Category Archives: Stuff We Like

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Robert Barta: Crossing Half a Million Stars

robert Barta, installation art, crossing half a million stars, half a million metal balls on floor of gallery to walk over carefullyrobert Barta, installation art, crossing half a million stars, half a million metal balls on floor of gallery to walk over carefullyrobert Barta, installation art, crossing half a million stars, half a million metal balls on floor of gallery to walk over carefullyClick to enlarge

German artist Robert Barta uses everyday objects in his work. His installation Crossing Half A Million Stars — currently on view at Galerie Sherin Najjar in Berlin — consists of roughly half a million 8mm metal balls or ball bearings that cover the gallery floor. Visitors are invited to enter the space and attempt to walk/cross the ball-covered surface with extreme care to avoid slipping or falling. The installation could be seen as a performance art piece with the viewer/participant as the performer. Makes for an entertaining gallery visit, with everyone slipping and rolling into one another. Wonder if guests have to sign a waiver before entering, or maybe lawsuits are more of an American passtime.

Crossing Half A Million Stars will be on view through September 7, 2013.

via galerie sherin najjar

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Monika Grzymala: Raumzeichnungen

Monika Gryzymala, tape installations, full gallery installations made with tape, RaumzeichnungenMonika Gryzymala, tape installations, full gallery installations made with tape, RaumzeichnungenMonika Gryzymala, tape installations, full gallery installations made with tape, Raumzeichnungengrzymala_hamburger-kunsthalleClick to enlarge

Poland-born, German artist Monika Grzymala creates large-scale tape installations that can be seen as three-dimensional drawings. The black tape constructions are site-specific taking over the their designated spaces, seemingly bursting from the walls, particularly in her series of works titled Raumzeichnungen (Drawing Room). Grzymala constantly pushes the boundaries of the line by creating drawings in space. Currently, Gryzymala has an exhibit at the Hamburger Kunsthalle, titled Mono Meros, (bottom photo) through August 28, 2013.

via ignant

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The Pool: Jen Lewin

Jen Lewin, Interactive art installation, The Pool, Light art, cool art installationJen Lewin, Interactive art installation, The Pool, Light art, cool art installationJen Lewin, Interactive art installation, The Pool, Light art, cool art installationClick to enlarge

Colorado-based artist/architect Jenn Lewin creates large, immersive, interactive art pieces for the public. From interactive sound and light sculptures that inspire people into play, to woven fiber video curtains that reflect movement, or giant, robotic, ethereal moths that dance based on human touch. In her interactive light installation titled The Pool, Lewin put together 106 interactive circular platforms in giant concentric circles that communicate wirelessly. Each pad is independent and simultaneously interacts and listens to its environment based on user feedback.  Together, the 106 pads create complex, surprising, and unpredictable color arrays with their user participants. Each pad in The Pool senses a person’s movements. User inputs such as foot location, foot pressure, and speed are sensed by the pad surface. As a person moves, light ripples out to the surrounding pads. For example, by leaning left, a ripple of varying intensity starts in that direction. A stronger more deliberate lean could cause a ripple to jump rings and fill the entire Pool. Each person’s ripple is unique. The more people that participate the more of a cacophony is created.

The Pool can be as small as 35ft x 35ft or, if spread out, as large as 70ft x 70ft. It’s powered via a normal household outlet and can be placed indoors or out.

Here it is in action:

via bbc

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Giuseppe Agnello: Memories|Lateral & Oblique

giuseppe agnello, memories- lateral and oblique views exhibit, contemporary surreal italian sculpture, humans as trees, naturegiuseppe agnello, memories- lateral and oblique views exhibit, contemporary surreal italian sculpture, humans as trees, naturegiuseppe agnello, memories- lateral and oblique views exhibit, contemporary surreal italian sculpture, humans as trees, natureClick to enlarge

Sicilian sculptor Giuseppe Agnello gives new meaning to the expression “one with nature.” His surreal sculptures of bodies with roots, branches, or tree trunks emanating from heads, feet, or chests, are at once intriguing and disturbing. Working in plaster, polyester resin, clay and bronze, the Palermo-based artist plays with the idea of metamorphosis, much of the time incorporating tree-like morphing, though not limiting himself to vegetation, as in the case of his Corpi nuvolosi (Cloudy Bodies) or his zipped up bodies in Anima e corpo (Body and Soul.)

Agnello currently has an exhibit of 40 works titled Memories: Lateral and Oblique Views at the Carlos V Tower in Porto Empedocle, Sicily through the end of the year.

via balarm

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Twinkind: 3D-Printed Photo Figurines

Twinkind, Hamburg-based company that can 3D print photo portrait figurines quickly. 3D-printed portraits. Twinkind, Hamburg-based company that can 3D print photo portrait figurines quickly. 3D-printed portraits. Twinkind, Hamburg-based company that can 3D print photo portrait figurines quickly. 3D-printed portraits. Click to enlarge

Well, this is both fun and a little creepy. Hamburg-based company Twinkind creates 3D-printed photo figurines of you, your family, friends… or even your pet. These little photorealistic sculptures can range from 6 to 14 inches tall, are made of polymer plaster powder, and have optional bases in either oval or rectangular shape. What sets Twinkind apart from other 3D printing companies offering similar services is that they do the scanning in a fraction of the time. In fact, within seconds, allowing for re-dos or for the most impatient and fidgety people to stand still long enough for their own figurine. Starting at 225 euros for the smallest figurine, it’s not cheap, but if you’re ready layout the big bucks, just stop by Twinkind’s pop-up shop and they’ll guide you through the process. Looks like photo frames will soon be a thing of the past.

via the cool hunter

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Near Unison: Dan Dodds

Near Unison Prototype for Burning Man 2013, Kinetic Art Fair, Dan Dodds, Swings, sand, human pendulumNear Unison Prototype for Burning Man 2013, Kinetic Art Fair, Dan Dodds, Swings, sand, human pendulumNear Unison Prototype for Burning Man 2013, Kinetic Art Fair, Dan Dodds, Swings, sand, human pendulumClick to enlarge

UK-based architectural designer and artist, Dan Dodds, has proposed an installation for Burning Man 2013 titled Near Unison that visualizes the harmonic relationship between two people using a pair of pendulum swings. A prototype of Near Unison, sans the elegant and striking exterior structure, was exhibited at this year’s Kinetic Art Fair. The installation specifically explores the harmonograph — a machine that became popular as a 19th century capable of producing beautiful drawings by mapping the relationship between two swinging pendulums. The oscillation frequency of the pendulums can be changed by modifying their lengths. Near Unison acts as a large-scale interactive harmonograph, allowing people to take the place of the pendulum weights, swinging back and forth, creating patterns in the sand that are ‘near unison’ a 1:1 ratio when the people occupying the swings are of similar weight. You can see the prototype in action below and keep your eyes peeled for the even larger version at the next Burning Man Festival in Black Rock Desert this August. Should be fun.

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Sebastien Wierinck WorkShop: J1

Sebastien Wierinck WorkShop, J1 Hangar in Marseille, Tube installation, Tubular, Cool interior design/furniture installationSebastien Wierinck WorkShop, J1 Hangar in Marseille, Tube installation, Tubular, Cool interior design/furniture installationSebastien Wierinck WorkShop, J1 Hangar in Marseille, Tube installation, Tubular, Cool interior design/furniture installationClick to enlarge

It’s been a while since I’ve checked in to see what French designer Sebastien Wierinck (previously here) has been up to, and not only has he been busy at work with his tubular installations and benches, but the Sebastien Wierinck WorkShop also has a nice new website. One of the newer projects is a white tube installation in the recently renovated J1 Hangar, a 6,000 sq. meter seafront space in Marseille, France, made available to the European Capital of Culture as an exhibition space. Wierinck’s long and winding recycled polyethylene plastic tubes occupy the large space beautifully, creating seating space and lighting in addition to just looking cool.

Here’s a timelapse video of the installation process:

The J1 Hangar and tubular installation will reopen in October and be open to the public through January 2014.

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Key Frames by Groupe LAPS at GLOW

Key Frames, Groupe LAPS light stick figures on balconies in Eindhoven for GLOW 2012 festivalKey Frames, Groupe LAPS light stick figures on balconies in Eindhoven for GLOW 2012 festival
Key Frames, Groupe LAPS light stick figures on balconies in Eindhoven for GLOW 2012 festivalClick to enlarge

French art studio Groupe LAPS (previously here) have taken their Key Frames to a higher level, literally. Last November, as part of the GLOW 2012 Festival in Eindhoven in the Netherlands, the flashing/dancing/climbing LED light tube stick figures took over a building and all its balconies, giving the illusion of people creeping around from rooftop to individual rooms when the sun went down and the light show began. Take a look at what I’m talking about in the short video below:

Photos courtesy of Groupe LAPS.
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Peace Pavilion: Atelier Zündel Cristea (AZC)

Peace Pavilion by AZC inflatable structure, bethnal green museum gardens in london, new materials, twisty shapePeace Pavilion by AZC inflatable structure, bethnal green museum gardens in london, new materials, twisty shapePeace Pavilion by AZC inflatable structure, bethnal green museum gardens in london, new materials, twisty shapeClick to enlarge

Parisian architects Irina Cristea and Grégoire Zündel of Atelier Zündel Cristea (AZC) are all about peace, love, and happiness. Last fall the architects conceived an inflatable trampoline bridge over the Seine which I loved, but unlikely to become a reality. Their latest structure the Peace Pavilion, temporarily exhibited last month in the Bethnal Green Museum Gardens, uses a similar concept and materials creating a realized sculptural work that can be entered or climbed. The beauty of the shape of this inflatable sculpture lies in its perfect symmetry and fluidity. The geometry of the pavilion blurs the notion of inside and outside. The project is a self-supporting structure with 4m in height and 20m² in area, designed entirely with lightweight materials – 77.96m² of PVC membrane and 20m3 of air.

Photos: Sergio Grazia

via designboom

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Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Pulse Index

Pulse Index, a cool interactive art installation by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, records participants’ fingerprints at the same time as it detects their heart rates.Pulse Index, a cool interactive art installation by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, records participants’ fingerprints at the same time as it detects their heart rates.Pulse Index, a cool interactive art installation by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, records participants’ fingerprints at the same time as it detects their heart rates.Click to enlarge

Mexican-born artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer (previously here) is an electronic artist who develops interactive installations that are at the intersection of architecture and performance art. His main interest is in creating platforms for public participation using technologies such as robotics, computerized surveillance and telematic networks. In his installation Pulse Index Lozano-Hemmer invites participants to place their finger into a custom-made sensor equipped with a 220x digital microscope and a heart rate sensor. The piece displays data for the last 765 and over participants in a stepped display that creates a horizon line of skin. The fingerprint immediately appears on the largest cell of the display, pulsating to the person’s heart beat. As more people try the piece one’s own recording travels upwards until it disappears altogether.

Reading Lozano-Hemmer’s website I learned that he has a mysterious public art piece scheduled for NYC next month (August) so we’ll have to keep an eye out for that.

Photos: Anti-modular Research and Kate Russel
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Front 404: Happy Birthday George Orwell

Surveillance Cameras with party hats in Utrecht, Netherlands, in honor of George Orwell's Birthday, Front404, street artSurveillance Cameras with party hats in Utrecht, Netherlands, in honor of George Orwell's Birthday, Front404, street artSurveillance Cameras with party hats in Utrecht, Netherlands, in honor of George Orwell's Birthday, Front404, street artClick to enlarge

Dutch duo Front404 create interactive installations with humor that aim to surprise and offer a different perspective on the world. On June 25th, in honor of George Orwell’s 110th birthday, the two, Thomas voor ‘t Hekke and Bas van Oerle, placed party hats on surveillance cameras throughout the city of Utrecht. Not just a celebratory gesture, but a great way of drawing attention to the inconspicuous cameras that observe our every move and we so readily ignore. Every day, just that much closer to an Orwellian surveillance state.

via junkculture

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Stairway Cinema: Oh.No.Sumo

Stairway Cinema by Oh.No.Sumo Collective, Auckland, Australia, movie theater in stairwellStairway Cinema by Oh.No.Sumo Collective, Auckland, Australia, movie theater in stairwellStairway Cinema by Oh.No.Sumo Collective, Auckland, Australia, movie theater in stairwellClick to enlarge

The experimental design collective Oh.No.Sumo started as a creative outlet for four friends graduating from the architecture school at the University of Auckland and soon transformed into a design collective exploring many avenues of design, pushing the boundaries and allowing for uninhibited design freedoms through creative thinking and active participation. Their third and most recent major installation is Stairway Cinema at a corner in Auckland where there’s not much community interaction. By creating a mini movie theater in the stairway of a building, Oh.No.Sumo have in effect countered this issue, creating a communal and social environment that engages passers-by.

The structure was created with a timber truss covered in fabric with a waterproof exterior. Matching red cushions were added to the steps for softer seating while video content is projected onto the cantilevered end of the canopy. Very fun.

via designtaxi

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Chu Doma: Colorful Multilayer Sculpture

Chu Doma, Julian Pablo Manizelli, argentinean street artist, colorful, multilayer, sculpture, illustrationChu Doma, Julian Pablo Manizelli, argentinean street artist, colorful, multilayer, sculpture, illustrationChu Doma, Julian Pablo Manizelli, argentinean street artist, colorful, multilayer, sculpture, illustrationClick to enlarge

Argentinean street artist Chu Doma (previously here) — aka Julian Pablo Manizelli — has taken his very appealing 2-dimensional drawing style and transformed it into wonderful 3-D multilayer sculptures that are beautifully crafted. They almost look like puzzles (maybe they are?). I love everything about them: the playfulness, the bright-yet-muted color palettes; and even though I haven’t seen them in person, I’m pretty sure I’d enjoy their feel.

You can see much more of Chu Doma’s sculptures, toys, and, of course, street art on his flickr.

via graffitimundo

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Adam Parker Smith: Fun with Art

Adam Parker Smith, Humorous art, mixed media art, PulseNY, Scope Art Fair, No Longer EmptyAdam Parker Smith, Humorous art, mixed media art, PulseNY, Scope Art Fair, No Longer EmptyAdam Parker Smith, Humorous art, mixed media art, PulseNY, Scope Art Fair, No Longer EmptyClick to enlarge

I have run across Adam Parker Smith’s work repeatedly over the past couple of years, though due to its varied nature, it was only recently that I realized all these works were his. Whether at a No Longer Empty installation up in the Bronx, or at art fairs such as  Pulse here in Manhattan, Adam Parker Smith’s work is very much in the public eye. And it should be. It’s full of humor mixed with cultural critique, verging on the conceptual while employing techniques that include painting, sculpture, collage, video and more. Parker Smith’s work is the equivalent to that person who’s the life of the party. Fun and engaging, with sharp wit, sometimes ironic, sometimes a little crass, but always clever and surprising. Who wouldn’t want that in their show?

Photos courtesy of the artist and (top two) collabcubed.
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Phoebe Washburn: Sculpture in the Rotunda

Phoebe Washburn, National Academy, Sculpture in the Rotunda, Cool installation, Nudes Housed Within Their Own Clothes and Aware of Their Individual-Thirst Descending a StaircasePhoebe Washburn, National Academy, Sculpture in the Rotunda, Cool installation, Nudes Housed Within Their Own Clothes and Aware of Their Individual-Thirst Descending a StaircasePhoebe Washburn, National Academy, Sculpture in the Rotunda, Cool installation, Nudes Housed Within Their Own Clothes and Aware of Their Individual-Thirst Descending a StaircaseClick to enlarge

The National Academy here on NYC’s Fifth Avenue, initiated their Sculpture in the Rotunda series in 2011 in which a large-scale site-specific sculpture/installation is placed in the building’s beaux-arts Rotunda. Currently, and through September of this year, the installation Nudes, Housed Within Their Own Clothes and Aware of Their Individual Thirst, Descending a Staircase is by New York-based artist Phoebe Washburn constructed a 15ft high and 11 feet in diameter cylindrical tower perforated with colorful “wormholes” through which visitors can peer in as they walk up and down the spiral staircase. Washburn’s artwork is often made with scrap wood and repurposed materials that she finds around NYC and this installation is no exception speaking issues of recycling, environmentalism, consumable products and the waste created by the current consumer-driven society.

You can see other installations by Phoebe Washburn here, or visit Nudes, Housed Within Their Own Clothes and Aware of Their Individual Thirst, Descending a Staircase at the National Gallery through September 2013.

Photos courtesy of Zach Feuer Gallery
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Hald Strand Summerhouse: Jesper Brask

Jesper Brask, Hald Strand Summerhouse in North Zealand, DenmarkJesper Brask, Hald Strand Summerhouse in North Zealand, DenmarkJesper Brask, Hald Strand Summerhouse in North Zealand, DenmarkClick to enlarge

Danish architect Jesper Brask and his family spent three years, living on (in a trailer) and analyzing a woodsy acre of land in North Zealand, Denmark — coming to know everything about the site, from the sun’s movement over the plot in the summertime to its distance from the water — before starting on the design for his family’s summerhouse that would eventually occupy the space where a many a pine tree stood. Brask used the timber from the pines to create his summer getaway along with steel, bricks, and glass for the dramatic sloping  floor-to-ceiling windows and glass doors that bring the woods inside. At the core of the open-plan home is the towering chimney which holds three fireplaces, a conventional oven, and a pizza oven. Definitely the nicest “log cabin” I’ve ever seen.

Photos courtesy of the architect and Karina Tengberg.

via dwell

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James Turrell: Aten Reign in the Guggenheim Rotunda

James Turrell Guggenheim, Aten Reign, Elliptical Skyspace, Guggenheim Rotunda, cool light installationJames Turrell Guggenheim, Aten Reign, Elliptical Skyspace, Guggenheim Rotunda, cool light installationJames Turrell Guggenheim, Aten Reign, Elliptical Skyspace, Guggenheim Rotunda, cool light installationClick to enlarge

The very much anticipated James Turrell exhibit at the Guggenheim opened this evening and we were fortunate enough to attend the exciting event. The impressive skyspace installation that occupies the seemingly reduced-in-size rotunda does not disappoint. Aten Reign, as the massive installation is titled, cycles through a spectrum of colors—with varying hues of each—in approximately an hour. From white light to deep shades of reds and purples and eventually to almost complete darkness, the central atrium of the museum glows in a mystical yet soothing array of colors, changing people’s skin tones and even playing with one’s eyes and perception of color in the exterior halls lit in their natural white light that seem to take on a pink glow when the rotunda glows green, and green when pink. The rest of the museum is virtually empty except for about 5 rooms containing older works by Turrell all in white light. The trickery in these works is amazing, causing one to doubt their depth perception on a consistent basis. That which seems flat, is actually an open space, and that which seems open is actually a flat wall with projected light. Same goes for a cube of light that is so convincingly 3-dimensional, when in fact it is completely 2-dimensional. But, back to Aten Reign the exhibit’s pièce de resistance: the multi-tiered scrim creates elliptical circle within elliptical circle, working its way up from the most intense shade to five shades lighter towards to skylight. The rest of the museum looks oddly cropped and bare sans art, but it makes you appreciate the James Turrell installation-filled rooms, all the more.

James Turrell will be on exhibit at the Guggenheim through September 25, 2013.

Photos: collabcubed