Art

Through a 1,600-Pound Sculpture of Moving Chains, Artist Charles Gaines Confronts the Enduring Legacy of American Slavery

All images by Timothy Schenk, courtesy of Creative Time, shared with permission

Eight years after artist Charles Gaines began work on “Moving Chains,” the monumental public work now stands at Outlook Hill on Governors Island. Evocative of a ship hull, the enormous kinetic sculpture features nine rows of steel chains that roll atop a structure made of Sapele, a wood native to Africa, with eight moving at the pace of the harbor’s currents and the other at that of a boat.

The 110-foot, 1,600-pound work is Gaines’ first public art commission and a sharp critique of systemic issues inherent within the American economy. Located next to the harbor that was an essential waterway in the transatlantic slave trade, “Moving Chains” exposes the nation’s capitalistic impulses and inextricable foundation in the heinous practice. “I wanted the piece to address that… in order to produce this kind of economy, they had to legitimate slavery,” Gaines says in an interview. “It becomes a real emblem of what I call the fatal flaw that exists at the foundation of American democracy.”

Specifically, the artist focuses on the Supreme Court’s landmark Dred Scott ruling that prohibits anyone of African descent from becoming a U.S. citizen. Although reversed with the 14th amendment, that decision has spawned myriad effects that continue to plague American society today. “It shows the history of slavery and Manifest Destiny and colonialism and imperialism as an interlinking narrative,” Gaines told Artnet. “In education, they’ve been separated, but the U.S. economy was built on slavery. Manifest Destiny legalized the taking of land from other people.”

Commissioned by Creative Time and Governors Island Arts, “Moving Chains” is one part of Gaines’ ongoing The American Manifest project and is on view through June 2023 in New York before it travels to Cincinnati. You can find more of the artist’s work on Hauser & Wirth and Instagram.

Photography Science

Unseen Cosmic Forces Inspire Otherworldly Photographs of Magnets and Metallic Particles

All images © Zac Henderson, shared with permission

A fascination with nature, science, and the vast mysteries of the cosmos has inspired Alabama-based photographer Zac Henderson’s series Dark Matter III, part of an ongoing project that transforms magnets and metallic grains into spectral and unearthly forms. As its name suggests, the works are inspired by dark matter, a form of matter thought to be abundant in the universe, integral to its structure and evolution, and yet difficult to detect. Henderson describes it as “what keeps galaxies glued together,” and he’s influenced by the interaction of unseen forces on the world around us.

Dark Matter II explores the nuances of physical power and challenges perceptions of size and depth, creating otherworldly forms that can be interpreted in enormous galactic proportions or at a microscopic scale. “I like for there to be a reward for looking closely at the work,” Henderson says. Around forty photos taken at different focal points are layered into one composite, giving each image immense clarity with emphasis on detail and texture.

You can find more of Henderson’s work on his website and Instagram.

Art

Drips of Colored Paper Accentuate the Intricate Details of Joey Bates’ Layered Bouquets

All images by Jean-Baptiste Beranger, © Joey Bates, shared with permission

In Joey Bates’ sprawling floral sculptures, what appear as dried splashes of paint are actually meticulously cut segments of colored paper. The American artist, who is currently based in Dals Långed, Sweden, layers petals, leaves, and fronds into elaborate three-dimensional bouquets brimming with textured detail. Although most works primarily utilize white or black paper, Bates infuses spots of Yves Klein blue, fiery reds and yellows, and gold to accentuate a single bloom or pocket of foliage.

Currently, the artist is finishing a series of sculptures that will be available in November from Simon Breitbard Fine Arts, in addition to a few commissions and personal projects. You can follow his work on Instagram. (via Beautiful Bizarre)

Documentary Food Science

Wrought: A Mesmerizing Short Film Coaxes the Beneficial and Beautiful Sides of Rot and Decay

Decay is sometimes an unsightly signal that it’s time for last week’s leftovers to be expeditiously trashed, although not all spoiling leads to the compost bin or garbage. Bubbly juice and veins of mold are responsible for common fare like beer, cheese, kombucha, kimchi, and bread, and although our reactions of disgust tends to mask the more fruitful features of the decomposition process, spoiling can provide health benefits and also be visually stunning—we’re continually fascinated by Kathleen Ryan’s ability to blur the line between the beautiful and grotesque.

In the short film “Wrought,” directors Anna Sigrithur and Joel Penner of Biofilm Productions highlight the intriguing and alluring qualities of mold and rot. From wispy spores sprouting atop a surface to liquifying cabbage to shriveling slices of fruit, the documentary timelapse flashes a variety of substances as they wilt and wither and ultimately questions our perceptions of the natural process.

Watch the trailer for “Wrought” above, and find the 22-minute film on Vimeo.

Craft Design

Adorable Glass Ghosts by Masanaga Noike Cradle Chopsticks on Their Bellies

All images © Masanaga Noike

Masanaga Noike, who’s behind the Nagano City-based studio naga-no-glass, has summoned some super cute spirits to the table just in time for the most haunted day of the year. Designed to cradle chopsticks on their pudgy bellies, every ghostly dinner guest is hand-formed and given whimsical expressions, so no two are alike. Noike makes them by coating a white powdered glass over the top of transparent glass, then pulling the hands and tail and denting the stomach where the utensils can be placed.

Explore more of Noike’s work on Instagram. (via Spoon & Tamago)

Design

Portable and Precise, Horizon’s ‘Swiss Army Knife of Sketch Tools’ Combines an Array of Functions into One Ruler

To render a perfect circle or measure precise angles, designers and artists rely on a slew of tools to compose accurate sketches and diagrams, but with so many different devices, one drawback is portability. Dubbed the “Swiss Army knife of sketch tools” in a new Kickstarter campaign, the team at Horizon has created a new double-sided ruler that combines functions like an imperial and metric compass, protractor, T-square, circle stencils, and four straightedges in inches, centimeters, pixels, and picas—all packed into a laser-cut, stainless steel tool the size of a credit card. They have also incorporated the Helvetica typeface, which rose to popularity in the mid-20th century for its clarity, to make the measurements even easier to read.

You can find more of Horizon’s designs on Instagram.

All images © Horizon