Colossal | A blog about art and visual ingenuity.

Five Questions with Lustik

Five Questions with Lustik website interview

One of the most unassuming of my daily stops is also one of the most incredible. The impeccably curated Lustik is a treasure trove of great art, design, and all things creative and interesting. After few weeks of following and sourcing several posts here on Colossal I decided it was time to learn more about the mysterious person behind this Tumblr who posts anonymously, without even a hint of information on the site. Luckily she responded to a shout-out a few weeks ago and I was able to ask her a few quick questions.

Who are you?
I’m Béatrice Lucas, a breton crazy cat’s lady!

Why did you start Lustik?
In French ou is u and loustic means “funny, kid…” I began it just for pleasure as a notebook, after Chercat.

How do you find stuff to post? Do you have a routine?
No routine, I… nose about!

What sites inspire you?
Tankthinks, Väskust, Poculum, Notcot.org, MoCoLoco, Who killed Bambi.

What happens next?
So sorry, not to have a divining instinct!

Thanks Béatrice for unveiling yourself on Colossal. I can’t urge you strongly enough to head over to Lustik and get lost for a while.

By Christopher on May 23, 2011 • interview website

Cradle by Ball-Nogues Studio

Cradle by Ball Nogues Studio urban sculpture metal installation city

Cradle is a sculpture installed on the exterior wall of a parking lot in Santa Monica, California by Ball-Nogues Studio, originally designed by Frank Gehry.

An aggregation of mirror polished stainless steel spheres, the sculpture functions structurally like an enormous Newton’s Cradle – the ubiquitous toy found on the desktops of corporate executives in Hollywood films. Each ball is suspended by a cable from a point on the wall and locked in position by a combination of gravity and neighboring balls. The whole array reflects distorted images of passersby.

I’d pay a nickel to watch this piece from afar during an earthquake. (via journal du design, contemporist)

Ornithology Letterpress Coasters

Ornithology Letterpress Coasters illustration home birds animals

A really wonderful set of four ornithology letterpress coasters, each with a fun visual twist by London-based Ryan Todd. Lots more beautifully designed prints and shirts in his shop. (via notcot)

By Christopher on May 23, 2011 • animals birds home illustration

The Mountain Men Action Figure Set: Marx, Mao, Lenin and Thoreau.

The Mountain Men Action Figure Set: Marx, Mao, Lenin and Thoreau. toys people history

Toss the G.I. Joes and the Transformers in the trash. Japanese company General Research has created this limited edition set of polyurethane Mountain Men as part of their February Mountain Research series. And by mountain men they’re of course referring to German philosopher Karl Marx, Chairman Mao “a Chinese revolutionary and Guerrilla warfare strategist,” Vladimir Lenin a “Russian revolutionary and political philosopher,” and Henry David Thoreau the American writer and poet. So what do two communists, a German philosopher, and an American poet have in common? I have no idea whatsoever. And other than Thoreau I think it’s questionable whether any of these men had ever climbed a mountain. But these toys are totally geek-tastic, well designed, and are still in stock here. (via flavorwire)

Update: Spoon and Tamago was able to dig up some additional details about the set.

By Christopher on May 22, 2011 • history people toys

The Pressure is Good for You

The Pressure is Good for You signs neon inspiration

At first I thought this was just a wonderful piece of graphic design by Adam Garcia (previously), but further snooping revealed it to be a real, one-of-a-kind, badass neon sign available here from his gallery show Special Characters last March. I can’t think of a wall in the house this wouldn’t look good on.

By Christopher on May 20, 2011 • inspiration neon signs

My Drunk Kitchen: Brunch

Today you’re definitely getting a mix of high-brow and low-brow art, so bear with me. I’m sorry but this is the most brilliant cooking video I’ve ever seen. The sixth in a series by Hanna Hart, who gets drunk and teaches you how to cook. Sort of. Beware language. (thnx, byron)

By Christopher on May 20, 2011 • alcohol cooking humor

Wooden Population Density Mounds

A few days ago I stumbled onto a 2007 article over on Creative Review about a special exhibit called Global Cities held at Tate. As part of the exhibition Angus Hyland and William Russell from Pentagram designed these brilliant wooden population density mounds that represent Mumbai, London, Mexico City, and Cairo. Via Creative Review:

“The brief was to find a way of representing the mass of statistical information in the Turbine Hall that would engage and invite people to explore it,” says Pentagram’s William Russell, who designed the exhibition with Angus Hyland. “We were trying to approach an audience that’s not necessarily an architectural one. I don’t think it dumbs down the information but makes it understandable and clear.”

Incredibly clear. Not only are they engaging as sculptural pieces but also act as physical infographics, something I’m personally a huge fan of. A huge thanks to Ed Reeve and this Flickr account for providing imagery for the post.

By Christopher on May 20, 2011 • infographics installation wood

Food Architecture

Food Architecture studio food architecture

Gary Bryan photographs these perfect little edible structures without the use of CGI using nothing but great lighting and little cookie wafers. (via creative review)