golden age of insect aviation: the great grasshoppers

Wayne Unten's film may only be 10 seconds long, but it sure packs a punch. Happy Friday, friends!


(Via The Kid Should See This)

Phillip K. Smith III - lucid stead

Lucid Stead (2013), the latest public art project from California-based artist Phillip K. Smith III, is simply stunning.

Comprised of mirrors set into the existing frame of a 70-year-old homesteader shack on Smith's property in Joshua Tree, California, Lucid Stead blends into the scenery by day, while LED and custom-built electronic equipment cause slowly shifting, geometric color fields to softly glow through the night. As Smith explains:

Lucid Stead is about tapping into the quiet and the pace of change of the desert. When you slow down and align yourself with the desert, the project begins to unfold before you. It reveals that it is about light and shadow, reflected light, projected light, and change.

You can read more about the work at Royale Projects.


(Via Colossal)

the new york subway signs experiment

I saw this video last week and it totally made my day.

As Yosef Lerner explains of the project:

In New York City, subway conductors have to point at a black and white sign. At every hour of the day. At every stop. On every train. Like they're some sort of automated robot that just happens to go home to families and children and processes complex human emotion. They do this to show that they've fully arrived on the platform.

Conductors spend their whole day in that small booth, alone. It is incredibly loud, and they get minimal human contact. We decided to show our appreciation for their work.

The signs we used:
• You are not wearing pants right now
• You have taken a selfie while driving
• You have seen a passenger naked
• Shoot the target with your laser finger [bullseye]
• You are dead sexy
• You still love Thomas The Tank Engine
• Snape kills Dumbledore
• The 2nd Ave Subway is a lie
• NY is the greatest city in the world

Thank you MTA conductors for getting us there on time (mostly).

(Via A Cup of Jo)

Donna Wilson - 2013/14 collection

I absolutely love British designer Donna Wilson's new autumn/winter collection.

I've always admired Wilson's line of woolen throws, creatures, cozy knit hats and mittens, and home goods, but the products and styling from the current collection are particularly fantastic. The circus hat is a personal favorite of mine, and the tree hot water bottle cover would help keep me warm all winter long, but there's really just something pretty special about a giant tortoise cushion. You can see Wilson's entire range of wonderful products right here.

like knows like

I came across the Like Knows Like project through their latest short documentary about letterer Jessica Hische, someone whose work, and passion for it, I greatly admire. It wasn't long after checking out their website, however, that I found myself watching each and every one of their videos and wishing for more.




A project by documentary photographer Marije Kuiper and filmmaker Bas Berkhout, Like Knows Like is a showcase both the featured artist, all of whom are talented and inspiring in their own way, as well as the filmmakers themselves, who have done a beautiful job creating each short documentary.

The work the artists share on social media inspires us and makes us happy. But the digital world is often criticized as volatile and shallow. Sometimes, we miss the human touch. That’s why the idea was born to make documentaries about the people we admire. With our films and photos, we celebrate the bond between follower and artist. We meet our online loves offline. Through the documentary form, we gain deeper insight into the artist and satisfy our own curiosity.

See all of the Like Knows Like films and read more about the project on their website.

(Via BOOOOOOOM)

Patrick Jacobs

Gold Cap Cluster #2, 2011. Styrene, acrylic, cast neoprene, paper, polyurethane foam, hair, wood, steel, lighting, BK7 glass. 2-inch exposed lens. Interior box dimensions: approximately 10.6 (wide) x 14.4 (high) x 8.75 (deep) inches.

  

I must say, I was very pleasantly surprised by this year's contemporary section at the Armory Show. The past few years had left me fairly underwhelmed, but I actually found quite a lot to like about this year's group of galleries and artists.  Of course, there are always a few stand-outs, and Patrick Jacobs and his miniature, bucolic sculptures was definitely one of my favorites.

 Fairy Ring with Dandelions, 2010. Styrene, acrylic, neoprene, hair, paper, polyurethene foam, wood, hair, steel, lighting, BK7 glass. 8-inch exposed lens. Interior box dimensions: 48.25 (wide) x 30.25 (high) x 23.25 (deep) inches.

Fairy Ring Mushroom Cluster #5, 2012. Styrene, acrylic, cast neoprene, paper, polyurethane foam, hair, wood, steel, lighting, BK-7 Glass 2-inch exposed lens. Interior box 10.6 x 14.4 x 8.75 inches.

Raked Leaves (Detail), 2011. Styrene, acrylic, cast neoprene, paper, polyurethane foam, hair, wood, steel, lighting, BK7 glass. 7.5-inch exposed lens. Interior box dimensions: approximately 33 (wide) x 28 (high) x 28 (deep) inches.

Fly Agaric Cluster #2, 2011. Styrene, acrylic, cast neoprene, paper, polyurethane foam, hair, wood, steel, lighting, BL7 glass. 2-inch exposed lens. Interior box dimensions: approximately 14 (wide) x 10 (high) x 9 (deep) inches.

Each of Jacobs' works is a meticulously constructed, three-dimensional diorama installed within the wall and viewed through a circular glass lens. Even with the dimensions listed, it's difficult to get a sense of the scale of these works, but the illusion that's created by them, which gives the viewer a sense of peering into a secret, seemingly infinite landscape, is both otherworldly and magical.

Jacobs draws inspiration from sources as diverse as historical landscape painting and contemporary chemical companies’ home and garden pest control brochures, such as Chevon’s Ortho Books. Recalling the Claude glass, an optical device popular in the 18th century used to frame the picturesque, the lenses invoke the invisible eye of the wary homeowner searching an otherwise vacant domestic landscape for imagined interlopers. Ortho, Greek for “correct,” further alludes to the unending quest to control any divergence from the norm, as well as the manipulation of our sense of perspective. With such a fusion of influences, these quiet compositions offer a magical view of the mundane. Here, reality has been de-familiarized, and the uncanny has supplanted the commonplace.

See more of Jacobs' work at Pierogi Gallery.

if I had a million dollars

I would buy...{the inspiration edition: prints}

 

Studio on Fire's What We Do Print.

This Susan Sontag on Art print, from Wendy MacNaughton.

Gregory Beauchamp's Relativity print.

This beautiful amazing impossible things letterpress print, from Sycamore Street Press.

And Lisa Congdon's Roald Dahl print.

isaac newton vs. rube goldberg

I don't know about you, but I always enjoy a good Rube Goldberg device, and Isaac Newton vs. Rube Goldberg, created by the Toronto-based creative team 2D House, is a particularly fun, gravity-defying example of the genre. Enjoy!

(Via Colossal)

inspiration and giving thanks

Hey, friends. I was inspired by this wonderful piece by Maira Kalman on sfgirlbybay's blog the other day, and was so inspired by the sentiment that I wanted to share it with all of you, too. I'm off to enjoy Thanksgiving in Philadelphia with my family, so other than the scheduled Designer of the Month post on Friday, I'm done with posting this week, but I hope that you all find some inspiration in your lives as well. I'll see you all back here on Monday!

Şakir Gökçebağ

Şakir Gökçebağ with Trans Layers 1, 2010. Wall-installation, 375x650x10cm.

With this week's many disruptions, I'm sorry to say that I've yet to put together a new Designer of the Month series. But as November has 5 Fridays, with any luck, I should just be postponing it a week. And really, this should count as good news, because I'm very happy to be able to share the fantastic work of Şakir Gökçebağ with you all today instead.

 Plenum, 2007. Installation, 385x385x8cm.

Toccata & Fugue, 2011. Installation, 605x820x50cm.

Gökçebağ's Trans Layers works have been making the rounds on such blogs as The Design Ark and BOOOOOOOM lately, and for very good reason. These whimsical, mono-chromatic installations, created from rolls of toilet paper, are remarkably beautiful. And if you spend some time searching through Gökçebağ's website, you'll find many more installations and series that are equally as gorgeous. See for yourself, right here.

best made company

From their brightly colored merit badges and axes to their gear for camping, creating and the home, Best Made Company's products are as beautiful as they are practical.

Best Made Company is dedicated to equipping customers with quality tools and dependable information that they can use and pass down for generations. We seek to empower people to get outside, use their hands and in doing so embark on a life of fulfilling projects and lasting experiences. 

I especially love all of the little slogans and virtues featured on their items, such as an ax emblazoned with fortitude and their nature abhors a vacuum shop brush. See more handy, handsome products on the Best Made Company website.

(Via Design Mom)

the pleasure of

The pleasure of from Vitùc on Vimeo.

I thought that this was the perfect thing to share with you all on this unofficial last day of summer. The pleasure of, a short film by Vitùc, captures all of those brief, inconsequential, yet simple and pleasurable little things and moments that make up each of our lives.

(Via Colossal)

green pedestrian crossing

The China Environmental Protection Foundation teamed up with the DDB China Group for what has to be one of the coolest interactive, visually compelling environmental campaigns ever. The idea behind the Green Pedestrian Crossings was to get people thinking about the environmental benefits of walking versus driving, with these massive, gorgeous trees as the end result.

The campaign worked like this: canvases with the image of a bare tree were placed across 132 crosswalks in 15 Chinese cities. With green paint placed on either side, as pedestrians crossed, their shoes picked up the green, creating a trail of leaf-like footprints on the canvas. The resulting images of leafy green trees were hung as billboards in several urban locations, but what's truly incredible to think about is that DDB estimates that nearly 3,920,000 people passed through the installations while they were up. That's an enormous amount of people not only viewing the trees and their message, but contributing to their creation as well.

(Via Colossal)

Julia Pott - belly

Belly from Julia Pott on Vimeo.

Oscar is coming of age, against his better judgment. In doing so he must experience the necessary evil of leaving something behind, but he can still feel it in the pit of his stomach. 

I wasn't planning on posting an additional animation while I was doing my super short animated film fest! posts, but Julia Pott has created such a weird, wonderful, imaginative, and moving animated short film with Belly that I really would be remiss not to share it. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do.

(Via BOOOOOOOM)

i-beam chelsea loft

I-Beam Architecture and Design's renovation of a Chelsea loft is notable for its one very distinct feature: a stair railing and wall is made entirely of LEGOs! This ambitious project was created by licensed LEGO artist, Sean Kenney, and is part of one very lucky kid's room. Now, it's not a house with a slide inside, but in terms of unconventional architectural details, it certianly is up there on my list of inspirational spaces.

And if the LEGOs and integration of artwork all over this place wasn't enough of an indication that artists live here, check out that fantastic built-in art storage system - the perfect compliment to such a fun, unusual home. Totally jealous.

(Via Design Milk and New York Magazine)

wevther

We have been having some crazy weather this summer. It was over 100 degrees on Thursday, but had become cold, rainy and closer to 60 by Friday. So is it any wonder that I woke up on Saturday with no idea what to expect outside?

Luckily for me, I recently discovered the handy website, Wevther. Rather than simply forecasting the weather, it also provides a wardrobe suggestions for women, men or all, with the results linked to Svpply. Quite clever.

(Via swissmiss)

Amelia Fais Harnas - wine stains

Self-portrait as Saint Pompette, No. 2, detail | 2012 | Damiani Vino Rosso, bronze powder, acrylic on cotton | 29" x 22.5".

Duke (Bacchus) | 2012 | Damiani Vino Rosso, bronze powder, acrylic, polyester thread on cotton | 45” x 32”.

The Three Graces | 2012 | Damiani Vino Rosso, bronze powder, acrylic, metallic thread, polyester thread on cotton | 5’ x 3’. 

 The Winemaker, No. 3 | 2012| Damiani Vino Rosso on cotton | 32” x 30”.

The Consultant | 2012 | Damiani Rougeon on cotton | 28.5” x 20”. 

  

Combining wine, embroidery, acrylic, and bronze powder on a cotton canvas, Amelia Fais Harnas' Wine Stains portraits are remarkable both for their beauty and technique. Because I don't know about you, but this is the first use of wine as ink that I've ever seen, and I can't imagine that anyone could possibly do it better. As Harnas explains of these works:

I create portraits by staining fabric with red wine using a wax resist (much like batiks) to build a light/dark pattern. I may decide to add embroidery (split stitch, to be precise) or machine sewing to reinforce the design or composition. The end result is a blend of chaos and control.

A portrait artist at heart, I am particularly intrigued by the challenge of trying to control the unpredictable nature of wine bleeding through fabric in order to channel the equally imprecise nature of a person’s character. In addition, the sacred aspect of wine lends itself to religious iconography, reminding many of the Shroud of Turin: one who drinks wine may come to feel a certain level of saintliness sipping on this liquid form of divinity. So, this is a form of consecration.  

(Via Colossal)