Aurelia Butler

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    Utilizing Modern 3D Printing, Artistic Duo Rael San Fratello Constructs Coiled Earthen Architecture

    
    Art
    Design

    #3d printing
    #architecture
    #sustainability
    #technology

    August 18, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    All images © Rael San Fratello, shared with permission
    Modern architectural building methods and Indigenous materials converge in the latest endeavor by Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello, titled “Casa Covida.” The earthen structure is part of a MUD Frontiers/Zoquetes Fronterizos that centers on Pueblo de Los Ángeles and the ways technological advances can work in unison with historic mud-based designs. “Casa Covida” contains a bathing pool, sleeping areas, and fireplace seats for two.
    To create the three-room home, the duo employs a custom, portable robot that they transport to various sites, allowing them to dig soil and other materials and immediately shape it into the necessary structures. Utilizing clay and mud, the building process is informed by the practices of Ancestral Pueblo peoples and Indo-Hispano cultures of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. When wet, the natural materials are layered in zigzag-like coils. The undulating, textured facades generally are made with a few rows to provide insulation from the nighttime cold.
    MUD Frontiers was a recent recipient of a 2020 Art + Technology grant from LACMA. It strives to consider “traditional clay craft at the scale of architecture and pottery. The end goal of this endeavor is to demonstrate that low-cost and low-labor construction that is accessible, economical, and safe is possible,” a statement says.
    Based in La Florida, Colorado, and Oakland, respectively, Rael and San Fratello are known for subversive projects at the intersection of art and architecture, like the neon pink teetertotters slotted through the U.S.-Mexico border wall. Follow their latest sustainable works on Instagram. (via Hyperallergic)

    

    #3d printing
    #architecture
    #sustainability
    #technology

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    Chromatic Black Crows by Artist Kerry James Marshall Consider the Precarity of Race in America

    
    Art
    History

    #birds
    #painting

    August 17, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    “Black and part Black Birds in America: (Crow, Goldfinch)” (2020), acrylic on PVC panel, 27 7/8 x 24 3/4 inches. All images © Kerry James Marshall, courtesy of David Zwirner
    Two new paintings by Kerry James Marshall feature a central crow that looms over a botanical backdrop. One or two birdhouses, which have entrances that are too small for the blackbirds to fit through, are perched on the leafy branches along with more petite species. Part of an ongoing series, the acrylic paintings are based on John James Audubon’s Birds of America, an archetypal text cataloging 435 life-size watercolors of avian creatures.
    Marshall’s artworks provide a multivalent, counterhistory to conceptions of race in the United States. While Audubon is recognized widely for his contribution to ecology and natural history in America, his own background is conflicting. The ornithologist was born as Jean Rabin in Haiti to unmarried parents: his father was a white plantation owner, while his mother’s identity is not as well-documented. However, many people believe she was a Creole chambermaid who may have had a mixed racial heritage. When Audubon migrated to the United States in the 19th century, he changed his name and masked his potentially biracial background.
    Throughout his life, the famous birdwatcher and artist both supported and actively participated in chattel slavery, enslaving and selling people throughout the early 1800s. Audubon, who passed as white, also sought out relationships with presidents James Harrison and Andrew Jackson to promote his studies. In 1976, though, the artist’s work was included by curator David C. Driskell in his exhibition Two Centuries of Black American Art, which positioned Audubon within the Black arts canon.

    “Black and part Black Birds in America: (Grackle, Cardinal & Rose-breasted Grosbeak)” (2020), acrylic on PVC panel, 35 1/2 x 31 1/2 inches
    Today, Marshall utilizes ornithologist’s studies as a way to consider the narratives around race in his series, Black and part Black Birds in America, which on view virtually through August 30 at David Zwirner. The Chicago-based artist paints large crows in chromatic black, which is composed entirely of dark reds, blues, or greens. Another smaller bird, like a goldfinch or cardinal, has the deep shade on its face or wings, evoking the one-drop rule, or the claim that one Black ancestor was enough to grant a relative that same identity.
    Because Marshall forgoes actual black pigment when painting, he evidences that racial categories are simply a social construction rather than a biological fact. Similarly, the ambiguous titles of the series compare the classification of birds to that of people, utilizing the color to reference both the creatures’ feathers and human categorization of race. “None of us works in isolation. Nothing we do is disconnected from the social, political, economic, and cultural histories that trail behind us. The value of what we produce is determined by comparison with and in contrast to what our fellow citizens find engaging,” Marshall says.

    #birds
    #painting

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    A Disorienting Short Film by Lydia Cambron Recreates ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ in Quarantine

    
    Art

    #COVID-19
    #humor
    #movies
    #science fiction
    #short film
    #video

    August 16, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    [embedded content]

    Eerie, hypnotic, and faithfully depicting the dismal reality that is 2020, a new short film by Lydia Cambron envisions her recent quarantine experience under the frame of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. In 2020: An Isolation Odyssey, the New York City-based designer recreates the 1968 version’s iconic ending as a way to “(poke) fun at the navel-gazing saga of life alone and indoors,” she writes in a statement.
    Positioned vertically, the characters’ movements are synchronized perfectly, but while the original film’s Keir Dullea wades through the ornate home in an astronaut suit, Cambron sports a face mask and latex gloves. The reenactment is situated in the designer’s one-bedroom Brooklyn apartment, and while it maintains the domestic qualities of the original, it also features contemporary updates, like a MacBook sitting on the table rather than a lavish meal. She even parallels the minutes-long credits precisely.
    Cambron notes that the contemporary version considers a similarly disorienting life. “Multitasking while #wfh, conjuring guilt or longing with unused exercise equipment, your entire being reduced to a measure of time—these scenes all illustrate the absurd comedy of trying to maintain control during this unprecedented and unpredictable time,” she explains.
    Follow Cambron’s parodic explorations—which include an annual exhibition titled JONALDDUDD— on Instagram and Vimeo. (via Daring Fireball)

    #COVID-19
    #humor
    #movies
    #science fiction
    #short film
    #video

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    Delft-Style Weaponry by Artist Helena Hauss Contrasts Fragility with Strength and Destruction

    
    Art

    #ceramics
    #porcelain
    #sculpture
    #weapons

    August 15, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    All images © Helena Hauss, shared with permission
    Paris-based artist Helena Hauss juxtaposes the domestic feminity synonymous with delft-style porcelain and the brute force of barbed weaponry. Her sculptural series, titled Hell Hath no Fury, is composed of an axe, grenade, spiked bat, and morning star, each of which is ornamented with floral motifs.
    Hauss shares with Colossal that she hopes to disrupt notions that women are the “weaker sex” and opts instead for a message of empowerment. “Too often portrayed as fragile and delicate, this project is an expression of the contrasting subtleties that come with femininity, as well as an attempt at vindication from a feeling of constant vulnerability that’s been forced upon us,” she says. “Contrary to what you might think, we’re not made of glass, porcelain, or crystal. We’re not gonna break, we’re wearing full metal jackets, and we’re ready to fight back.”
    To view more of the Hauss’s subversive sculptural works, head to Instagram and Behance.

    #ceramics
    #porcelain
    #sculpture
    #weapons

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    Illuminated Wire Sculptures Nest Inside Larger Kinetic Works by Artist Spenser Little

    
    Art

    #kinetic
    #light
    #sculpture
    #wire

    August 14, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    All images © Spenser Little, shared with permission
    Known for his figurative wire pieces attached to light posts and other public fixtures around the world, Spenser Little’s recent artworks venture into the personal. Illumination Devices is comprised of the artist’s bent portraits and totems of merging faces, in addition to a series of irradiated kinetic sculptures. Evoking the nesting doll, these abstract figures contain spacious chest cavities that open up to reveal similar, smaller forms hidden inside.
    For each lamp, Little carves a wooden structure of the main character’s head, welds a metal body, and overlays the components with thin paper “skin,” repeating the process for subsequent pieces. He also seats wooden figures in the deepest caverns. The relationship between the inner and outer sculptures explores the tension between the conscious and subconscious, which the artist explains:
    I heard the analogy long ago the we, our active, controlled conscious, are merely riders on a large beast. We think our conscious minds are controlling the subconscious beast, but in reality, the beast goes where it wants revealing our unpolished motives. The outer self wants to project control and precision. The inner self is just trying to keep things working. The lamps are shells around motors.
    By physically brightening the artworks, Little uncovers the link between the two sometimes disparate selves. “Art to me is the wordless conversation between us and our inner beast. To communicate with our unenlightened animal impulses is very illuminating to our true selves,” he shares with Colossal.
    Little’s nestled sculptures are on view through September 20 at MOAH: CEDAR in California. Take a virtual tour of the show, and check out exactly how the articulate artworks function on the artist’s Instagram. (via Supersonic)

    “Large Orange Lamp” (2020), steel, paper, glue, red heartwood, gears, electric motors, sprockets, bicycle chain link, 40 × 80 × 40 inches
    “Inner Defense Mechanism Lamp” (2020), steel, paper, glue, red heart & figurative maple wood, gears, electric motor, carbon-chain link, 30 × 30 × 26 inches
    “Identity Roulette, Red Lamp” (2020), steel, paper, glue, purple and red heartwood, electric motor, gears, carbon-chain link, 13 × 28 × 13 inches
    “Yellow Glass Urn” (2020), steel, glass, 15 × 13 inches
    Left: “Mini Totem Cluster” (2020), one continuous 22 gauge steel wire, 26 × 8 inches. Right: “Birth and Death Deity” (2020), one continuous16 gauge steel wire, 61 × 33
    “Copper Multi-Face Design” (2020), one continuous 12 gauge copper wire, 36 × 33 inches

    #kinetic
    #light
    #sculpture
    #wire

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  • 163 Shares199 Views

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    AnonyMouse Wedges Miniature Shops and Restaurants Built For Mice into Busy City Streets

    
    Art

    #humor
    #installation
    #mice
    #miniature
    #public art
    #stores
    #street art

    August 14, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    All images © AnonyMouse, shared with permission
    In cities across Sweden, France, and the Isle of Man lies a parallel universe fit only for a mouse. Miniature restaurants, record shops, and apothecaries squeeze into ground-level windows on the street next to their human-sized equivalents. The adorable universe is a project from a collective aptly named AnonyMouse, which started crafting the charming scenes in the spring of 2016.
    Suggesting that the mice have a symbiotic relationship with the pedestrians on the street, the team repurposes items people throw away, turning a champagne topper into a stool or a matchbox into a table. Twenty-five installments currently exist across Europe, which largely are inspired by Astrid Lindgren’s and Beatrix Potter’s whimsical tales and movies from Don Bluth and Disney. “We thought it would bring a bit of joy to pedestrians passing by, but it grew into something slightly bigger, and as such we’ve probably dedicated more time on each project than we originally envisioned. But that’s just part of the fun,” they say. The team crafts each scene with incredible detail, from recreating iconic record covers to plastering up posters advertising mouse- and rat-based happenings.
    As its name suggests, the group’s individual identities are unknown. “We like to think that part of the allure of our installations is that they could be done by anyone,” they say. “And since we do not have a specific agenda with them our identities are unimportant.” AnonyMouse won’t divulge plans for upcoming installations, but you can follow all of its adventures on Instagram.

    #humor
    #installation
    #mice
    #miniature
    #public art
    #stores
    #street art

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    Interview: The Founders of the Neon Art Collective ‘She Bends’ Discuss the Womxn at the Forefront of the Trade

    
    Art

    #interview

    August 12, 2020
    Claire Voon

    Artwork by Megan Stelljes. All images courtesy of She Bends, shared with permission
    Since co-founding She Bends, Meryl Pataky and Kelsey Issel have been upending the notion that neon signage is solely a commercial endeavor. The duo fosters a collective of womxn creating the illuminated works, offering support for the artists while working to make the medium more sustainable and diverse.
    Especially in times like these, there should be an inherent responsibility that messages, especially those in bright lights, be important messages or calls to action. Talking about things that are uncomfortable, shedding light on them, should be the role of neon art, and in my experience is the work I like the most. —Meryl Pataky
    Contributor Claire Voon recently spoke with the duo in a new interview that’s available to all readers thanks to the support of Colossal Members. The three dive into how COVID-19 has changed She Bends’ plans, the commercialization of neon, and the role toxic positivity plays in modern messaging.

    By Meryl Pataky

    #interview

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    Evoking West-African Masks, Faces Emerge from Cast-Iron Skillets by Artist Hugh Hayden

    
    Art
    Food

    #cooking
    #diaspora
    #masks
    #sculpture

    August 12, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    “Jazz 10” (2020), cast iron, 16 1/2 x 11 3/4 x 3 1/8 inches. All images © Hugh Hayden, courtesy of Lisson Gallery
    New York-based artist Hugh Hayden (previously) visualizes the ways African traditions are embedded into multiple facets of American culture through a series of cast-iron skillets. Part of a larger exhibition titled American Food, the 26 pans are molded to reveal facial impressions that evoke West African-style masks, blending the cooking tool and cultural object.
    Generally established by cooks who were enslaved, southern food includes many of the flavors, techniques, and ingredients prevalent in African cuisine, forming what Hayden sees as one of the foremost culinary traditions distinct to the United States. This direct impact is evident in the physical artworks—the expressive masks literally emerge from the pans—although it transcends the effects on the kitchen. As he writes about “The Cosby’s” (shown below) on Instagram, “I made this triptych as an homage to the indelible cultural impact of the African diaspora on the creation of American entertainment, food, industry, and society.”
    Hayden creates the skillets through sand casting, a manufacturing technique that utilizes the granular substance as a mold, which the artist employs as a way to recognize “the imperfectness of the materials, their colonial histories, and the inherent loss of detail in the reproduction process.” He also parallels the sculpting process to the diaspora, considering how the original object is obscured and imbued with cultural significance when it’s finished. Ultimately, American Food celebrates “the indebtedness to African origins in the cooking—as a form of creation of America, Western culture, and Modern Art,” a statement says.

    “Jazz 19” (2020), cast iron, 21 1/4 x 12 x 5 1/2 inches
    “The Cosby’s” (2020), cast iron, three skillets, 12 1/8 x 8 1/4 x 5 7/8 inches, 14 1/2 x 10 5/8 x 4 1/4 inches, 18 7/8 x 14 1/8 x 2 1/2 inches
    “Jazz 15” (2020), cast iron, 16 7/8 x 11 3/8 x 6 1/4 inches
    Left: “The Cosby’s” (2020), cast iron, three skillets, 12 1/8 x 8 1/4 x 5 7/8 inches, 14 1/2 x 10 5/8 x 4 1/4 inches, 18 7/8 x 14 1/8 x 2 1/2 inches. Right: “Jazz 17” (2020), cast iron, 16 1/4 x 10 3/8 x 7 inches
    “Jazz 18” (2020), cast iron, 19 5/8 x 9 5/8 x 5 inches

    #cooking
    #diaspora
    #masks
    #sculpture

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