December 5, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Cubemusic: Craig Colorusso

Click to enlarge

Sound and light artist Craig Colorusso, based in Boston, describes what he does quite succinctly on his blog: “Sometimes I make stuff you can hear. Sometimes I make stuff you can see.” On his website there’s a slightly more elaborate description: “…Exploring the intersection of sound, light, and space through sculpture since 2000. His installations consist of wood, metal, fabric, and electronics.”

His installation Cubemusic is made up of six aluminum cubes with cut-out shapes that light filters through, much in the way a child’s magin lantern does. The lights rotate and the intensity varies. In addition to the light, the installation emits an “eerie droning sound” referred to as Cubemusic by Colorusso.

Cubemusic will be on exhibit at East Prospect in Arkansas from December 6th through the 8th as part of a group show. For those of us far from Arkansas, you can get a peek at Cubemusic in the short video below:

Photos and video courtesy of the artist and Kevin Belli.

December 4, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

R Justin Stewart: Tense Fleece Installations

Click to enlarge

Brooklyn-based artist R Justin Stewart creates both temporary and permanent installations using colorful fleece, rope, paint and pvc caps. The structureless fleece forms are stretched and, as tension is added to the ropes, the fleece contorts, acquiring its shape as it becomes rigid. Stewart’s installations are often forms of information maps, based on data that he has collected. He is interested in the connections between the fleece units and the relationships of the shapes to their neighboring units. The turquoise and blue installation (photos midway down from top) titled Distorting (a Messiah Project, 13C) is a research-intensive 3D representation of the concept of the Messiah, as it existed in the 13th Century. As the viewer moves through the installation, they will come upon QR codes embedded in the sculpture that can be scanned via mobile device to access bits of data represented by each fleece section.

You can see much more of Stewart’s work here and here.

December 4, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

3DEA: 3D-Printing Pop Up at Eventi Hotel

Click to enlarge

I stopped by the Eventi Hotel the other day here in NYC to explore the new 3DEA Pop Up Shop. 3DEA is all about the relatively new and amazing 3D-printing technology. The three of us have seen a few demonstrations of these increasingly more affordable machines over the past couple of years, but at 3DEA you get a hands-on experience (there’s a Doodle section that lets you draw an image with your finger on a tablet and then print it out in plastic in less than 10 minutes) admittedly on one of the lower-end models, but still fun and amazing.

The pop up is sponsored by Ultimaker, Shapeways, UP!, Fatboy and Openhouse and features rows of colorful printers to try out or purchase; there’s a 3D photo booth, body scanning and a Shapeways Shop with many 3D-printed products that could make for nice holiday gifts. There’s even a “Sexy Objects” section behind a curtain for those over 18. Also available are classes, seminars and presentations, some free and some not, but I found that all the people working there were eager to help and answer any and all questions.

3DEA will run until December 27th at the Eventi Hotel, 29th and 6th Avenue, every day except Mondays from 11am to 7pm and Sundays until 6pm. If you’re at all interested in 3D printing, it’s worth stopping by and picking the experts’ brains.

December 3, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Xtool: Combo Colab

Click to enlarge

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, we’re fans of the Combo Colab family. This incredibly likeable creative couple, composed of architects Mateo Pintó and Carolina Cisneros, have created a Kickstarter campaign to help produce their very clever Xtool: a stackable, storage stool inspired by the casual use of the classic milk crate as a seat. By adding a plywood seat and legs, these versatile and playful stools can be used indoors and out. And Xtool is just the beginning of the envisioned larger family of milk crate furniture.

So please join me in backing Combo Colab’s Xtool on their Kickstarter page and, at the very least, check out their adorable video with all its contagious laughter.

November 30, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

NYC Culture on the Cheap: Weekend 11/30

Click to enlarge

This weekend’s picks for free and cheap things to do (11/30 to 12/2) in NYC. Cultural events in art, architecture, music, film, dance, theater, design, walking tours, food, and fun!

1. Art – Egon Schiele’s Women. Fri 11/30 & Sat 12/1 and through 12/28. 11am to 5pm. FREE

Also in Art – Lee Friedlander: Mannequin at Pace/MacGill Fri 11/30 & Sat 12/1 through 12/22. FREE

2. Design/Learn/Shop – 3DEA is a Pop-Up with 3D printing classes, demonstrations, and shop. Make it or buy it, either way sounds like fun. All weekend and through 12/27. 11am to 6pm. FREE

3. Art – Tokyo 1955-1970: A New Avant-Garde at MoMA through 2/25. Fridays 4 to 8pm are FREE.

4. Art/Shop — Art in Boxes 2012: a large group exhibition which shows/sells one of a kind artwork – an idea for unique holiday gifts at affordable prices. All weekend and through 1/27/13 at AG Gallery. Noon to 9ish. FREE

5. Dance – Lucy Guerin’s Untrained: Four dancers (two trained, two untrained), a square taped to the floor, and instructions on stage for them to follow as best they can. Fri 11/30 & Sat 12/1 at 7:30pm. Post-show artist talk on Friday. $20.

6. Film – ADC Butter: Night of Pop Culture and Popcorn – This month they’re screening two short films that have graced quite a few international audiences. Plus, a surprise or two. Fri 11/30 at 7pm. $10 advance, $15 at door

7. Film – Drivers Wanted a documentary about taxi drivers directed by Joshua Weinstein. All weekend. Friday’s screening followed by panel discussion with director. $10. Showtimes and tickets here.

8. Music – Men without Hats. SSSS…AAAA…You can Dance! Fri 11/30, doors at 6pm; show 8pm. $10.

9. Dance – Portraits in Time: Amy Kail & Lesya Popil dance highly original movements with humor and pathos. Fri 11/30 at 7:30pm. $15

10. Music – The Sweetback Sisters/Hadley: part country, part B52s. Fri 11/30 at 9pm. $10.

11. Peformance/Art/Theater – Aki Sasamoto – Centripetal Run the sculptural arrangement is a theatrical cosmology, and the performer unfolds, negotiates, and psychologically challenges its matter of factness. Fri 11/30 & Sat 12/1 at 8pm. $15.

12. Art – Transmission of Thought | works by Ivan Rickenmann Amazingly realistic paintings of electrical outlets and cables by the Colombian artist. All weekend. FREE

13. Talk/Lecture – Space to Create: Panel discussion on topic of temporary usage models for nontraditional commercial space in arts programming. Sat 12/1 from 2 to 4pm. FREE

14. Theater – We are Proud to Present… a critically acclaimed and unique play. All weekend but some shows sold out. At the time of this post there were still tickets available for Sat 12/1 matinee.

15. Walking Tour – Flatiron Walking Tour Sun 12/2 (and all Sundays) at 11am. 23rd St. and Broadway. FREE

16. Fun/Transportation/History – Vintage Subway Train Rides, Sun 12/2 (and all Sundays) from 10am to 4pm through 12/30. $2.50

17. Music –Francois 5+1: François Houle is a virtuosic and original avant-jazzimproviser and a notable composer as well as one of Canada’s premier clarinetists. Sun 12/2 at 9:30pm. $10 advance; $15 door

18. Art/Installation/Fun – OPENS MIDWEEK – Ann Hamilton: The Event of a Thread – A multisensory installation, that draws together readings, sound, and live events within a field of swings inviting visitors to connect to the action of each other and the work itself. Opens Wed 12/5 through 1/6/13. Tues – Sundays 12-6pm. $12. Next Sat 12/8 will be FREE.

Additional events to keep in mind: Brooklyn Night Bazaar continues every Friday and Saturday until 12/22.

Discovering Columbus ends this weekend, so if you haven’t been, this is your last chance! All weekend.

Be sure to check back for updates and peruse previous COTC posts for some additional ongoing events.

UPDATES:

Art/Performance/Music – Emergency Cheesecake: an evening of performance featuring young, New York City–based artists. Fri 11/30, 6 to 9pm. Pay-what-you-wish.
Art – NYU MFA Student Open Studios. Sat 12/1, 6 to 10pm. FREE
Music/Art – Sunday Sessions to benefit Hurricane Sandy Relief Efforts presented by Pitchfork and MoMA PS1. An afternoon of multimedia performances. Sun 12/2 from 4 to 7pm. $12

November 29, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

MOMO: Minimalist Geometric Street Art

Click to enlarge

I’ve just discovered MOMO. Well, I actually think that I’ve seen his work before on the streets of NYC, but not until now did I absorb it. And I love it. Originally from San Francisco, minimalist street artist MOMO now lives in New Orleans after years in NYC and traveling extensively. Most recently he’s been working on Practical Geometry a developing set of tools to draft, design, and organize wall murals with adapted masonry techniques. Those geometric shapes with their thin stripes in beautiful color palettes are what initially caught my eye, but what I truly love are the MOMO Maker group of works that were installed throughout NYC a few years back with equipment invented by MOMO. Those are the ones I think I’ve seen before and I can’t get over how a few colorful shapes put together can make me so happy and have so much personality. I would love to have a wall full of these in my home. You can see a clever 3D interpretation by MOMO titled 5 Shapes that developed from the same concept, here.

Photos courtesy of the artist; Lois Stavsky; OutsiderMag; Tishon, Nicole Blommers; invisiblemadevisible; UKSnapper; Hargadon; shoehorn99; and ekosystem

via outdoor festival

November 29, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Grand Central’s Next 100: SOM

Click on top photo to see animation. Click rest to enlarge

Nope, it’s not the set design for a Jetsons revival film; not even for the upcoming Blade Runner 2. These renderings are SOM’s (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill) response to the Municipal Arts Society’s (MAS) invitation to re-envision Grand Central and its environs on the occasion of the terminal’s centennial anniversary next year: Grand Central…The Next 100 project. The three firms asked to participate were SOM, Foster+Partners, and WXY. All three came up with interesting proposals offering relief from overcrowding and traffic, as well as being committed to the pedestrian and public space, focusing on converting Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS) to Privately Funded Public Spaces (PFPS). SOM went futuristic and monumental, a plan that is hard to ignore with its dramatic panoramic ring rising and lowering above Grand Central—like a halo elevator—between two new towers.

It’s definitely out there, but you never know…

Photos courtesy of SOM, Architect’s Paper, and bdonline.

via observer via Breger

November 28, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Pablo Lehmann: The Scribe’s House

Click to enlarge

Argentinean artist Pablo Lehmann (previously here) has been developing his installation The Scribe’s House (La casa del escriban) for two years, and it is scheduled to debut at Art Basel in Miami this December. In the meantime, the NYC Rockefeller Center Anthropologie store has a variation of The Scribe’s House on exhibit. Composed of browned and torn book pages, the studio-like apartment installation has a collapsed bed, bookcase, and picture frame all made with thousands of book pages cut into strips and hanging from the ceiling, walls and covering the floors as well as in the shapes of the collapsed furniture. By cutting and layering, Lehmann creates texture and dimension.

Anthropologie is also selling a limited edition beautifully bound boxed set of photographs of the Scribe’s House installation, complete with white gloves for handling.

You can see photos of the more limited Anthropologie installation here and you can buy the boxed photos here.

Photos courtesy of the artist and Black Square Gallery.

November 28, 2012 by collabcubed - 3 Comments

Gruba: Sustainable Furniture Design

Click to enlarge

Argentinean architects Maria Constanza Nuñez and Gabriel Pires Mateus are the duo behind Gruba. Committed to the creation of spaces and objects that provide alternative green solutions, Gruba works with salvaged materials. In their S.O.S. de Barrio Line they repurpose wooden roller blinds which are usually discarded in the neighborhoods of Buenos Aires. Each chair or table has unique characteristics depending on the reclaimed roller blind.

More recently, they have come out with the Banquito Willy, a stool sustainably designed using engineered wood joined together without glue and an innovative seat created with recycled tennis balls. Clever!

November 27, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Audiomurale: Adriana Ronżewska Kotyńska

Click to enlarge

This is an interesting project. Adriana Ronżewska Kotyńska, a Polish architect and painter interested in public art projects, originated the concept behind the Audiomurale and then executed it, with a team, on the wall of a townhouse in the Old Town district of Elblag, Poland, a town extensively damaged at the end of World War II that waited until the 1980s for major reconstruction. The mural is in part a revitalization effort. Kotyńska and her team conducted interviews with passers-by recording their remarks about their town. Selected opinions – including some unprintable remarks – were transferred onto a blank wall of a townhouse in the form of spectrograms (i.e. sound wave patterns); the ‘voice’ of Elblag. The project is intended as a temporary – though not short-term – intervention. The final mural requires a key which will be provided in the form of a display board with a QR code that will enable access to recorded interviews via a mobile phone.

You can hear the mural’s audio track here.

Thanks, Łukasz Kot!

November 27, 2012 by collabcubed - 3 Comments

Fernando Orellana: Assembly Line Art

Click to enlarge

Visual artist Fernando Orellana based in Schenectady, NY, is fascinated by assembly lines. He loves the precision and efficiency, as well as the program-like quality. His robotic sculptures are created in a one-man assembly line fashion, repeating each step in multiple figures before moving on to the next.

Working in a variety of mediums, Orellana seems to keep with this assembly line theme transmitting concepts that range from generative art to social-political commentary. Whether it be in his robotic toy-like sculptures (Me and You or No Cuts, No Buts, No Coconuts) or his wall hung Play-doh and epoxy compositions (Extruder and Population), with machine-generated car-shaped (or people, or animals) Play-doh pieces in large quantities, ultimately reaching 429,674 automobiles as that is the number estimated to have been produced in 1947 (the year Henry Ford died) by the Ford Motor Company. Each panel of figures is then encased in epoxy for preservation as well as a cool effect.

You can see his extruding machine in action here.

Photos courtesy of the artist and artslant.

via Milavec Hakimi and Bomb

November 26, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Matthew Mazzotta: Social Space Architecture

Click to enlarge

Boston-based artist Matthew Mazzotta creates participatory public interventions that aim to criticize, raise awareness, and bring a sense of openness to the places we live. I imagine bringing a smile to most people’s faces might be a goal as well. Mazzotta’s work focuses on drawing people in by curiosity and finding themselves as part of something unrehearsed. Reacting and interacting are key to his work as are community building, ecology and public involvement.

The top installation, titled Steeped in Exploration, was created in The Netherlands as a teahouse without tea.

From the artist:
The physical structure of Steeped in Exploration, made from all local materials, becomes a site of communal tea drinking. The tea served at the teahouse is not from the grocery store or peoples’ gardens, it is foraged by the people enjoying the tea on public outing that take us throughout the area based on knowledge and experiences of the people at the outing. Even the heat to boil the water for the tea comes from a local source, by transforming cow manure from local farms into energy (methane) through a methane digester.

In the following piece titled Looking for a Landscape, Mazzotta converted a standard city utility box into a portable viewing station. The structure is on retractable wheels, and the doors were hinged at the bottom opening downwards creating a cantilevered platform on each side of the box, complete with velvet cushions and mounted binoculars to take in the everyday urban landscapes.

Lastly, the video below goes through the function of Mazzotta’s Insertion Module, designed specifically as part of the negative space in architecture, camouflaged within the façade of a building, but when taken out opens up into a Tea House.

You might want to check out his Open House Project and Park Spark Project too.

via artsake

November 26, 2012 by collabcubed - 1 Comment

CMYPlay: A\V Studio

Click to enlarge

I came across this fun competition entry by A\V Studio (Adam Hostetler and Virginia Melnyk) in response to a 3Dimensional Front challenge for the space located outside the Milavec Hakimi Gallery at the base of 41 Cooper Square, the relatively new Cooper Union Building and one of my personal favorites in NYC. The competition brief was as follows:

anonymous.d is looking for original responses… We are looking for something simple but powerful enough to intrigue the passer by. We want people who see the work to question the visual but to be even more surprised the unique architectural/human experience this work will offer. We are also looking for the technical intelligence of mounting a relatively small structure by the use of simple materials assembled together in a sophisticated way leading to a unique aesthetic expression. Parametric design methods are encouraged.

Hostetler and Melnyk’s proposal, very cleverly titled CMYPlay, offers an interactive playground type solution for children and adults alike, composed of three intertwining networks of colorful tubes neatly packed into the sheltered space of the façade, hugging the base columns and converting the functional space into an activity-filled one, while still allowing easy entry to the gallery. The idea is to encourage play in the busy urban environment. Once the exhibit/installation ends, the tubes would be distributed to local schools and parks eliminating waste and continuing the fun.

You might want to also take a look at Melnyk’s Ice Womb and Sukkah Shift hut made entirely of cardboard packing tubes. Nice work!

via bustler

November 23, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

NYC Culture on the Cheap: Weekend 11/23

Click to enlarge

Free and Cheap things to do in New York City this post-Thanksgiving weekend. Quieter than usual, with so many people out of town, but here are some possibilities to squeeze in, in lieu of, or in between, the shopping madness:

1. Walking Tour – Cross Park Promenade Tour. Discover many surprises in and about our beloved Central Park in this slightly over-an-hour tour. Fri 11/23, 12:30pm to 1:45pm. FREE

2. Art – Ira Eduadovna: That. There. Then. Based on an iconic Soviet Television show, this six-channel installation recreates the architecture and staging of the original TV studio through four viewpoints. All weekend. 12-6pm at Momenta Art. FREE

3. Art/Music/Food/Crafts – Brooklyn Night Bazaar. Fri 11/23 & Sat 11/24 and all Fri & Sats thru 12/22. 6pm to midnight. FREE

4. Art — Picasso Black and White at the Guggenheim. Sat 11/24 (and all Saturdays) 5:45 to 7:45pm is Pay-what-you-wish. All other times through 1/23 $22 adults.

Also in Art – Sebastian Black at Karma.

5. Theater – Ingenious Nature a play written and performed by Baba Brinkman about online dating and the personality clashes that ensue. All weekend at 7:30pm. Use code SOHO for $25 tickets.

6. Photography/Art – Joel Meyerowitz Photographs Part I at Howard GReenberg Gallery. Fri 11/23 & Sat 11/24. FREE

7. Comedy/Music/Performance – GASHOLE: Hole-O-Matic 2012 …the “you pick ’em” very random pop show! Sat 11/24 at 8pm. $20

8. Film – Laurel and Hardy at Anthology Film Archives: 4 films 20 to 30 minutes each, Sun 11/25 at 4:15pm $10

9. Music/Performance – This is actually post-weekend – Sirens in Surround Sound: an acoustic evening. Mon 11/26 at 7pm $15.

Also in Music: Joe’s Pub is having a 24-hour Black Friday Discount sale on select events. Check it out here.

UPDATES:

Performance Art: Situation Zero – Sound and performance artists from all over the country come together for a night you won’t forget! Sat 11/24, 9 to 11pm. $10 suggested donation.

Performance/Music/Fundraiser – Gowanus Ballroom Fundraiser and FlutuArteNY, a night of live music to help raise funds for the Gowanus Ballroom and Serett after Hurricane Sandy. Sat 11/24 at 6pm. $15 donation.

Music – Signature Riff’s Festival of the Unknown: Think of it as a “secret” or “blind” lineup of bands. Sun 11/25 at 7pm. $10 advance; $15 door.

Enjoy!

November 21, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

David Meyer: Imposed Order

Click to enlarge

Delaware-based sculptor David Meyer’s work ranges from installations to simple objects that compel the viewer to take a second look. His installation Imposed Order is composed of three words “Chance Or Design” repeated continuously in concentric circles. The type is created on site, sifting flour into piles to form each letter. The scale and physicality of the piles of text are designed to create an illusion of permanence.

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

via ISC

November 21, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Martynka Wawrzyniak: Smell Me

Click to enlarge

I popped into Envoy Enterprises the other evening, after The Silent History Walking Tour, intrigued by the spare-looking gallery and the title of the exhibited show – Martynka Wawrzyniak: Smell Me. The Polish artist, living in NYC, in essence (no pun intended) created an olfactory self portrait. What exactly is an olfactory self portrait you ask? Working with a research team of Hunter College Chemistry students under the guidance of professor Donna McGregor, Wawrzyniak underwent multiple experiments to collect aromatic elements from her body, and ultimately exhibited them. Partly displayed in elegant perfume bottles/vials that held the scent of her sweat in one, tears in another, nightshirt in a third, and hair essence in the last, while on a separate stand were three candles in beakers titled Martynka Candle #1-3 which were made from paraffin that had been applied and then scraped off of the artist’s body and would emit her scent if burned. If this wasn’t odd enough, there was a type of smell chamber in the back with a little diagram outside, indicating the different scents emanating from holes in the small private room. Presumably the extractions on view outside the room were intermittently sprayed into the chamber one scent at a time, but the result was more of a general unpleasant odor, though I did not react as negatively or extremely as the woman who stepped in right after me and ran out gagging.

All in all, a strange exhibit. Not since Peter De Cupere’s work have I come across anything like this. Upon looking up Martynka’s other work I saw this piece called Chocolate that, though mildly disturbing, at least must have had a more pleasant scent while filming:

November 20, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Enzo e Nio: Armed Women & Girls

Click to enlarge

Enzo and Nio are New York based street artists whose work has been appearing throughout the city, as well as in Europe, and as far as New Zealand (see second photo from top.) They have several series and recurring themes in their work. The one above of saint-like women and girls armed with weapons (often accompanied by a Latin phrase) is one, but they also have fake “Pull in Case of Emergency” boxes as well as a series of monogrammed bombs with their own initials. In some cases there’s overlap, as in the top photo. They’ve collaborated with Olek and Jilly Ballistic as (see fourth photo from top) and their Cocksharks rarely go unnoticed.

Apparently, they don’t like discussing their work, leaving it to each person’s own interpretation…so interpret away.

Photos from Enzo and Nio’s facebook and tumblr pages; Toirock’s flickr; Dave Krugman; Modica-Way; Cinde Meade.

via buzz patrol

November 20, 2012 by collabcubed - 2 Comments

Emanuele Magini: Playful Furniture

Click to enlarge

Italian designer Emanuele Magini, based in Milan, creates furniture and objects that are both useful and playful. From soccer-inspired Lazy-Football chairs, Siesta Bench and stadium-like Multilamp to his Latin Lover bed with a score-keeping headboard, Magini certainly seems to have fun designing. Even his sinister ashtrays possess humor, albeit of a much darker kind.

You can see more of Magini’s designs on his website.