Gustav Zumsteg
Silks from Gustav Zumsteg’s Abraham company in Zurich were loved by designers such as Yves Saint Laurent for being bold, beautiful and glamorous.
Aloys Zötl
From 1831 until his death in 1887, the obscure Austrian dyer and amateur artist Aloys Zötl produced an extensive series of very large and beautifully drawn watercolours of exotic animals, known as the Bestiarium. This massive project was to be his life’s work, although its purpose remains unknown. The watercolours of the Bestiarium, characterized by a brilliant technique and rich colouring, allied to the unbridled imagination of the artist, do not seem to have ever been reproduced in Zötl’s lifetime, either as prints or in the form of a book. While the animals are generally depicted with a high degree of accuracy, they are given a sort of added symbolism in the way in which the artist has depicted them on the page. Most of the watercolours show the animals in some form of natural habitat, although this at times seems to verge on the imaginary. It is not known if these spectacular watercolours were the result of a commission or - as is perhaps most likely, given the fact that they were part of a project that seems to have lasted over fifty years - simply an astonishing, and lifelong, labour of love.
Z machine
The Z machine is the largest X-ray generator in the world and is designed to test materials in conditions of extreme temperature and pressure. Operated by Sandia National Laboratories, it gathers data to aid in computer modeling of nuclear weapons.
zingmagazine
Zingmagazine is a contemporary art magazine founded in 1995 by artist Devon Dikeou.
Bottom’s Dream
Bottom's Dream is a novel published in 1970 by West German author Arno Schmidt. Schmidt began writing the novel in December 1963 while he and Hans Wollschläger began to translate the works of Edgar Allan Poe into German. The novel was inspired by James Joyce's novel Finnegans Wake. The gargantuan novel was published in folio format with 1334 pages. The story is told mostly in three shifting columns, presenting the text in the form of notes, collages, and typewritten pages.
Zoetrope
A zoetrope is an animation device that produces the illusion of motion by displaying a sequence of drawings or photographs showing progressive phases of that motion.
Zouave
Zouave was the title given to certain infantry regiments in the French Army, normally serving in French North Africa between 1831 and 1962.
Ziggurat of Ur
Ziggurat of Ur is a Neo-Sumerian ziggurat in what was the city of Ur in present-day Iraq. The structure was built during the Early Bronze Age but had crumbled to ruins by the 6th century BCE of the Neo-Babylonian period when it was restored by King Nabonidus. The ziggurat was damaged in the Gulf War in 1991 by small arms fire and the structure was shaken by explosions. Four bomb craters can be seen nearby and the walls of the ziggurat are marred by over 400 bullet holes.
Zora Arkus-Duntov
Zora Arkus-Duntov was a Belgian-born American engineer. His work on the Chevrolet Corvette earned him the nickname Father of the Corvette.
Francisco Zurbarán
Francisco Zurbarán was a Spanish painter. He is known primarily for his religious paintings depicting monks, nuns, and martyrs, and for his still-lifes. Zurbarán gained the nickname Spanish Caravaggio, owing to the forceful, realistic use of chiaroscuro in which he excelled.