Colossal | A blog about art and visual ingenuity.

50 Illicit Swings Hung Across Los Angeles

50 Illicit Swings Hung Across Los Angeles toys swings street art Los Angeles installation

In his spare time San Francisco resident Jeff Waldman started hanging swings in various locations around the city. These guerilla swings caught the attention of the Awesome Foundation which awarded him a $1,000 grant to hang 50 more, a project he captured in this great new video (music by Penguin Cafe Orchestra). The project has since grown a bit encompassing swing installations in Los Angeles and in the Marshall Islands, and with our help he’s heading south to Bolivia to hang a couple hundred more. (via streetsy)

Anti-Gravity Dancing

Anti Gravity Dancing weightlessness skydiving gravity dance

A beautifully choreographed dance performance inside a wind tunnel at Skydive Arena in Prague. What glorious fun this must be. Music by Casiokids, if you’re into that sorta thing. (via neatorama)

By Christopher on June 15, 2011 • dance gravity skydiving weightlessness

Match Man

(click images for detail)

I don’t normally post two things from an artist in one day; however this seemed too good to pass up, especially due to this blog’s affinity for matches. Ryo Shimizu created this delicate human shell out of hundreds of matches entitled Matchstick Drawing. How macabrely awesome it would have been to watch this figure meet his flaming demise.

By Christopher on June 14, 2011 • body fire installation matches sculpture

New work from Gregory Euclide

New work from Gregory Euclide nature miniature installation

A new large-scale installation from artist Gregory Euclide (previously) using a wide variety of materials including acrylic, acrylic caulk, cast paper from Central Park boulders, eurocast, fern, and foam. Euclide also recently created the artwork for a Bon Iver album which you can read about over on My Love for You, or check out this video. (via behance)

By Christopher on June 14, 2011 • installation miniature nature

New Plywood Mosaics by Aske

New Plywood Mosaics by Aske wood painting mosaics graffiti colors

Moscow-based graffiti artist Aske created this colorfully striking series of plywood artworks for the Faces & Laces Street Culture Show earlier this month. See much more via his site and learn more about the process over at Creative Review.

By Christopher on June 14, 2011 • colors graffiti mosaics painting wood

Testing the Waters

Testing the Waters water portraits

Enjoying these lovely photos of actor and musician Devan DuBois by photographer Steven Taylor. This must be what it’s like to swim in seltzer. (via designspiration)

By Christopher on June 14, 2011 • portraits water

Ryo Shimizu Creates Immense Stories that Crumble from Gallery Walls

(click images for detail)

CNJPUS TEXT is the latest work from Tokyo-based artist Ryo Shimizu. The text is formed by using strokes borrowed from Chinese characters and then restructuring them into letters of the Roman alphabet. Via artist a day:

Shimizu is influenced by Japanese traditions and practices–the relationship between history and modern society and between the self and other people. His work ranges from photography to three-dimensional objects and installations.

This appears to be his third and largest in a series of text-based installations dating back to 2009. (via artist a day, sweet station)

By Christopher on June 14, 2011 • installation time based typography

Moss Ring

Moss Ring rings plants organic jewelry fashion

If you don’t have a green thumb, you can get one step closer with this custom moss ring by Warsaw-based Sylwia Calus Design. The rings are made from resin with actual moss embedded inside. (via svpply)