February 17, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Arjen Born: Photographs from the Future

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Recently, I’ve mentioned to my future-industrial-designer-daughter Daniela that I believe there will be a great demand for smartly designed, affordable gear for the elderly in the not-so-distant future, with everyone living longer and the price of healthcare increasing while insurance coverage declines. Clearly, Dutch photographer Arjen Born feels the same way.

These photographs are at once comical and moving. They envision health aides of the future as robots or contraptions that assist. I’m assuming that Born creates these humorous ‘prototypes’ himself judging from the name header on his website.

via gup magazine

February 13, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Giles Walker: Animated Sculptures

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For over the past twenty years English sculptor Giles Walker has been working with robots, creating kinetic sculptures from materials found in scrap yards. A member of the guerilla-art group The Mutoid Waste Company, Walker’s robots are a creative intervention into our throw-away capitalist culture as well as a commentary on the surveillance practices or our time.

All of these pieces are just great, but the DJ and Pole Dancers’ Peepshow with their surveillance-camera heads, in addition to excellent hip and pelvic movements, might be my favorites. The telephone-headed drunks are (at least in some cases) programmed to interact with the public using presence sensors.

Walker’s robots have been exhibited all over the world, most recently this past week at the RAW Art Fair, part of the Rotterdam Art Fair 2012.

Photos courtesy of the artist; LookforArt; Epicfu; maggie jones’ flickr; and de_buurman’s flickr.

February 10, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Three NYC Architectural Tidbits

Three different projects here in NYC have recently come to my attention, so rather than do three separate posts, I’ve decided to group them together in one. You can click on most of the images to see them larger.

First up, The Museum of Modern Art and MoMA PS1 have announced this year’s winner of the Young Architects Program. HWKN (HollwichKushner) will construct their entry for the annual outdoor summer installation in PS1’s courtyard in Queens this summer. The winning proposal, titled Wendy, will consist of a large scaffold containing an oversized blue nylon starburst-like structure that will clean the air while offering shade, wind, rain and music. Looks like quite a departure from the past couple of years in that it looks more self-contained. I’m really looking forward to seeing it built in June.

Images courtesy HWKN
via archdaily

Next, right now through February 29, 2012, there’s a 10-foot-tall BIG ❤ NYC sculpture/light installation in Times Square designed by BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) Architects in honor of Valentine’s Day. The public art installation is located in Duffy Square at the foot of the TKTS steps/seats. Consisting of 400 transparent acrylic tubes (lit by LEDs) that form a cube around a suspended red heart whose beat and color intensity directly correlate to how many people touch the “Touch Me” heart pad on a circular stand close by.

Flatcut fabricated the rods, Silman Associates were the structural engineers and Zumtobel provided LED technology.

You might also want to check out BIG’s winning entry for Wave Pier in St. Petersburg which looks spectacular!

Photos courtesy Times Square Alliance

Lastly, this Greenwich Village townhouse has had us puzzled for the past couple of months on our daily walks past it. In the storefront of what used to be a hair salon now sit two mirrored benches; one a swing the other static. I imagined some sort of new age church or meeting house with funky pews, or some sort of cool, minimalist art gallery, but a few weeks ago I finally had the opportunity to ask a neighbor as she entered her building if she knew what the mirrored benches were all about. Turns out that it’s a private home and the mirrored room (floor, ceiling, walls as well as bench/swing) are all part of the playroom/guest room. This is not your childhood playroom. I’ve been sort of stalking the place (not really, but I do pass by often on my way to and from home) and was able to catch a glimpse of the open guest room, (with its orange mattresses), as well as the super-cool multicolor striped stairs that lead up to the rest of the house. The architects behind the project are Solomonoff Architecture Studio and professional photos of the entire project are due out in an undisclosed architecture periodical shortly, which should look a lot better than these (the reflective space is especially difficult to photograph.) I’m curious to see what the rest of the house looks like…

Photos: collabcubed

February 8, 2012 by collabcubed - 1 Comment

Evergreen: Typographic Garden

VollaersWart is a Dutch design studio that focuses on the intersection of architecture with public and visual communication, thus creating many projects for exhibitions and festivals as well as sculptures and public art.

Evergreen is a permanent typographic sculptural installation that was designed for the new Twents Carmel College de Thij—a high school in Oldenzaal—to be used primarily as student seating and as a meeting place in a park-like setting. The large, multi-level letters spell out the word ‘Evergreen’ and are grouped in a way that makes the space resemble a labyrinth. The structure is covered with artificial turf and its circular shape echoes the shape of the school building itself.

Photos courtesy of VollaertsWart; TCC de Thij; and Kunst en Bedrijf

February 6, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Tiger & Turtle – Magic Mountain

This seems to have made the rounds a couple of months back, but I hadn’t seen it till now. Tiger and Turtle – Magic Mountain is a site-specific, large-scale, walkable rollercoaster designed by Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth positioned at the highest peak of the Heinrich-Hildebrand-Höhe in Duisburg, Germany. Visitors are invited to walk up the zinc-plated steel sculpture, which soars to 21 meters at its highest point, and, add to that the height of the artificial mountain that it sits upon, and a person gets a view of the Rhine from 45 meters above the landscape. Unfortunately, for the more adventurous types, you can’t actually climb on the center loop past a certain point.

Mutter and Genthe collaborated with Arnold Walz who did the parametric 3-D planning and stairway system, as well as Prof. Micahel Staffa who did the planning of structural framework, and architects Sonja Becker and Rudiger Karzel of bk2a architecture.

The interactive sculpture is lit up by LEDs under the handrails at night, making it accessible in the dark as well. My kind of rollercoaster.

Photos by Thomas Mayer

via radiolab

February 2, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Anemone: Oyler Wu Collaborative

Anemone is an art/architectural installation in Taipei, Taiwan designed by Oyler Wu Collaborative based in California. The concept behind Anemone was to create an installation that is not only appreciated for its aesthetic beauty but also allows for interaction through touch. Built using thousands of transparent flexible rods at different depths to add to the undulating feel of the structure, and give the look of bristling tentacles, the shape invites the viewer in and encourages them to feel the the walls as well as sit in the incorporated benches and bed-like elements. The cantilevered canopy adds elegance in addition to protection.

via inspir3d

January 30, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Hsin-Chien Huang: Read My Lips

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Last year at the Armory Show, here in NYC, I saw this work but didn’t make note of the artist’s name. Thanks to the amazing Google images, I was able to upload my photo and end up on Hsin-Chien Huang’s website. Read My Lips (as the piece is titled) is an interactive sculpture of Andy Warhol’s face with mechanical eyelids and lips. Taiwan-based artist Huang (who has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the National Taiwan University, in addition to a B.S. from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and an M.S. from the Illinois Institute of Technology, so he really combines science, technology and art) created this work as an experiment, inspired by the Facebook pages of dead artists and their Facebook “friends”. The computer that controls the eyelid and lip movements is connected to the internet. The work posts questions of artistic relevance and social significance to its Facebook page every week and friends can post responses. Using a text-to-speech engine, the artwork then reads back the responses silently.

An interactive public art project from 2010 is shown in the bottom group of photos. Listening is located in a Lo-Sheng sanatorium which used to be a leprosy house in 1929. Between the two large ears made of laser cut steel, is a platform in the space representing the brain. Pedestrians can walk onto the platform and reflect on the sounds they used to hear in the location, as well as the current sounds. There are also 15 QR-code labels on the ground which viewers can use to watch videos with their smartphones.

You can see Read My Lips in action in the video below.

January 27, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Nils Völker: Seventy Five

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Here is the latest from German artist Nils Völker (previously here and here.) One of his largest pieces to date, Seventy Five measures eight meters in height and traverses three floors at the Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts as part of their Transjourney exhibition going on in Taipei through February 19, 2012. This time the inflatable “cushions” are made of Tyvek, inflated by cooling fans via custom made electronics. You can watch it in action below.

January 24, 2012 by collabcubed - 12 Comments

Doug Wheeler: SA MI 75 DZ NY 12

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After making a special trip with Em on Saturday, in the snowy cold, to see Doug Wheeler’s light installation titled SA MI 75 DZ NY 12 at the David Zwirner Gallery, we left promptly due to the crowded waiting area we descended upon and the one-hour wait ahead of us — I’m often deluded into thinking that I’m the only one who has these great ideas in NYC…but really, who goes to Chelsea on a frigid, snowy weekend? Apparently: a lot of people. — So, today, a Tuesday afternoon, I thought I’d quickly pop in but, alas, there would be no popping in. There was still a half-hour wait but, seating was available and the musical-chairs-style line kept me active.

Now, back to the exhibit: Amazing. The bright white light installation is the closest thing to what, I imagine, standing in a cloud might feel like. The first impression is that of a flat wall created by light. As one reluctantly steps forward—wearing the white booties provided by the gallery to keep things pristine—it feels as though you’re stepping into the void. The minute the light box is entered, all depth perception disappears. There’s a dense fog-like effect that’s created with light and white paint. The walls have been curved and the lack of hard lines or horizon intensifies the confusing sensation. The result is at first a little unsettling, but the incredible coolness instantly follows. The light in the box fluctuates emulating the light of day, from dawn to dusk, in a 32-minute loop.

If you’re in New York, you might want to check it out. Doug Wheeler’s installation is on view at David Zwirner through February 25, 2012. I recommend a weekday, if possible, for a shorter wait.

Photos courtesy of David Zwirner; Carolina A. Miranda; and soulellis’ flickr.

January 20, 2012 by collabcubed - 1 Comment

Foster School of Business Art Installations

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Two interesting permanent typographic art installations were recently created for the Foster School of Business, part of the University of Washington in Seattle. The two installations are collaborations between designers Kristine Matthews and Karen Cheng, both on the faculty at the University’s School of Art.

Change reflects on the dynamic relationship between business and change. The word “change” appears on the floor of each elevator, along with 18 synonyms (adapt, innovate, transform, etc.). The synonyms are each highlighted with actual loose change, international coins that hint at the diversity of the UW Foster Business School as well as the global nature of business.

As the elevator moves from floor to floor, the interior word “change” is modified by another word just outside the elevator, to both the front and back:
Floor 5: I Change/You Change
Floor 4: Lead Change/Manage Change
Floor 3: Expect Change/Embrace Change
Floor 2: Local Change/Global Change
Floor 1: Change Ideas/Change Lives
Floor 0: Change?/Change!

The second installation, Business Is..., asks how do you define ‘business’?

Viewers are asked to respond to the open-ended question “Business is…” on a companion website, www.FosterExchange.com. User responses appear on a series of LEDs that wrap around a four-story-high column. The monitors also display real-time stock market openings and closings, predictions, and even advice for students who meet and study in the atrium below.

Both installations are innovative, interactive, beautifully integrated, totally engaging and fun! I’d say complete successes through and through.

Here’s a video about the projects:

via sedg

January 19, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

The RedBall Project: Kurt Perschke

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This is such a fun project! Though it’s been traveling the world for a few years, this is the first I’ve heard of it. The RedBall Project by New York based artist Kurt Perschke, consists of a series of temporary installations within a city over a span of a couple of weeks. Perschke finds interesting, and somewhat humorous, locations (though, a giant red ball in any location automatically evokes a certain amount of humor) that are often taken for granted. The previously neglected spaces come to the foreground highlighting the nooks and crannies of urban life.

For Perschke, the core of the project’s goal is the invitation to the public to engage and unleash their imagination. “Every time a passerby says – ‘You know, I know the perfect place to put it!’ – RedBall has succeeded in creating a moment of imagination.”

The project has taken place in many cities including Barcelona, Taipei, Chicago, Toronto, Sydney, Portland and most recently Abu Dhabi. Up next: Perth, from February 10 – March 3rd. Hey Kurt! How about bringing the project home to NYC?! I know the perfect place…

Here’s a short video by Tony Gaddis of the project in Chicago:

Photos are all from RedBall’s Facebook and Flickr Pool (PJ Mixer, PersonnelPeople, Swanky, Leo Reynolds, Duncan Kerridge)

via Huffington Post and MyModernMet

January 19, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

SKIN: Pavilion of Knowledge

The Pavilion of Knowledge in Lisbon is an interactive science and economy museum. The design firm P-06 Atelier, in collaboration with architect João Luís Carrilho da Graça, created a “skin” with a state of the art touch transforming the space into a playful and evocative landscape, employing a perfect mix of bold graphics, tactile patterns and typography.

The moveable walls have the American Standard Code for Information Interchange cut out of them as an analogy for the museum’s intention of sharing information. Through the different sized stencils, both noise and the white LED light are filtered differently at different points of SKIN.

I’d love to see this in person. Looks like a great effect.

via red dot design

January 16, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Website for The King Center: C&G Partners

The folks at C&G Partners, a New York City design firm, have just launched a new website for The King Center Imaging Project, an initiative of JP Morgan Chase with The King Center in Atlanta. On this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 200,000 documents including letters, speeches, drafts, notes, photos and more, are now available for free to the general public.

The site builds on the graphic identity established for the project’s related traveling exhibition. There is an overwhelming amount of information which has been impressively organized in a welcoming and user-friendly way. Definitely worth exploring.

Thanks Jonathan!

January 12, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Social Climber: Theresa Bruno

English conceptual artist Theresa Bruno is interested in western consumerism and asks her audience, through her art, to re-examine what and how they consume. She uses found objects and appropriates them for her artwork.

In her piece Social Climber, Bruno placed fifteen toilet roll holders and fifteen assorted toilet paper rolls on a wall. The progression from left to right demonstrates the ascending quality in toilet paper. The installation deals with class consciousness and questions luxury, globalization, and consumption.

via flickr

January 9, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Julius Popp: Bit.fall, Bit.flow, Bit.code

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German artist Julius Popp uses technology to create work that reaches across the boundaries of art and science. Three of his works, Bit.fall, Bit.flow, and Bit.code are pictured above. Bit.fall is an installation that in some cases displays images and, in others, words selected from the internet via drops of falling water spurting out from 320 nozzles controlled by computer software and electromagnetic valves.

In Bit.flow Popp pumps liquid into a 45-meter long tube on a wall. A software program sets out a pattern which only at certain points forms readable forms or letters which then disintegrate into chaos again.

Lastly, Bit.code is made up of plastic chains with black and white pieces which act as pixels. Controlled by computer software, the pixels move next to each other displaying frequently used key words, at certain points, taken from recent web feeds.

All three appeal to me, yet are definitely appreciated more in person. The videos of each below are the next best thing, unless you are in Jerusalem, in which case you can see Bit.fall in the current exhibit Curious Minds at the Israel Museum until April, 2012.

Elements of these installations bring to mind Daniel Rozin’s work (see post) and Christopher Baker’s Murmur Study (see post).

Photos: Artnews, Desxigner, Wallpaper, and Onedotzero’s flickr

December 7, 2011 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Love Motel for Insects: NYC

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Both an art installation and a life science project, Love Motel for Insects is an innovative interactive outdoor educational event created by Brandon Ballengée. Since 2001 Ballengée has been exhibiting his Love Motels worldwide including India, Ireland, and Italy, and now, along with Urban Art Projects, he’s hoping to bring Love Motel for Insects to New York City.

Using ultra-violet lights on large black canvases these installations attract insects and create an opportunity for viewers to interact with rarely seen nocturnal arthropods. This event, combined with ancillary educational programming referred to as Bug Love, hopes to inform the general NYC public about important environmental issues as well as inspiring kids and getting them excited about science, art, and the environment.

If this sounds like something you’d like to see or be a part of, head on over to their kickstarter page and watch the video, heck, maybe even make a donation. They have four days to go to reach their goal and are so close to it!

via luminapolis

December 5, 2011 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Trond Nicholas Perry: Quantum

Polish artist Trond Nicholas Perry, based in Warsaw, is fascinated by stream of consciousness thinking, hence a fan of James Joyce, and gets some of his inspiration by halting that stream randomly, or, as he credits William S. Burroughs for questioning: “How random is random?”

His latest project Quantum is a water-driven music machine, a collaboration with his girlfriend architect Agata Sander. A site-specific sculpture, made for a canal in Warsaw, that plays a single song, much in the way a player piano does, but driven by the water’s movement.

Perry’s work is classified as sculptural but there seems to be a performance quality to many of the pieces as well. His K.Y.S. (love, humility, pain) boat project was built in collaboration with artist Eric Piroit. They sailed this uniquely designed boat from Norway to Germany and then the Netherlands. Mostly interested in underlining DIY aesthetics and engaging spectators as well as empowering them by realizing that it is possible to “do it yourself,” putting emphasis on the belief that ‘will’ is more important than technical ability, which Perry feels strongly.

For me, the quirky quality of the sculptures was enough to lure me in.

You can see Quantum in action in the video below:

via vimeo and levart

December 1, 2011 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Hello Wood Festival 2011: Ebéd

What appears to be an abstract wood sculpture made up of a cluster of two-by-fours painted red, is exactly that for 23 hours out of the day. The sculpture, created as part of the Hello Wood Festival in Budapest this past July, was one of the three “typography team” projects (there were architecture teams and film teams too) made by students from Hungarian Universities. Titled Ebéd (‘lunch’ in Hungarian), this structure was designed to form the word ‘ebéd’ in a pixelated font, using the rays of the sun to highlight it in the negative space of the shadow precisely at 1pm: lunchtime! The rest of the day the sculpture showed a random system of shadows. Very clever, I’d say.