Colossal | A blog about art and visual ingenuity.

Journey to the Center of the Earth: An Incredible Glimpse Inside an Active Volcano

Journey to the Center of the Earth: An Incredible Glimpse Inside an Active Volcano volcanoes lava landscapes

Two Kyrgyzstan-based photographers, Andrew and Luda, run a joint Live Journal account where they post amazing photos of outdoor scenery, wildlife, and recently: active volcanoes. Earlier this year the duo trekked to the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia where the volcano complex known as Tolbachik was in active eruption. Among the numerous hellish vistas photographed by the team was this deep volcanic cave that offered a glimpse of what it might look like inside an active volcano. You can see dozens of shots from their trip organized into several sets here, not to mention the video above. (via ian brooks, my modern met)

Viola through Glass: Alexander Chen Creates an Orchestra of Violas

Viola through Glass: Alexander Chen Creates an Orchestra of Violas viola music video instruments

Google Creative Director Alexander Chen (who previously turned NYC transit data into music) recently sat down with his viola and a pair of Google Glass specs to record snippets of video and audio which he then looped and edited to create this miniature orchestra. While the video editing was done externally to Glass, the perspective lends itself nicely to the viola and there’s something sort of life-affirming about the music and snippets of life recorded just beyond the instrument. Beautiful music, well done. (via explore)

By Christopher on April 22, 2013 • instruments music video viola

Smeared Skies Made from Hundreds of Stacked Photographs by Matt Molloy

Smeared Skies Made from Hundreds of Stacked Photographs by Matt Molloy sunset landscapes clouds Canada

Living on the shore of Lake Ontario, just east of Toronto, photographer Matt Molloy has daily encounters with brilliant sunsets and cloudscapes that he’s been photographing for over three years. One day he began experimenting with time-lapse sequences by taking hundreds of images as the sun set and the clouds moved through the sky. Molloy then digitally stacked the numerous photos to reveal shifts in color and shape reminiscent of painterly brush strokes that smeared the sky. You can learn more about his “timestack” technique over at Digital Photo Magazine and prints are available here. (via bored panda)

By Christopher on April 22, 2013 • Canada clouds landscapes sunset

The Colored Pencil Drawings of Marco Mazzoni Depict the Cycles of Nature

The Colored Pencil Drawings of Marco Mazzoni Depict the Cycles of Nature still life nature drawing

Milan-based artist Marco Mazzoni works almost exclusively with colored pencils to create intricate drawings that depict the cycles of nature and worlds based heavily in Italian folklore. One of his most frequent subjects are drawings of flora and fauna who seem to be consuming or living on top of the face of a woman whose eyes we never see. The artist says he consciously does not depict the eyes so the viewer doesn’t consider the artwork a portait, but instead a still life where all elements have equal importance. Via Galleria Patricia Armocida:

Mazzoni weaves a world based on Italian folklore, made up of Janas and Cogas, female figures who, according to Sardinian beliefs, seduce, enchant, curse, and heal. His work is an homage to the secret art of healers; each drawing is saturated with metaphors that tell their story. The circular compositions, which allude to the cycles of Nature, depict medicinal and lysergic plants, pollinator butterflies and birds which drink their nectar, and hidden amidst leaves and wings emerge the faces of these women forced to hide their sensuality and their knowledge due to bigotry imposed by religion, accused of witchcraft because they are herbarie, herbalists. Female healers and midwives held an important role within the community. [...] Marco Mazzoni underlines the importance of the interaction between the women and the plants by developing the subject that’s best known: the female face framed by flora and fauna, rendering it an icon. He reveals her innermost perceptions, memories scribbled on a diary page, highly imaginative visions of “impossible” animals, the fruit of ecstatic exploration of hallucinatory journeys. [...] The result is a work which recounts the moment in which woman takes control of everything, in complete harmony with Nature.

Mazzoni currently has a solo show in Milan at Galleria Patricia Armocida which runs through May 4th, 2013. You can see more of his work over on Facebook.

By Christopher on April 22, 2013 • drawing nature still life

The Paragliding Circus

The Paragliding Circus stunts paragliding acrobatics

In this amazing clip, acro paragliding pilot Gill Schneider teamed up with his father’s circus class to mix juggling, trapeze and other circus arts with paragliding. The whole video is fun to watch as you learn a bit about Sheneider’s love for flying and see some more ground-based interactions between himself and the class, but around 2:30 things suddenly escalate when he takes trapeze artist Roxane Giliand up in the sky above France for some nail-biting acrobatics. You can see more photos of the circus here. Video shot and directed by Shams Prod.

By Christopher on April 20, 2013 • acrobatics paragliding stunts

Massive Rube Goldberg Chain Reaction for A-Trak & Tommy Trash’s ‘Tuna Melt’

Massive Rube Goldberg Chain Reaction for A Trak & Tommy Trashs Tuna Melt Rube Goldberg machines music video kinetic dominoes

Here’s a fun new music video for A-Trak & Tommy Trash’s ‘Tuna Melt‘. The Rube Goldberg device moves through almost every room of the The Ohage House in St. Paul, MN as dominoes crash, paper airplanes fly, and submarines chug along underwater. I couldn’t say for sure if it was all shot in one take, but there are some fantastic sequences regardless. The video was directed by Ryan Staake and most of the dominoes and other kinetic devices were created by Tim Fort. (via booooooom)

By Christopher on April 19, 2013 • dominoes kinetic music video Rube Goldberg machines

Photographer Takes a Boy with Muscular Dystrophy on an Imaginary Adventure

Photographer Takes a Boy with Muscular Dystrophy on an Imaginary Adventure portraits kids adventure

Slovenia-based photographer Matej Peljhan recently teamed up with a 12-year-named Luka who suffers from muscular dystrophy, to create a wildly imaginative series of photos depicting the boy doing things he is simply unable to do because of his degenerative condition. While he can still use his fingers to drive a wheelchair and to draw, things like skateboarding and swimming are simply not possible.

After having a conversation with Luka about his understandably normal desire to play sports or go swimming, Peljan was struck with the idea to create a non-digitally manipulated series of photographs showing the boy conquering a number of imaginary physical feats. The photographer used sheets and other props as a backdrop and shot Luca from above to capture each image, showing clearly the boy’s strength and shared sense of humor. See more photos from the series on the photographer’s website. All images courtesy the artist. (via peta pixel)