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)
I just spotted this 2009 installation by Tomás Saraceno (previously) at Andersen’s Contemporary Berlin. The exhibition consisted of numerous suspended geometric clouds made from white matte paper along with video, photographic, and sculptural pieces. You can read a bit more about it here. If you liked this, don’t miss Daniel Arsham’s Pixel Clouds.
Berndnaut Smilde, Nimbus Cukurkuma Hamam 2012. Photo by Onur Dag.
Berndnaut Smilde, Nimbus Platform57 2012. Photo by Cassander Eeftinck Schattenkerk.
Berndnaut Smilde, Nimbus Minerva 2012. Photo by Cassander Eeftinck Schattenkerk.
Berndnaut Smilde, Nimbus 2010.
Berndnaut Smilde, Nimbus D’Aspremont 2012. Photo by Cassander Eeftinck Schattenkerk.
Berndnaut Smilde, Nimbus II 2012. Photo by Cassander Eeftinck Schattenkerk.
Moses is famously known for parting the Red Sea, and Aeolus was said to have bestowed Odysseus with a bag containing the wind, and now Netherlands-based artist Berndnaut Smilde has mastered the art of conjuring clouds as part of his Nimbus series. Smilde’s methods however are less mythic and more practical, instead relying on delicate balance of smoke, moisture and light. Of course science alone doesn’t account for the striking visual impact contained in each image, as the artist carefully selects the perfect location for the creation of each cloud and then painstakingly lights it from behind for the desired effect. Via email Smilde tells me that it can take quite a while to get all of the elements in place for each cloud and that the installation is so fleeting, the use of photography is critical in capturing the split second where everything becomes perfect. You can watch the video above to see how it all comes together.
Smilde has three upcoming exhibitions this year including Ronchini Gallery in London from January 16 through February 16, the SFAC Galleries in San Francisco from February through April, and at Land of Tomorrow in Louisville, Kentucky also from February through April.
I would like to thank the artist for providing two new photos for this post, and also a thank you to everyone who has suggested I cover this the last few months. You can learn more over on Smithsonian Magazine.
CLOUD is a large scale interactive installation by artist Caitlind r.c. Brown that appeared September 15th as part of Nuit Blanche Calgary in Alberta, Canada. The piece is made from 1,000 working lightbulbs on pullchains and an additional 5,000 made from donated burnt out lights donated by the public. Visitors to the installation could pull the chains causing the cloud to sort of shimmer and flicker, I can’t tell you how much I would have enjoyed seeing this up close or at least on video. Did anyone film it? Learn more about it on the project website, and if you liked this also check out Wang Yuyang’s Artificial Moon. (via my eclectic depiction of life)
A few minutes ago New Zeland-based Barefoot Dynasty launched their latest product: Happy Cloud Coasters. The coasters are made from Portugese cork, are dirt and water resistant, and come packaged in a fancy recycled paper box. Just a hunch, but I think they’re going to sell a gazillion of these.
Artist Aakash Nihalani uses brightly colored tape to create isometric rectangles and squares in locations around New York, and has recently started a series where he interacts with these geometric shapes to great effect. Via his web site:
For however briefly, I am trying to offer people a chance to step into a different New York than they are used to seeing, and in turn, momentarily escape from routine schedules and lives. We all need the opportunity to see the city more playfully, as a world dominated by the interplay of very basic color and shape. I try to create a new space within the existing space of our everyday world for people to enter freely, and unexpectedly ‘disconnect’ from their reality.
Photographer Rüdiger Nehmzow captured these photos of clouds four miles above the Earth through open airplane doors. The video does a pretty good job of showing how they did it, maybe skip ahead to 2:30 or so just before they take off. More of his incredible work here.
