These two magnificent little animal sculptures titled Time to be Included were welded together using hundreds of tiny used watch parts. According to Tokyobling’s Blog the works are by Japanese sculptor Natsumi Honda from Tama Art University, but there seems to be very little additional info about the artist online. (via lustik)
For the third time in as many years the University of Alberta set a world record last week for the largest dodgeball game, pitting 4,979 ball-hurling competitors against one another in a chaotic, hour-long hailstorm of giant, spongy red balls. See many more photos taken by Gateway Photography. (via msnbc)
Cuban artist Alexi Torres lives and works in Atlanta, Georgia. The subjects of his paintings appear to be formed from intricately woven fabric, a process I could imagine being even more tedious when created with oil paints than a loom.
My works are an answer to my own appreciation of Earth’s needs. I reconstruct iconic images that represent both classic and modern times from all branches of human development, including the arts, politics, science, education and military. I create this by changing the context of the initial forms into ecological, fragile, ephemeral and natural elements; leaves, weaving, feathers and other elements formed in nature. With each element carefully constructed, I create an image.
See more from his 2011 show at Evan Lurie Gallery, Weaving Ephemeral Elements. (thnx, ben!)
When I first encountered this installation entitled Suspended Together by Saudi Arabian artist Manal Al Dowayan, I took it simply at face value and assumed I was looking at a collection of 200 fiberglass doves imprinted with what looked like postcards. I got it: birds moving from one place to another affixed with notes and postage. It was pretty. But reading further I realized the piece was not nearly as straightforward or innocuous. I had been duped, and that was the artist’s intention. Though I don’t usually do this I’m going to quote Manal’s statement about the piece in its entirety:
“Suspended Together” is an installation that gives the impression of movement and freedom. However, a closer look at the 200 doves allows the viewer to realize that the doves are actually frozen and suspended with no hope of flight. An even closer look shows that each dove carries on its body a permission document that allows a Saudi woman to travel. Notwithstanding their circumstances, all Saudi women are required to have this document, issued by their appointed male guardian.
The artist reached out to a large group of leading women from Saudi Arabia to donate their permission documents for inclusion in this artwork. “Suspended Together” carries the documents of award-winning scientists, educators, journalists, engineers, artists and leaders with groundbreaking achievements that gave back to their society. The youngest contributor is six months old and the oldest is 60 years old. In the artist’s words, “regardless of age and achievement, when it comes to travel, all these women are treated like a flock of suspended doves.”
A truly chilling situation, yet executed wonderfully by the artist. Provoking yet strangely sentimental. Suspended Together was included in the Future of a Promise exhibition at the 54th Venice Biennale last year. (via kawlture)
I’m genuinely enjoying these assorted organic paper sculptures by Swiss artist Valérie Buess who lives and works in Germany. For the better part of 20 years she’s been working with various forms of paper in both two and three dimensional artworks. See much more on her website. (thnx, meret!)
The Avant/Garde Diaries is a digital portrait magazine that invites leading creatives to talk about the cutting edge of art, design, fashion, music and film.
In each digital portrait, featured diarists are asked to introduce someone or something they consider to be ahead of their time. The result is a collection of very personal snapshots that celebrate new ways of thinking and spread inspiration.
There are currently 49 video diaries in the series with more being added each week. Check out all the complete video portrait library at theavantgardediaries.com.
I spent almost an hour watching a number of these last night and particularly enjoyed this piece on Jennifer Rubell who blurs the line between installation, sculpture, and performance art with her interactive works centered around the production and consumption food.
Estonia-based artist Heikki Leis is a master of graphite realism. The drawings above are from his Everyday Reflections series that depict seemingly random individuals as they peer into mirrors performing mundane grooming activities, all rendered in painstaking detail with nothing but a pencil. See more of his work over on Behance.
Like the rest of the internet I’ve long been a fan of OK Go’s zany music videos using stop motion animation, Rube Goldberg machines, and staggering amounts of camera tricky and choreography. This latest video for their track Needing/Getting is no exception. Via YouTube:
OK Go set up over 1000 instruments over two miles of desert outside Los Angeles. A Chevy Sonic was outfitted with retractable pneumatic arms designed to play the instruments, and the band recorded this version of Needing/Getting, singing as they played the instrument array with the car. The video took 4 months of preparation and 4 days of shooting and recording. There are no ringers or stand-ins; Damian took stunt driving lessons. Each piano had the lowest octaves tuned to the same note so that they’d play the right note no matter where they were struck.
What an outstanding video. It’s hard to believe their last clip hit the web less than a week ago, a fantastic stop motion piece for Sesame Street. (thnx, David!)
