Category Archives: Stuff We Like

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Misaki Kawai: Hair Show

Misaki Kawai, The Hair Show, fun, hairy sculptures with combs, childlike artMisaki Kawai, The Hair Show, fun, hairy sculptures with combs, childlike artMisaki Kawai, The Hair Show, The Hole Gallery, fun, hairy sculptures Click to enlarge

I stopped by The Hole gallery, here in NYC, the other evening right as they were closing, but I did get a chance to quickly peruse Japanese artist Misaki Kawai’s solo exhibit, Hair Show. And hairy it was. In fact, while I was there, there were three people sweeping hair off the floor throughout the gallery, while one gentleman mopped the very trampled and marked up white floor.

Kawai’s humorous, childlike hairy sculptures all come equipped with combs for creature grooming by visitors. The largest piece, Max, stands very tall and wide in the far room, and was apparently inspired by a dog Kawai sees daily on her block. Apart from the playful, geometric hairy creatures, the show also includes large minimalist charcoal canvases by the artist that capture the whimsy that children’s drawings often inhabit, yet somehow gets lost with age. Kawai seems able to genuinely recreate that elusive innocence. Not surprisingly, Misaki Kawai exhibited at The Children’s Museum last year. Her work would put a smile on people of all ages, even her large-boobed bench strategically positioned in the center of the gallery; an ideal vantage point for exhibit viewing.

Hair Show will be at The Hole through November 2, 2013.

Top photo courtesy of the artist. All others: collabcubed.
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Luis Gispert: Photos of Logo-clad Car Interiors

Luis Gispert, Photographs of car interiors decked out in haute coutour logo-clad decor, cool contemporary photographyLuis Gispert, Photographs of car interiors decked out in haute coutour logo-clad decor, cool contemporary photographyLuis Gispert, Photographs of car interiors decked out in haute coutour logo-clad decor, cool contemporary photographyClick to enlarge

Brooklyn-based artist/photographer Luis Gispert stumbled upon a culture of fashion-label customized car interiors that would be hard not to call impressive. These luxury brand knockoffs, or ‘interpretations’ according to Gispert, are created with the same obsession, fantasy, and dedication as an artist creates his/her art. Gispert’s series of photographs of these status-seeking automobiles (mostly owned by people of modest incomes who in many cases spent much more on the customization than the actual value of the final product) was compiled as a show titled “Decepción” at Mary Boone Gallery. From an Escalade covered in Murakami “LV” prints, to Stephen Sprouse’s bright green graffitti-scribbled version; a Burberry-lined Volkswagen to a pink Coach covered car; all artworks of sorts in their own right. The perfectly paired vistas from the windshields, however, are separate landscape photographs taken by Gispert and perfectly matched to emphasize the extremes between natural beauty and the questionable taste of our consumerist society.

You can see more of Gispert’s work on his website.

via musée

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#Encaja_dos: Lagaleriademagdalena

Lagaleriademagdalena, Spanish Street art, #Encaja_dos, photocall pop-ups in Barcelona and Rivas VaciamadridLagaleriademagdalena, Spanish Street art, #Encaja_dos, photocall pop-ups in Barcelona and Rivas VaciamadridLagaleriademagdalena, Spanish Street art, #Encaja_dos, photocall pop-ups in Barcelona and Rivas VaciamadridClick to enlarge

Las Magdalenas of Lagaleriademagdalena (previously here) have been at it again. Actually, they never stop. About a year ago the duo set up a pop-up photocall intervention titled Encaja_dos (meaning ‘to fit’ and read ‘within box’) where guests’ heads and torsos were photographed, well, within a box. These were placed on the walls of an empty lot in El Born, a section in the old part of Barcelona. Its popularity was such, that slowly over the year the lot had additions made to it, with gravel and seating added, becoming one of the most photographed corners of the city and recently included in official city tours. But Encaja_dos is no longer exclusive to Barcelona. Last month Las Magdalenas moved its next iteration to Rivas Vaciamadrid as part of the Cultural Festival in the Streets of Rivas. Taking new portraits of locals in white boxes, they then, with the assistance of many volunteers and friends, entered the waters clad in fisherman boots and pasted the photos along the white walls of the park, giving the impression of windows overlooking the banks. Add to that the reflective effect of the water, and the result is quite different from the original lot in El Born.

Keep an eye on these ladies. They are in full-steam-ahead mode, with new ideas and pop-ups every month. I wouldn’t be surprised if their work extended past the streets of Spain shortly.

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LAb[au]: Signal to Noise

Cool type installation for Luminato Festival in Toronto; Signal to Noise by Lab[au] studio in Belgian with Manuel Abendroth, Jérôme Decock and Els VermangCool type installation for Luminato Festival in Toronto; Signal to Noise by Lab[au] studio in Belgian with Manuel Abendroth, Jérôme Decock and Els VermangCool type installation for Luminato Festival in Toronto; Signal to Noise by Lab[au] studio in Belgian with Manuel Abendroth, Jérôme Decock and Els VermangClick to enlarge

It doesn’t feel like that long ago that we’d hear the flapping noise of the information displays at most train stations and airports, yet quietly, and almost unnoticeably, they have mostly transitioned over to LED monitors. Belgian artist team LAb[au] consisting of Manuel Abendroth, Jérôme Decock and Els Vermang, created a playful type installation for Toronto’s Luminato Festival last year, utilizing the discarded technology and salvaged split-flaps from these old signage systems, arranged in a circular grid. Signal to Noise, as the piece is called, takes the random letters from the illegible and nonsensical into the legible and poetic, through its flipping mechanism. Apparently the sound is much subtler than in the video below; almost like rain. Best to see it in action:

Photos courtesy of LAb[au]

via canadian art junkie

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The Sleep of the Beloved: Paul Schneggenburger

The Sleep of the Beloved, long exposure photos of sleeping couples, Paul SchneggenburgerThe Sleep of the Beloved, long exposure photos of sleeping couples, Paul SchneggenburgerThe Sleep of the Beloved, long exposure photos of sleeping couples, Paul SchneggenburgerClick to enlarge

Austrian photographer Paul Schneggenburger‘s university thesis project three years back, has since become an ongoing one. The Sleep of the Beloved is a series of photographs taken as one long-time exposure, from midnight to 6am, of lovers sleeping together. Schneggenburger sets up a bed in his studio apartment as a stage, complete with candlelight, but removes himself from the space as the couples sleep. The results are somewhat ghostlike, with a moody balletic quality. Quite nice, I think. If you’re interested in having you and your significant other photographed while sleeping together, there’s a contact on Schneggenburger’s website.

via dailymail

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Gateshead Millenium Bridge: WilksonEyre


WilksonEyre Architects, Gateshead Millenium Bridge, Winking Eye Bridge, Blinking Eye Bridge, cool movable bridgeWilksonEyre Architects, Gateshead Millenium Bridge, Winking Eye Bridge, Blinking Eye Bridge, cool movable bridgeWilksonEyre Architects, Gateshead Millenium Bridge, Winking Eye Bridge, Blinking Eye Bridge, cool movable bridge
Click to enlarge

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a bridge, and though this one isn’t quite new, it really is a spectacular one. Designed by London-based WilkinsonEyre Architects, the Gateshead Milennium Bridge in the UK is quite an impressive sight. Spanning 105 meters across the River Tyne, the pedestrian movable bridge is nicknamed the “Blinking Eye” or “Winking Eye” bridge due to its innovative rotational movement—providing clearance for boats to pass under—that resembles that of an opening eyelid. This strikingly elegant bridge looks stunning in movement or still, day or night. Here it is in motion:

via presurfer

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Richard Dupont: Hanging Heads

Richard Dupont, Out of Hand: Materializing the Postdigital, Museum of Art and Design, Hanging Heads, Silicone head sculptures, body scan sculptureRichard Dupont, Out of Hand: Materializing the Postdigital, Museum of Art and Design, Hanging Heads, Silicone head sculptures, body scan sculptureRichard Dupont, Out of Hand: Materializing the Postdigital, Museum of Art and Design, Hanging Heads, Silicone head sculptures, body scan sculptureRichard Dupont, Out of Hand: Materializing the Postdigital, Museum of Art and Design, Hanging Heads, Silicone head sculptures, body scan sculptureClick to enlarge

You know you must really like an artist when two years apart, in two different locations, two different kinds of sculpture—though both heads—make you stop in awe. Today, walking by The Museum of Art and Design here in NYC, a came across a huge sculpture of what looked like a melting head. I checked inside with the museum people and the artist turned out to be Richard Dupont, whose work will be included in the show that opens October 16th titled Out of Hand: Materializing the Postdigital. Upon looking up Dupont’s work, I discovered that he is also the artist behind the large heads I saw, and was impressed by, a couple of years back in Chelsea filled with junk; albeit themed junk (see bottom photos). NYC born and based Dupont has been working with digital full-body scans of himself for over ten years. He likes to use technology as a tool, but is partial to the physical material over the information, preferring the results derived from “disrespecting” technology. His “Hanging Heads” as he calls them, were initially the result of an accident. Working on a foam enlargement of his head, he decided to paint it with rubber. Not happy with the outcome, Dupont peeled off the rubber coating, only to find that it came off in one piece, and then nailed it to the wall. Amazing. Can’t wait to stop by MAD to see more of Dupont’s work in person. Out of Hand will be up through July 6, 2014, so there’s time to get back there.

Top two photos: collabcubed. All other photos courtesy of the artist.
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Fos: Rayen Restaurant Installation

Fos, Somos Fos, Rayen Restaurant Madrid, facade painted to look like light, fun installation/artFos, Somos Fos, Rayen Restaurant Madrid, facade painted to look like light, fun installation/artFos, Somos Fos, Rayen Restaurant Madrid, facade painted to look like light, fun installation/artFos, Somos Fos, Rayen Restaurant Madrid, facade painted to look like light, fun installation/artClick to enlarge

(fos) the multidisciplinary trio based in Madrid and Barcelona, is made up of Eleni Karpatsi, Susana Piquer, and Julio Calvo. The architecture/interior design/graphic design firm recently “illuminated” the façade of vegan restaurant Rayen in Madrid by painting a bright yellow beam of light emanating from an industrial lamp over the entrance. The playful treatment had a show-stopping effect on passers-by, which (fos) clearly anticipated, setting up a photo-shooting spot across the street with a camera icon made of tape placed on the sidewalk for the optimum shot. The whole project is clever, fun, definitely eye-catching for the restaurant and, if that weren’t enough, a great representation of their own firm’s name, as well. Fos means light in Greek and melted in Catalan. So there’s that…

via jeroen apers

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Mike and Claire

Mike and Claire, Performance Art, Gifs, Costume Design, crazy, wacky, goofy characters/artMike and Claire, Performance Art, Gifs, Costume Design, crazy, wacky, goofy characters/artMike and Claire, Performance Art, Gifs, Costume Design, crazy, wacky, goofy characters/artMike and Claire, Performance Art, Gifs, Costume Design, crazy, wacky, goofy characters/artMike and Claire, Performance Art, Gifs, Costume Design, crazy, wacky, goofy characters/art

NYC-based artist dynamic duo Mike Bailey-Gates and Claire Christerson, aka Mike and Claire, blend their love of performance, costume design, and film in their zany videos and gifs, creating a whole slew of characters, from humorous to disturbing. Their inspiration? Artists including Ryan Trecartin, Cindy Sherman, and Nina Hagen, as well as New York City nightlife with an emphasis on queer, subculture events. They tend to use themselves in their work with props they’ve collected, as well as costumes that Claire creates. They met as students at the School of Visual Arts and have been collaborating ever since.

You can see much more of the nuttiness on their site.

via papermag

 

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Linus Hui: Carton Animals

Linus Hui, Linus and the Feel Good Factory, Carton Animals, Costumes made from PaperLinus Hui, Linus and the Feel Good Factory, Carton Animals, Costumes made from PaperLinus Hui, Linus and the Feel Good Factory, Carton Animals, Costumes made from PaperClearly Em’s got Halloween on the brain, since this is the second costume-related link she’s sent me in the past few weeks. Though not intended as costumes, really, but rather a set of self-portraits by Hong Kong-based artist Linus Hui’s—who goes by the name Linus and the Feel Good Factory—Carton Animals definitely could inspire a creative do-it-yourself solution for that masquerade ball you’ve been invited to, or for your child’s trick-or-treating get-up. Hui creates his humorous paper costumes by using a big carton that he places over his head as the base, “breathing life into a mundane object.” These animal self-portraits are titled/narrated with puns and wordplay that can be seen in this book of the collection.

But Hui goes ‘outside of the box’ as well, with impressive paper costumes and masks, some a little more sinister than his animals. You can see those on his flickr and more Carton Animals here.

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T. J. Wilcox: In the Air at the Whitney

In the Air, A Panoramic Film Installation by T. J. Wilcox. 24hr day in NYC in 30 minutes. Whitney MuseumIn the Air, A Panoramic Film Installation by T. J. Wilcox. 24hr day in NYC in 30 minutes. Whitney MuseumIn the Air, A Panoramic Film Installation by T. J. Wilcox. 24hr day in NYC in 30 minutes. Whitney MuseumClick to enlarge

Currently, the second floor of the Whitney Museum is largely taken up by New York-based artist T. J. Wilcox‘s dramatic 360˚ panoramic film installation titled “In the Air”. The giant circular screen measuring roughly 7 feet high and 35 feet in diameter projects the span of a day in the city, from dawn to dusk, sped up to run in a 30-minute cycle. Inspired by the views from the roof of the building where he has his studio in Union Square, Wilcox filmed, or actually shot 60,000 stills, shot at the rate of one per second, and seamlessly patched together. Superimposed on this vista are six short films that loop, each with a NYC connection. From a documentary/portrait of the Empire State Building to Warhol inflating his silver helium balloons on the roof of his Factory, to Wilcox’s super recounting his personal witnessing of September 11 from that very roof.

I’m looking forward to seeing this exhibit soon—with my newly gifted membership—but, more interestingly, here is Wilcox speaking a bit on the work:

“In the Air” will be up at the Whitney through February 9, 2014.

Top photo by Fred R. Conrad for the NY Times; second photo courtesy of the Whitney; bottom three photos by Clare Henry.
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Tour Paris 13: The Paris Tower Project

Tour Paris 13, The Paris 13 Tower Project, Largest Group Street Art Exhibit Ever, Apartment building painted inside and out by around 100 international street artists, Galerie ItinerranceTour Paris 13, The Paris 13 Tower Project, Largest Group Street Art Exhibit Ever, Apartment building painted inside and out by around 100 international street artists, Galerie ItinerranceTour Paris 13, The Paris 13 Tower Project, Largest Group Street Art Exhibit Ever, Apartment building painted inside and out by around 100 international street artists, Galerie ItinerranceTour Paris 13, The Paris 13 Tower Project, Largest Group Street Art Exhibit Ever, Apartment building painted inside and out by around 100 international street artists, Galerie ItinerranceClick to enlarge

October has commenced and Street Art is in the air, or, more accurately on the walls. Here in NYC, Banksy has started stenciling the city with his Better Out Than In project, with possibly a work per day, with a phone number you can call to get an in-depth tongue-in-cheek guided tour to each piece.

Meanwhile, in Paris, Tour Paris 13 (Paris Tower Project 13) has launched. Touted as the “largest group Street Art exhibition ever carried out,” a tower in the 13th Arrondissement slated for demolition at the end of the year has been enshrined by over one hundred artists from all over the world before its destruction. Each artist was given a space, wall, apartment, ceiling to create their work on, inside and out the 4,500 sq meter edifice. With the support of City Hall, ICF Habitat La Sabliere, and Galerie Itinerrance, the project remained secret for many months. The list of artists is impressive, and way too extensive to include here…but some names include: Ludo, El Seed, Legz, Sean Hart, Sumo, and Vhils, just to name a very few.

The exhibit will be up for the entire month of October, and then the building will close and prepare for demolition. For anyone that can’t make it to Paris by then, the website is impressively comprehensive and immersive, taking you room by room and floor by floor with 360˚ views.

Here’s a teaser video from galerie Itinerrance:

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Ole Martin Lund Bø: Anamorphic Type

Ole Martin Lund Bø, Anamorphic Typography Sculpture, Deceptive Outward AppearanceOle Martin Lund Bø, Anamorphic Typography Sculpture, Deceptive Outward AppearanceOle Martin Lund Bø, Anamorphic Typography Sculpture, Deceptive Outward AppearanceClick to enlarge

Finnish artist Ole Martin Lund Bø‘s wooden installation Deceptive Outward Appearance uses the technique of anamorphosis as we’ve seen also here and here. Even having seen other works utilizing the similar effect, I’m still always impressed at the ability to create these, as well as interested in the individual components that make up the whole. It’s just that one specific spot in the room that makes the words/image come into focus and go from gibberish, or abstraction, to a specific and clear message. Kind of the way I feel when I put on my reading glasses…

All images courtesy of the artist.

via étapes

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Nobutaka Aozaki: Conceptual Smile-Inducing Art

Nobutaka Aozaki, Chips Painting, Chip bags blocked out into abstract art pieces, conceptual art, humorous artNobutaka Aozaki, Children of Duchamp, conceptual art, humorous artNobutaka Aozaki, Children of Duchamp, conceptual art, humorous art, Value_Added, Open Bag, Smiley Bag Project, Portrait Artists ProjectClick to enlarge

I love it when I google something and, instead, wind up finding something different yet wonderful. In this case “rice sculptures” landed me at New York-based, Japanese artist Nobutaka Aozaki’s website, who has, in fact, made rice sculptures, but it was all his other projects that really caught my eye. These works/projects are more about the concept than the final product, but each and every one made me smile with its cleverness. Children of Duchamp is a series of variations on Duchamp’s first Readymade Bicycle Wheel with simple combinations of assorted premanufactured wheels and stools from everything including Ikea furniture to Playmobile and Barbie toys. In Value Added, Aozaki took a can of Del Monte corn to multiple supermarkets and re-bought it. This single can of corn has been re-bought from 105 supermarkets for a total of $113.07 (as of June1, 2013) and both the can and receipts have been kept. I love that! In his project titled Open Bag, the artist walked around the city with his backpack unzipped recording the voices of strangers alerting him to the fact his bag was open with a recorder within the bag. Later, the recording of these interactions is returned to the open bag and played back. Yes, it’s a little nutty, but just great. And there’s plenty more, so if you liked these I recommend you check out the rest.

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Ark Nova: Inflatable Concert Hall

Lucerne Festival, Anish Kapoor and Arata Isozaki collaboration, inflatable concert hall Ark NovaLucerne Festival, Anish Kapoor and Arata Isozaki collaboration, inflatable concert hall Ark NovaLucerne Festival, Anish Kapoor and Arata Isozaki collaboration, inflatable concert hall Ark NovaClick to enlarge

A little over a year ago I posted about a project in the works called Ark Nova, an inflatable, mobile, concert hall, and now, suddenly, it’s a reality. A beautiful one at that. I suppose it’s not surprising when two extremely talented creative professionals—in this case artist Anish Kapoor and architect Arata Isozaki—collaborate along with the Lucerne Festival. This unique structure made of purple parachute material inflates in approximately two hours and seats 500. Starting October 14th, the theater will open to the public hosting concerts and other events around the tsunami-stricken areas of Japan.

Photos courtesy of the Lucerne Festival.

via colossal

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Disco Volante: Lukas Galehr

Disco ball pizza oven at Disco Volante in Austria by Lukas Galehr. Cool pizza oven.Disco ball pizza oven at Disco Volante in Vienna by Lukas Galehr. Cool pizza oven.Disco ball pizza oven at Disco Volante in Vienna by Lukas Galehr. Cool pizza oven.Click to enlarge

Austrian architect Lukas Galehr  (also part of the design collective Madame Mohr) designed the Viennese pizzeria Disco Volante including its centerpiece: a unique oversized rotating disco ball oven that glitters against the walls in the dark. Covered in hundreds of tiny mirrored tiles, the spherical pizza oven is positioned within the dining room and is anchored to a central chimney that allows it to pivot from its center. Here it is in action:

via dezeen

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Topographic Rest Stops: Büro Uebele

Colorful topographic Rest stop bathrooms in Saxony Germany by Büro Uebele, Motorway Toilets, Map-clad reststopsColorful topographic Rest stop bathrooms in Saxony Germany by Büro Uebele, Motorway Toilets, Map-clad reststopsColorful topographic Rest stop bathrooms in Saxony Germany by Büro Uebele, Motorway Toilets, Map-clad reststopsStuttgart-based visual communications firm Büro Uebele (previously here) has designed a series of colorful rest stops/motorway toilets for the Lower Saxony region of Germany. These bright objects that seemingly glow by the roadside, not only relieve the monotony of the highway landscape, but do so using topographic maps of the area that have been digitized, assigning different colors to the varying altitudes of that specific location. The results are cheerful, abstract-looking patterned façades that would deter the best of graffiti artists.

Photos by Christian Richters, courtesy of Büro Uebele.

via segd