decay

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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.

 

Art Food

Moldy Fruit Sculptures Formed From Precious Gemstones Challenge Perceptions of Decoration and Decay

Artist Kathleen Ryan creates a conversation between the beautiful and the grotesque in her oversized sculptures of mold-covered fruit. The New York-based artist uses precious and semi-precious stones like malachite, opal, and smoky quartz to form the simulacrum of common green rot on each fruit. Working at a larger-than-life scale, Ryan creates a foam base, rudimentarily painted to map out the fresh and rotten areas on the surface. She then individually places each gemstone, with varied shapes, sizes, and colors that emulate the shift from desirable to disgusting. Lemons are a particular favorite, but Ryan also works with oranges and pears, with each work scaling 6 to 29 inches. “The sculptures are beautiful and pleasurable, but there’s an ugliness and unease that comes with them,” Ryan told The New York Times.

Ryan is represented by London-based gallery Josh Lilley, where she had a solo show in 2018, as well as François Ghebaly in Los Angeles, where her fruit was the namesake for the recent group show Bad Peach. This year, Ryan exhibited her work in solo shows at The New Art Gallery in Walsall, U.K. and at MIT’s List Visual Arts Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as well as part of Desert X in Coachella, CA. Two of Ryan’s lemons are also on view through October 20, 2019 with François Ghebaly at FIAC international art fair. The artist studied Studio Art and Anthropology at Pitzer College and received a Master’s of Fine Arts from U.C.L.A. See more from Ryan’s wide-ranging artistic practice on Instagram, and explore more of her work on the gallery websites of Josh Lilley and François Ghebaly.

 

 

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Art

Crumbling Buildings and Graffiti-Covered Walls Are Meticulously Documented in Oil Paintings by Jessica Hess

Oakland-based painter Jessica Hess documents landscapes and built environments in moments of transition. Combining open skies and lush plant life with crumbling walls and frayed rebar, Hess finds equivalency in growth and decay. The artist, who works in oil paint, shoots photos while exploring abandoned locales, and uses these real life references to build her carefully framed worlds on canvas.

Hess graduated from Rhode Island School of Design and has been exhibiting nationally for over 15 years. Her solo show, The Chaos Aesthetic, is currently on view at Hashimoto Contemporary in San Francisco, and runs through May 25, 2019. You can keep up with Hess’s impressive exhibition schedule, which includes four additional shows this year on her website, and see more of her work on Instagram.

Art Design

Hand-Tufted Rugs Celebrate the Natural Beauty of Lichen and Mold

Dutch artist Lizan Freijsen explores our relationship to fungi, stains, mold, and moisture through modes of interior design. Freijsen creates rugs (as well as wallpapers and blankets) that mimic the unique patterns of natural formations in states of growth and decay. Each carpet has its own shape and color palette, and is comprised of concentric rings—some with eccentrically squiggling edges and others with more simple circles.

To produce these often large-scale textiles, Freijsen partners with Hester Onijs and Karen Zeedijk at the Textile Museum in Tilburg, NL. In addition to her own art practice, Freijsen has been teaching at the Willem De Kooning Academy in Rotterdam since 2000. You can see more of her work and peruse rugs that are available for purchase on her website.

Art

30 Hour Drawing Time-lapse by Paul White

I love to watch artists work and this time-lapse video by Australian artist Paul White white is no exception. Filmed by Johnny Blank over 30 hours it captures White working on a pencil drawing of a single wrecked vehicle, a theme of transportation meets decay that plays a prominent role in much of his artwork. The video was shown as part of a recent presentation at Semi-Permanent in Sydney earlier this month and is best viewed full-screen with HD turned on so you can see the finer details. See much more of his work here.