My friend Jen recently convinced me to join Twitter and introduced me to the hot topic of the curator’s code. I am returning to blogging after being remiss for months with a tour de force of curation, replete with absolute full disclosure of all sources. I’ll even use the new unicode symbols, though whether I am being ironic in their use or not is up to the reader.
Act 1: Alberto Seveso
I find these ink and water pieces astonishing because they read like ropy solids that dissolve into smoke without ever being liquid. They are beautiful, if a bit frightening in their squid/dementor-like sense of agency.
Seveso’s work reminds me of this Japanese artist, whose inks aren’t blooming in water but bursting and suspended in air. The moments he is able to capture of suspended inks, waters and paints are sublime. While I’d seen his sumi ink pieces before tonight was the first time I’d seen this lush, mysterious “Gardens” series. Its vignetted, moody lighting and levitating-fluids casting shadows give them all the tension of a David Lynch still.
Suspend ferrous particles in water or oil and introduce magnets and you have something magical if somewhat disturbing.
↬My old friend Shani on her incredibly well-curated Typologica. A whole lot more can be found ᔥ the charmingly titled fuckyeahfluiddynamics tumblr.
Chapter 4: R.I.P Moebius
I can’t help but think I’ve been in a water-art kick recently because I keep going back and looking over galleries of work by Moebius, who died last week. Jean Giraud was a one-of-a-kind talent (and a major visual inspiration for Star Wars, Dune, Tron, and Alien, great article ↬coudal ᔥcasualoptimist). His sense of fluidity and float were uncanny.
Plenty more Moebius all over the web especially these days but as usual I like the curation ↬butdoesitfloat
Oh, how I wish I were in Tokyo right now, rather than stuck at home, sick in bed. If I were in Toyko, I could go to the House Industries, Eames Exhibition. Instead, I guess I’ll have to settle for some of the limited edition prints. They’ve only printed 33 of each design, so go grab one while you still can!
I first saw Lisa Swerling’s fabulous Glass Cathedrals at Renegade Craft Fair last December. I was then reminded of them at the totally awesome Park and Pond (more on Park and Pond later). They feel like little windows onto secret worlds. And there are even some elements on a few of them that she will customize for you!
Here is what Lisa Swerling has to say about the project:
Glass Cathedrals are a series of artboxes that I began working on in London in 2006. The idea of Glass Cathedrals is taken from an episode in the Peter Carey book Oscar and Lucinda — a life-size glass church, made by missionaries in the Australian outback, is seen floating down a river. A trapped dragonfly collides against the walls trying to escape, blind to the concept of glass.
My inspiration for this series was the collision between the seriousness with which we take our lives, and the limitations of our understanding. In Glass Cathedrals the heroes are the tiny figures, my boxes the space where they struggle, aspire, dance, dream.
They are a little hard to see here; head over to Swerling’s site for larger images of a ton more Glass Cathedrals.
Space Oddity kind of freaked me out when I was a kid, so it probably wouldn’t have been my first choice for a kid’s book. But, Andrew Kolb has changed my mind; his illustrations of David Bowie’s classic are great. His book hasn’t been published, but you can download a PDF here. Oh, and check out this crazy Space Oddity “video.”
UPDATE: As many of you have probably noticed, Andrew Kolb isn’t offering the book for download from his site. He has in fact obscured the lyrics and title on the images he has on his site. You can however, view all of the pages at Wired.com.
Alexa Meade‘s art is awesome. Sure, it is a tiny bit reminiscent of the Pageant of the Masters, but the Pageant of the Masters is pretty awesome too. Her work is a true multi-media experience — an amazing combination of painting, installation, performance and photography. Check out a bunch more work, plus some process shots, in her portfolio and on flickr.
Oh, and here are some videos of Alexa showing her process and speaking about her work.
Aren’t these high-speed photographs from Appuru Pai great? I love that they look abstract at first glance and but upon further inspection you begin to see lights and cars and buildings. So pretty! Check our more of Appuru Pai’s here.
We know, we know. It’s been about 400 million years since we did a Schmetsy, which is fitting since that’s almost as long as our fine, featured, fearsome finned friends have been kicking around. In honor of those strong, shrewd stewards of the sea (and everyone’s favorite annual event), this week’s Schmetsy celebrates Shark Week!
Row 1: Monster Shark Can Cozy by Handamade; Great White Shark Silhouette Necklace by ANORIGINALJEWELRY; Tiny Felt Hammerhead Shark by nicolaluke
