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A Prison Art Community On the Power of an Annual Exhibition in Michigan to Support More Than 700 Incarcerated Artists

For touting freedom as a foundational right, the United States cultivates a system of control. The nation incarcerates more people per capita than any other country, and even after COVID-19-related releases, the population totaled about 1.9 million people in 2022, more than that of Phoenix, Arizona, the fifth largest city in the U.S. with approximately 1.6 million residents. As abolitionists and activists fight to end mass incarceration and the horrifying conditions of life in prisons, individuals and organizations have taken it upon themselves to help those trapped in the unjust system. The Prison Creative Arts Project, or PCAP for short, has been undertaking such…

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Art

The Cardboard Sculptures of Artist Warren King Are an Homage to His Chinese Heritage

Artist Warren King (previously) finds much of his inspiration by wandering through Chinatown in New York City, where he encounters "street musicians, chess players in Columbus Park, vegetable sellers, knockoff handbag vendors on Canal Street, lion dancers during Chinese New Year celebrations," he tells Colossal. "I've been fascinated during my weekly grocery shopping trips by the vibrant, diverse community there, which is so different from the relatively homogenous suburbs where I grew up." These passersby become the initial inspiration for the…

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Animation Illustration

Peeled Cardboard Adds Corrugated Dimension to Javier Pérez’s Clever Illustrations

Ecuadorian illustrator Javier Pérez (previously) is known for transforming humble materials into minimal drawings brimming with his distinct sense of wit and whimsy. His latest set of experiments peels back the top layer of corrugated cardboard and uses the hidden, textured grooves to define a sailor's striped shirt, dog's shaggy fur, or a thick beard pre-shave. A mix of stop-motion animations and illustrations, the series turns simple lines and everyday items into playful scenarios. Based in Guayaquil, Pérez offers prints of his clever creations through Society6, and you…

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Craft

Flower Press Studio’s Colorful Compositions Preserve Botanicals and Bouquets for Posterity

Knowing that flowers only blossom for a short time, there is romance in their ephemerality. Naturally, we want to preserve their characteristics; we bottle up floral fragrances, and the practice of pressing flowers dates back to time immemorial. It's thought that the Japanese first elevated the process to an art form with a 16th-century tradition known as oshibana. The practice spread worldwide, and by the late 19th century, it was a popular pastime in England and the U.S. Flower Press Studio keeps this tradition alive through preserving delicate…

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Art Craft

From Junk Drawers to Phone Books, Artist Bernie Kaminski Captures the Nostalgia of Banal Items Through Papier-Mâché

A stack of worn phone books, a neatly folded button-up, and a junk drawer filled with receipts, batteries, and takeout remnants capture the playful nostalgia of Bernie Kaminski’s papier-mâché sculptures. The artist, who began working with the humble craft after his daughter brought home a seahorse she made in school, is driven largely by curiosity and a desire to explore the potential of the material, and he tends to recreate the objects he finds around his home. An orange dutch oven sits atop a…

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Art

Monumental Cardboard Bridges Float in the Sky in Temporary Installations by Olivier Grossetête

Temporarily seen hovering above small European towns or balancing on a river in floating canoes are elaborate bridges designed to be constructed and demolished in a matter of days. The ongoing work of Olivier Grossetête, the cardboard-and-tape pieces are entirely hand-built by the French artist and local residents. Each ephemeral installation, which Grossetête refers to as "utopian building(s), temporary and useless," appears for only a day or two before it's taken down and the public is asked to stomp on…

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