March 5, 2013 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Shane Scheck: Office for Design

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Office for Design is a Stockholm-based industrial design studio founded by American designer Shane Schneck. There’s a beautiful simplicity and elegance to all of their work. From the Orbit series of stools and tables, to their modems and routers you’d be proud to display instead of hide in a corner behind a plant. And one of their most recent products, Strike, a series of matchboxes cleverly makes the design of the phosphorous striking strip the focal point of the boxes in delightful patterns on all sides against bold, bright colors. Love it all.

via notcot

March 5, 2013 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Moto Waganari: Real Virtuality

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German artist Moto Waganari, aka Lutz Wagner, creates intricately networked polyamide and wire sculptures that in themselves are quite striking but then takes the three dimensional objects to another level by lighting them and having them interact with their very dramatic two dimensional shadows. The result is somewhat surreal and often surprising revealing a sort of alter ego of the individual figures. And if that’s not interesting enough, Waganari has a website that lets you manipulate these figures, changing their shapes and somehow having them created. He calls it Real Virtuality. Here’s a video with more details:

Photos: Heitsch Gallery & Moto Waganari’s facebook.

via art karlsruhe

March 4, 2013 by collabcubed - 0 comments

PearlDamour: How to Build a Forest

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Though at first glance it may look like a theater set for a children’s fairytale, PearlDamour’s (Katie Pearl and Lisa D’Amour) How to Build a Forest has more to it than that. Em stopped by the team’s latest installation, of their previously-staged performance art piece, last week at Brown University’s Granoff Center. Part visual art installation and part theater performance How to Build a Forest unfolds over an 8-hour period, beginning on an empty stage which is slowly transformed by the artists and their volunteers into a coloful, dense and willowy slip-covered forest. Viewers are urged to walk through and interact with the installation as well as ask (or answer) questions of the forest rangers on hand. Field guides were distributed that include a manifesto on the beauty and fragility of our environment. Visitors are given an opportunity to witness an ecosystem in progress as well as question where things go when we are done with them. Despite the loud sounds by the builders and metal wires, the installation has a meditative quality.

Brown’s Granoff center was the smallest of the venues where How to Build a Forest was shown, but others include The Kitchen in NYC and Duke University. At the end of the 8 hours on each day of the exhibit/performance the forest was torn down while the builders spoke poetic words of warning, then walked off leaving an empty, stark performance space.

Here’s a time lapse video of the entire 8 hours on the left.

Photos courtesy of PearlDamour; Brown Daily Herald; Timothy Atticsu/bomblog

March 4, 2013 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Erik Johansson: Skrapan Illusion

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Some of the works Swedish photographer, based in Berlin, Erik Johansson creates are street illusions. He sees photography as a way of collecting material to realize the ideas of the mind. Last fall, Johansson was commissioned by the Stockholm shopping mall Skrapan to create a perspective illusion for their 5th anniversary. Being one of the tallest buildings in the city, they wanted to incorporate the view from the top of the building into the optical illusion. From the right angle, Johansson’s installation tricked the viewer into the 3D illusion of being on top of the building looking down from the safety of the sidewalk.

Here’s a video for more of the effect:

All photos by Erik Johannson

via inspir3d

March 1, 2013 by collabcubed - 0 comments

NYC Culture on the Cheap: Weekend 3/1

Free & Cheap things to do this we

Free & Cheap things to do this weekend in NYC (3/1/13 to 3/3/13) in art, music, theater, performance, dance, architecture, film, design and general fun. Click through to event pages for more info, either on above images or below descriptions.

1. ARCHITECTURE: Fri 3/1 – Great American City & the Future of Urban Studies Conference. 1 to 7pm. FREE

2. ARCHITECTURE: Fri 3/1 – Join TsAO & McKOWN at its office for drinks, informal conversation, and a behind the scenes look at recent and upcoming architecture projects. 6:30 to 8pm. FREE

3. DANCE: All weekend & through 3/24 – Harkness Dance Festival at 92Y. Check schedule. $20

4. THEATER: All weekend – Guillermo Calderon’s Neva. The story of Anton Chekov’s widow and two actors waiting to rehearse The Cherry Orchard on Bloody Sunday. “Political and human” Use code WINTER2 for $36.50 tkts.

5. ART/TALK: Fri 3/1 – Stephan Pastis creator of the comic strip, “Pearls Before Swine,”discusses his book, “Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made.”: 6pm FREE

6. ART: All Weekend & through 6/9 –No Limits: Alexandre Arrechea playfully reinterprets 10 iconic buildings such as Chrysler & Empire in large sculptures along Park Ave. from 54th to 67th Streets. Walking Tour with the artist Sat 3/2, 4pm to 5:30pm. Meet at 54th and Park. FREE. Update: As of 3/1 in the afternoon, only two sculptures were up. Seems like there’s a delay, and I’m not sure what the story is with the walking tour now…

7. ART/PERFORMANCE/FOOD/FILM: All Weekend and through 3/9 – Cold Castle at Family Business: small-scale life installation performance experience. Join them for tea on Sat 3/2 or brunch, a film screening or dinner on Sun 3/3. See schedule here. FREE

8. FOOD: Sat 3/2 & Sun 3/3 – NY Vegetarian Food Festival 10am to 5pm. $5 General Admission. $30 all day pass.

9. FILM/TALK: Sat 3/2 – Nick Offerman from ‘Parks & Recreation’ discusses his film ‘Somebody Up There Likes Me’. 3pm FREE

10. MUSIC: Sat 3/2 – Sasha Siem w/ Matt Siffert . Official Launch of her debut EP “So Polite. doors 6:30pm. Show 7:30pm $15 adv. $20 door.

11. ART/DESIGN/TECH: Sat 3/2 – Art Hack Day: God Mode: 60 artists and hackers explore the idea of God Mode and produce new, collaborative projects. Join the teams on Saturday starting at 7:00pm for an exhibition, live performances, and party. FREE

12. MUSIC: Sat 3/2 – Deer Tracks at Pianos 10pm $10.

13. FILM: All weekend – First Time Film Fest: A series of directorial debuts by big-names and newbies as well as panels and Q&As. $15

14. FILM: All weekend – CineKink 10th Anniversary of the Kinky Film Festival. most screenings $9 to $10. Check schedule.

15. FILM: All weekend & through 3/10: Globus Film Series: a retrospective of rarely shown films produced in the 50s and 60s from Japanese Film Studio Shintoho: $9 to $12

16. INTERACTIVE ART/TECH: All weekend & ongoing: DVD DeadDrop (see post) https://collabcubed.com/2013/02/27/aram-bartholl-dvd-dead-drop-more/ interactive art installation. Bring a blank dvd and take home some art. 24/7 FREE

17. FILM: Sun 3/3 – NYC Premiere of The Sapphires, distributed by The Weinstein Company, big hit in Australia: 7pm. $15

18. ART/SCIENCE/TALK: Sun 3/3 – The New Yorker Cartoonists, 3 cartoonists explore creative illusion with neuroscientist Richard Restak. With audience interactivity and a pre-ptrogarm allery tour. Tour 5:15. Talk 6pm $25

More…
>>Music –Fri 3/1 – Battle of the Boroughs Queens! Bands duke it out for the best in their borough and city. 7pm. $15 includes 1 glass beer/wine.
>>Architecture/Fun/Art – Sat 3/2 – Urban Factory Scavenger Hunt and Tour leads you through the industrial past & modern manufacturing present of LIC. Hunt 11am; Closing reception 5pm.
>>Art – Sat 3/2 – Headscapes, a group of Brooklyn artists create installations showing what goes on in their heads, in an empty warehouse in Long Island City. Opening 2 to 9pm. FREE
>>Art – All weekend & through 4/5 – Sandra Gibson & Luis Recoder’s Topsy-Turvy: A Camera Obscura Installation in Mad Sq. Pk.
>>Performance Art – Sun 3/3 & through 3/15 – The Introducing Series, Season 2, a 2-week occupation of The Window at 125, introducing 13 artists working in the field of performance. Different artist each day. See schedule. FREE
>>Music – Sun 3/3 – Thurston Moore performs with Chelsea Light Moving. 7:30pm. FREE

February 28, 2013 by collabcubed - 0 comments

PAS House: Pierre-André Senizergues

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Imagine a home in which you could skateboard to the dining room table, or, for that matter, on it. That’s just what ex world champion pro-skater Pierre-André Senizergues (PAS) turned Sole Technology founder envisioned when he came up with PAS House or Casa PAS. Senizergues created the concept, but Gil Le Bon Delapointe is responsible for the cool design of the full-scale 753 sq. foot version that includes a sofa, bed, and even kitchen appliances. The skateboard ramp-style structure allows the inhabitants to skate or bike on virtually every surfaces. The prototype was made with a Malibu location in mind, overlooking the ocean, with three separate living areas connected by a continuous ribbon-like skateable surface. The execution of the actual house will be overseen by architect François Perrin.

Check out the video:

via plataforma arquitectura via anA

February 27, 2013 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Aram Bartholl: DVD Dead Drop & More

I am so disappointed that I didn’t know about this when we were at the Museum of Moving Image last August. It seems that Berlin artist Aram Bartholl, who combines technology and art to create participatory works, was commissioned by the museum last summer to create a permanent installation on the side of the museum. DVD Dead Drop consists of an embedded slot-loading DVD burner on an exterior wall of the building, available to the public 24 hours a day. Visitors can insert a blank DVD-R and receive a digital art exhibition, a collection of media, or other monthly curated content, burned onto their disc. DVD Dead Drop is a continuation of Bartholl’s series of offline file-sharing networks in public spaces. Other Dead Drops consisted of USB flash drives cemented into walls and curbs encouraging a ‘read-write’ information ecosystem while the DVD version is ‘read-only’. You can follow the different content offerings over here, and see the video below for a demonstration of the process by the charming Bartholl himself.

More recently, Bartholl organized an event titled Vertical Cinema in Berlin, where hilarious vertical YouTube clips were projected full screen in smartphone style, but huge. Sounds like a fun idea that I hope the Museum of Moving Image will consider screening one night here in NYC. In the meantime, I’m due for another visit to the museum in Astoria, and will be sure to come armed with a blank dvd.

February 27, 2013 by collabcubed - 1 Comment

No Limits: Alexandre Arrechea

Alexandre Arrechea (previously here and here) has been on our radar since Em became aware of his work a couple of years back. Now, starting Friday, March 1st, the Cuban-born artist will be exhibiting 10 massive sculptures along Park Avenue here in NYC. This outdoor exhibit, titled No Limits, embodies some of New York City’s most iconic landmarks in a playfully twisted way. These architecturally elastic works include: the Chrysler Building, Citicorp Center, Empire State, the Flatiron, Helmsley Building, MetLife, Metropolitan Life Tower, Seagram’s, Sherry Netherland and US Courthouse. The rolling, winding and spinning 20-ft tall sculptures will be placed along the Park Avenue mall from 53rd to 67th Streets. Plus, you can join the artist for a walking tour on Saturday, March 2nd, from 4 to 5:30, meeting at the corner of 54th St. But even if you can’t make the tour, fear not, No Limits will be up through June 9th.

Photos courtesy MagnanMetz Gallery; Alexandre Arrechea’s facebook; and Wallpaper.

February 26, 2013 by collabcubed - 2 Comments

Eddi Prabandono

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Indonesian artist Eddi Prabandono is probably most known for his giant sculpture made with 25 tons of special clay of his daughter Luz’s head for the 2011 edition of the art exhibition Jog Art, known as the “Luz Series”. However, other works include smaller scale sculptures often made with shovels, bicycles, skateboards, and more recently a multi-looped vespa at Art Stage Singapore.

If you like Prabandono’s cycle sculptures you might also enjoy Patricia Piccinini’s Vespa art, and Sergio Garcia’s trikes.

Photos courtesy ArtAsiaPacific; Reuters/Dwl Oblo; and Eddi Prabandono’s facebook page.

February 25, 2013 by collabcubed - 1 Comment

Daniella Mooney: Parquetry

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It’s probably hard for Daniella Mooney’s wooden (or is it?) sculpture Parquetry not to illicit some sort of reaction from a viewer, whether it be a smile or an expression of confusion. The South African artist’s sculptural work consists mostly of natural materials such as wood, stone, moss and crystals, with meticulous detail in their crafting as can be seen above in the process photos of Parquetry and in more detail here. Mooney tends to explore themes of alchemy, magic and natural phenomena and I’d say this piece is pretty magical.

via lustik

February 25, 2013 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Sakir Gökçebag: Mundane Object Installations

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Hamburg-based Turkish-born artist Sakir Gökçebag creates fun installations using everyday objects. His toilet paper roll installations are part of two series: Trans-Layers I and II. The abstract shapes and movement that Gökçebag is able to get with these rolls are at once playful and elegant, not to mention completely surprising. And it doesn’t stop at toilet paper, no siree. Gökeçebag’s other works utilize everything from shoes, belts, umbrellas, brooms, measuring tapes, levels and other household tools, extending to his series of photographs of uniquely cut fruit s & vegetables.

There’s much more to see on his site here.

via trendland

February 22, 2013 by collabcubed - 0 comments

NYC Culture on the Cheap: Weekend 2/22

Click on individual photos for official event page or use the corresponding numbered links below.

This weekend’s picks for Free & Cheap things to do in NYC (2/15 to 2/17) in art, music, theater, performance, dance, architecture and general fun.

1. THEATER/PERFORMANCE: All weekend & through 3/3– Frigid Festival – Fringy theater and performances. $12 to $15.

2. ART/TECH: Fri 2/22 & Sat 2/23 & through 3/2: Gimme More: Is Augmented Reality the Next Medium? Visitors explore the link between the physical and digital worlds via augmented reality-based immersive installations. 12 to 6pm FREE

3. ART/TECH/DESIGN: Sat 2/23 & Sat 2/24 – (though the poster & website say differently, we have been told by one of the panelist that the event is actually Sat & Sun) PlayThings a 2-day symposium and workshop exploring the concept of play in the fields of art, media, and technology. 11am to 5pm. FREE

4. PHOTOGRAPHY: Fri 2/22 and through 5/5 Roman Vishniac Rediscovered most widely recognized and reproduced photographic record of Jewish life in Eastern Europe between the two World Wars. FREE Fridays 5 to 8pm. All other times $14

5. ART: Fri 2/22 through 3/22 – Gathering Place: Selected artists fill the formerly-vacant 8th St. storefront with site-specific works exploring the street and neighborhood’s unique history of commerce and culture. Opening 7pm.

6. TALK/TECH: Fri 2/22 – Part of Social Media Week: Art Exploring Image Sharing Platforms: #selfieaffirmation Panel of internet energy healers and pioneers discuss the relevance of self portraiture and online avatars. 5 to 8pm. FREE

7. ART: All Weekend – Moustache Man (aka Patrick Waldo) who penned his signature cursive “moustache” tag on thousands of subway ads has a solo gallery debut only through Sunday. FREE

8. MUSIC: Fri 2/22 – David Lynch presents Chrysta Bell w/ She Keeps Bees. 7:30pm $15 to $17.

9. ART/TECH: All weekend: The Public Private exhibit that explores the impact of social media and new technologies on the relationship between the public and private realm. FREE

10. ART/TALK: Sat 2/23 – Do It: Hans Ulrich Obrist and Massimiliano Gioni in conversation. 3pm $8

11. PERFORMANCE/ART/HAPPENING: Sat 2/23 – E.S.P. Live From the Control Room repurposes the museum’s Open Studios into E.S.P. TV LAB hosting a variety of artists and performers. A happening-like environment: 7pm $5 to $7

12. ARCHITECTURE/FUN: Sat 2/23 – Secrets of Grand Central Scavenger Hunt. Discover little-known passageways, gourmet foods and much more in the terminal and its environs. 2pm $24.50

13. THEATER/PARTICIPATORY: Fri 2/22 & Sat 2/23 Shakespeare Shakedown presents: A Midsummer Night’s Dream at a secret loft location. Immerse yourself as actors spin wildly through the party blending Shakepeare with improv. 7pm Use code G&SFRIENDS for $15 tkts.

14. FILM: Sat 2/23 – Premiere of Mostly Awake a micro-budget independent comedy filmed in Bushwick. 8pm FREE

15. THEATER: All weekend: Hit the Wall by Ike Holter previews. Ltd amount of $35 tkts remain: Use code HTWBST35

16. MUSIC/OPERA: Sun 2/24 & through 3/2 – The Turn of the Screw by Benjamin Britten based on Henry James’ ghost story and conducted by Jayce Ogren. $25 and up. Use code 19286 for 20% off through 2/26.

17. PARTY/FILM: Sun 2/24 – OscarViewing Party at SideBar 6:30pm $10 general admission

18. MUSIC/DANCE/CIRCUS: Sun 2/24 – The Super Hot Cheap Fun Variety Show: an evening of Circus/Dance/Music and indescribable wonderment. Part of the Hot Cheap Living Festival. 7pm. $10

More…
>>Film –Fri 2/22 – The Throwaways Sneak Preview – Documentary about filmmaker and ex-felon Ira McKinley who struggles to turn his life around in inner-city Albany. 7:30pm $10.
>>Theater – All Weekend – Big Flower Eater $12
>>Art – All weekend & through 4/28 – Marcel Proust and “Swann’s Way” at Morgan Library FREE Fridays 7 to 9pm.
>>Film – All Weekend – Red Flag a new film by Alex Karpovsky (of Girls) $8 to $10
>>Theater – Fri 2/22 & Sat 2/23 –Collected Stories by Donald Margulies performed in the Strand’s Rare Books Room. 7:30pm $20 or $15 with code bookworm.
>>Food/Fun – Sat 2/23 – Iron Chef Flux. Come watch our most talented Flux chefs compete head to head in an intense culinary battle. 6 to 8pm. FREE to watch; $5 to sample food.
>>Fun/Oscars: Sun 2/24 – Oscar Viewing Party at Eventi’s Big Screen Plaza. Kick off at 6pm. FREE. Drinks $3 to $6.
>>Fun/Oscars: Sun 2/24 – The Big Oscars Quiz Thing. 5 rounds of multi-media Trivia Quiz. Doors 5:30pm Quiz 6pm, with Awards Broadcast following. $15.
>>Fun/Oscars: Sun 2/24 – Alt. Oscars Awards Event – outlandish Awards Event & Dance Party with ongoing performances, interactive red carpet & dedicated Hollywood Oscar viewing area. 6pm. $5 presale. $10 at door

February 21, 2013 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Mike Hewson: Homage to Lost Spaces

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New Zealand-born and -based artist Mike Newson, trained as a civil engineer, has recently made the switch to focusing on his art full time. Last July Newson started creating massive mixed-media works on the destined-to-be-demolished Christchurch Normal School in New Zealand, due to damage created by last year’s 6.3 earthquake. Covering the building with 130 square meters of plywood and large-scale digital images depicting artists and others who had lived and worked in the structure, Newson opens up a dialogue between art and architecture by questioning the nature of our relationship to civic spaces. In similar fashion, Newson has also used his talents on street plywood and more recently on stretched canvas in his show Polymorphia being exhibited right now through March 9th at FirstDraft Gallery in Sydney.

via beneath the surface, via cool hunter

February 21, 2013 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Head in the Clouds: StudioKCA

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This upcoming summer’s City of Dreams Pavilion—the centerpiece at Figment on Governor’s Island—will be Head in the Clouds. Designers Jason Klimoski and Lesley Chang of Studio Klimoski Chang Architects (aka StudioKCA) kept sustainability in mind when they designed their entry. The armature of the structure will be made from aluminum tubes that use less material and are easier to transport than other more traditional materials. All the materials will be recyclable in an effort to minimize the carbon footprint. StudioKCA has been collecting the 53,780 water bottles and milk jugs (the amount thrown away in 1 hour in NYC!) needed to make their cloud. The jugs will be used to create 120 ‘pillows’ that will give the cloud its organic shape. The bottles with organic food coloring and water will give the interior a blue hue.

StudioKCA have started a Kickstarter campaign to pay for some of the necessary materials and structural analyses. If you’d like to back the project, head over to their page and go for it.

via @VickiArbitrio

February 20, 2013 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Cotton Candy Works: Erno-Erik Raitanen

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If I liked cotton candy this would make me especially happy but, even without being a fan of the sugary substance, this zany interactive art installation by Finnish artist Erno-Erik Raitanen made me smile. Cotton Candy Works are a series of site-specific ephemeral cotton candy installations that engage all the senses. Each sculpture only lasts a few hours before the sugar reverts to its original crystal form. Not sure if the bag at the bottom is an opening night party favor or the way the artwork is packaged and sold. Either way it’s a fun idea.

You might also want to check out Raitanen’s Bacteriograms as well, where the artist cultivates bacteria samples on photographic film resulting in amazingly colorful results.

You can see Raitanen creating one of his Cotton Candy Works in the video below.

via notcot.org

February 19, 2013 by collabcubed - 1 Comment

E1000: Fingerprint-like Street Art

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Spanish street artist E1000 (previously here and here) has recently been leaving his mark in the form of a triangular multi-fingerprint-like image. Maybe they’re fingerprints or maybe just abstract patterns, but either way they have a nice effect, giving the color of the wall as much weight as the paint itself. Plus, the cool cropping!

Photos e1000’s flickr and guillermo de madrid.

via escrito en la pared

February 19, 2013 by collabcubed - 1 Comment

Pascale Marthine Tayou: Plastic Bags

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Cameroon contemporary artist Pascale Marthine Tayou works with everyday objects (in many cases plastic bags) and likes to mix things up whether it be culturally in his art or even by making his name femininely-suffixed rendering it heterogeneous. His current exhibit at Rome’s contemporary art museum MACRO titled Secret Garden includes a nearly 10-meter high, U-shaped installation made of plastic bags and appropriately titled Plastic Bags. The bags are very relevant symbols of both consumerism and homelessness in today’s society.

Plastic Bags will be on exhibit at Macro through April 1, 2013.

Photos: Giorgio Benni/MACRO: Sandra’s Studio; Queensland Art Gallery and eventi cultural mag.

via macro

February 18, 2013 by collabcubed - 2 Comments

Nick Frank: Subway & Subway II

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Love these striking photographs by German photographer Nick Frank of subway stations in Munich, Berlin, Frankfurt, and Dubai. These are from two sets—Subway and Subway II—in a continuing series.

You can see more of Frank’s photographs on his site and on his facebook page.

via visuelle