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      The First USPS Stamp Designed by an Alaska Native Artist Features a Trickster Raven as It Steals the Sun

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      Art
      Design
      Illustration

      #birds
      #mail
      #stamps

      February 19, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      “Raven Story.” Image courtesy of USPS
      When it’s released later this summer, a new stamp from the U.S. Postal Service will illuminate a piece of Indigenous culture that’s long been associated with an escape from darkness. Titled “Raven Story,” the history-making postage features an iconic animal rendered by Rico Lanáat’ Worl, who is the first Tlingit and Athabascan artist to be featured by U.S.P.S. Awash with twinkling stars, the stamp portrays a black bird grasping the sun in its beak as it breaks from its human family. The motif is based on the story of “Raven And The Box Of Daylight,” traditional Tlingit lore about the trickster animal bringing the stars, moon, and sun to the universe after a series of heists.
      In a statement, Worl shares that the raven is a prominent figure in Tlinglit culture, and the stamp depicts the pinnacle of this often-recounted tale. He writes:
      Raven is trying to grab as many stars as he can, some stuck in his feathers and in his hands or in his beak. Some falling around him. It’s a frazzled moment of adrenaline. Partially still in human form, as depicted as his hand still being human, as he carries the stars away. I think it depicts a moment we all have experienced, the cusp of failure and accomplishment.
      Worl lives in Juneau, where he works with Sealaska Heritage Institute and co-runs Trickster Company, a design shop focused on Northwest Coast art, with his sister, Crystal. To coincide with the USPS launch, he plans to create pins, prints, and other goods featuring the design, which you can follow on Instagram. (via Hyperallergic)

      #birds
      #mail
      #stamps

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      Demented Toys by Obvious Plant Confront Harsh Realities and the Mundanity of Life

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      Art
      Design

      #games
      #humor
      #pop culture
      #satire
      #toys

      February 2, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Obvious Plant
      Unless you want a distraught child, double-check the packaging of your next purchase in case you accidentally snag a one-off toy by Jeff Wysaski, aka Obvious Plant. For years, he’s been littering supermarket and drugstore shelves with his action figures and small games that cleverly comment on capitalism and the harsh realities we all experience, from a birthday for one—it “includes one party blower because that is all you will need”—to a “childless couple” riding matching jet skis. Sometimes parodying pop culture, the elaborate designs are paired with witty copy and a slew of intentional spelling errors, including warnings that “everybody dies, even bird.”
      Many of the subversive products, shirts, and other goods are available in the Obvious Plant shop, although they sell out quickly. To stay up-to-date on the latest designs, follow Wysaski on Instagram.

      #games
      #humor
      #pop culture
      #satire
      #toys

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      An Innovative Installation Embeds Lights into a Five-Acre Field to Spur Crop Growth

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      Art
      Design

      #farming
      #installation
      #light
      #plants
      #sustainability

      January 22, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      
      Spread across a thick field of leeks in the Netherlands is Daan Roosegaarde’s new installation that illuminates the practice of modern farming, highlighting the plants that feed us and their plights. In “Grow,” the Dutch artist and designer, who’s known for glowing, interactive exhibits, implanted the rows with red, blue, and ultraviolet lights that shine vertically across the crop and shift in entrancing motion.
      Spanning 20,000-square-meters, the multi-faceted project is both aesthetic and practical: the radiant landscape is visually stunning, while the embedded elements enhance plant growth and cut pesticide use in half. Roosegaarde worked with existing photobiological technology and distinct “light recipes” that are thought to improve crop resistance and their metabolisms without added chemicals. “It gives a new meaning to the word ‘agri-culture’ by reframing the landscape as a living cultural artwork,” the studio says in a statement.
      In a conversation with Dezeen, Roosegaarde noted that a trip to a local farm spurred the project, which the designer now hopes will act as a blueprint for similar works. The Netherlands is the second-largest agricultural exporter in the world—the U.S. is first—and is known for innovating more sustainable technologies. With some shifts in the combination of lights and placement, this singular project could have wide-reaching implications for crop production around the world.
      “Grow” took Roosegaarde’s studio about two years to complete and is part of Rabobank’s artist-in-residence program. It’s slated to tour 40 countries in the coming months. For more of Roosegaarde’s work that falls at the intersection of art, design, and science, head to Instagram.

      All images © Daan Roosegaarde, shared with permission

      #farming
      #installation
      #light
      #plants
      #sustainability

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      Rael San Fratello’s Pink Teeter-Totters at the U.S.-Mexico Border Win Beazley Design of the Year

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      Art
      Design

      #border
      #interactive
      #Mexico
      #playgrounds
      #public art

      January 19, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      The three neon pink seesaws that slotted through the U.S.-Mexico border were just named the 2020 Beazley Design of the Year. Conceived by Oakland-based artists Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello (previously), the playful, subversive project was installed in July 2019 between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez and physically connected the two communities despite the 20-foot barrier. The prestigious, annual award comes from London’s Design Museum.
      Rael and San Fratello spent a decade working on “Teeter-Totter Wall” before its installation at the border during a particularly divisive time under the Trump administration. Although it was in use for less than an hour, the interactive work intended to foster and display unity between children and adults from both countries as they physically lifted each other up. In response to the administration separating families at the border, Rael wrote about the project:
      The teeter-totters represented the kind of balance necessary for any two people, two nations, to achieve equality, with the understanding that the actions on one side have direct consequences on the other. The teeter-totter is the physical manifestation of the Golden Rule—treat others as you would like others to treat you—a maxim that is shared by all cultures and religions. To experience joy on a teeter-totter, you must allow the other person to experience joy as well.
      Among the other winners are a 3D rendering of SARS-CoV-2 by Alissa Eckert and Dan Higgins for the CDC and Social Design Collaborative’s “ModSkool,” a moveable building that can be easily assembled and taken down in response to evictions of farming communities in India. Check out all the top designs through the museum’s virtual exhibition that runs until March 28, and head to Rael San Fratello’s site and Instagram to see more of the duo’s socially minded projects.

      #border
      #interactive
      #Mexico
      #playgrounds
      #public art

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      Vertical Dwellings Nestle into the Floating Miniature Landscapes of Rosa de Jong

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      Art
      Craft
      Design

      #architecture
      #miniature
      #sculpture

      December 29, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Rosa de Jong, shared with permission
      Suspended within Rosa de Jong’s simple wooden frames are miniature dwellings that climb the steep, rocky terrain. Stilt houses, tents, and exceptionally tall ladders form the idyllic environments that are surrounded by faux moss, minuscule trees, and generally rugged topography. Once assembled, the enchanting scenes appear to float in the open air or within the vertical enclosures of test tubes.
      Based in Amsterdam, de Jong (previously) shares with Colossal that she hopes to incorporate water-rooted plants and crystals into future projects. “I feel like a huge part of my work is how I frame things—let’s see if I am able to frame these inspiring natural elements,” she says, noting that the actual boxes are hand-crafted by her father.
      Follow de Jong’s latest miniatures, which include studies of artificial moon rocks, on Behance and Instagram.

      #architecture
      #miniature
      #sculpture

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      Artists Explore Self-Expression Through Bizarre and Whimsical Masks at Denver’s Vicki Myhren Gallery

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      Art
      Design
      History

      #COVID-19
      #masks
      #sculpture

      October 26, 2020
      Christopher Jobson

      Felicia Murray, “Our Dying Reefs,” felted COVID mask, 2020. All photos shared with permission.
      There is perhaps no symbol more representative of contemporary life than the humble face mask. A simple health device crucial to saving millions of lives around the world from a deadly COVID-19 pandemic spread by invisible airborne pathogens, and yet an object that’s been quixotically politicized at the callous expense of humanity for the gain of an elite few. A new exhibition at the University of Denver’s Vicki Myhren Gallery approaches the lighter side of face coverings: the ancient tradition of masks as self-expression.
      Arranged on mannequins lining the gallery space, over 40 artists present interpretations of protective face wear in MASK, currently on view by appointment through December 1, 2020. The collection of whimsical, grotesque, quirky, and beautiful masks are medically non-functional but guaranteed to provoke a reaction through their novel construction. Several designs mimic natural filtration systems like foliage or a coral reef, while others use repurposed objects like zippers or pipes to create wholly unusual face sculptures.
      “Through this project, we hope to call attention to the significance and signification of masking as an issue of public health and demonstration of civic responsibility,” the gallery shares in a statement. “As the selected artists show, masking is also a mode of outward self-expression and opportunity for creativity. In turns utilitarian and fantastical, the wearable artworks shown demonstrate how makers and thinkers are engaging with the pandemic and applying their skills and individual styles to a newly important medium.”
      As part of the exhibition, Vicki Myhren Gallery has partnered with Denver’s RedLine Contemporary Art Center to fabricate free masks for distribution for those in need. (via Hyperallergic)

      Scottie Burgess, “Mask for Our Unseen Smiles” (2020)
      Serge Clottey, “Mask for Our Times” (2020) (photo by Nii Odzenma)
      Elizabeth Morisette, “Beak” (2020)
      Liz Sexton, Porcupinefish, 2020.
      Freyja Sewell, “Food” from Key Worker Series (2020)
      Matt Harris, “Hope” (2020); Cristina Rodo, “Covidus,” wet and needle-felted wool, 2020. Photo courtesy Emma Hunt.
      Kate Marling, “Classical Sculpture Mask” (2020)

      #COVID-19
      #masks
      #sculpture

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      Bees Encase Raw-Material Embroideries with Honeycomb in New Encaustic Works by Ava Roth

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      Art
      Design
      Science

      #bees
      #encaustic
      #honey
      #mixed media

      September 18, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      “Falling Horsehair, Gold #2,” encaustic, Japanese tissue, horse hair and thread in embroidery hoop, embedded in honeycomb, custom double length Langstroth hive frame, 19”x 9.5 inches. All images © Ava Roth, shared with permission
      When Ava Roth adds the last stitch grasping horsehair or porcupine quills to her embroidered artworks, she passes the fibrous material on to her black-and-yellow counterparts. The Toronto-based artist collaborates with bees to encase her mixed-media pieces in waxy honeycomb. What emerges are organic artworks that consider interspecies interactions and the beauty that such meetings can garner.
      Since 2019, Roth has been expanding the wooden frames of her works to twice the size as previous projects. She receives help from master beekeeper Mylee Nordin, and together, they vertically stack hive boxes, which are known as supers, and insert large, custom-made structures. The artist also has developed a more detailed practice in recent months. “Because this project has required so much trial and error, I was still experimenting with materials last season, trying to find substances that the bees would consistently respond to positively,” she writes. “I was trying to find organic substances that would not harm the bees but also that the bees would not eat or otherwise destroy.”
      When the bees finished wax production in late October, Roth says her understanding of the species and confidence in her choice of raw matter had grown. “I spent the winter weaving and embroidering beeswax, porcupine quills, horsehair, and other organic material into embroidery hoops, and then fixing them onto my new custom made frames,” she notes.

      Beeswax, porcupine quills, Japanese tissue, metallic thread in embroidery hoop, embedded in natural honeycomb
      Roth’s projects also have a sense of urgency through their connection to Colony Collapse Disorder, a phenomenon that’s killing colonies and threatening the species’ population. “Honeybees are often considered a harbinger of the health of our planet, and CCD is interpreted by many environmentalists and scientists as a clear indicator of our current environmental crisis,” the artist says.
      I consider the bees to be my co-workers, collaborators in every sense. I take cues from their needs, design the project around their capacities, and work in sync with their seasons. Ultimately, this art that we make together is essentially hopeful at a time when we are overwhelmed with despair at the state of the environment, and our role in its destruction.
      During the winter, Roth plans to refine her project further after reflecting on another season of interspecies collaboration. Follow the latest updates on her encaustic works on Instagram.

      Beeswax, porcupine quills, Japanese tissue, metallic thread in embroidery hoop, embedded in natural honeycomb
      “Honeycomb Embroidery, Amber,” beeswax, Japanese tissue, glass beads, thread, honeycomb in embroidery hoop, 6 inches
      “Porcupine Quill Flowers,” encaustic, Japanese tissue, porcupine quills, metal thread, seed beads, and embroidery hoop embedded in honeycomb, a traditional Langstroth hive frame, 19 x 9.5 inches
      Left: “Honeycomb Embroidery, Birch and Moss,” beeswax, Japanese tissue, glass beads, thread, honeycomb, birch bark in an embroidery hoop, 6 inches. Right: “Honeycomb Embroidery, Flora,” beeswax, Japanese tissue, glass beads, thread, honeycomb, birch bark, leaves, in embroidery hoop, 9.5 inches

      #bees
      #encaustic
      #honey
      #mixed media

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

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      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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