Colossal | A blog about art and visual ingenuity.

New Scrap Metal Animals by Vik Muniz

New Scrap Metal Animals by Vik Muniz sculpture animals

Artist Vik Muniz (previously here and here) has three new works made from gold scrap metal that will be on view as digital prints at the Armory Show in New York starting March 7th, 2013 through Rena Bransten Gallery. Muniz is known for creating images using multitudes of discarded objects and trash, and you may have seen his work in the 2010 documentary Waste Land.

Side note: for the first time ever the Armory Show has partnered with Artsy to offer a gorgeous full-blown preview of the fair featuring hundreds of works in beautiful high-definition. For those of us who can’t make it to many of the art fairs, more like this please? (via hyperallergic)

By Christopher on February 28, 2013 • animals sculpture

Choros: A Transfixing Experimental Dance Film by Michael Langan & Terah Maher

Choros: A Transfixing Experimental Dance Film by Michael Langan & Terah Maher video art dance

Released three weeks ago after a year on tour at various film festivals, Choros is the latest experimental art film from director Michael Langan the explores the movement of the human body, specifically the motion of dancer Terah Maher. Choros follows in the steps of Eadweard Muybridge, Etienne-Jules Marey, and Norman McLaren, all of whom spent years studying the physical moment of animals and humans through film. Langan takes the next step using new digital innovations to layer some 32 sequential instances of a single movement and then stretch it out over time. Set to Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians, the 13-minute video is pulsating, hypnotic, and flat out lovely to watch. You can read more about it over at Short of the Week.

By Christopher on February 27, 2013 • dance video art

Giant Ocean Waves of Wood and Glass by Mario Ceroli

Giant Ocean Waves of Wood and Glass by Mario Ceroli wood waves water sculpture ocean glass

According to the New York Times sculptor Mario Ceroli is one of the least known yet most influential artists of the Italian post-war scene. His work spans over forty years and I encourage you to take a deep dive into his website to explore his wide range of installations and sculptures. Two of his most beautiful works depict crashing waves sculpted from thin layers of precisely cut wood and glass titled La Vague and Maestrale. The energy present in the works is remarkable as if any moment the materials are going to crash into the gallery floor. Also, if you’ve ever been to the Adelaide Botanic Garden in Australia you may have seen a similar piece by sculptor Sergio Redegalli called Cascade. (via connaissance des arts, claudio, and tate_ellen)

By Christopher on February 27, 2013 • glass ocean sculpture water waves wood

Karma: A Tower of Blinded Men Rising into the Sky by Do Ho Suh

Karma: A Tower of Blinded Men Rising into the Sky by Do Ho Suh sculpture multiples

Towering 23 feet (7 meters) into the sky, Karma is a recent sculpture installed in the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden at the New Orleans Museum of Art by Korean sculptor Do Ho Suh (previously). Captured here in a series of photographs by Alan Teo, the piece depicts a tower of piggy-backed men, each successively covering the eyes of the man below him, creating an illusion that the blinded tower seems to stretch to infinity like a fractal, although technically it was made from 98 cast stainless steel figures. The artist is known for his work with multiple figures, creating tornadoes, chain link fences, and frequently multiple small figures supporting the weight of what appears to be a pair of corporate or governmental shoes. A smaller broze version of Karma is also on view at the Albright Knox Museum in Buffalo. (via my modern met, alan teo)

By Christopher on February 27, 2013 • multiples sculpture

New Works by DALeast and Faith47 at Pow Wow in Hawaii

New Works by DALeast and Faith47 at Pow Wow in Hawaii street art Hawaii birds

South African artist DALest and his wife Faith47 just completed these great new avian-themed pieces as part of Pow Wow 13, an annual contemporary art movement in Hawaii. See lots more coverage over at Arrested Motion. (vi arrested motion)

By Christopher on February 26, 2013 • birds Hawaii street art

Seb Lester Demonstrates Medieval Blackletter Caligraphy

Seb Lester Demonstrates Medieval Blackletter Caligraphy typography caligraphy

In this brief video graphic designer and illustrator Seb Lester demonstrates a form of Medieval blackletter typography that was used commonly in Europe from 1150 to around the 17th century. From a person whose handwriting is almost completely illegible, almost every stroke of his pen looks like a complete miracle. (via vimeo)

By Christopher on February 26, 2013 • caligraphy typography

DIY Foldable Paper Animal Lights by MostLikely

DIY Foldable Paper Animal Lights by MostLikely sculpture lighting animals

The folks over at the Vienna-based mostlikelyShop have a great collection of DIY foldable paper lampshade kits. Each lampshade template arrives rolled in a tube and includes info on how to fold, glue and assemble the light, however you’ll have to supply your own stand/bulb socket/glue. Once you’ve assembled a few lamps maybe it’s time to tackle the epic $20k Basilisk paper sculpture? Check ‘em out.

By Christopher on February 25, 2013 • animals lighting sculpture

The Natural and Urban Collide in the Drawings of Pat Perry

The Natural and Urban Collide in the Drawings of Pat Perry illustration drawing

A peek inside the sketchbooks of Michigan based artist and illustrator Pat Perry reveals a fascinating world where the natural world seems on a direct collision course with the urban. Silhouettes of people and wildlife are filled with rich, textured stories that seem to be representative of dreamlike memories. The detail in Perry’s work is undeniably amazing, even the images above don’t quite do it justice, spend some time scrolling (horizontally) through his sketchbook blog to see what I’m talking about. I recommend following Perry on Flickr, Facebook or via his blog, and he has numerous reasonably priced prints available in his store including may of the works above. He also did a great interview a while back with Amir from Beautiful Decay which you can read over on the Huffington Post. (via booooooom)