Tag Archives: fire

United States Map Made from Thousands of Wood Matches by Claire FontaineFebruary 11

United States Map Made from Thousands of Wood Matches by Claire Fontaine United States multiples matches maps installation fire

U.S.A. (burnt/unburnt) is a 2011 installation by Paris-based artist Claire Fontaine (previously) constructed from thousands of green matches that were inserted into a wall at the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art as part art of “Evidence of Bricks” at the 2011 Time-Based Art Festival. Fontaine has made somewhat of a name for herself with her match installations and flaming geography, most recently completing a similar U.S.A. map at Queens Nails Gallery in San Francisco. Unlike the installation in Portland above, the Queens Nails artwork was actually set on fire, and while it may not have gone exactly as intended, the final post-flame artwork is impressive nonetheless. Photographs above for PICA by Dan Kvitka.

Update: Hyperallergic has the scoop in the latest US Map fire.

Fire and Ice: The Frozen Aftermath of a Chicago Warehouse FireJanuary 24

Fire and Ice: The Frozen Aftermath of a Chicago Warehouse Fire ice fire Chicago
Robert R Gigliotti

David Schalliol

Fire and Ice: The Frozen Aftermath of a Chicago Warehouse Fire ice fire Chicago
Robert R Gigliotti

Darek Szupina

It seems like just a few days ago Chicago had huge ice news, and now this. For the past few weeks things have been pretty darned frigid here in the windy city with temperatures dropping down to the single digits, and just when we couldn’t take it anymore things started to warm up, in a massive-abandoned-warehouse-bursting-into-flames sort of way. Nearly 200 firefighters were on the scene in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood to battle the blaze and incredibly nobody was injured. Temperatures were so low during the fire that water sprayed on the building froze almost instantly leaving behind a spectacularly beautiful ice-encrusted wonderland. Photographers Robert R. Gigliotti, David Schalliol, and Darek Szupina stopped by yesterday and snapped these extraordinary photos. You can see much more over on the Chicago Tribune.

A Tornado of Fire Filmed in Australia by Chris TangeyOctober 1

A Tornado of Fire Filmed in Australia by Chris Tangey weather tornadoes fire Australia

I’ve been traveling a bit so I’m a bit late to this as I know it’s been on a lot of news outlets lately. Regardless, filmmaker Chris Tangey shot this incredible footage of a ‘fire devil’ near Alice Springs, Australia on September 11th. In the unedited, raw footage recently provided by Tangey you can watch as the tornado—which is technically more of a dust devil—towers over 100 feet (30 meters) high. The Huffington Post explains that while footage like this is rare, these vortices of fire are actually pretty common.

The 2012 Olympic Cauldron by Thomas HeatherwickJuly 28

The 2012 Olympic Cauldron by Thomas Heatherwick sports olympics fire

The official website for for the Olympic opening and closing ceremonies has a great behind-the-scenes gallery of the impressive multi-torch cauldron that was lit yesterday during the opening ceremonies. The cauldron was designed by Thomas Heatherwick and consists of 204 copper petals representing the competing nations at this years games. You can read a bit more about it over on Dezeen.

Drawing with FireFebruary 2

Drawing with Fire smoke portraits fire drawing

Artist Steven Spazuk began his career as many artists do, a gradual transition from sketching and drawing to watercolor and acrylic painting. In the 1980s he began using an airbrush and found himself fascinated by the smooth gradients created by the finely sprayed paint. Then, in 2001 an idea struck: what would happen if he exposed a canvas to fire and controlled the imprint of soot left on the surface? Spazuk has hardly left the medium since. Though he creates many smaller pieces that look like smokey gesture drawings, I really enjoy his wall-sized fragmentation paintings made from hundreds of smaller works, each the result of a canvas exposed to fire and then gently etched to reveal finers details. Watch the video above to see how he does it.

Crayon Fire Sculptures by Herb WilliamsOctober 13

Crayon Fire Sculptures by Herb Williams Texas sculpture fire crayons

Artist Herb Williams is one of the only people in the world to have an account with Crayola. I imagine him whipping out his cell phone, speed dialing Crayola Headquarters and saying “I need 40,000 Screamin’ Greens and 20,000 Tickle Me Pinks. Tonight.” I’m not sure if that’s exactly how it works, but lets go with it.

This latest work by Williams, Unwanted Visitor: Portrait of Wildfire, just opened at the National Ranching Heritage Center at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. The five swirling flames made of thousands of crayons are meant to resemble the recent wildfires that ravaged the state several weeks ago. Over time, the sculptures themselves will be ravaged by the hot Texas heat, and will gradually begin to melt, turning the already brilliant color gradation into a dripping, gooey mess. Awesome right? The project began as a small proof-of-concept on Kickstarter only a month ago and is now open to the public at NRHC. Special thanks to Emily Arellano, Herb Williams, and photographer Ashton Thornhill who captured the images above. (via kelly podzemny)

The Speed of FireSeptember 6

The Speed of Fire Texas information fire documentary

Incredible video shot yesterday on the north edge of Bastrop State Park in Texas, a place I visited several times each year as a kid. All but about 100 acres of the 6,000-acre park have been blackened by fire. To everyone in central Texas right now, please be safe.

A Woman Made of CandlesAugust 23

A Woman Made of Candles sculpture installation fire candles body

I admit, this leans toward the creepy side, but it’s also pretty captivating too. This wax woman embedded with candle wicks was made by A.F.Vandevorst (which I believe is a Belgian fashion label) for the Arnhem Mode Biennale 2011. Reminds me of this piece by Urs Fischer. (via lenn cox)

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