July 26, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Rob & Nick Carter: Neon Postcards

Click to enlarge

London based artistic couple Rob and Nick Carter create art that revolves around light, color and form in mediums that range from painting and photography, to installations and film. Their series titled Postcards from Las Vegas originates from a mutual love and collecting of postcards throughout their childhoods. They have enlarged some of their favorites and interjected contrasting retro-style Las Vegas neon signs from motels, strip clubs and diners. I love the results!

Photos courtesy of the artists.

July 24, 2012 by collabcubed - 2 Comments

Vincent Ganivet: Cinder Block Sculptures

Click to enlarge

French artist Vincent Ganivet creates gravity-defying sculptures using concrete cinder blocks, bricks, straps, sometimes wood, and metal. These mostly large-scale works arch and twist in impressive ways, all the while staying balanced in place. Pretty amazing.

Photos courtesy of the artist and Yvon Lambert Gallery

July 23, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

It’s Not Paper! Plates

Click to enlarge

Strolling around the village this weekend we came upon this very fun faux paper plate platter at Mxyplyzyk. We were familiar with the porcelain crumpled paper cups from a few years back, and the more recent I am Not a Paper Cup porcelain coffee cup, but the It’s Not Paper! Paper Plate Platter and Plate sets were totally new to us and a must-have for Daniela, who will be returning shortly to purchase a set of the plates.

July 20, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

NYC Culture on the Cheap: Weekend 7/20

Click to enlarge

Here are some of our suggestions for free and cheap cultural events in New York City this weekend:

1. Theater – Slowgirl by Greg Pierce, with Sarah Steele and Zeljko Ivanek, at Lincoln Center’s new Claire Two Theater. All tickets $20. Extended through August 5, 2012.

2. Art – Ghosts in the Machine at the New Museum. The new exhibit spans fifty years and traces the complex historical passage from the mechanical to the optical to the virtual. FREE Saturday (7/21/2012) 12-5pm with a visit to the museum’s block party. Otherwise $14 General Admission/$10 Student. FREE every Thursday 7pm-9pm. Through September 30, 2012.

3. Music – B.o.B FREE Secret Show at the Highline Ballroom; Sunday, July 22 at 9pm. Doors open 7:30pm. FREE with Ticket. Tickets available at the box office.

Also: Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra at the Brooklyn Bowl, Sunday, July 22, at 8pm. Doors open 6pm. $5.00

4. Comedy/Performance – D’FunQT: Stand Up or Die at Dixon Place (LES) Fri and Sat, July 20 & 21 at 9:30 pm. Tickets: $15 advance, $20 at the door, $15 students / seniors
Written and performed Leguizamo-style, this one-person show celebrates the joy of survival in a world often intolerant of difference. As a queer boy/stud/trans person, D’Lo unapologetically takes center stage and uses his fluidly morphing form and spot-on timing to bring the fierce with the funny.

5. Architecture – New Practices New York 2012 exhibit at the Center for Architecture. Mon-Fri: 9am to 8pm Sat: 11am to 5pm, through September 8th. FREE

6. Design/Performance – GlassLab Glassmakers from Corning Museum of Glass create pieces with contemporary designers. Glass blowing and all. Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 6:30 through July 29th. This weekend designers include Peter Buchanana-Smith and Paul Sahre. On Governors Island. FREE.

7. Art – Rineke Dijkstra: A Retrospective at the Guggenheim. Large-scale color photographs. Portraiture with a twist. Through October 8, 2012. Pay-what-you-Wish Saturdays from 5:45 to 7:45.

8. Theater – Uncle Vanya at the Soho Rep in Tribeca, through August 26th. 99¢ Sundays same day at the door. Line forms one hour before show. Limit 2 tickets per person. 7:30 pm. 99¢.

9. Dance – Pilobolus at the Joyce Theater. Through August 11, 2012. A limited amount of tickets available for $10 by calling the box office (212-242-0800). At the time of posting, only 1 ticket was left for this weekend, so best to try in advance. Showtimes and programs vary.

Also in Music: Bebel Gilberto/Criolo/Flavio Renegado/Beco Dranoff Saturday, July 21, 3-7 pm, Summerstage at Central Park. FREE

Also in Food: Les Salonnieres Country Blues Potluck Under the Stars. Dinner and Wine tasting. Bring a country-themed dish. Saturday, July 21, 7pm – 1am. Williamsburg Private Residence. Tickets $10.

More Food: 3rd Ward’s 5th Annual Pig Roast. Saturday July 21, 4pm to midnight. 195 Morgan Ave, Bushwick. FREE with RSVP

Also in Film: Coming Home: Short Films. Friday, July 20, 8pm. Rooftop Films at Metrotech Commons. FREE

Art on the Beach: Coney Island Annual Sand Sculpting Contest and Unity Day. (Here’s a video on last year’s event) Saturday, July 21, 12-5 pm. FREE.

Check last week’s Culture on the Cheap for additional (ongoing) events.

July 19, 2012 by collabcubed - 2 Comments

Jason Ratliff: Walking Shadows

Click to enlarge

I love these. Indiana-based graphic designer and illustrator Jason Ratliff created this series of illustrations titled Walking Shadow which melds his two talents perfectly. Such a great concept to make these classically illustrated figures have contrasting exaggerated shadows in colorful geometric patterns. Beautiful.

via ignant via this isn’t happiness

July 18, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Pedro Reyes: Capulas

Click to enlarge

Contemporary Mexican artist Pedro Reyes tends to combine the fantastical with the functional in his art. Trained as an architect, many of his projects convey an underlying interest in structural design. His Capulas are such works. These cocoon-like capsules are woven using traditional Mexican techniques at an architectural scale. People are invited to interact with these structures by sitting inside or walking through them. Some of the Capulas hang from above, while others are elevated from below.

Reyes appears to have a kind of manifesto as part of his Capula projects, which reads as follows:

If a Room has rigid walls/ the Capula shall be elastic
If a Room divides the inside from the outside/the Capula shall be permeable
If a Room is grounded/the Capula shall hover
If a Room is steady/ the Capula shall rock or swing
If a Room has walls that block the light/ the Capula shall radiate the light
If a Room creates a fixed field of vision/the Capula shall be kinetic
If a Room needs furniture/the Capula will turn itself into furniture
If a Room hides from the view/the Capula allows a glimpse
If a Room is an ensemble of parts/ the Capula shall be a continuum

In fact,
a sense
of essence
is,
in essence,
the essence
of sense,
in effect.

Cupola
Cupule
Capsule +
Couple
Copulate
Capillary
_________
CAPULA

Photos courtesy of the artist; Celebrate Big; and flickr

via molaa

July 17, 2012 by collabcubed - 1 Comment

Patricia Waller: Broken Heroes

Click to enlarge

Maybe it’s just me, and that I’ve recently become more aware of it, but there seems to be a lot of Superhero-themed art around lately. Even just strolling through the Chelsea Market a couple of weeks ago, the walls were covered with photos of superheroes in everyday poses by photographer Gregg Segal.

Currently at Berlin’s Galerie Dreschler, the Germany-based artist Patricia Waller has an exhibit entitled Broken Heroes. These sculptural pieces illustrate superheroes and cartoon characters in what look like humorous situations at first glance, but upon closer look, they evoke a sadness through their misfortunes and personality disorders.

Waller views her work as a critical reflection on the cult of celebrity, today’s substitute for the superhero:

They are role models and bearers of hope, they reflect our longing for the special. Heroes don’t just appear, they are created. The pressure to always look your best, the obligation to constantly be positive, and the knowledge of being observed all the time can result in identity disorders…

If you like these you might also enjoy Marcos Minunchin’s photos and Igor Scalisi Palminteri’s Superhero Saints.

Photos courtesy of the artist and Galerie Deschler.

July 13, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

NYC Culture on the Cheap: Weekend 7/13

Click to enlarge

If you’re in New York City this summer weekend, there are more free and cheap things to do than time to do them. Here are just a few that look especially interesting to us…too bad we can’t be in more than one place at a time.

1. Art – The Yayoi Kusama Retrospective opens at the Whitney Museum. Friday nights from 6-9pm admission is pay-what-you-wish, otherwise general admission is $18. Can’t make it this weekend? Don’t fret, the exhibit runs through September 30th. And if you’re downtown be sure to check out the lawn installation at Pier 45, Hudson River Park.

2. Art/Film – Christian Marclay’s The Clock opens July 13 through August 1 at the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center. FREE. Prepare for long lines. 24-hour video collage.

3. Music – Eleanor Friedberger with Ex Cops. Friday, July 13th at 7pm; Pier 17 at The Seaport. FREE.
Also: for a more Latin evening: Calle 13/Ana Tijoux/Ritmo Machine at the Prospect Park Bandshell in Brooklyn. Friday, July 13 at 7pm. FREE.

4. Theater – Shakespeare in the Park(ing) Lot – “The Merry Wives of Windsor” July 12 to 28. Municipal Parking Lot at the corner of Ludlow and Broome. Thursday – Saturdays at 8pm. FREE.
Also: Twelfth Night presented by New York Classical Theatre at Castle Clinton, Tues through Sun, till July 22th at 7pm. FREE.

5. Art/Architecture/Music – Warm Up at PS1, Saturday July 14 at 3pm with Terrence Parker, D3, Ron Morelli, Jeremie Delon, and Steve Summers. Check out Wendy, see Lara Favaretto’s exhibit Just Knocked Out, and dance the evening away. $15. Free for MoMA members.

6. Graphic Design – Now in Production is Cooper-Hewitt and Walker Art Center’s exciting exhibit exploring some of the most vibrant sectors and genres of graphic design today. Open weekends through September 3, 2012 in Building 110 on Governors Island. FREE.

7. Art – Tomas Saraceno’s Cloud City on the roof of the Met. (See our previous post) Through November 4, 2012.

8. Food – Paper Magazine’s Super Duper Market. July 13-15. Pop-up super-store bringing the coolest food artisans and innovators under one roof. 410 West 16th Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues.

9. Film – Persepolis on Pier 1 (Riverside Park near 70th Street), Friday, July 13, 8:30-10:30pm. FREE.

And you might be interested in contributing to Bike-In-Theater’s Kickstarter so that they can get their events going this summer as well.

July 10, 2012 by collabcubed - 1 Comment

Cildo Meireles: Fontes (Fountains/Sources)

Click to enlarge

Brazilian artist Cildo Meireles wasn’t always a fan of conceptual art, but in the 1970s he started to create works in protest of Brazil’s military dictatorship. These interactive/performance works carried political messages in a poetic way.

Meireles reflects:

…When a work of art kidnaps you for a fraction of a second, it takes you to another time …I realized that, of all the movements that I had studied, conceptual art was the only one that didn’t use any of the things linked to art: inks, brushes, canvases. It could be made from anything. It gave complete freedom. It is the most democratic way to produce art that has come up. That is something that deserves credit.

Meireles’s works typically revolve around space, dimension, and time. His installation Fontes (Fountains/Sources) is a perfect example. Using 6,000 rulers, 1,000 clocks, and 500,000 vinyl numbers, along with a soundtrack, Meireles invites spectators to interact with the work, circulating through the paths created by the hanging rulers.

Here’s a video from a first person perspective:

Photos: Ihall’s flickr; Jock303’s flickr; Penny Jones’ flickr; and the artist.

via arte al limite

July 9, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Jonas Etter: Ephemeral Burnt Sugar Art

Click to enlarge

Swiss artist Jonas Etter, based in Zurich, works in many mediums, including burnt sugar. These typographic sculptures and framed wallpieces are all made using the aforementioned substance. The burnt sugar melts due to heat and air moisture, turning the pieces into a sort of performance. The typographic sculptures are their own self-defining captions. As they melt and spread over the base, the works transform and invade the viewer’s space with their sticky puddles. The Wallpiece I-III are put on the wall immediately before the opening reception and the content slowly starts to flow out onto the ground.

via eye

July 5, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Super (Duper) Market: Pop-Up Shop

There’s a bit of pop-up mania lately, at least in New York. I’ve just been to two events in the past week that involved pop-ups (the Herman Miller Pop Up Shop Finale with House Industries and Bing’s For Humankind Pop-Up Expo at Openhouse Gallery full of innovative projects combining technology and design) and there seem to be plenty more on the horizon.

Next week, starting Friday July 13th through the weekend, Paper Magazine is presenting the Super (Duper) Market. Apparently not just a pop-up shop but a pop-up super store. This one revolves around cool food and innovation. Could be interesting. Artist Maira Kalman is participating as well!

If you’re in NYC and looking for things to do, might be worth popping by.

July 3, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Michelangelo’s David à la Missoni

Click to enlarge

This past Saturday, on our way over to the High Line for an evening stroll, Daniela and I spotted a large — yet much smaller than the original — 5-meter tall version of Michelangelo’s David plopped down, smack in the middle of 9th Avenue and 14th Street sporting a classic Missoni zig-zag skin. Right in the heart of the Meatpacking District, this surprising sight was not missed by many. There was no sign or explanation attached, but upon googling I discovered that the statue is the creation of, and collaboration between, Spanish artist dEmo and Luca Missoni. Originally installed in front of the Missoni store in Madrid, Spain back in 2010 with a larger zig-zag patterned outfit, for their Fashion’s Night Out, the statue seems to have made an appearance in Barcelona as well, and is now in NYC until September 2012.

You can watch a video of the statue’s installation in Madrid, here.

Bottom photo solifestyle; all others collabcubed.

July 2, 2012 by collabcubed - 1 Comment

Ottó Vincze: Identified Flying Objects

Click to enlarge

Hungarian artist Ottó Vincze lives and works in Szentendre. Most of his works are installations, some with movement, others static. Many give the illusion of objects flying, and at least three of them involve umbrellas.

From top to bottom, the four installations above are:
Facade-Makeup for the Occasion
Sinking Centres of Gravity
Cognitive Save
Pioneer Progress

via molnar ani galeria

June 29, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Gyula Várnai: Matter of Comfort

Click to enlarge

It’s no giant plastic fish, but Hungarian artist Gyula Várnai’s giant arm chair made of 2500 discarded plastic bottles is pretty cool in its own right. Displayed at Budapest’s Park Galeria—a mall that exhibits public artworks in their atrium—last year, the armchair seemed to be a hit with people of all ages.

June 27, 2012 by collabcubed - 1 Comment

A Memorial Bowing: Snarkitecture

Click to enlarge

Last month when I was on Snarkitecture’s website getting information on their recent Odin Pop-Up Shop project, I noticed this project earlier in 2012. Alex Mustonen and Daniel Arsham, the Snarkitecture duo, reconstructed the 10-foot letters from the old Miami Orange Bowl and whimsically scattered around the east plaza of the new Marlins Ballpark. Created as a sort of memorial to the stadium that was demolished in 2008, A Memorial Bowing feels like a mix of ruins and renewal, with some of the letters submerged and others standing tall.

The alignments of the letters spell out new words and are a nice complement to the new stadium, which can be viewed through the type at different points.. Really, you can’t go wrong with monster-large type.

Photos by Noah Kalina

June 25, 2012 by collabcubed - 2 Comments

Lumen 2012: Atlantic Salt, Staten Island

Click to enlarge

This past weekend was one of those spectacular New York City summer weekends, with clear blue skies, hot but dry air, and more interesting fun events taking place than time to see them all. We opted for the very colorful Mermaid Parade on Coney Island (30th anniversary, no less), the Renegade Craft Fair in Williamsburg, the Gay Pride Parade in the Village, and the play “Slow Girl” at the lovely new (and quite affordable) Claire Tow Theater with a beautiful terrace offering up some of the nicest views of Lincoln Center. Saturday night was our biggest dilemma: free concert at Bryant Park? Lumen Festival in Staten Island? However, after bopping around multiple subway lines in Brooklyn during the day, we went for the low-key option of the new Woody Allen film in the neighborhood.

BUT, back to the topic of this post: Lumen 2012. Over on the industrial waterfront property of Staten Island, more specifically, the Atlantic Salt Company—the company that supplies road salt to the city during its snowy winters—all sorts of light-related exhibits took place. Due to an almost snowless winter in NY this year, the piles at the New Brighton company are still high with over 150,000 tons of salt, some piles as high as 5 stories. Roughly 50 artists, projected and performed their works on and around the mounds of salt, which (at least in the photos) looks very cool and in some cases Felliniesque. I wasn’t able to match many of the works with their artists, but here are the ones I found, followed by a link to a list of all the participating artists.

Top photo: Brendan Coyle’s piece titled “Mr. Canard”; second photo: Jeanne Verdoux’s “Woman Working” animation; Marco Brambilla’s “Sea of Tranquility,” a recreation of a lunar expedition; Phillip David Stearns neon light installation; and here’s the link to the list of artists (we welcome any additional information, if anyone knows the other works)

Photos: Garret Ziegler; Rocco S. Cetera; Eric Norcross; and Anthony DePrimo.

June 19, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

CupNoodles Museum

Click to enlarge

Just back a few days from their amazing trip to Japan, Em and Dan had lots to report. High on their list in terms of cool fun was the CupNoodles Museum in Yokohama, about 30 minutes from Tokyo. Opened last fall, the interactive museum chronicles the history of the instant ramen noodle created by Momofuku Ando in 1958. Included in the museum is a Design-your-Own Cup Noodle from content to package design, a replica of the shed where the instant ramen was invented, A Noodles Bazaar Food Court, and a theme park. Oh, and of course, a gift shop selling all things ramen, including the lovely set of chopsticks that they brought back for me, which I might just have to frame instead of actually use. When I questioned the relevance of the fun graphic logo, Em and Dan immediately responded with “No, it’s perfect. That’s exactly the feeling you experience the minute you step through the door.” ’Nough said.

Update: I just noticed that the exclamation points refer to the decorative border on the CupNoodle cup, so there’s that too…

All photos by collabcubed except second from top and second from bottom by Yuriko Nakao/Reuters.

June 18, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Supermachine: Bangkok University Projects

Click to enlarge

Thai multidisciplinary design studio Supermachine based in Bangkok has been working on a several projects for Bangkok University, including their BU Creative Center, BU Lounge, and, most recently completed, BU Brand Unit. They are all fun, colorful, and clever designs that complement each other, yet each with different challenges and budgets. The BU Brand Unit was the most low-budget of the projects, and Supermachine was able to convert the space into a fun creative office, mostly by adding paint; the splashes of colors and circles, while not expensive, made for a complete transformation. The other two projects, with larger budgets had every aspect of the projects designed by Supermachine, including a unique pool table, shelving system and chandelier in the Lounge project, to a pixel wall in the Creative Center.

Fun all the way around.