I find these uprooted frozen-in-midair flower photographs pretty stunning. They were conceptualized and shot by German photographer Matthias Schade.
via: iGNANT
Blog
Buenos Aires - Inception Park from Black Sheep Films on Vimeo.
Inception Park by Black Sheep Films
I had envisioned a photo series of urban roller coasters in Windsor, but the idea never left my art ideas list. It’s nice to see what the idea would look like in motion and set in the beautiful streets of Buenos Aires.
via: Colossal
Held Within What Hung Open by Gregory Euclide
Does this look familiar to you? It might if you recall the album artwork for Bon Iver‘s self-titled album released last year. Both of these works were produced by American multimedia artist Gregory Euclide. The full title of the work shown is Held Within What Hung Open and Made to Lie Without Escape.
“It is set within a gilded frame that is interrupted by paper-as-water flowing from the canvas into the gallery space which then evaporates from a riverbed. Boulders are cast from the rocks taken from central park, while the grass is formed from glue, paint and hair. On the right side of the work, several cut plastic bottles are clustered together, existing as miniature isolated environments within the piece. Euclide created several dioramas constructed from found trash such as plastic, foam, sponge, and fertilizer he accrued while walking in a park. These items helped sculpt a world depicting what the artist sees as the ‘same kind of fake control over nature that allows us to be comfortable with the destruction of it‘.
via: Designboom
Sculptural Interventions by Richard Wilson
Here are a few highlights from British sculptor Richard Wilson‘s architectural interventions, which I find simultaneously playful, educational, and critical of their surroundings.
20:50
“The gallery is filled to waist height with recycled engine oil, from which the piece takes its name. A walk way leads from a single entrance, leading the viewer into the space until they are surrounded by oil on all sides. The impenetrable, reflective surface of the oil mirrors the architecture of the room exactly, placing the viewer at the mid-point of a symmetrical visual plane.”
Water Table
“A full size billiard table was placed in a hole excavated in the floor of Matt’s Gallery. A 28-inch concrete drainpipe was sunk through the table and the ground beneath until it met the natural water table 4 metres below the building. Twin motorised paddles disrupted the water at the base of the pipe creating an intermittent gurgling noise.”
Turning the Place Over
“The work consists of a vast 10 metre diameter ovoid section of the facade of a currently disused building. This section of facade will be cut free to allow it to rotate. This ovoid section of façade is then mounted on a central spindle, aligned on a specific angle to the building. When at rest the ovoid section of façade would fit flush into the rest of the building. The angled spindle is, however, placed on a set of powerful motorised industrial rollers, and will rotate. As it rotates, the facade will not only become completely inverted but will also oscillate into the building and out into the street, revealing the interior of the building, and only being flush with the building at one point during its rotation. This will create an acute sense of disorientation and even danger for the viewer as the architecture physically encroaches on them.”
via: iGNANT
Behind The Scenes - Olive Skin by Oceanographer ft. Kevin Echlin from LadyMeta Productions on Vimeo.
“Olive Skin” Behind the Scenes Video
This isn’t really news, but I forgot to post it weeks ago. Oops!
Window to the World
Well, I wouldn’t consider this post a review in any traditional sense, but a collection of thoughts about something that probably doesn’t matter all that much. After about three months of iPhone 4 ownership, I’m just starting to think about how my experiences with this piece of engineering might be changing my behaviour.
Firstly, the apparent perfection of Apple products in an aesthetic and engineering sense makes me wonder about what makes a product essential to daily life. Also, how can something so unnatural feel so natural? I hope we can agree that from a physical standpoint, there isn’t much that we could call organic about the iPhone. Very rarely can you find a geometrically consistent shape that resembles this device, besides less-rectangular layers of rock like limestone or some plant forms. This being said, the iPhone feels very natural to me. It feels like a logical end to the mobile phone design experiment. This is probably one of the reasons why I finally cracked and picked one up; it seemed relatively timeless. Time will tell if the design remains fresh, but my main concern is more on the philosophical end of the spectrum.
I feel that devices such as the iPhone, iPad, and pretty much any other slick product aimed at simplicity and functionality are helping to compartmentalize our thoughts about the things we find important. A loosely-related example of this idea is the notion (or reality) that Google searches are tailored to the individual searching for them, at least in one or two parameters. Since these devices are a window to the world in a sense, will we start to expect our real world to be organized into lists or clusters of value? What does that even mean? More importantly, if we keep getting fed what we want, will we want it any more?
I think I want a challenge every once in a while. I want to appreciate the search for information as much as the information itself. I don’t want a personal assistant, I want to get my hands dirty and make my own connections between ideas.
Tissue Series by Lisa Nilsson
Lisa Nilsson created these spectacularly intricate cross-sectional figures using a rolled paper technique called “quilling”. Having seen a Body Worlds-like exhibit in Detroit, I can say that she nailed the look on these (even if she did exaggerate the colours a bit.)
All images are from Lisa Nilsson’s Tissue Series
via: Colossal
Hi, 5 with Phil McAndrew
About the Hi, 5 Interview Series
Hi, 5 (5 Questions) is a web-only interview series which presents five questions to artists, activists, and creative thinkers alike. The project acts as an educational device which allows us to gain insight into the narratives that define successful individuals. We are interested in the motivations behind ambitious ideas and how change has been affected by those with the passion for progress in their practice.
About Phil McAndrew
Phil McAndrew is an illustrator and cartoonist from Syracuse, New York, the snowiest city in the United States. He’s created illustrations and comics for books, magazines, newspapers, television, theatrical sets, clothing, posters, album covers, gallery exhibits, websites, and fun. He graduated from Daemen College’s illustration program after being awarded their portfolio-based four year visual art scholarship.
Phil currently lives in San Diego, California.
Phil McAndrew – Diplomacy
Phil McAndrew
January 31st, 2012
If you had to describe your current self to a 16-year-old you, what would you say?
I’d describe myself to 16-year-old Phil as someone who gets to sit at home and draw pictures and eat candy all day. That was pretty much my goal as a 16 year old if I remember correctly, though at the time I don’t think I was actually convinced that it was really possible (or at least that I’d personally ever be able to get to that point).
Could you describe an evolution in your work or way of thinking?
My work and way of thinking has definitely shifted more and more towards “just have fun, be a nice guy and be honest with yourself” and away from trying to impress people. I mean, I’ve always tried to keep those things in mind but I’ve definitely learned first hand exactly how important it is to simply have fun and to be awesome, both to yourself and to others (hint: it’s very important). If you’re really allowing yourself to have fun, it’ll show through in the quality of your work and improve your life.
Are there any people who have been instrumental in the development of your way of thinking and viewing the world?
So many people! I don’t think I could list them all if I tried. I think every single person I meet expands my view of the world, bit by bit. My way of thinking has been informed by various teachers all through my life, both the good ones and the bad ones. My parents and grandparents. My brothers and my friends. Jim Henson.
How do your political beliefs inform or fuel your work as an artist?
I don’t think my political beliefs really fuel my work very often, at least not the work that I put out into the world. I mean, you can probably get a really vague sense of what end of the spectrum my beliefs are at if you dissect every little aspect of my comics and drawings, but that’s rarely where my head is when I’m creating stuff. For a really brief time in college I tried my hand at political cartooning and sometimes I will still find myself reading about some ridiculous political insanity and in a moment of rage or bewilderment will sit down and start writing little comics lampooning one side or the other, but those comics almost never make it past being scribbles in my sketchbook. At the end of the day that’s just not the sort of work I want to focus on I guess. I’d rather make myself laugh.
What do you feel a city should be or do for its inhabitants?
I think cities are living, breathing things. And how awesome or terrible they are really sort of depends on, well, a lot of things. But mostly it’s inhabitants. So I guess I feel like inhabitants should be asking themselves what can I be or do for my city.
The Underwater Project by Mark Tipple
This photographic series by Mark Tipple displays the power of waves from below the sea surface. The waves cause these cloud-like forms in the water and the swimmers are tossed about in the undulating shallows.
Above: Mark Tipple – Escape
Mark Tipple – Navigate
Mark Tipple – Womb
via: Designboom
Descending TV Series - Teaser #3: ADVENTURE from Echo Bay Media on Vimeo.
Descending Trailer #3
I am contributing music to a travel-themed TV show about the world’s oceans called Descending. It premiers February 19th at 9pm on OLN. Stay tuned!
