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The best in Neon
Thursday, 16th May 2013 at 9:33am


London-based light artist Chris Bracey is currently displaying his works in his first solo exhibition at Scream Gallery in London titled 'I've looked up to heaven and been down to hell'.
The artist, who learnt his trade from his father, has manipulated his lights into incredible designs using themes which mix religious iconography, retro fairground bulbs and neon advertising styles.
Bracey has also provided dramatic installations for films such as Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut, Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the Batman films.
Many of Bracey’s works are self-produced neons, referencing popular culture – “Shine A Light in the Darkness of Your Soul” was written by Martin Gore from Depeche Mode and “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out” is from a song by The Smiths.
His work also draws upon iconic imagery such as tattoo designs and the sights of Las Vegas and Soho, London.
The exhibition is on display until the 1st June 2013.
Interactive sculpture in motion
Wednesday, 17th April 2013 at 5:18pm


A new collaboration between Hyundai's Advanced Design Centre and Berlin-based WHITEvoid, an interactive art and design studio, has created Fluidic.
The project sees 12,000 suspended spheres acting as 3D pixels or voxels which are illuminated by an array of high-speed lasers. The magic happens thanks to 3D cameras that detect a person and react creating patterns and shapes based upon their movements.
The piece was part of Hyundai's involvement with Milan Design week, the third time it has participated in the show, and was housed at the Temporary Museum for New Design. The interactive sculpture was inspired by nature and its ability to continuously adapt to a changing context, which Hyundai think of as part of their general design philosophy.
On April 8, the day of the preview, the German choreographer Nikeata Thompson directed a special performance featuring art, music and dance in the presence of the press and opinion leaders. In the days dedicated to the public Jan Jelinek of SCAPE, a seminal figure in contemporary electronic music, gave a special performance describing the rhythmic confluence between design and sound titled "Fluidic Art meets Fluidic Sound ".
Whilst many would have missed the chance to experience this for themselves, as it was only open to the public on the last weekend of Milan Design Week, 13th -14th April, there are plans to take it on the road, updates to be posted on the Fluidic page.
Watch a video of the sculpture in action below and visit the Fluidic page for more information and images.
FLUIDIC - Sculpture in Motion from WHITEvoid on Vimeo.
Tagged Hyundai, Milan Design Week, design, art, experiential, interactive, WHITEvoid, Temporary Museum for New Design, Fluidic, creative
Art that's good enough to eat
Wednesday, 17th April 2013 at 1:14pm


In Australia Kit-Kat decided to commemorate their limited edition white chocolate bar by holding back the last 50 and melting them.
But that isn't the full story, they got illustrator Mike Watt, to use the melted chocolate and crushed biscuits to make some incredible posters, using only a scalpel to remove any unwanted chocolate.
The posters won't last forever as after a while the hard chocolate will crack and break away from the canvas, but before all that happens they have managed to post them all up on their Facebook page.
The designs have been called Kit-Kat White Final Fifty and are a great example of creative art and design.
Take a look at them here.
A visual exploration of Google Image Search
Wednesday, 10th April 2013 at 8:57am


In her latest and ongoing project, artist Dina Kelberman has created a fantastic blog that documents patterns found on Google Image Search. Called 'I'm google' the project involves a seamless link between pictures found via image search, from one subject to the next based on similarities in form, composition, colour, and theme.
The result is a colourful and intriging compliation of images that links pictures of planes dropping fire retardant to orange kayak to a bridge, which all feels so natural when you go through the blog.
The Tumblr blog came out of Dina's natural tendency to spend long hours obsessing over Google Image searches, collecting photos she found beautiful and storing them by theme.
Often the images that interested her are of industrial or municipal materials or everyday photo snapshots, not those that appear to be intentionally artistic.
Follow her blog here.Tagged Google, Image search, Dina Kelberman, blog, Tumblr, photography, images, art
Touchscreen gestures brought to life
Tuesday, 9th April 2013 at 1:15pm


An artist has decided to immortalise actions used with touchscreen products. In her project 'Multi-touch gestures', Gabriele Meldaikyte built five different sculptures that used the main motions associated with touchscreen devices.
The gestures, which seem almost second nature to most; including babies trying to swipe a magazine to read it, are also seen as a signature of the Apple iPhone.
Gabriele believes that this method of interaction with technology will be completely different in 10 years time. So she wanted to immortalise them by translating this interface language of communication into 3D objects which mimic every multi-touch gesture.
The Shed at the National Theatre
Tuesday, 9th April 2013 at 9:44am


A new temporary venue has been built on an unused plaza of the National Theatre in London. Called 'The Shed', the venue will show new productions that it deems "adventurous, ambitious and unexpected".
Open for a year from April, The Shed provides a new way to watch theatre, offering seats from £12 up to £20, with special days planned, including talks before or after shows.
Seats are either located at stage level or in a gallery providing patrons with an intimate view of the productions.
The building was designed and built by Haworth Tompkins, who are also incharge of the current redesign materplan for the artistic hub, and the design would seem to match the type of productiosn they plan to put on, with its vibrant colour and shape.
To find out more watch a video of lead architect Paddy Dillon talking about the design below.
haworth tompkins: the shed at the national theater, london from designboom on Vimeo.
Tagged National Theatre, The Shed, architecture, design, art, Haworth Tompkins, theatre, creative, pop-up, installationEdinburgh's giant balloon sculpture
Monday, 8th April 2013 at 10:27am


A sculpture made completely of balloons has been unveiled as part of the Edinburgh International Science Festival at the National Museum of Scotland.The piece was designed and built by American artist Jason Hackenwerth, who is known for his organic and biological forms made from latex balloons.
The sculpture, titled Pisces, is the artist’s interpretation of the legend of Aphrodite and Eros: in Greek mythology, Aphrodite, the Goddess of love and her son, Eros, escaped the fearsome monster Typhon by transforming into a tightly woven spiral of two fish, a figure which later became a constellation called Pisces.
The piece is made up of 10,000 balloons, which took 3 staff members 6 days to inflate before Jason and his assistant Leah Blair wove them carefully into this three dimensional structure.
Pisces will be on display in the Grand Gallery of the National Museum of Scotland through April 14th, 2013. More images are available on Flickr.Tagged art, design, sculpture, science festival, Edinburgh, Jason Hackenwerth, Flickr, Pisces
Payphones become time machines in Manhattan
Wednesday, 3rd April 2013 at 5:13pm
In New York City a project by Droga5 in collaboration with the New Museum has allowed inhabitants to listen to the sounds and memories of 1993.
Part of an exhibition which highlights 1993 as a year of change for the city and the world titled "NYC 1993: Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star," the payphone experience gets users to call a special number from selected phones across the city, which in turn allows them to relive that location in 1993.
The phone project titled Recalling 1993 is a huge undertaking, using tour guides and locals to re-tell stories, and is the first use of the payphones whose future is facing some speculation since the age of the smart phone.
An interactive map of the payphones included can be found here. Below is a video outlining the project.
Recalling 1993 from Droga5 NY on Vimeo.
Tagged Experiential, art, project, payphone, New York, New Museum
Interactive mimicking art
Thursday, 28th March 2013 at 8:20am

Daniel Rozin's Mirrors seem to be pretty normal sculptures until you take a step closer, then they shift to mimic you.
Currently exhibiting at Bitforms in New York until the 6th April, his 'mirror' pieces shift the patterns formed on them to mimic the viewers shape in real-time. This is done via cameras that detect shapes and cause the LEDs to change the pattern on the screen. Whilst not recreating a persons image perfectly, the screen will copy movements made until the person steps out of range.
The exhibition, called Angles, features some of the artists other kinetic work, which also interact with their surroundings and work on a principle of merging the geometric with the participatory.
New London listings service – This At There
Tuesday, 26th March 2013 at 8:37pm
Called This At There, the listing service is a re-invention of their old 'whats-on' focused currently on Art and Design events in London. The listings are put in order of when they finish, so hopefully you won't miss the shows you really want to see.
They are looking to roll it out worldwide eventually with more cities being added later this year, but by keeping it London focused will allow them to keep on top of it for now and work out any teething problems.
You can find out more about the new service here.Tagged Design, Art, events, shows, exhibitions, This At There, It's Nice That, London, Listings
Christo's big air package
Tuesday, 26th March 2013 at 6:55pm



Big Air Package from Christo opened this month at the Gasometer Oberhausen, Germany. It is reported to be both the largest inflated frameless envelope and the most expansive indoor sculpture ever created.
The 90 meter high inflatable boasts a volume of 177,000 cubic meters and uses 20,350 square meters of semitransparent polyester fabric as well as 4,500 meters of rope. Despite lacking a skeleton the 5 ton form fills the interior of a former gas tank.
Christo describes the experience as 'virtually swimming in light' as a result of the vast expanses of fabric, lit from above via skylights in the Gasometer.
Filled with diffused natural daylight and muffled sounds it becomes a place of tranquility.
The project runs until 30th December 2013.
Photos: Wolfgang Volz © 2013 ChristoTagged Christo, big air package, gasometer oberhausen, Jeanne-Claude, art, design, sculpture, innovation, installation
Clouds inside create silver-lining for artist
Friday, 22nd March 2013 at 9:33am


Dutch artist Berndnaut Smilde controls the weather and creates beautiful indoor clouds with the help of a smoke machine and dramatic lighting. The fog machine emits dense vapour / smoke that makes contact with sprayed water and forms a small white cloud.
Smilde, who lives in Amsterdam, said he wanted to make the image of a typical Dutch rain cloud but inside. ‘I imagined walking into a classical museum hall with just empty walls,’ he said. 'There was nothing to see except for a rain cloud hanging around in the room. I wanted to make a very clear image, an almost cliché and cartoon-like visualization of having bad luck. Indeed there's nothing here and bxxxxcks, it's starting to rain!"
The few people who have seen the clouds in person should consider themselves very lucky; each cloud only exists for a moment before dissipating.
To document the clouds Smilde photographs them; the only proof of their existence if a viewer misses them.
The first exhibit, called Nimbus, was created by Smilde in 2010.
Watch videos of the creation of the clouds below.
Tagged Art, innovation, creativity, sculpture, clouds, indoors, experiential, exhibition, Dutch, artist, Berndnaut Smilde
What happens when 15,000 Volts travels through wood?
Wednesday, 13th March 2013 at 9:34am
New York City's Pratt Institute's sculpture student Melanie Hoff wanted to find out, so she connected cables carrying 15,000 volts of electricity to a large plank of wood and then documented the results.
Surprisingly the areas around each contact point don’t simply catch on fire or burn in a circle, but rather traverse outward in a fractal-like pattern called a "Lichtenberg figure", similar to what happens when lightening hits an object.
The amazing patterns created were captured in a video shown below.
Lichtenstein retrospective at The Tate Modern
Saturday, 23rd February 2013 at 12:00pm


A new exhibition of Roy Lichtenstein's work has opened at the Tate Modern in London. The exhibition displays 125 pieces of work from the artist, including sculptures and, of course, his famous 'comic book' style paintings.
This is the first full-scale retrospective of this important and well known artist in 20 years and is the most definitive collection.
The exhibition, which opened on the 21st February, is co-organised by the Tate Modern and The Art Institute of Chicago and will run until 27th May 2013.
Read more and book tickets here.
Walk into this painting
Sunday, 17th February 2013 at 10:00am


We love interactive art, and this amazing piece called "Indian Chamber" fits the bill perfectly. Created by Australian artist Anna Kristensen, the piece is a 360 degree panoramic painting of the Jenolan Caves' Indian Chamber, in New South Wales.
Painted onto curved plywood panels, viewers enter via a door into a cylindrical room and are then surrounded by the painting.
This incredible piece has been on tour across Australia, visiting Gallery 9 in Sydney, Shepparton Art Museum in Victoria, Artspace in Sydney and Bathurst Regional Art Gallery.
Tagged Art, innovation, interactive, experiential, creative, design, Kristensen
Swing to infinity
Friday, 15th February 2013 at 5:14pm


An installation at the Museum of Modern Art in Aalborg, Denmark by German artist Thilo Frank, allows visitors to swing into the infinite.“The Phoenix is closer than it appears” is a 4 x 4 x 8 meters box that contains a swing in the center, and the inside is covered in mirrors on all sides, creating infinite versions of yourself as you merrily swing away the time.
The external is also mirrored to reflect the scenery of the room it is housed in, whilst also providing solitude for those inside the box.
This is an innovative and fascinating piece of art, and we hope that it comes to the UK one day.Tagged Art, design, sculpture, innovation, modern art, creative, exhibition
Sculpture from stacked chairs
Thursday, 14th February 2013 at 9:20am


For the 2012 Abu Dhabi Art Fair Japanese artist, Tadashi Kawamata, created a huge structure out of chairs."Chairs for Abu Dhabi" took five days to create and reached the 20 foot high ceiling of the gallery it was housed in.
It created a focal point for the event and a pavilion for people to try to escape the hustle and bustle of the fair and proved to be a popular meeting point.
Tadashi is renowned for using recycled materials or scrap, using metal, wood, plastic and, in this case, used chairs, ranging from sofas and benches to stools and arm chairs.
A stunning structure that 'pays homage to humanity’s diversity, unity and interconnectedness', according to the artist.
Images from Daniel Suarez for Reuters
Tagged art, sculpture, inspiring, ecological, Abu Dhabi Art, construction, event, exhibition, fair, innovative, recycling
'Ugly' public buildings get makeover
Tuesday, 12th February 2013 at 10:04am

A Dutch designer, Roeland Otten, has decided that power substations and public toilets are too unsightly and so has given them a makeover.
The project has taken him to Rotterdam and Amsterdam, where he has used different methods to make the buildings blend in to the urban landscape.
‘City Camouflage’ employs mosaic tiles, paint and photographic prints affixed to the outside of these small buildings to make them visually less offensive.
A variety of creative solutions has either helped them to blend in or provided the public with an insight into what they are actually for.
Sonic fountain produces musical art
Saturday, 9th February 2013 at 11:01am


Ever felt that the sound of water dripping was slightly rhythmic and musical? If not, you may want to reconsider after seeing the new installation at the 303 gallery in New York by American artist Doug Aitken.
The piece, called Sonic Fountain, is part of the gallery's 100 Years exhibition and features five rods that drip water into a pool below. The dripping is not random; it is released at special intervals to create a variety of patterns and shapes, with the sound amplified by the location and the pool itself having been specially excavated out of the floor of the gallery.
The piece is quiet and tranquil with a milky white glow coming from the pool and a breath like rhythm from the water drops.
Watch a video of the exhibition below.
Tree roots emerge from ceiling
Thursday, 31st January 2013 at 10:18am


Giuseppe Licari, a Rotterdam-based Sicilian artist, has transformed a gallery space into an underground lair. His latest work is a network of tree roots hanging from the ceiling, resembling organic chandeliers, titled ‘humus’, which refers to the soil layer that is essential for trees and plants to grow.
The work gives that feeling of entering a world below ground, where you get an exclusive peak at a hidden sanctum, a space which normally gives life and stability to trees in a park or forest.
The central theme for his work is the relationship between humankind and nature, and growth and decay, as seen by the dead tree roots being displayed for inspection, along with the soil, taken from their urban environment in which they grew.

