Colossal | A blog about art and visual ingenuity.

The Floating Temple: How to Lift a Seven Million Pound, 112-year-old Building

The Floating Temple: How to Lift a Seven Million Pound, 112 year old Building history churches architecture

Something’s up in Provo, Utah and it weighs around seven million pounds. It’s the 112-year-old exterior of the Provo Tabernacle that was severely damaged in a 2010 fire but has since been saved by the LDS church so it can be converted into a temple. Engineers first gutted the damaged interior and then supported the exterior walls with special scaffolding as they dug down to create space for a two story basement, so in actuality the building hasn’t even moved. The entire structure is now on stilts some 40 feet in the air and from some angles appears to be floating above ground, such as in the first photograph above provided by Brian Hansen. Additional photos courtesy the LDS Newsroom.

Mobile Mirrors: Manequins Covered in Mirror Shards by Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen

Mobile Mirrors: Manequins Covered in Mirror Shards by Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen sculpture reflection mirrors consumerism

As part of her Mobile Mirrors exhibition at Christian Larsen gallery in Stockholm, artist Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen created a series of four reflective mannequins clad in shards of mirrors. Light was projected onto each sculpture creating a twinkling halo effect not unlike a disco ball, as a person wearing a similarly reflective body suit moved through the space. The exhibition was intended as commentary on consumerism; just as we project ourselves onto mannequins, Rasmussen’s is attempting to use the same object to reflect back on ourselves. Via Christian Larsen Gallery:

The mirror surfaces of the mannequins turn our gaze back onto ourselves, forcing us to become aware of our own bodies and consumption habits. This way revealed, we can see ourselves as part of a much larger system, as complex and chaotic as ever the sculptures’ reflections on the walls.

You can see many more images from the exhibition over on Facebook. (via ex-chamber)

By Christopher on May 17, 2013 • consumerism mirrors reflection sculpture

A New Illustration of Hybrid Beasts and Imaginary Creatures by Imarginal

A New Illustration of Hybrid Beasts and Imaginary Creatures by Imarginal illustration drawing

I had to pick up my jaw when this image first appeared in my inbox this morning. The density, detail and subject matter was so instantly compelling I was fascinated to learn about the artist behind it. As it turns out, this is the latest illustration from a duo of illustrators from Brazil named Fernando Moraes and Raone Ferreira who work under the collective title Imarginal. The two have a unique style of working in tandem on artworks such as the piece above which took three months of 8-10 hour days to complete and measures 1 x 0.7 meters (a little over 3 feet wide). I’m told via email that their illustrations are “characterized by overvaluation of details, imaginary creatures and ideas hybridism, thought by two different minds and made in four hands, using nankin [cotton fabric], poscas [markers] and even magnifiers on paper, wood or walls.” To see how they work together you can watch this video and see a gallery of their work here. (via colossal submissions)

By Christopher on May 16, 2013 • drawing illustration

Put Down the iPhone and Pickup an ONDU Wooden Pinhole Camera

Put Down the iPhone and Pickup an ONDU Wooden Pinhole Camera wood cameras

Through his brand ONDU, woodworker Elvis Halilović has been making lensless pinhole cameras for over seven years along with a wide variety of ceramic and structural objects, including kits for geodesic domes. This week the Slovenian designer unveiled a beautifully designed series of pinhole cameras made from wood and held together in part by strong magnets. Forget your camera phone, filters, and “likes,” these tough little lensless film cameras are old school and completely manual, relying on direct exposure of light to film. The cameras come in six different dimensions and film sizes, from the more common Leica 135 format to a 4″ x 5″ film holder camera, and looking at the examples above they really do seem capable of making some beautiful photos. You can learn more over on Kickstarter. (via THEmag)

By Christopher on May 16, 2013 • cameras wood

Black and White Underwater Photography by Hengki Koentjoro

Black and White Underwater Photography by Hengki Koentjoro underwater ocean Indonesia black and white

Underwater photography of scuba divers, coral, or wildlife can sometimes seem commonplace regardless of the remote destination or subject, but Indonesian photographer Hengki Koentjoro (previously here and here) bucks the trend with his desaturated, dark, and often brooding images taken in and around Jakarta, Indonesia. While his landscape photography above ground is often dreamlike and mysterious, as soon as the blue is removed from the ocean it introduces a slightly menacing tone that while deeply beautiful, sets the viewer a little on edge. Oh and also the sharks. Koentjoro is one of my favorite photographers right now and you should get lost in his photos for a bit. Find him on 500px, Flickr, and Art Limited. (via my amp goes to 11)

By Christopher on May 15, 2013 • black and white Indonesia ocean underwater

Oil Finger Paintings by Iris Scott

Oil Finger Paintings by Iris Scott painting

One day while completing an oil painting of a field artist Iris Scott needed to make a few quick adjustments to some yellow flowers but every brush at her disposal was stained a deep dark blue. Not wanting to stop and wash the brushes she decided to make a few quick touchups with her fingers, a small change to her process that would immediately change the course of her career. Wearing a pair of surgical gloves Scott now paints exclusively with her fingers bringing an impressionistic sense of color and texture to all of her paintings. The artist has a number of original works available on her website as well as prints over on Etsy, and here’s a quick video of her discussing her work on YouTube. (via gaks)

By Christopher on May 15, 2013 • painting

Green Box is a Private Building Designed to be Consumed by Vegetation

Green Box is a Private Building Designed to be Consumed by Vegetation plants architecture

Designed by Italian firm Act Romegialli Architects, Green Box is a small camouflaged garage for a private residence situated on the Raethian Alps. While the interior is organized into a gardening room, cooking area, and a small dining/hang out space, it’s the exterior that makes this contemporary hobbit home pretty remarkable. The architects created a lightweight skeleton of galvanized metal and steel wire for the sole purpose of promoting a habitat for climbing vegetation. From a distance only a glowing light would suggest the space was even habitable. I could write Colossal from a space like this for an extremely extended period of time. See more photos over on iGNANT.

By Christopher on May 14, 2013 • architecture plants

New Geometric Projection by Felice Varini in Paris

New Geometric Projection by Felice Varini in Paris installation geometric anamorphism

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Swiss artist Felice Varini is know for his large scale projections of geometric forms onto rooms and exterior spaces. His latest work at the Grand Palais in Paris went up just last month, you can watch the video above to see how he works with projectors and stencils to create his artwork that only appears proportional when seen from a specific viewpoint. You can also follow him on Facebook. (via street art news)