

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