Just spotted this great series of hands and feet photographed through milk glass by Czech creative director and photographer Marek Chaloupka. The vertical perspective coupled with the ghostly silhouettes makes these really special. See more of Chaloupka’s work over on Behance. (via it’s complicated)
Photographer Martin Rietze recently traveled to Japan where he had the incredible opportunity (or near grave misfortune?) of photographing the Sakurajima Valcano in southern Kyushu as it spewed forth smoke, fire, and lava bombs. If that wasn’t enough the hellish volcano also caused a lightning show that lasted over 20 seconds giving the photographer ample time to flee for his life take these stunning photographs. You can see many more images from the series right here. Of note, the photographer’s grit and fearlessness landed the top photo a feature on NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day earlier this week. (via spoon & tamago)
The Top Secret Drum Corps is a 25-person drum corps and colorguard group from Basel, Switzerland who display incredible precision and choreography despite being comprised of performers who have separate day jobs. Formed in 1990 the group rose quickly to fame after being the fist non-military, non-British acts to perform at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, which they have now performed at four times (see their 2009 performance). I’m no drum expert but this is some of the best drumming I’ve ever seen. (via laughing squid)
London-based artist Louise McNaught creates mixed-media paintings of animals and insects using a wide variety of paint, pencil, ink, and backdrops that vary from traditional canvas to celestial star charts. Via her artist statement:
McNaught primarily uses a neon colour palette to depict the presence of nature in her work, where the animals are God-like, sublime and ethereal in their luminescence. Not wishing to limit herself or her subject matter, McNaught has a mixed-media approach which usually manifests in painted-drawings on traditional and sometimes unusual supports, such as celestial maps. [...] By drawing the viewers attention to the animals presence and energy, McNaught is hoping to share with the viewer the awe that the natural world inspires within her.
You can see much more of her work on her website as well as Facebook and she has original works available over on DegreeArt. (via visual news)
#Untamed is a unique digital photo installation, comprised of a collection of extraordinary Instagram photos from around the world.
Hosted in Paris this April, the installation will present impressive projections of the most inspiring and unusual photos submitted to an international audience of art enthusiasts and will translate the individual, digital style of each participant into real life.
Anyone can upload their Instagram photos to untamed-installation.com to be analyzed and given an #Untamed score, which will distinguish your individual style from the other participants. The whole installation will portray a rotating series of pictures that reflect the campaign’s creative principle: “The natural enemy of the average.”
To participate in this unique installation, upload your Instagram photos to untamed-installation.com.![[Sponsor] #Untamed. An Instagram Photo Installation sponsor](http://engine.adzerk.net/v/0/46327_65929_20_0/v.gif?r=65435438735468 "[Sponsor] #Untamed. An Instagram Photo Installation")
In her ongoing series of figurative sculptures titled Milky Ways, artist Mihoko Ogaki explores ideas of life, death, and rebirth. The dead or dying human forms are constructed from Fibre-reinforced plastic and embedded with bright LEDs that when lit project fields of light resembling stars in the surrounding space. You can see many more installation views over on her website. (via mori yu gallery)
As cleanup continues two years after the deadly tsunami that struck Japan, a decision was made to preserve the memory of the miracle pine tree. The towering 88-foot tall pine tree was the last standing among a forest of 70,000 trees that were completely wiped out along the coast in Rikuzentakata, Iwate prefecture. The tree survived for nearly 18 months after the tsunami but eventually died due to high levels of saline introduced into its environment, after which is was felled and giant molds were created to again form the trunk and branches as they stood when the tree was alive. The monument is set to be unveiled this week.
Los Carpinteros is a Havana-based artist collective currently comprised of Marco Castillo and Dagoberto Rodríguez (a third member, Alexandre Arrechea, left in 2003) who produce a wide range of works including sculpture, installation, and film. My favorite of their works are these lovely abstract paintings of Legos and other structural or architectural pieces. Via Sean Kelly Gallery:
Interested in the intersection between art and society, the group merges architecture, design, and sculpture in unexpected and often humorous ways. They create installations and drawings which negotiate the space between the functional and the nonfunctional. The group’s elegant and mordantly humorous sculptures, drawings, and installations draw their inspiration from the physical world—particularly that of furniture. Their carefully crafted works use humor to exploit a visual syntax that sets up contradictions among object and function as well as practicality and uselessness. For Los Carpinteros, drawing has played an integral role as a mock technical draft or form of a blue print that suggests not only a process of artistic elaboration but also a form of architectural or carpentry plans.
You can explore over 100 of their paintings in high resolution on their website, and don’t miss this interactive 360 degree walkthrough of an exploded room at Hayward Gallery in 2008. (via faith is torment)
