mountains

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Art

A Ring of Fire Blazes in the Middle of the Swiss Alps

All photos © Stefan Altenburger, 2017

Burning brightly amidst the snowcapped mountains of the Swiss Alps is Douglas Gordon and Morgane Tschiember’s fiery installation As close as you can for as long as it lasts. The temporary piece of blazing land art was produced for the biennial event Elevation 1049, a collection of 11 sculpture, performance, video and sound installations supported by the LUMA Foundation and situated within Gstaad, Switzerland.

The piece is a sculptural and performance-based tale of the lonely traveler, as well as a call and response between the two artists involved in the piece. Tschiember built the circular fire, and as a reaction to her landscape meditation, Gordon installed a sound piece. The howling work is meant to trigger primal fears of dangerous animals and the dark woods, drawing visitors closer to the warm fire.

As close as you can for as long as it lasts is on view as a part of Elevation 1049 through March 19, 2017. (via Designboom)

Photography

Clouds, Rivers, and Mountains Converge in Breathtaking Landscapes of Guilin, China

Perched high atop the city of Guilin, China, photographer Kyon.J had an extraordinary view of the Li River as it winds through an unusually steep mountainscape. Early in the morning the area is often filled with fog or haze trapped in the mountains, certainly a dream scenario for any landscape photographer. You can see more of Kyon.J’s work in her portfolio where she also shares equally impressive photos of her native Japan.

Art

New Snowcapped Mountains and Swirling Vortexes Excavated from Vintage Books by Guy Laramée

“V” (2015) Carved book, inks, pigments, wax. 11,5 x 9 x 5 inches. Photo Alain Lefort.

“V” (2015) Carved book, inks, pigments, wax. 11,5 x 9 x 5 inches. Photo Alain Lefort.

Continuing to amaze us with his elaborate dictionary and encyclopedia carvings, Guy Laramée‘s (previously here and here) newest works feature deep caverns and valleys that retreat hundreds of pages down into his excavated books. One in particular, “V,” appears like a snowcapped vortex circling down into an endless pit. Viewing this piece, or any of his mountainous works, it’s hard to imagine that their material is stacked and sandblasted paper, the sheets presented more like layers of earth than printed definitions.

Laramée chooses to carve into sources of reference as a conceptual nod to the erosion of cultures, a theme that has pervaded the last 25 years of his practice. “Cultures emerge, become obsolete, and are replaced by new ones,” Laramée’s artist statement explains. “With the vanishing of cultures, some people are displaced and destroyed. We are currently told that the paper book is bound to die. The library, as a place, is finished. One might ask, so what?”

His works attempt to showcase how increasing knowledge might actually be an erosion rather than accumulation by altering these previous beacons of information. They are now integrated into our digital systems, and their husks transformed into mountains and valleys.

You can see more of Laramée’s carved and painted books at JHB Gallery in New York City and Foster/White Gallery in Seattle.

“V” (2015) Carved book, inks, pigments, wax. 11,5 x 9 x 5 inches. Photo Alain Lefort.

“V” (2015) Carved book, inks, pigments, wax. 11,5 x 9 x 5 inches. Photo Alain Lefort.

“Irazu” (2015) Carved book, inks, pigments, wax. 11,5 x 9 x 5 (h) inches. Photo Alain Lefort.

“Irazu” (2015) Carved book, inks, pigments, wax. 11,5 x 9 x 5 (h) inches. Photo Alain Lefort.

“Le Début” (2016) Carved book, inks, pigments, wax. 12 x 9 x 5 (h) inches. Photo Alain Lefort.

“Le Début” (2016) Carved book, inks, pigments, wax. 12 x 9 x 5 (h) inches. Photo Alain Lefort.

“DESERT OF UNKNOWING” (2016) Carved books, inks, pigments. 39 x 11,5 x 5 inches. Photo Alain Lefort

“DESERT OF UNKNOWING” (2016) Carved books, inks, pigments. 39 x 11,5 x 5 inches. Photo Alain Lefort

“DESERT OF UNKNOWING” (2016) Carved books, inks, pigments. 39 x 11,5 x 5 inches. Photo Alain Lefort

Design

A Picturesque Mountaintop Skywalk in the Czech Republic with a 330 Foot Slide Down

All images by Jakub Skokan, Martin Tůma / BoysPlayNice

Extended over a cliff nearly 3,600 feet above sea level rests the Dolni Morava Sky Walk, a looping structure that allows visitors the opportunity to peek their heads into the clouds. Extending like an old-fashioned roller coaster from the Králický Sněžník mountain in the Czech Republic, the architectural destination features panoramic views of the Morava river and Krkonoše Mountains.

Produced by Fránek Architects, the wood and steel walkway was designed to blend into the existing environment rather than upset the appearance of its natural surroundings. With a subtle slope and wide pathway, the structure also accommodates those in wheelchairs and strollers who want to explore the top.

Unlike glass-bottom feats of architecture like China’s Haohan Qiao bridge and Chicago’s Willis Tower, the Sky Walk features a far more terrifying mesh floor that allows brave visitors to lay at the peak of the structure. In addition to this daredevil net, the walkway also features a 330 foot slide within its core, a streamlined metal chute that’s nearly 18 stories tall. You can read more about the Sky Walk’s concept on Frànek Architects’ site here. (via Dezeen)

Art Design

Beautiful LEGO: Wild!, a New Book Exploring Natural Brick Wonders

LEGO-based artist, author, and curator Mike Doyle (previously here and here) has collected another impressive set of LEGO masterpieces in his lastest book Beautiful LEGO: Wild! by No Starch Press, a book that explores natural wonders from undersea landscapes to a family of sea otters produced from over 3,500 LEGO pieces. Unlike Doyle’s last book which featured sculptures depicting sci-fi horrors and ghoulish nightmares, this book collects the works of several dozen artists who capture natural scenes from our planet’s Animal Kingdom and beyond.

One of Doyle’s own pieces that appears in the book is a new piece titled Appalachian Mountaintop Removal (2015), a work composed of more than 10,000 pieces that directly references the act outlined in its title. Mountaintop removal is a form of coal mining affecting the Appalachian Mountains that levels mountains, poisons aquifers, and damages surrounding wildlife indefinitely. You can learn how to help the destruction of these natural resources as well as view more of Doyle’s massive lego sculptures on his blog here.

Design

A Custom-Blown Pint Glass Featuring a 3D Model of Oregon’s Tallest Peak

Mt. Hood is Oregon’s highest peak, clocking in at 11,250 feet. North Drinkware, a team of Oregon-based glass blowers decided to commemorate this prominent landmark and immortalize it in glass by creating a 3D model of the peak that’s integrated into the base. Working from topographically accurate data obtained from the Using United States Geological Survey (USGS), the team hand-blows each glass and incorporates the model “so your beer cascades around the mountain when you pour it into the glass.”

Mt. Hood is visible up to 100 miles away, which helps to explain the affinity that many working and living in Oregon feel towards the peak. “We have a really strong connection with the mountains,” says one of the creators. “We stare at them, we play on them and we identify with them.” That’s what led North Drinkware to embark on a path to creating a glass that embodies a connection with Mt. Hood. The Oregon Pint brings technology, a sense of place and old world craftsmanship together. You can order your own glass on Kickstarter, where the company has recently launched a campaign to fund their first creation. (via Laughing Squid)