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    An Uncanny Postcard Fit for the Era of Climate Catastrophe

    From left: Sunset, Cyanometer, and Air Pollution postcards

    An Uncanny Postcard Fit for the Era of Climate Catastrophe

    May 7, 2025

    ArtClimateDesignNature

    Grace Ebert

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    Depending on the day, you might look to the sky and see a sea of pale blue or a radiant sunset creeping toward the horizon. If you’re in a major metropolitan area, though, you might also be met with the characteristic red-brown haze of smog.

    Berlin-based artist Macarena Ruiz-Tagle is behind the vibrant Cyanometer and Sunset postcards we’ve featured on Colossal (and that have sold out in our shop several times). But she also created a third version designed for those not-so-bright days.

    Tiananmen Square, Beijing (November 2013). Photo by Macarena Ruiz-Tagle

    The World Health Organization estimates that 99 percent of people on Earth breathe unsafe air, making Ruiz-Tagle’s Air Pollution postcard perhaps the most fitting for our era of climate catastrophe. While a stark contrast to the brilliant blues, yellows, and oranges of the other two, this design is awash in pale pinks and grays to match that of a gloomy, and even soiled, atmosphere. Like the others, the idea is to hold the work up to the sky and mark the corresponding hue before dropping it in the mail.

    The interactive card shifts in meaning depending on whether the opening reveals a misty fog or air thick with chemicals, and it’s part of a growing movement to track climate data in a tangible, grassroots manner. “Separating the visual delight of being immersed in a cloud from the intoxicating reality of breathing heavily polluted air, the postcard evokes both the smog that engulfs global cities and the ethereal beauty of fog,” the artist writes. “In its mesmerizing aesthetic ambiguity, the work sustains a space for contemplation within our troubled atmosphere.”

    Find all three postcards in the Colossal Shop, and explore more of Ruiz-Tagle’s work on her website.

    Air Pollution postcard

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    Monumental Murals by Agostino Iacurci Vibrantly Reimagine Urban Facades

    “Cardi (1571-2021)” (2021), wall painting, dimensions variable. Borgo Universo, Aielli. Photo by Domenico d’Alessandro

    Monumental Murals by Agostino Iacurci Vibrantly Reimagine Urban Facades

    April 21, 2025

    ArtDesign

    Kate Mothes

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    Murals by Agostino Iacurci bring drab buildings to life in bold jewel tones, playful patterns, color blocks, and symmetry. Whether painting directly onto bricks and plaster or designing immense fabric sheaths to cover construction scaffolding, the artist’s vibrant compositions enliven street corners and urban thoroughfares.

    Iacurci often emphasizes geometric patterns, flora, classical vases, and niches that hold symbolic objects or figures. You might enjoy checking out Gingko Press’s Mural Masters, a survey of the next generation of street artists, and see more on Iacurci’s website and Instagram.

    “Landscape n.1” (2021), wall painting, 27.7 x 7.1 meters. Las Vegas, Nevada. Commissioned by Life is Beautiful

    “Disegno d’esame” (2021), enamel on wall, dimensions variable. Pascucci Elementary School, Santarcangelo di Romagna. Photo by Francesco Marini

    “Grüne Oase” (2024). Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Photo by Ivan Murzin

    “COINCIDENCES.” Ensorinstituut, Oostende, Belgium. Produced by The Crystal Ship

    Detail of “COINCIDENCES”

    “Landscape n.2” (2021), print on PVC scaffold sheet, 17 x 14 meters. Pastificio Cerere, Rome. Photo by Carlo Romano

    “Landscape n.3” (2021). Pinacoteca Civica, Foggia. Photo by Domenico d’Alessandro

    “L’antiporta” (2021), paint on wall, dimensions variable. Biblioteca Ugo Tognazzi, Pomezia. Curated by Marcello Smarrelli and Pastificio Cerere for Sol Indiges. Photo by Lorenzo Palmieri

    Detail of “L’antiporta”

    Detail of “Cardi (1571-2021).” Photo by Domenico d’Alessandro

    Detail of “Disegno d’esame.” Photo by Domenico d’Alessandro

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    Melding Craft and Sustainability, Richard Haining Sculpts Sleek Vessels from Reclaimed Wood

    All images courtesy of Richard Haining, shared with permission

    Melding Craft and Sustainability, Richard Haining Sculpts Sleek Vessels from Reclaimed Wood

    April 11, 2025

    ArtCraftDesign

    Grace Ebert

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    Renewal is at the center of Richard Haining’s practice. The Brooklyn-based artist and designer (previously) sculpts supple vessels and functional goods from reclaimed wood sourced from local workshops or buildings destined for demolition. Intrigued by signs of wear and former uses, Haining has a deep reverence for the material and its history.

    In his ongoing STACKED series, small offcuts nest together in intuitively laid grids. An angle grinder and hand tools help to smooth any jagged edges and create the soft, sleek forms Haining is known for.

    The artist shares that his inspiration comes from a wide array of sources, “from Classical Antiquity to East Asian design (to) 17th-century European Craftsmanship.” His holy trinity, though, is beauty, craftsmanship, and mindfulness for the environment. He adds:

    By juxtaposing repurposed ‘low-value’ materials with ‘high-art’ forms, I invite viewers to reconsider what is truly valuable. Ultimately, I hope to spark a conversation about sustainability, showing that art, craftsmanship, and environmental responsibility can coexist—and that beauty can emerge from the most unexpected places.

    Haining is participating in two group exhibitions in New York, one at Lyle Gallery through April 20 and Paraphernalia Exhibition: Desire opening on May 7. Follow the latest on Instagram.

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    More Than 200,000 Rivets Secure the Ultra-Thin Aluminum Facets of ‘The Orb’ by Marc Fornes

    Photos by © Younes Bounhar / Doublespace Photography. All images © Marc Fornes / THEVERYMANY, shared with permission

    More Than 200,000 Rivets Secure the Ultra-Thin Aluminum Facets of ‘The Orb’ by Marc Fornes

    April 2, 2025

    ArtDesign

    Kate Mothes

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    From geometric, white panels riveted together into an undulating sphere, Marc Fornes / THEVERYMANY’s newest public installation invites visitors to immerse themselves in a luminous experience on Google’s Charleston East Campus in California.

    Designed as a physical embodiment of innovation and creativity, “The Orb” invites us into a 10-meter-tall, 26-meter-wide labyrinthine form made of ultra-thin aluminum. “Edged yet edgeless, surfaces curve, branch, split, rejoin, and split again,” the studio (previously) says. “This extreme curvature—achieved through cutting-edge computational design—enables the surfaces to be entirely self-supporting despite being just three millimeters thick.”

    “The Orb” comprises 6,441 individual components connected with more than 217,000 rivets. During the day, a pattern of holes speckles sunlight across the pavilion and onto the ground. At night, the structure is illuminated, casting deep shadows that contrast the bright details.

    Fornes’ mission, hybridizing elements of art and architecture, is to spark “the joy wandering, the joy of marveling.”

    Find more on THEVERYMANY website.

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    A Years-Long Collaboration Sees a Traditional Tlingit Tribal House Return to Glacier Bay

    All images courtesy of the National Park Service

    A Years-Long Collaboration Sees a Traditional Tlingit Tribal House Return to Glacier Bay

    March 31, 2025

    ArtCraftDesignFilmHistory

    Kate Mothes

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    People have lived in the area around modern-day Glacier Bay National Park, along Alaska’s rugged southern coastline, for at least around 3,000 years. Nearby, in Groundhog Bay, evidence of human habitation extends back a mindboggling 9,000-or-more years.

    In the mid-18th century, advancing glaciers forced ancestral Huna Tlingit people to abandon their homes. While they could visit certain areas occasionally to hunt and fish, the evolving conditions and ice prevented them from living there. And when the area was designated a national monument in 1925, it seemed possible the displacement would be permanent.

    “I never, ever thought that I would ever see the day, in my lifetime, that Tlingits could return to the Homeland,” says local resident Jeff Skaflestad in the opening of the National Park Service’s short film, “Sanctuary for the Future.” But in 2016, thanks to many years’ work and a collaboration between the National Park Service and the Hoonah Indian Association—the tribal government of the Huna Tlingit clans—Xunaa Shuká Hít marked a momentous homecoming.

    Both a space for tribal ceremonies and a nexus of living history, the house is a sacred place for the Indigenous community that also provides visitors the opportunity to learn about Huna Tlingit culture, history, and oral traditions.

    Xunaa Shuká Hít, which roughly translates to “Huna Ancestors’ House,” was brought to life by three Tlingit craftsmen: Gordon Greenwald, Owen James, and Herb Sheakley, Sr., who spent countless hours carving their ancestors’ stories into meticulously selected trees and wooden panels.

    In a large carving shed in nearby Hoonah, Alaska, the artisans, along with occasional help from friends and neighbors, worked on totem poles, boats, oars, and architectural details. “Having Elders come in and talk with us, just to share with us, that was a highlight of my days,” James says. Sheakley adds that as they began carving, it was an obvious decision to make their own tools, too, as a way of connecting to time-honored traditions. More

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    Fleckled Offers 150+ Hand-Printed Letterpress Fonts for Digital Download

    All images courtesy of Fleckled, shared with permission

    Fleckled Offers 150+ Hand-Printed Letterpress Fonts for Digital Download

    March 4, 2025

    ArtDesign

    Grace Ebert

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    As AI infiltrates every part of the creative process, those committed to human expression have found innovative ways to make craft and artistry endlessly appealing. Creative director Jason Pattinson is one such person. He’s behind Fleckled, a new online shop of hand-printed letterpress typefaces that have been digitized and are available as high-resolution downloads.

    Currently, Fleckled contains more than 150 fonts printed on an 1860s-era Columbian press, with more on the way. All are available in either uppercase, lowercase, or numeral sets with additional ornaments and borders across myriad styles. Retaining the signature graininess and warmth of the wood, each also comes in two versions: one with a thicker, more saturated ink and another with a lighter, more distressed feel.

    “The small flaws in the hand-carved wooden blocks are what give letterpress its distinctive character and enduring appeal,” Pattinson says. “Visible defects, woodgrain, planing patterns, and wear effects have been balanced through various levels of inking and pressure to achieve the optimal dense and distressed versions.”

    Pattinson and his team have been working on digitizing letterpress for more than two decades. He’s collaborated with printers and dealers across Italy, Sweden, Germany, Argentina, the U.S., and the U.K., where he’s based.

    “We’re in discussions with a few retired printers who own some truly remarkable private collections, exploring opportunities to digitise and sublicense their fonts and various assets to expand our online resource,” Pattinson told Design Week.

    As Fleckled grows, it makes the medium more widely available and offers an alternative to AI generation for those who might be interested in the letterpress aesthetic without access to a press.

    Pattison launched the shop because he wanted “to make these timeless assets available to a new generation of creatives.” He shares with Colossal, “It fills me with a great confidence that in a world being overwhelmed with AI, the design community is resolute in authenticity!”

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    Watch the Brilliant Ballet that Brought Dance to the Bauhaus Movement

    From a performance by the Bavarian Junior Ballet

    Watch the Brilliant Ballet that Brought Dance to the Bauhaus Movement

    March 3, 2025

    ArtDesignFilmHistory

    Grace Ebert

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    Given the emphasis on functionality and design for industrial production, the Bauhaus movement is rarely associated with disciplines like dance. But for Oskar Schlemmer (1888-1943), translating its principles into movement and performance was as compelling as a well-conceived chair or building.

    In the last century, the Bauhaus has indelibly shaped our modern built environments and the ways we think of the relationship between form and function (it even inspired conceptual cookbooks). German architect Walter Gropius founded the school in 1919 in Weimar, Germany, with the intention of uniting architecture, fine arts, and crafts. The school focused on minimalism and creating for the social good and involved artists and designers like Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, László Moholy-Nagy, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, and Anni and Josef Albers.

    Costume designs for the ‘Triadic Ballet.’ Courtesy of Harvard Art Museums

    The Master of Form at the Bauhaus theatre workshop, Schlemmer was a painter, sculptor, and choreographer responsible for the under-known Triadic Ballet, a striking, playful dance structured around groups of three. Debuted in 1922, the avant-garde production comprises three colors—yellow, pink or white, and black—and three costume shapes—the square, circle, and triangle.

    “Building on multiples of three,” says an explanation from MoMA, “transcended the egotism of the individual and dualism of the couple, emphasizing the collective.”

    In true Bauhaus form, the idea was to eliminate the decorative frills associated with ballet, including tutus that allow bodies to bend, twist, and explore a full range of mobility. Instead, Schlemmer’s costumes restrict movement and add a modern quality as dancers appear stifled and almost mechanical, a nod to the movement’s focus on accessibility through mass production and turning “art into industry.”

    Several of Schlemmer’s illustrations for the ballet are available online, including his bizarre sculptural costume designs with wide, bubbly skirts and vibrantly striped sleeves. MoMA’s collections contain a print titled “Figures in Space,” which reveals one of the performance’s foremost preoccupations: how bodies move and interact in space.

    As seen in a fully colorized film of the dance from the 1970s, the dancers are incredibly deliberate as they navigate sparse sets with clean lines. Open Culture notes that they appear almost like pantomimes or puppets “with figures in awkward costumes tracing various shapes around the stage and each other.”

    A few years back, Great Big Story created a video visiting the Bavarian Junior Ballet as it prepared for a performance. The costumes are faithful to Schlemmer’s vision and retain the rigid geometries and bright palettes. As noted by director Ivan Liška, the strange attire combined with the jilted, robotic choreography often leaves the audience laughing. “It’s very successful because the audience can’t believe this is 100 years old,” he says. “There you see the visionary power of Oskar Schlemmer.”

    Triadic Ballet is rarely reproduced, but Bavarian Junior Ballet will bring the work back to the stage this June to celebrate its 15th anniversary. And if you’re in New York, you can see one of Schlemmer’s studies in Living in the Age of the Machine at MoMA. It’s also worth exploring The Oskar Schlemmer Theatre Estate and Archives, which boasts a trove of archival imagery and drawings on its website.

    From a performance by the Bavarian Junior Ballet

    Some of the original costumes

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    Minimal Blades Flutter in the Breeze in a Shoreline Installation on China’s Chaishan Island

    Photo by Tian Fangfang. All images courtesy of GN Architects, shared with permission

    Minimal Blades Flutter in the Breeze in a Shoreline Installation on China’s Chaishan Island

    February 28, 2025

    ArtDesign

    Grace Ebert

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    On an abandoned pier on Chaishan Island’s shore, an elegant installation rocks in the wind. Completed in 2023 by GN Architects, “The Seaside Pavillion” rests on a coastal trail frequented by tourists and locals alike.

    The dynamic construction features dozens of elastic-wrapped blades that, when caught by a breeze, flit and flutter, echoing both the movement of the tide and creating a semi-shaded space for respite. “During the day, the leaves are closed,” the designers say in a statement. “In the morning and evening, when the tide starts to rise, the wings open and dance under the drive of the buoy, forming a romantic and magical scene.”

    Once a fishing community, Chaishan today is mainly a tourist destination. Only 100 elderly residents still live on the island as many have left for larger cities. “The Seaside Pavillion” was commissioned by the Zhoushan government’s “Hello, Island” initiative to attract more people to move to the sparsely populated area.

    While appearing delicate, the blades are designed to be resilient and to withstand typhoons. Fishing ropes provide their structure, while a rubber and steel armature creates a strong, hardy base. When a tropical cyclone threatens the island, caretakers can tie the blades down to prevent damage.

    You can find more from GN Architects, whose projects span installations, landscapes, interiors, and more, on its website. (via designboom)

    Photo by Liang Wenjun

    Photo by Liang Wenjun

    Photo by Liang Wenjun

    Photo by Liang Wenjun

    Photo by Liang Wenjun

    Photo by Liang Wenjun

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