Colossal | A blog about art and visual ingenuity.

Book Sculptures by Bronia Sawyer

The abundance of book sculpture I’ve seen online lately is staggering, however it was refreshing to discover the work of UK-based Bronia Sawyer who colors, folds, and rolls the pages of books to create these bird and flower-like plumes of color. Via her site:

I love to take something like a book and turning it in to something visually pleasing. With book sculpture I like the fact that books are flat and square they have order but by cutting them and folding them you can create organice and random shapes. I also like to add colours but mainly for the way it looks in photographs.

See lots more work via her Flickr and website.

(via illusion and all things paper)

Anti-Retro

Anti Retro slow motion retro cars advertising

A great series of slow-motion ads by Jonathan Gurvit for Citröen featuring the destruction of retro blenders, TVs, and phones. (via bumbumbum)

By Christopher on June 1, 2011 • advertising cars retro slow motion

Letterpress Dice

Letterpress Dice letterpress dice

Love this beautiful letterpress project for a band called Cupp Cave and their forthcoming Dice Pool EP. Using a Vandercook SP20 letterpress and a sheet of 676 dice they printed a limited edition of 300 prints. See more photos here.

Update: I just learned about the work of Etsy shop owner Stukenborg who’s been selling similar letterpress dice prints since early 2010. (thnx, chelsea!)

By Christopher on June 1, 2011 • dice letterpress

Flickr Finds No. 2

A couple of wonderful photos found on Flickr over the past week or so. Images link to their sources.

By Christopher on May 31, 2011 • compilation flickr finds

Wang Yuyang: Artificial Moon

Wang Yuyang: Artificial Moon sculpture moon lighting installation astonomy

Artificial Moon is a sculptural piece by Beijing-based artist Wang Yuyang constructed from hundreds of various compact fluorescent lightbulbs. At over 13 ft. wide (400cm) the piece is an imposing recreation of Earth’s moon, using strategically placed lights to mimic craters and other surface features. Its creation is also particularly poignant, as it was originally put on exhibit in Shanghai, a city that due to light pollution is often unable witness the actual moon moving through the night sky. See more photos on arthub.

By Christopher on May 31, 2011 • astonomy installation lighting moon sculpture

Hacked Typewriter

Hacked Typewriter typewriters sculpture machines electronics

Graphic designer Paul Bailey is a recent graduate of Kingston University in London and his portfolio is filled with lots of fun projects including beautifully designed infographics, these fun biscuit stamps, and even an idea for a tribute bell installed outside recently closed pubs. Most interesting to me though was his hacked typewriter. Beginning with the statement, “the beauty of the typewriter is that, unlike its modern counterpart, it cannot be hacked” (which I couldn’t locate a source, but sure, I’ll roll with it) he set out to redefine the fundamental mechanics of the typewriter resulting in a new interpretation of its core function. Is it useful? Not really. But I find the idea of hacking non-electronic devices to create bizarre new machines really intriguing.

By Christopher on May 31, 2011 • electronics machines sculpture typewriters

Michael Jackson vs Mr. Bean

Michael Jackson vs Mr. Bean video art stop motion humor dance animation

A new stop motion short from Montreal-based Pascal Blais Studio. This appears to be some sort of self-promotional piece that just appeared on their Vimeo channel without explanation, however I sense the potential for many more of these. Directed by Patrick Boivin from Woolf + Lapin. (via laughing squid)

By Christopher on May 30, 2011 • animation dance humor stop motion video art

Lulu Guinness designs a human-sized pinscreen toy. Hilarity ensues.

Lulu Guinness designs a human sized pinscreen toy. Hilarity ensues. toys interactive installation advertising

As part of Clerkenwell Design Week clutch and tote designer Lulu Guinness (first photo) created this enormous pin-screen similar to the popular 80s toy. As an interactive art piece participants are invited to step up to the device and press their bodies into it, creating all manner of hilarious, touching, and inevitably obscene body portraits. See dozens more images on their Facebook page. (via notcot)