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    Anthony Dickenson’s ‘Mistake’ Transforms into a Unique Animation for a Rival Consoles Music Video

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    All images courtesy of Rival Consoles

    Anthony Dickenson’s ‘Mistake’ Transforms into a Unique Animation for a Rival Consoles Music Video

    July 21, 2025

    AnimationArtFilmMusic

    Kate Mothes

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    For his latest single, “Soft Gradient Beckons,” British electronic musician Ryan Lee West, a.k.a. Rival Consoles, tapped multidisciplinary artist Anthony Dickenson to create a music video that plays with a sense of perception and reality—especially the distinction between analog and digital processes.

    Dickenson employs a range of photography and film processes in his practice, focusing predominantly on nature and portraiture. For the “Soft Gradient Beckons” music video, he dove headlong into a nine-month experimental process, creating multiple, long paper scrolls with hand-painted frames in black ink. He then animated by documenting in a sequence akin to the way film is fed through a projector.

    The video above features the complete music video, followed by a revealing making-of segment that delves into Dickenson’s labor-intensive process.

    His installation “reflects the intricacies and dedication of the creative process,” the artist says in a statement. “The result is both a visual and emotional journey, seamlessly blending art and music into one cohesive experience.” Using cameras attached to a drone and a skateboard, he captures distinct details and patterns while also panning out to see the entire grouping arranged carefully on a warehouse floor.

    The concept originated from what Dickenson calls a “mistake” that occurred when, a few years back, he was experimenting with making monoprints using ink rollers. He had a realization that little blemishes or so-called defects various textures from the roller actually lent themselves well to animation.

    “Sometimes the mistakes are the bits that really reveal new techniques,” Dickenson says. “I love these little moments of imperfection. Otherwise, you know, you might as well just build in AI.” Find more on his website.

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      Wang Mansheng Turns to Nature to Make His Own Paintbrushes from Organic Materials

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      All images courtesy of the artist and The Huntington

      Wang Mansheng Turns to Nature to Make His Own Paintbrushes from Organic Materials

      July 17, 2025

      ArtCraftNature

      Kate Mothes

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      Have you ever sought out the best variety of paper, highest quality paints, or most-trusted brand of equipment only to find that a cheaper, more readily available version actually worked better? That’s something Chinese painter and calligrapher Wang Mansheng thinks about a lot. Making his own brushes from natural materials, the artist considers how organic imperfections are often ultimately more interesting than anything produced “perfectly” in a factory.

      The artist’s solo exhibition at The Huntington, Without Us, envisions a world literally devoid of us, which he describes as a “pure land without humans, without pollution, without humans’ damage.” Comprising a series of 22 ink paintings on silk scrolls suspended from the ceiling, the body of work highlights the interconnectedness of all living things. Starting with the equipment he uses, nature remains central in his practice.

      A short documentary produced by The Huntington delves into Wang’s process of creating his own brushes from scratch, utilizing stalks of grass and pieces of twine. “Manufactured things have a certain form,” the artist says. “Like a manufactured brush—they are all really fine. The factory is trying to make it as fine as they could. But when you use it, all the lines come out as smooth and beautiful. But sometimes, I think it’s too perfect.”

      To bring out the character of old trees and dramatic cliffs in his paintings, Wang employs brushes that produce a rougher line or texture. In the film, he demonstrates how he transforms the soft, wide bristles of tall reeds into a tool suited to his needs. Through trial and error, he taught himself how to shape and use different sizes and densities to achieve a variety of effects. Overall, the texture mirrors age and exposure to the elements that shape how trees and rocks look over time.

      Wang Mansheng: Without Us continues through August 5 in San Marino, California. Find more on the artist’s website. (via Kottke)

      Installation view of Without Us at The Huntington

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    • 138 Shares159 Views

      in Art

      Enigmatic Phenomena and Galactic Shapes Revolve in Shane Drinkwater’s Cosmic Systems

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      All images © Shane Drinkwater, shared with permission

      Enigmatic Phenomena and Galactic Shapes Revolve in Shane Drinkwater’s Cosmic Systems

      June 2, 2025

      Art

      Kate Mothes

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      For Queensland-based artist Shane Drinkwater, self-imposed restrictions provide a key starting point for works he creates in ink, pen, acrylic, and collage—always in a square format measuring about 50 by 50 centimeters. Arrows, crosses, dots, and numbers build linear elements and patterns, while primary colors provide the foundation for the occasional green or gradient.

      Drawing on a lifelong love for maps, ciphers, and astronomical charts, Drinkwater continues to explore the possibilities of fictional cosmic networks (previously). In some pieces, concentric circles resemble diagrams of the Solar System, while in others, references to comets or esoteric systems suggest the imaginary workings of atomic phenomena or alchemical experiments.

      Drinkwater’s work was recently included in the book Elements: Chaos, Order and the Five Elemental Forces, published by Thames & Hudson. He is currently preparing work for art fairs this fall in Copenhagen and Paris, along with a group show at Gagné Contemporary in Toronto. Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

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    • 100 Shares129 Views

      in Art

      Metaphysical Interactions Unfold in Moonassi’s Surreal ‘Mind Illustrations’

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      “Same difference” (2024), ink and acrylic on Hanji, 72.7 x 60.6 centimeters. All images courtesy of the artist, shared with permission

      Metaphysical Interactions Unfold in Moonassi’s Surreal ‘Mind Illustrations’

      May 12, 2025

      Art

      Kate Mothes

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      Through ink on hanji paper that juxtaposes deep blacks with delicate cross-hatching, surreal scenes unfold in the drawings of Seoul-based artist Moonassi (previously). Through the dramatic use of chiaroscuro and simple yet elegantly delineated faces, hands, and limbs, the artist constructs dreamlike worlds in which figures commune and explore.

      Moonassi’s use of meok, a traditional Korean inkstick ground with water against a stone to produce a liquid, results in a deep black medium achieved through a meditative process. He refers to his work as “mind illustration,” delving into the emotional and psychological bonds between pairs, small groups, and otherworldly surroundings.

      “Meme” (2024), ink and acrylic on Hanji, 130.3 x 193.9 centimeters

      Recent pieces like “Same difference” explore dualities like opaqueness and transparency, weight and lightness, and unity and individuality. Moonassi’s compositions are often intrinsically introspective, as the figures interact with others that may or may not be versions of themselves or figments of their own imaginations.

      Repetition and scale play significant roles in the artist’s work, like in “Meme,” in which a central figure crouches onto the ground and gently cups another tiny figure in their hands, who in turn does the same. At some point, it dawns on us that the main figure is also framed by enormous hands, akin to an otherworldly Matryoshka nesting doll. Moonassi’s scenes challenges our senses of perspective, presence, care, and the spiritual world.

      Find more on the artist’s website.

      “Mineral Wait” (2024), ink on Hanji, 76 × 145 centimeters

      “Acrobat IV” (2024), ink and acrylic on Hanji, 72.7 x 60.6 centimeters

      “Becoming Nature” (2024), ink and acrylic on Hanji, 72.7 x 60.6 centimeters

      “The feeling aligned for us” (2024), ink and acrylic on Hanji, 130.3 x 190.4 centimeters

      “Rippled and sparkled” (2024), ink on Hanji, 130.3 x 193.9 centimeters

      “Feeling Kintsugi” (2024), ink and acrylic on Hanji, 72.7 x 60.6 centimeters

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