Art

Street Art by Sam3

Street Art Utopia just posted an enormous collection of work by street artist Sam3 spanning the last few years but includes a number of pieces I’d never seen before. If you like what you see, also check out his blog and maybe pickup some stuff in his shop. (via street art utopia)

Update: He also made this fun stop motion video.

 

Art

Do Ho Suh’s ‘Cause & Effect’: A Vortex of Little Orange Men

This giant tornado of piggybacked men is an installation by Korean artist Do Ho Suh that is currently on display at Western Washington University (photographs above depict it in alternate configurations). Via Western:

“‘Cause & Effect’ evokes a vicious tornado. This vast ceiling installation is a composition of densely hung strands that anchor thousands of figures clad in colors resembling a Doppler reading stacked atop one another,” said Do Ho Suh, adding that the artwork is a “physical realization of existence, suggesting strength in the presence of numerous individuals. The work is an attempt to decipher the boundaries between a single identity and a larger group, and how the two conditions coexist.”

Suh has been all over the news lately with his recent Fallen Star Lands installation in San Diego, and his Floor piece in Singapore similarly depicting the might of many thousands of tiny men. See many more views of this piece and other works here. (via the stranger, korea.net, herry lawford)

Update: I received clarification from WWU, Cause & Effect is still being installed and will not be on view until June of this year.

 

Art

Pinned Skin Collages by David Adey

Using carefully cut fragments of printed skin from the photographs of celebrities in popular magazines, artist David Adey creates elaborate, pinned collages reminiscent of the most complex entomological displays. In some instances he reconstructs the original photos using component pieces cut into myriad geometric shapes and symbols, each placed perfectly on the canvas with a single pin. Other times he creates giant whirling textures as with his piece Swarm, a process that can take up to 200-300 hours. The patience required for all of this simply boggles the mind. Adey currently has a solo show at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. (via lustik)

Photography

Maddie On Things: A Project About Dogs & Physics

Maddie the Coonhound is an ongoing daily photo project by Atlanta-based photographer Theron Humphrey who’s traveling to all 50 states, dog in tow, over the next year. See Maddie deftly balance atop nation park signs, tractor trailers, tires, mailboxes and other roadside attractions on the Maddie the Coonhound Tumblr. Despite my best efforts my dog would be found on exactly none of these things. (via swiss miss)

Illustration

Embroidered Portraits by Nike Schroeder

One of my favorite textile artists and Colossal regular Nike Schroeder (previously here and here) just finished this beautiful body of work entitled Berlin EG that captures moments from her everyday life there. I love the minimalistic quality of her line work and the unfinished strands that dangle from each piece giving it an off-balance sort of energy that really forces you to stop and consider each piece. A number of the works are currently on display at Urban Outfitters Berlin. Lovely work.

 

Design

Alphabet Topography

Created by Yale-graduates Caspar Lam and YuJune Park of Synoptic Office, Alphabet Topography is a physical examination of letterforms as it relates to usage frequency. Vowels and consonants like “R” and “T” were given more vertical prominence while lesser-used letters like “W” and “G” hardly make a blip. Of the creation process YuJune tells me:

I modelled the letters individually in Rhino and exported sections of each letter to AutoCad and based this alphabet on word frequency as defined by the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory, which interestingly enough, is almost identical to word frequency as defined by old linotype machines. I wanted a total variable of 6″ from the most often used to least often used letter, which gave each letter a height difference of .23 inches. I used architectural butter board and laser cut each letter in sections, and there was no client for this project—we developed it from a desire to explore the idea of language landscapes—visualizing language and the ebb and flow of spoken English.

I’ve always been an incredible sucker for physical typography and this project is no exception. (via it’s nice that)