Colossal | A blog about art and visual ingenuity.

The Mysterious Polaroids of Bastian Kalous

Generally when I think of Polaroid photographs I’m reminded of old family snapshots, perhaps a camera passed around close-quarters at a party, or a few artistic captures of flowers, textures or an old beat-up vehicle. Photographer Bastian Kalous has a very different approach, carrying his Polaroid camera around the world into the sweeping vistas of the Grand Canyon, the valleys surrounding the Grand Tetons, and other expanses of forests and mountains near his home in Freyung, a town in Bavaria, Germany. These are locations rarely explored with instant film these days, and I find his work both refreshing and mysterious. Luckily he has several hundred photos to explore, and I strongly urge you to do so.

By Christopher on October 4, 2012 • landscapes polaroid

Giant Tree Branch Sculpture Installed at Croajingolong National Park by Corey Thomas

Giant Tree Branch Sculpture Installed at Croajingolong National Park by Corey Thomas trees sculpture land art Australia

Spinifex is a recent sculpture by Australian artist Corey Thomas. The piece was constructed from local tree branches and other plant material before being air-lifted with a helicopter into Croajingolong National Park in Victoria. You can see a short video about Corey’s process here. (via my darkened eyes)

Magnetized Cyanotype Butterfly Installations by Tasha Lewis

Magnetized Cyanotype Butterfly Installations by Tasha Lewis street art magnets installation cyanotypes butterflies

For the past few months Indianapolis-based artist Tasha Lewis has been traveling around the country creating guerrilla installations using a swarms of 400 cyanotype butterflies printed on cotton fabric (cyanotype is a photographic printing process that results in blue images, just like blueprints). Each blue insect is embedded with powerful magnets allowing her to place them on any metallic surface without causing damage, which as far as impermanent street art goes, is brilliant. Of her work she says:

My current body of work was drawn from an investigation into the cultural/scientific/historical context in which the cyanotype was born. Popularized by scientists, and botanists in particular, the cyanotype is intrinsically tied into the scientific recording boom of the late 19th and early 20th century. These are the times of the curiosity cabinet, the prints of Anna Atkins and a rush of explorers/scientists to colonial lands only to bring back specimens from foreign ecosystems. [.. ] The cyanotype is a process of documenting. The resultant image is a kind of scientific stand-in for the actual object in question. It is the trace of the original. In this way, like cyanotype’s use for building blue prints in more recent centuries, my work is formed as the re-presentation of something real; it is somehow not quite the object itself.”

Tasha has published photos of numerous installations on her Tumblr, definitely worth a look. (via empty kingdom)

By Christopher on October 3, 2012 • butterflies cyanotypes installation magnets street art

A Horse Made of Computer Keys by Babis Cloud

A Horse Made of Computer Keys by Babis Cloud sculpture multiples horses computers

I’m not sure I fully understand the meaning behind this great sculpture made of resin and recycled computer keys by Babis Cloud, but I certainly enjoy looking at it. The piece is titled Hedonism(y) Trojaner, derived from the giant mythological Trojan horse built by the Greeks that was used to sneak an elite force of soldiers into the city of Troy under the charade of presenting the city with a gift. On some level I suppose Babis is making a reference to the negative aspects of technology (viruses, irrational dependence on computers), but you can read a bit more explanation over on iGNANT. If you liked this also check out the work of Sarah Frost.

By Christopher on October 2, 2012 • computers horses multiples sculpture

FlipBooKit: A New DIY Mechanical Flipbook Kit

FlipBooKit: A New DIY Mechanical Flipbook Kit flipbook DIY device animation Horse in Motion, a mechanical flipbook installation by Wendy Marvel

Ascension, a mechanical flipbook installation by Wendy Marvel

View of a prototype FlipBooKit

FlipBooKit Detail

In 2011 kinetic artists Mark Rosen and Wendy Marvel created a series of wonderful mechanical flipbooks based on the work of Eadweard Muybridge, the guy responsible for pioneering photographic studies of motion. After touring a few art galleries and making a well-received appearance at the 2012 Maker Faire the duo teamed up with manufacturing designer Steven Goldstein to create kits that mere mortals such as you and I can use to create nostalgic moving pictures of our own design. If you’re as ridiculously excited about this project as I am, head on over to Kickstarter to pledge a few bucks.

By Christopher on October 2, 2012 • animation device DIY flipbook

Portraits Drawn with Tea, Vodka, Whiskey and Ink by Carne Griffiths

Portraits Drawn with Tea, Vodka, Whiskey and Ink by Carne Griffiths portraits illustration drawing

UK-based illustrator Carne Griffiths creates these striking portraits with uncommon mediums such as tea brandy, vodka, whiskey, graphite and calligraphy ink. His drawings most frequently explore human and floral forms, as says he’s “fascinated by the flow of line and the ‘invisible lines’ that connect us to the natural world.” The four pieces above are part of a limited edition postcard set just released by Griffiths, each of which comes in a fancy custom-illustrated, wax-sealed envelope. He also has a solo show at Ink-d Gallery in Brighton that closes this Saturday. (via behance)

By Christopher on October 1, 2012 • drawing illustration portraits

Thanks to September’s Sponsors

I’d like to take a quick brief moment to thank last month’s sponsors. These are the fine organizations and companies that keep Colossal going, so be sure to check ‘em out.

Brooklyn Museum—GO is a community-curated open studio project. Artists across Brooklyn opened their studio doors, so that the public could decide who will be featured in a group show at the Brooklyn Museum.
Guggenheim—Stillspotting nyc: bronx, the fifth and final edition in the stillspotting nyc series, Improv Everywhere presents Audiogram, an interactive audio experience and theatrical group hearing test designed for the South Bronx. October 13-14, 2012
My Art Habit—Images designed to bring out the best possible look at the most affordable pricing by individuals with years of designing and building outstanding framed art.
Avant-Garde Diaries—a digital interview magazine that documents artists on the forefront of their creative field.
NYU Steinhardt—Offers graduate art programs in Studio Art, Art Education, Art Therapy, Visual Culture: Costume Studies, and Visual Arts Administration. Admission Deadlines: January 6, 15 & February 1, 2013
Creative Time—The Last Pictures, Trevor Paglen has developed a collection of one hundred images that will be etched onto a silicon disc to be sent into orbit onboard the Echostar XVI satellite in Fall 2012, as both a time capsule and a message to the future.
Vera List Art Project at Lincoln Center—Culture Vulture, a new commissioned print by acclaimed artist Barbara Kruger, has been released to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Vera List Art Project.
International Center of Photography—The ICP-Bard Program in Advanced Photographic Studies offers a curriculum of professional and studio practice, critical study, and Resident Artist Projects. Application Deadline: January, 18, 2013

If you are interested in advertising on Colossal, please get in touch with Nectar Ads, the Art Ad Network.

By Christopher on October 1, 2012 • sponsor

Mirrors on Easels Create the Illusion of Desert Landscape Paintings in California’s Joshua Tree National Park

Mirrors on Easels Create the Illusion of Desert Landscape Paintings in Californias Joshua Tree National Park mirrors landscapes California

Photographer Daniel Kukla who has a background in both biology and anthropology has a new series of work called The Edge Effect where he photographed square mirrors propped on easels in locations around Joshua Tree National Park to catch the reflection of the horizon behind him. The resulting images create the bizarre effect of looking at a paintings sitting in the middle of the desert. Of the work Kukla says:

In March of 2012, I was awarded an artist’s residency by the United States National Park Service in southern California’s Joshua Tree National Park. While staying in the Park, I spent much of my time visiting the borderlands of the park and the areas where the low Sonoran desert meets the high Mojave desert. While hiking and driving, I caught glimpses of the border space created by the meeting of distinct ecosystems in juxtaposition, referred to as the Edge Effect in the ecological sciences. To document this unique confluence of terrains, I hiked out a large mirror and painter’s easel into the wilderness and captured opposing elements within the environment. Using a single visual plane, this series of images unifies the play of temporal phenomena, contrasts of color and texture, and natural interactions of the environment itself.

You can see his website for several more photos and Kukla tells me limited edition prints are available by getting in touch with him. (via junk culture and triangulation)