au naturel

I just read an article reviewing the Abington (Pennsylvania) Art Centre's Sculpture Park. From what I understand the concept is installation art in natural (outdoor) space. The full article is at the Philly Inquirer. However, I just had to post this one picture.



Above is "Episalla's large scrim photographic mural printed on semitransparent vinyl mesh. Hung between two trees in the woods, the mural depicts a vastly enlarged color picture of the Grand Tetons that Episalla found in her late father's office"

As the article also points out, "[t]he mural will be interesting to see in November against a barren backdrop of leafless trees... but it's plenty amusing now". Indeed.

Very poetic, that mix of natural and human made when it's done just right. Similarly, thanks to the mavens at Eyebeam Reblog, I just found a site called Organisms: making art with living systems. Very interesting - most of it theoretically, more than visually but I like this one.



Cress growing in a keyboard.
It reminds me of that Swedish all women design firm called Front. They credit a lot of their work to living animals that've assisted their designs. Like what?

Well, like snake hangers, that were sculpted by snakes coiling around logs of clay...



a mold of a rabit hole-made-lamp...



and rat wallpaper (made of the rat scratchings, turned into a repetitive pattern)






Also, in keeping with 'au naturel', coffee table made of branches


For more on Front Design check out IDO and Design Boom.

Picture Perfect

I've recently come across Philip Toledano, a photographer who's series entitled Hope and Fear makes very curious statements. Here's a selection from the series:










I find 'Hope and Fear' interesting because while the costumes are bizarre, infact bordering on silly, the facial expressions and lighting demand to be taken very seriously.


I also really enjoy his landscape and architectural shots from other series. As I browsed his multiple styles I was struck by the fact that I liked every one of them. I think it has alot to do with his use of cool color, but also with a kind of sophisticated tension in his lighting that is both dramatic, and calm or restrained. The following are from the set entitled Nightfall.





These are all best viewed within the context of their full series; visit Toledeno's site to get the bigger picture of his photographic brilliance.



And in a curatorial spirit, I invite you to view the following SPIKE JONZE short. I see it as a short, as opposed to, say, a new Adidas ad - but anyway... I think it works with Toledeno's photography. Not so much in subject matter, as in a kind of surreal, dreamy feeling. Also they use a similar range of cool colors, a pallette that makes me drool! (Notice how they match the steel grey of this page background. yup, basically my favorite color).

View the video here, but prepare for heartache over how sweet it is.

BBC's Gay Appointment

Alas, the BBC has declared that "Gay" means "lame" or "rubbish"!

I, for one, am relieved that the colloquial use of ‘Gay’, being far from homophobic, can finally come out of the closet. After years of being misunderstood by highbrow guardians of P.C. decorum the word gay will no longer be forced into its former bi-lateral designation of either-or (happy/homosexual). As the BBC Board of Governors has ruled, the new gay order allows for a third definition: “lame” or “rubbish”; a semantic orientation that’s been flagrant for years though relayed to the margins of contemporary vernacular culture.

Get with the Times, and read all about it.

Sexy Phone

It was really only a matter of time before the teched-out newest cell phone machine got booring. Case in point; look at this NES controller-cum-cell-phone and tell me it's not the hottest ever.





Fuck blackberries man, this shit right here is the hotness.

And the sexiest thing is that it's a DIY job...dude just drilled some holes and lined them up with his own cell phone's buttons. um...Genius!




(originally from boing boing blog)

Vehicles that take it to a "Whole 'Nother Level"

Remember when I featured that hilarious knitted motorcycle? If your reaction was anything like mine it went something like:

"whoa..ahaha.. what the fuc..hehe... HEY! Is that really a knitted motorcycle!"

And remember how I was all like, it's cool but it'd be badass if it was black. Well some chick *totally* beat us all at the whole crocheted/knit- vehicle game. (I didn't realize this was an emerging subculture either, but I was sooo onto something.)

Seriously though, check it out.





Yea, that's a mother f-word knitted Ferrarri.

It took Lauren Porter 10 months and 12 miles of yarn to make her sick ass ride. Considering many of us will spend our entire lives trying to make enough money to buy one, I have to say 10 months isn't bad at all.

(re-blogged from Eyebeam Reblog )



Speaking of Sick-Ass-Rides, I also came across a Hungarian car designed for wheelchair accessibility! It's about time, isn't it.




The inside of the Kenguru is empty space so that the wheelchair can be rolled right in, and locked into place. Furthermore, the Kenguru is controlled by a joystick rather than a steering wheel for utmost accessibility.

(reblogged from the The Cool Hunter

Mark Jenkins Mix Tape

Mark Jenkins, that brilliant tape sculptor street artist, has struck again.


Wooster Collective features his latest work where he built body forms out of tape, and covered them with clothing. The effect is so life-like that passers-by can't help but be stunned. Watch the video footage on the Wooster site.




I've been a fan of Mark Jenkins since I saw his more ethereal tape sculptures - sans vêtements, if you will.





He offers an alarming kind of visual poeticism, I think, amidst a saturation of street art in the modern city.





The result is sheer visual refreshment.