Art

Unexpected Layers of Glass Added to Stones and Books by Ramon Todo

Born in Tokyo, Dusseldorf-based artist Ramon Todo creates beautiful textural juxtapositions using layers of glass in unexpected places. Starting with various stones, volcanic rock, fragments of the Berlin wall, and even books, the artist inserts perfectly cut glass fragments that seem to slice through the object resulting in segments of translucence where you would least expect it. You can see more of his work over on Art Front Gallery, and here. (via My Amp Goes to 11)

Amazing Craft Documentary

Man Spends 40 Years Building Giant Kinetic Carnival Rides to Advertise Family Restaurant in Italy

On June 15, 1969 in Battaglia, Italy a man named Bruno bought a few jugs of wine, some sausages and a few other items and set up a tiny food stand underneath a tree to see if anyone would show up. By the end of the day he had sold almost everything and the family restaurant, Ai Pioppi, was born. The next month he had a chance encounter with a blacksmith who didn’t have time to make a few hooks for some chains. Bruno decided he would learn to weld himself and enjoyed it so much he began to dream up small rides he could build to entice new customers to Ai Pioppi. It turned out to be brilliantly successful.

Now forty years later, the forest around the restaurant is packed with swings, multi-story slides, seesaws, gyroscopes, tilt-a-whirls, and bizarre kinetic roller-coasters for adults and children. In this artfully filmed 10-minute documentary by a team over at Fabrica, we get the chance to meet Bruno, see many of his rides in action, and learn a bit about his philosophy on existence and death.

For this post I also included a few photos courtesy Oriol Ferrer Mesià who visited Ai Pioppi in 2011 with several friends. You can see many more shots here and here.

The next time I’m in Italy I think this is at the top of my list.

Art

Banksy Has Unannounced Art Sale with Genuine Signed Canvases in Central Park, Sells Almost Nothing

For his 13th day in New York, Banksy pulled a fantastic prank on unsuspecting passersby in Central Park yesterday by setting up an unannounced art stall with dozens of 100% original signed canvases. In a world where copies of unlicensed Banksy works are available for a dime a dozen, it’s not inconceivable for somebody to peddle cheap knockoffs for $60 apiece. To further camouflage the artwork the booth was labeled simply “SPRAY ART” and manned by an unsuspecting old man who seemed completely uninterested in what he was doing.

So after having the art stall open for an entire day in Central Park, with an inventory that could have value into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, how many people stopped to buy something? Over a period of 7 hours just three people bought a total of 8 canvases, one of whom managed to haggled the price down 50%! Total haul for the day: $480. One lucky man who said he was decorating his new house in Chicago just won the lottery and unknowingly walked away with four original Banksys. But don’t get your hopes up, according to the artist’s website this was a one day affair. “This was a one off. The stall will not be there again today.” Watch the video to see it all unfold.

For those of you following along the past few weeks via Instagram, Banksy’s website (or perhaps following his tracks around New York), the artist has been creating a new artwork every single day in October as part of his Better Out than In Residency.

Art Design

A Dragon Teapot by Johnson Tsang

Artist Johnson Tsang (previously) has been posting an amazing series of process photos on his blog that demonstrates how he makes many of his bizarre ceramic creations. One piece that really stood out is called a Painful Pot, a functional teapot squeezed by a dragon, its head functioning as the spout.

 

Photography

The Art of Improbable Coincidence: Travel and Street Photography by Maciej Dakowicz

It would not surprise me to learn that Polish street photographer Maciej Dakowicz has run out of available pages in his passport. Currently based in Mumbai, the computer science PhD abandoned a career in technology to instead focus on his street photography, a decision that has lead him to far-flung communities around the globe seeking incredible once-in-a-lifetime encounters. Sorting through his staggering library of some 5,500 photos is to take a journey through vastly differing cultures, miraculous visual coincidences, and improbable moments in time both amusing and terrifying.

Dakowicz received much attention in 2012 for his eye-opening book Cardiff After Dark that collected five years of photographs documenting the nightlife fueled by alcohol and emotion in Cardiff, Wales. He also teaches photography workshops where many of his images originate, is one of the founders of Third Floor Gallery, and is a member of the street photography collective In-Public (previously). See much more of his work on Flickr and over on Facebook.

 

Art

A Tornado of Repurposed Wood Sweeps through Art Bogotá

Created by Colombian artist Otoniel Borda Garzón, this towering 40 foot (12 meter) torando of scrap wood was installed last year as a centerpiece at the Bogota International Art Fair. Garzón is known for his twisting organic vortices constructed primarily from old pieces of lumber that seem to dominate gallery spaces, an ongoing series of work he refers to simply as Reserva. You can see more of this twisting sculpture over on Behance.