Nihilistic Optimistic: New Shadow Sculptures built from Discarded Wood
Earlier this week London-based duo Tim Noble and Sue Webster opened their first solo show since 2006 at Blain|Southern in London. Titled Nihilistic Optimistic, the exhibition includes six large-scale sculptures built from what appear to be haphazard clumps of discarded wood but when illuminated by a light projector create uncannily accurate self-portraits of the artists. Via their artist statment:
Tim Noble and Sue Webster take ordinary things including rubbish, to make assemblages and then point light to create projected shadows which show a great likeness to something identifiable including self-portraits. The art of projection is emblematic of transformative art. The process of transformation, from discarded waste, scrap metal or even taxidermy creatures to a recognizable image, echoes the idea of ‘perceptual psychology’ a form of evaluation used for psychological patients. Noble and Webster are familiar with this process and how people evaluate abstract forms. Throughout their careers they have played with the idea of how humans perceive abstract images and define them with meaning. The result is surprising and powerful as it redefines how abstract forms can transform into figurative ones.
source. Colossal
Giant Photos on Grass by Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey
For two decades Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey, artists living in England, have been perfecting an interesting art form. They use a specific kind of grass to create portraits. Yes, that’s right, grass. By manipulating the light that hits the grass on a wall, through an old projector, they are able to get a range of light to dark which results in surprisingly detailed images. The process works just like a darkroom, with the area where they grow the grass requiring complete darkness. The walls are vertical so that the grass will grow upward showing each entire blade.
Call Parade: 100 Phone Booths paired with 100 Artists on the Streets of São Paulo
Call Parade is an ongoing public art project in São Paulo sponsored by Brazilian telecommunications firm Vivo, that paired 100 artists with 100 street-side phone booths giving them free reign to transform the peculiar hooded fixtures into anything imaginable. The exhibition has proven to be extremely popular and Brazilian photographer Mariane Borgomani set out to capture a number of the phones, my favorite of which is the painted day/night treatment above by artist Maramgoní. You can see a gallery of all 100 phones here.
source. Colossal
Feature Week: Tuscan Artists_ Viareggio Carnival
Carnival of Viareggio celebrating 139 years of life and activity under the sign of a vivid tradition such as the long – established European tradition of Carnival festivals, is no doubt one of the best known events in Italy. Every year local artists from all over are chosen to create these incredible paper machè floats. These floats are true works of art to which the local float makers dedicate an entire year of workmanship. There is not one politician, entertainer, or intellectual that has not been a target (protagonist) of one of these floats which almost comes to life during the parade by the moving arms, opening and closing mouths and rolling eyes. On every float young people and children find a place from which to throw confetti and shooting stars to the crowd. During the entire period masked balls and parties in the various “rioni” (quarters, districts) are organized as well as numerous sports and cultural events i.e. “Torneo Internazionale giovanile di calcio
Illustrated Maps of the World by Artists from Around the World on They Draw & Travel
They Draw & Travel was created by Nate Padavick and Salli Swindell, a brother and sister design and illustration team who have been working together for over 10 years as Studio SSS. They have created hundreds of magazine and book illustrations, thousands of greeting card designs, and, of course, many super cool illustrated maps!
I Met the Walrus
In 1969, a 14-year-old Beatle fanatic named Jerry Levitan snuck into John Lennon’s hotel room in Toronto and convinced him to do an interview. 38 years later, Levitan, director Josh Raskin and illustrators James Braithwaite and Alex Kurina have collaborated to create an animated short film using the original interview recording as the soundtrack. A spellbinding vessel for Lennon’s boundless wit and timeless message
source. Swiss Miss
SUPAKITCH & KORALIE “Euphorie” Paris
Swoon’s Swimming Cities of Serenissima
The Swimming Cities of Serenissima is a fleet of handmade boats and a crew of artists who traveled the Adriatic Sea from Slovenia to Venice in May and June, 2009. They made art boats from junk and performed the dreamy story of a drifting metropolis during the Venice Biennale, a celebrated contemporary art exhibition.
CONFETTI SYSTEM (New York 13.9.10) - Where They Create
A visual document of artists in their creative environments
Painted with Golden Acrylic Paints. A community mural project supported by the ESPA, EJHS and EAC.10010- 105 St, Edmonton John Howard Society Building, Alberta, Canada.
The giant on the right comes from a land of mass consumption and waste. His body is made-up of junk, trash and random man-made objects. He feels burdened by the weight of his load and feels stress and fear because of it. The giant on the left is showing compassion for her new friend. She comes from a land of green space and an abundance of nature. Her body is made-up of rivers, animals, and vegetation. As a gesture of support and understanding, she calmly puts her hand on the other giant’s shoulder. He’s feeling a little nervous about the change, but a positive transition begins to spread- a change that shares a common ground between the two. Their faces come together and form a complete circle, because they are in harmony with each other.
Via BOOOOOOOM.
