November 28, 2011 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Pharmacophore: Architectural Placebo

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Last night, the three of us strolled over to the Storefront for Art and Architecture here on Kenmare Street in NYC, to catch the last 20 minutes of the sold-out dance performance Pharmacophore: Architectural Placebo from the street. Storefront’s fun cut-out façade, which opens the small sliver of a space to the sidewalk, allowed us to enjoy the rather unique dance performance. A collaboration between designers Seth Harrison and Ariane Lourie Harrison of Harrison Atelier (HAt) and choreographer Silas Riener. The third installment in HAt’s Pharmacophore series, the performance, along with the installation, explore the cultural and philosophical economy that surrounds medicine technology and the human prospect in the 21st century.

From the creators:
The installation at Storefront, incorporating set and costumes, evokes a hybrid pharmaceutical-cultural landscape: both a medical waiting room with inflatable “plants” and a radiological suite in which the audience sits apposed to translucent glass. The installation consists of 24 eight-foot, laminated glass and stainless steel structures, arrayed along the back wall of the gallery. Contoured seats are dotted with inflatable forms that, when unfurled, become spatializations of pharmacophores. The inflatable set pieces are used as costumes and props, and audience members use them as cushions.

Truthfully, we did not see enough of the dance performance to justify an opinion, but what we did see, we liked. The Merce Cunningham dancers pranced, tumbled and gracefully walked with their fun inflatable tubular costumes that match the props and seat cushions in the beautifully glowing blue setting. We loved everything about the installation: the appropriately sterile pharmaceutical feeling evoked by the lighting and plastic inflatables; the clear Muji raincoats that acted as lab coats and were worn by staff; the seats with their mod-waiting-room feel; but most of all, the way it all worked so well together and successfully integrated with the space. And if that wasn’t enough, Baryshnikov was in the small audience!

Pharmacophore: Architectural Placebo will be performed twice a night through this Wednesday, November 30th. Tickets are free, but reservations necessary. And then there’s always the street view, too, if you want to use the stroll-by approach. The installation, sans performance, will continue on view through December 3rd.

For those who can’t attend, below is a short video of the previous performances in the Pharmacophore series:

November 28, 2011 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Free Domestic Shipping on EARonics!

Starting today, well, actually yesterday, we are offering free shipping on all EARonic iPhone 4/4S case orders within the U.S. and, now, $5 shipping on international orders. To guarantee arrival by Christmas, for those doing their holiday shopping, please order by December 15th on orders within the U.S. International holiday orders should be placed as soon as possible since we cannot guarantee less than 3 weeks for delivery…international shipments have varied from as little as a week to as much as a month.

So visit the CollabCubed Shop today and place your order because sometimes you may just want to mix it up a bit.

(Props to Aaron!)

November 24, 2011 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Etelvina: The Bag-storing Chicken and more

It’s not exactly a Thanksgiving post, but it does involve the kitchen, poultry and cooking. Last year Em brought back one of these Pla! Etelvina plastic bag-storing chickens from Buenos Aires that we have hanging in our kitchen, and though plastic bags are out, somehow we still accumulate enough to see our Etelvina plump up as we gradually stuff her, and trim down as we use the bags for garbage. Along with the chicken came CheF, (much to a cousin’s horror) the politically incorrect apron that’s ridiculous enough to make us laugh, and that I am donning today as I cook our Thanksgiving dinner.

If you’re into these kinds of quirky, and we think, fun objects then you might want to check out the rest of the Argentinean company’s items: there’s a cotton ball dispensing bunny and a corrupt policeman piggy bank that takes coins in his side pocket while looking the other way.

In the meantime, have a nice holiday!

November 23, 2011 by collabcubed - 1 Comment

Some Guy: Works on Paper

San Francisco artist Brian Singer, who goes by Some Guy, explores the printed word using books and their pages with whiteout or ink in his Works on Paper.

From the artist’s statement:
I’m exploring the printed word as a visual representation of information, attempting to uncover new meaning in what is slowly becoming an outdated form. Crossing out the entirety of a written text while exposing only selected words changes the perception of the original message. Revealing word frequency adds another layer and opens new paths to understanding.

Reminiscent of Jenny Holzer’s Redaction Paintings, Some Guy is actually doing the opposite by focusing, in some cases, on words that might be offensive or censored in well known texts. I like everything about these, from the concept to the texture (as well as the typographic aspect), if a bit obsessive in nature.

From top to bottom:
Knowledge 172, Wrath 198 and detail; 9 Unicorns and detail; 212 Slaves and detail; The Catcher in the Rye and detail; Love, Evil see video below.

Also interesting are Some Guy’s mixed-media pieces, made from flyers stapled to telephone poles that have been weathered and rusted and reassembled into collages including his Bullseye Triptych commissioned by Target.

You can watch the short version video of Love, Evil — the full video is 30 minutes long — the King James Version of the Bible with all words crossed out except ‘Love’ and ‘Evil’.

Some of Some Guy’s Works on Paper can be seen as part of the Transmit exhibit at den contemporary in Los Angeles through December 23, 2011.

November 23, 2011 by collabcubed - 4 Comments

Traffic Cone Art & Design

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In the past month I’ve come across a few works made of traffic cones, so I decided to explore more and see what else is out there. Here are some of my favorites; from installations and sculptures to traffic cone inspired graphic design.

From top to bottom and left to right:
Estudio Teddy Cruz’s installation Cultural Traffic at Fondazione Maxxi (top 2 pics); Dennis Oppenheim’s sculpture Safety Cones; Rescue Bubble by Tomer Diamant at the Royal Botanical Gardens; Crocodile by Allee Willis; 2005 Burning Man installation; Hedgehog, a temporary performance pavilion to raise money for young homeless made of 300 traffic cones on a steel frame by EFGH (x3 photos); Bottom 6 images are part of the World Summit and Congress of Architecture at the Design Expo in Taipei by Paprika, brochure included.

November 22, 2011 by collabcubed - 1 Comment

Architects of Air: Luminaria

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The British company Architects of Air is based in Nottingham UK in a 4000 sq ft former textile workshop. There, since 1992, they spend 6 months out of the year creating luminariums and the other 6 months touring to several countries exhibiting them. “What is a luminarium?” you may be asking yourself right about now. Luminaria are monumental inflatable structures that contain a maze of winding tunnels and soaring domes displaying the beauty of light and color. There are six different designs each made up of about 20 elements zipped together on site to occupy a 1000 sq. meter area. The most recent design is Miracoco which was launched this past summer, 2011, but there were 4 other models that toured this summer as well.

They all look spectacular to me. Architects of Air have mounted these structures at 500 exhibits in 37 countries. Though I see on their timeline that they’ve had installations in New York in the 1990s, being that I missed those I vote for a summer 2012 NYC installation. Or maybe as part of next year’s Bring to Light Festival.

You can see many more photos on their site and on flickr.

November 21, 2011 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Nuria Mora: 3D Paper Sculpture Street Art

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Spanish street artist Nuria Mora (previous post) who we know more for her colorful large-scale abstract murals, also creates 3D street art. In the past several months Mora has been taking over public ad spaces (lit marquee-style ad boxes; do those have a name?) and inserting her origami paper sculptures that can be seen from both sides – as well as highlighted by light at night – on main thoroughfares in Madrid. I like everything about these: the idea of replacing ads with art; the origami pieces themselves; the way she blocks out the glass to create a window specific to her piece; and the happy quality of it all.

Though a different anti-ad street art approach, there is some connection to Graffiti Research Lab’s 2007 video screen intervention in NYC. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend you check it out here.

But getting back to Nuria Mora, visit her site for much more of her lovely work.

Photos: Javier Montero; Miriam Moreno, Nuria Mora; and Escrito en la Pared.

via escrito en la pared

November 21, 2011 by collabcubed - 0 comments

We Make Carpets: Paperboat Carpet

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The Dutch, three-person art collective We Make Carpets (previous post) recently made a paperboat carpet for a party hosted by Die Like Disco at Area 51 skate park in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Constructed of A5 size paper folded into little boats, the carpet seems to have had blue and red lights projected onto it, adding another dimension to the already impressive “carpet”.

November 18, 2011 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Nils Viga Hausken: Art of the Cross Stitch

Click on images for detail.

Norwegian artist Nils Viga Hausken works in a variety of mediums, but in the past ten years much of his work has consisted of cross stitch on linen. This embroidery work deals with aspects of time and Nordic tradition. Some pieces play off of Nordic china patterns, while others are strictly type, in what seem to be political and humorous statements, but I can’t be sure since they’re in Norwegian or Danish. And then there are the Legos! The universal language of Lego. The digitized-looking pieces are embroidered to pixelated perfection, and, well, they’re just kind of fun.

The QR code series have curious names that make me wonder if they are actually scannable.

From top left to right and top to bottom: What are you looking at; Faith; Hope; and Love.

Viga Hausken also has an 18-piece cross stitch work titled No Time, showing the transformation of a butterfly into a QR code.

November 18, 2011 by collabcubed - 6 Comments

The Twist Bridge: West 8 Architects

Spanning roughly 42 meters, this bicycle and pedestrian bridge called ‘The Twist’ bridge for its contorted and sculptural lines, connects the Holy-Zuid district and the Broekpolder over Vlaardingse Vaart in The Netherlands. Designed by West 8 Architects with structural engineers ABT, the bright red bridge makes for a lovely and striking surprise in the natural green setting.

And if you like this bridge you might also enjoy West 8’s three previous red undulating Bridges Borneo-Sporenburg.

Photos © Jeroen Musch

November 17, 2011 by collabcubed - 2 Comments

Kees Goudzwaard: Amazing Tape Paintings

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I saw a couple of Kees Goudzwaard’s paintings a few years ago and absolutely loved them. The Dutch artist who lives and works in Belgium, creates oil paintings that look like taped pieces of paper, but in fact are smooth surfaced paintings of taped pieces of paper. Not only is the trickery of it all fun, but the paintings themselves are beautiful. The seemingly overlapping layers are so skillfully reproduced – with subtle differences in color recreating the translucency of the layers – that you can’t help but stare in disbelief. The result: a lovely (and surprising) combination of abstract and realistic painting with a textural quality conveyed on a smooth canvas. Here’s a bit on his process:

Kees Goudzwaard commences by creating a collage of cut-out square and rectangular pieces of coloured paper, acetate and transparent foil, which he composes in more or less regular grids by fixing them with paper masking-tape. This process is slow and complex, and develops gradually as it implies numerous decisions and a lot of looking and waiting until the artist finds he has achieved the desired composition and atmosphere. At this point Kees Goudzwaard decides he can paint his original collage, meticulously reproducing it on canvas at a scale of 1:1, thus transforming the creative act of painting into a time-consuming work of transposition.

In case you didn’t notice, I’m a fan.

You can see many more of Kees Goudzwaard’s paintings on his website.

November 17, 2011 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Luzinterruptus: Walking in the Rain

The anonymous Spanish art collective Luzinterruptus like to use light as a raw material and the dark as their canvas to carry out urban interventions in public spaces and draw attention to problems in the city that often go unnoticed by people as well as the authorities.

Their most recent intervention, Walking in the Rain, took place on October 26th, the first day of rain after a completely dry summer in Madrid. In celebration of the rain and, thus, cleaner more breathable air, Luzinterruptus placed 50 illuminated rainboots in Parque del Oeste for a 10-hour period as encouragement to others to put on their own boots and walk happily through the rain.

You may also want to take a look at their two other recent interventions: Under Nuclear Threat and Public Art that you Fancy Touching.

November 16, 2011 by collabcubed - 2 Comments

Sam3: More Street Art from Spain

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Known for his massive scale silhouettes on city walls, Spanish street artist Sam3 has works in cities from Madrid to Lisbon, Cologne to Buenos Aires and even San Francisco, to name a few. I especially love the inverted silhouettes — I can’t believe there isn’t more of that in other street artists’ work. Also, the way he integrates the building façade in many of these (see third photo from top) is so clever and effective.

You can see more of Sam3’s work on his site, blog, and this flickr pool.

November 16, 2011 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Zero Collection by DoroDesign

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DoroDesign, an Italian design firm founded by Dario Olivero and Stefano Ollino, aims to work with creative minds from a variety of cultures and backgrounds and make their visions reality in all design mediums from graphic to interior. Their Zero Collection represents the essence of the firm:

Zero Collection is the essence of the DORODESIGN lifestyle. Designed entirely around the Aluminum linear and clean material able to transform into tangible shapes the soul of the studio.Precise cuts, lines that suddenly find themselves`s soft, simple but full of vital energy, the Collection reflects the fusion between the sophisticated and urban, luxury and metropolitan.

With just three cuts and two folds on a sheet of aluminum, the Zero Chair is a beautiful example of simple and minimalist design. The chaise longue and coat rack follow the same cut-out simplicity with beautiful lines. The product photos aren’t too shabby, either.

via behance

November 15, 2011 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Honda Factory in Thailand

These photos of the hundreds of submerged vehicles at the flooded Honda Factory in Ayutthaya Province in Thailand are incredible. I didn’t know what it was until I read the caption. Apparently clean-up is underway as the flood waters begin to recede.

Photos Damir Sagolj/Reuters

via design you trust

November 15, 2011 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Marjan Teeuwen: Crammed Spaces

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An anxious feeling infiltrates my chest a bit when looking at Dutch artist Marjan Teeuwen’s photographs, and yet I find it hard not to be pulled in. These crammed spaces that evoke a sense of claustrophobia and obsession are so jam-packed with objects that in some cases ceilings, floors and walls are hardly recognizable. Some of the photos have the objects set up by function, others by texture and color, but all have them packed in creating an oppressive and confined feeling. The photo series have titles like Archives and Destroyed House, that is if the free translator I used translated correctly.

Kind of crazy, but kind of cool, also.

You can see more of Teeuwen’s work here and here.

via cokkie snoei

November 14, 2011 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Vlad Berte: Stone Sculpture

Romanian artist Vlad Berte creates stone sculptures of everyday objects. His aim is to highlight what we tend to overlook yet influences us on a daily basis. He puts these objects front and center — in stone, no less.

How fun would it be to have those socks or shirt placed next to a statue in the Greek and Roman sculpture court at the Met?

via artnet

November 14, 2011 by collabcubed - 0 comments

The Joe & Rika Mansueto Library

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Just when you think books are on their way out, the University of Chicago builds a new library that can hold 3.5 million volumes and deliver your requested book within minutes. The Joe and Rika Mansueto Library, named after the couple who donated $25 million to the university, was designed by architect Helmut Jahn and completed last May. Both the top and bottom of the library are quite spectacular. The domed, 700-glass-panel reading room measuring around 8,000 square feet, pops up from the lawn, while underground, extending 50 feet deep, is a hi-tech automated storage and retrieval system that uses five mechanized robotic cranes, in conjunction with bar codes on the books, to retrieve any title quickly from the 24,000 metal bins used to store the books in optimal preservation conditions.

It’s all very impressive and the structural volumes, from the 120 foot x 240 foot clear span dome on top to the nearly 1,000,000 cubic feet of subterranean storage space, are challenges that were successfully tackled and executed by Halvorson and Partners Structural Engineers.