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      10,000 Pigeon Feathers Cascade from a Bookcase in Kate MccGwire’s Latest Installation

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      Art

      #birds
      #feathers
      #installation
      #video

      August 11, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      “Discharge” (2020), mixed media installation with pigeon feathers, approximately 480 x 70 x 370 centimeters. All images © Kate MccGwire, shared with permission
      Based in west London, artist Kate MccGwire is known for her serpentine feather sculptures and discomfiting artworks that coil and ooze in every direction. A recent installation follows in that tradition as it pours down like a massive gush of water from a built-in bookcase. Composed of approximately 10,000 pigeon feathers, “Discharge” stands nearly five meters tall and cascades to the floor in feathered ripples. While the plumes lining the main chute are in shades of gray, those at the bottom are lighter, evoking the ways water appears white when it crashes.
      The delicate feathers are sourced ethically from pigeon racers who collect the plumes in August and October when the birds molt. MccGwire sorts the materials in her studio, separating the ones that curve left from those that bend to the right, before arranging them in captivating, color-specific patterns. “When visitors see the piece for the first time they are drawn to the phenomenal scale, rhythmic patterning, movement, and perfection of the piece,” she says of the mixed-media installation. “But are often perturbed and revolted when they understand what the material is,” which is exactly her intention. By juxtaposing the raw materials with the finished artwork, she asks viewers to consider the everyday beauty that’s often overlooked.
      “Discharge” has been exhibited in an evolution of configurations in South Korea, Berlin, Paris, and now, Harewood House in West Yorkshire until August 14. Take a video tour of the current exhibition—which also includes a massive feather rug and encased sculptures—and find more of MccGwire’s voluptuous projects on Instagram.

      

      #birds
      #feathers
      #installation
      #video

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      A 70-Meter-Wide Installation by Artist Yang Yongliang Immerses Viewers in a Galactic Cityscape

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      Art

      #black and white
      #installation
      #landscapes
      #light
      #stars
      #video

      July 24, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      
      Artist Yang Yongliang (previously) harmonizes human-generated light and naturally glowing stars in a celestial, 4K video installation. Set to an eerie, technological soundtrack, “Journey to the Dark II” winds through a mountainous city that spans 70 meters across. Movement in the immersive piece is confined mostly to the cars traveling across bridges and down streets, and the lights emit a constant glow among the modern architecture and landforms.
      Residing in Shanghai and New York, Yang often juxtaposes modern, industrial life and organic elements to produce dystopian environments that question human progress. “Ancient Chinese people painted landscapes to praise the greatness of nature; Yang’s works, on the other hand, lead towards a critical re-thinking of contemporary reality,” said a statement about a similarly foreboding project.
      To explore more of the artist’s digital work and follow his upcoming projects, check out his Instagram and Vimeo.

      “Journey to the Dark II” (2019), video installation, 12 × 70 meters, 12,600 × 2,160 pixels. All images © Yongliang Yang, shared with permission

      #black and white
      #installation
      #landscapes
      #light
      #stars
      #video

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      Digital Sculptures Visualize Chirps of Amazonian Birds in a Responsive Artwork by Andy Thomas

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      Animation
      Art

      #Amazon
      #birds
      #digital
      #sound
      #video

      July 22, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      
      Based on an audio recording from a 2016 trip to the Amazon, Australian artist Andy Thomas interprets birds’ trills, squawks, and coos through an animated series of digital sculptures. An extension of a previous project, “Visual Sounds of the Amazon 2” is an abstract rendering composed of bursting dots, billowing fog, and flashes of amorphous forms that correspond to the avian sounds. With each chirp, the fleeting masses contort, grow, and disassemble into a new, vibrant form.
      Many of Thomas’s projects explore the intersection of technology and nature, and he tells Colossal that he sees “computers as a hyper extension of evolution.” He expands on the idea by saying:
      Humans are changing the biodiversity of the natural world and gradually replacing it with digitized versions, like echoes of the past. I am fascinated with the idea of generating digital art that references the beauty and complexity of nature. I hope this piece will encourage people to research the many amazing varieties of birds that call the Amazon home, and remind us of how fragile and important this place is to us all.
      The artist ascribes “Visual Sounds of the Amazon 2” a more urgent context, as well. “This series is dedicated to the people of Brazil and the ecosystem of one of the world’s most amazing forests. The Amazon is known as the lungs of the world and is under constant and ongoing threats of deforestation,” he writes in a statement about the animated project.
      Find more of Thomas’s visual explorations on Instagram and Vimeo, and check out the sprawling digital creations he has available as prints in his shop.

      #Amazon
      #birds
      #digital
      #sound
      #video

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      Explore the Traditional Art of Ebru as Garip Ay Creates Entrancing Water Paintings

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      Art

      #painting
      #video
      #water

      July 18, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      
      Based in Istanbul, artist Garip Ay (previously) utilizes traditional ebru techniques—a method of paper marbling that involves dripping oil paint into water—to create rich artworks with incredibly complex motifs. Ay’s process recently was captured by Great Big Story in a short video that walks through his studio and documents how the artist seamlessly morphs one work into another with just a few hand motions.
      After completing a piece on the water’s surface, Ay transfers the image to paper, wood, or textiles by dipping it in and slowly pulling back. Despite the meditative quality of his movements, though, the artist shares the pressures of the medium. “When people watch ebru, they think it is relaxing and soothing, but it my personal experience, it is really stressful. While doing ebru, you have control problems because you’re doing something on water,” he says. As shown, a drop too many could alter the entire piece.
      Ay shares many videos and photographs of his vibrant paintings on his site, and more of Great Big Story’s projects can be found on YouTube.

      #painting
      #video
      #water

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      30 Hand-Cranked Machines Comprise Amusing Series of Miniatures by Artist Federico Tobon

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       [embedded content] Similar to Lalese Stamps’s personal challenge to create 100 ceramic mug handles, a Los Angeles-based artist has crafted an amusing series of hand-cranked automatons in just 30 days. Federico Tobon, of wolfCat Workshop, used popsicle sticks, metal clips, paper, and scrap material for One Month of Small Machines, a four-week-long project that […] More

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      in Street Art

      “Operation Salam” by ASHEKMAN in Tripoli, Lebanon

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      Operation Salam is an independent street art initiative created and curated by ASHEKMAN, where a gigantic word Salam was painted in Arabic calligraphy on 85 building rooftops, a 1.3 Kilometers street art piece that can be seen from space.  Salam, which means Peace in Arabic, means a state of mutual harmony between people or groups, especially in personal relations. The […] More

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      in Art

      A Carnivalesque Short Film by Fernando Livschitz Imagines a Buoyant Vienna

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       “Vienna is like…,” a new animated short by Fernando Livschitz (previously), brings a heavy dose of the absurd to the Austrian capital. The director, who’s from Argentina and heads Black Sheep Films, captures an imagined Vienna in which historic buildings float in the air and a massive, multicolored slinky connects public transit cars. Watch […] More