This is real.
Photos by Alain Delorme, shot in Shanghai.
Maybe the US could cut emissions if we started shipping commodities this way…
Move Green moving company has got nothing on this guy… Who needs to plant a tree for every move when you can move a whole house full of furniture on a wheelbarrow?
SpY >> Looks like Fall
By Spanish street artist SpY
Jaume Plensa
Jaume Plensa’s Nomade at Antibes.
By constructing figures out of letters, Plensa’s work explores not only the human form, but also the role of language in the human experience. The figures are literally made out of the building blocks through which we communicate and describe emotion, both expressing the importance of language in the human experience and giving a physical, tangible form to language.
Many of his pieces, like Nomade, above, are built so that the viewer can walk inside of the piece. Very different from viewing a three-dimensional sculpture from afar, the viewer is now inhabiting the piece, having his experience of the work shaped both by the shape of his physical environment and by the language it is made out of, incomprehensible though it is.
The contemplative poses of many of his figures also suggests the artist’s interest in the role of language in reflection. While true meditation may be thought of as the absence of thought, by quite literally forming shapes out of letters, Plensa seems to emphasize the importance of language in giving shape to our inner monologues.
In the Midst of Dreams, above, in which three ambiguously-gendered and race-less forms appear illuminated from within while in sleep, was described by the artist as an exploration of the centrality of dreams to the human experience and his own interest in the concept of a universal human race, democratized by common experiences like dreaming.
In Song of Songs, the artist constructed “walls” out of letters that, when read from top-to-bottom, form the classical poem of the same name, walls that guide the movement of and form “rooms” around the viewer as he experiences both his environment and the poem.
Interestingly, the letters are suspended rather than laid against an impermeable surface, meaning that while the sheets of letters form “walls” around the viewer, the walls are transparent, allowing a visual interactivity with the entire room while the viewer reads the poem that mimics the way one also brings outside experiences and reference points to the reading of poetry in more traditional mediums.
If you want to check out more of Plensa’s work, read about his Crown Fountain project in Chicago here.
[Jaume Plensa website]
Best Made Co >> Block-Printed Maps
I really want to like Best Made Co’s Axes. They’ve been getting a LOT of attention in the designy-man-world, and I do really like their aesthetic, and I know on an instinctual level that they’re “cool,” but I just can’t quite get into the idea of a pretty axe, as I’m pretty sure anyone who cares about their axe being pretty isn’t using an axe. Right? Like what outdoorsman is like, “wow I just love the color palette of the painted stripes on this axe”?
Still, I do like the looks of them, even though I can’t justify their existence or purchase. And I do like these maps block-printed with their logo. Again, they don’t quite make logical sense, but I am drawn to the aesthetic. Well, I like maps, and I like x’s (seriously, also equal-armed t’s), so it wasn’t a hard sell.
And it makes slightly more sense to me to buy a cool-looking thang to hang on your wall than to buy a cool-looking axe, purportedly a functional object, that you’ll obviously never use.
Best Made Co maps here (of course sold at Partners & Spade).
A Little Cheer
Unknown location, unknown artist.
I love it!
Mabona Origami
Amazed by the precision and expressiveness of these origami creatures by Sipho Mabona.
And of course loove the stop-motion animation video made from his creations. This video was created as an ad for Asics and won multiple international advertising awards.
Also love these installations of the figures suspended in air…
Click through for more, including a couple of examples of the absurdly intricate 2-d patterns these are made from.
These are what two of her patterns look like unfolded…. !!!
Thanks Monica!
Arts Visuels >> Classics >> Alexander Calder’s Wire Sculptures
Le Cavelier, 1930
Edgar Varese, 1930
Hercules and Lion, 1928
The Right Moment to take a Photograph
A Simple Feat of Light
Sadly don’t know where this is or who made it. But I love it. Amazing what simple votive candles can do.
SpY
LOVE the public art by Spanish artist SpY.
Here’s an excerpt of a review of his work:
His work involves the appropiation urban elements through transformation or replication, commentary on urban reality, and the interference in its communicative codes. The bulk of his production stems from the observation of the city and an appreciation of its components, not as inert elements but as a palette of materials overflowing with possibilities. His ludic spirit, careful attention to the context of each piece, and a not invasive, constructive attitude, unmistakably characterize his interventions.
…SpY’s pieces want to be a parenthesis in the automated inertia of the urbanite. They are pinches of intention, hidden in a corner for those who want to let themselves be surprised. Filled with equal parts of irony and positive humor, they appear to raise a smile, incite reflection, and to favor an enlightened conscience.
(Based on the typical bike rack found in Madrid.)
A statement from SpY on his website about taking this photo…
I was taking the pictures of this sign, placed in a very busy street in Madrid city center, when a policeman approached and said: “Did you put it there last night?” I said no, I’m a photographer taking pictures of the city. He insisted: “are you taking pictures of the flower?” I said yes, I’ve seen it and found it funny. Then the cop says: “I think I know your face, maybe we know each other?” I then thought: fuck, this cop knows me and has figured all out. Y said no, I don’t seem to remember you. His face was partly hidden with a hat and a scarf. He went again: “I’m sure to remember you, didn’t you hang out with Suso? I think we know each other from graffiti.” Already more relaxed, I asked him what neighbourhood he was from. He was a member of Los Trece, a well-known graffiti crew from Móstoles. I recognized him and said that his looks had gotten me nervous. He laughed and said: “I saw it this morning, I thought it was probably put there last night, it’s pretty cool, I hope it stays long.” I then kept on with the pictures. When seeing me precariously try to do it from the middle of the street, he said: “Do you want me to stop the traffic so you can take the picture better?” I said, well, if you don’t mind… He then walked to the middle of the street and started stopping the traffic. I quickly took the pictures, thanked him and said goodbye, he said goodbye and I left.
