OPENISTIC

2011-07-25T19:59:00.004-04:00

2011-07-25T19:59:00.003-04:00

2011-07-25T19:59:00.001-04:00

2011-07-25T19:58:00.001-04:00

2011-07-25T19:57:00.002-04:00

2011-07-25T19:57:00.001-04:00

2010-12-03T13:18:00.011-05:00

Carl Kleiner: Still-life Photographer

2010-09-28T22:57:00.009-04:00

Stockholm based still-life Photographer Carl Kleiner has a unique, stylish and sometimes quirky vision.
Via: Beautiful Decay

Matija Drozdek: A Growing Gallery of Work

2010-09-28T20:02:00.012-04:00

Multi-talented Matija Drozdek who hails from Croatia has a fresh and “growing gallery of work”.

Emma McNally: Contemporary Drawing

2010-08-31T09:07:00.008-04:00

Artist Emma McNally draws with graphite on paper and in the process creates work which resembles ancient maps, possibly of intergalactic travel.
Via: And if it’s Real

Anne Harild: Tårn Series

2010-08-30T21:42:00.009-04:00

The Tårn series by Artist Anne Harild “is an ongoing collection of towers.” “Totems inspired by vernacular architecture and primitive structures. They are informed by textures and materials put to imaginary use.”

Imagine with Photographer Nora Blum

2010-08-30T00:02:00.007-04:00

Photographer Nora Blum leaves much to the viewers imagination. As she “will only show us what she wants us to see...”
Via: Freaksonline

Yves Zimmermann: TM Covers

2010-08-29T14:50:00.010-04:00

“In 1952 Schweizer Graphische Mitteilungen (SGM), Revue Suisse de L’imprimerie (RSI) and Typographische Monatsblätter (founded in 1933) joined forces and merged into a single monthly periodical titled TM (Typographic Monthly)”, which is still in print today. For TM “Swiss born, Yves Zimmermann (b. 1937, Basel) designed a captivating series of seven black and white, text-only covers in 1959.” Yet only two were published and not until 1960. As the editorial team found the idea behind the covers to be controversial at the time.
Via: Display

Allandale House: “A Cabin of Curiosities”

2010-08-29T00:44:00.023-04:00

Allandale House designed by Architect William O’Brien Jr takes the term A-frame to a curious new place. As “the house links three horizontal extrusions of ‘leaning’, or asymmetrical A-frames.” This unique configuration compliments the idiosyncratic nature of the homeowner and “provides space for an eccentric collection of artifacts that resist straightforward classification.”
Via: Architects List

Leeming & Paterson: Abstract Impressions

2010-08-28T20:44:00.012-04:00

Leeming and Paterson “work in collaboration to produce abstract landscape images which explore the subtle textures, colours and contrasts of nature. Drawing on the natural elements of light, weather, season and movement the images seek to embody soul and atmosphere rather than focusing on tangible detail. Inspired by historical representations of landscape across a wide range of media the artists focus solely on the beauty of reflected light in its purest form. By sublimating background elements and abstracting recognisable detail, the images free the viewer to interpret them in a very personal way, more as one might conventionally respond to a painting than to a photograph.

This work is very much a collaborative venture. The two artists work together to develop ideas from concept through to fruition, with either one eventually capturing the single image that expresses their combined vision. The images are created in the field using innovative camera techniques (rather than by adding special effects in the digital darkroom), using the camera more as a painter’s brush than as a tool for recording a pre-existing image.”

Joe Kievitt Draws with Ink on Paper

2010-08-28T14:56:00.014-04:00

Portland, Maine based Artist Joe Kievitt draws with ink on paper.
Via: Today and Tomorrow

Andrew Bush: The Art of Envelopes

2010-08-24T12:47:00.013-04:00

Los Angeles based Photographer Andrew Bush transforms envelopes into so much more.
Via: The Silver Lining

James Nizam: Chairs, Doors & Drawers

2010-08-21T23:36:00.010-04:00

Vancouver based Artist James Nizam has some wonderful work that features chairs, doors, drawers and more.
Via: Sweet Station

U:D/R 02 – Space and Structure

2010-08-20T11:35:00.012-04:00

“Number two in a series of newspapers devoted to the overlooked and unexpected corners of graphic design and visual culture.

U:D/R 02 – Space and structure. Looking at Form, a quarterly magazine of the arts (1966—1969)” is available from Unit Editions.

Nicholas Lampert Knows the Power of Collage

2010-08-19T20:02:00.015-04:00

Milwaukee, Wisconsin based Artist Nicholas Lampert has some deep collage work. From his website: ‘Oppression involves a failure of the imagination, the failure to imagine the full humanity of other human beings.’
— Margaret Atwood
Via: Art is Everywhere

On the Dark Side with Alexander Binder

2010-08-19T14:57:00.009-04:00

Self taught German Photographer Alexander Binder was born on “Halloween - and raised in the Black Forest. He describes his childhood as either spending endless hours in the town's surrounding woods listening to black metal or being at home watching horror movies.”
Via: HUH.

Bäst: Art from the Streets of Brooklyn

2010-08-17T10:52:00.010-04:00

“Despite the growing recognition of street art, the identities of most artists working in this area are still shrouded in secrecy. Brooklyn-based artist Bäst is no exception, even though he has peppered the streets of his hometown with his elaborate, wheat-pasted collages for much of the past decade. While little is known about Bäst, he has exhibited his work at Jonathan LeVine in Chelsea and New Image Art in Los Angeles, and has recently been making inroads into the UK, plastering works over the walls of one of Lazarides Gallery’s London spaces.”
Via: Nowness & Brooklyn Street Art

Land of Giants by Choi + Shine Architects

2010-08-16T23:00:00.007-04:00

This conceptual design by Choi + Shine Architects “transforms mundane electrical pylons into statues on the Icelandic landscape.”

They go on to say: “making only minor alterations to well established steel-framed tower design, we have created a series of towers that are powerful, solemn and variable. These iconic pylon-figures will become monuments in the landscape. Seeing the pylon- figures will become an unforgettable experience, elevating the towers to something more than merely a functional design of necessity.

The pylon-figures can be configured to respond to their environment with appropriate gestures. As the carried electrical lines ascend a hill, the pylon-figures change posture, imitating a climbing person. Over long spans, the pylon-figure stretches to gain increased height, crouches for increased strength or strains under the weight of the wires.

In addition, the pylon-figures can also be arranged to create a sense of place through deliberate expression. Subtle alterations in the hands and head combined with repositioning of the main body parts in the x, y and z-axis, allow for a rich variety of expressions. The pylon-figures can be placed in pairs, walking in the same direction or opposite directions, glancing at each other as they pass by or kneeling respectively, head bowed at a town.

Like the statues of Easter Island, it is envisioned that these one hundred and fifty foot tall, modern caryatids will take on a quiet authority, belonging to their landscape yet serving the people, silently transporting electricity across all terrain, day and night, sunshine or snow.”
Via: Dezeen

Viktor Hertz: Coffee & Cigarettes Poster

2010-08-15T10:55:00.007-04:00

What a clever poster by Swedish graphic designer Viktor Hertz.
Via: Francisco Ali

Steen Doessing: The Congenital Landscape

2010-08-14T10:44:00.012-04:00

From the voice of photographer Steen Doessing: “Born and raised in Denmark, I grew up surrounded by water. The ocean, lakes and rivers were everywhere I looked. My senses were filled with the smell, sound and the visual impression of water. Water to me represents life and the equanimity and power of nature. Water is where I came from. My fascination with water is never ending. I can sit on the shoreline for hours without taking a single photograph and just take in the sea.

To many my work represents a state of tranquillity, of Zen, of calm but also of drama. I’m often asked if this is who I am, or if my art is a way of escaping from something else. My answer is that this state is something I am celebrating! A state of harmony and balance – a state of equilibrium!

Using long exposures, sometimes hours, I’m capturing a slow-motion sequence of seemingly infinite movements and changes surrounding static objects and letting these elements blend into a single visual plane. It is the graphic representation of the determination and resilience of these static objects against the gentle yet powerful calm of their surroundings that to me signifies the equilibrium.

For me, photography is a visual medium that offers me the opportunity to express the way I see and feel things around me. I don’t take pictures – I make photographs! Some people like them – some don’t! You see what you see!

My work is more or less exclusively black and white and hugely influenced by my environment which throughout my life has been encompassed by water. It is my hope that my love for the intimacy and beauty inherent in the intrinsic landscape that immediately surrounds us, being it urban or rural, is evident in my work.”

Ralph Balson: Indeterminacy & Change

2010-08-13T17:16:00.008-04:00

Australian artist Ralp Balson (1890-1964) wrote late in his life about his own abstract art: “a world which no longer had humanity at its centre, a universe like Einstein's of indeterminacy and change.”
Text Via: Australian Dictionary of Biography
Images Via: MutualArt

Filip Dujardin: Architectural Fiction

2010-08-11T21:12:00.011-04:00

“Flemish Artist Filip Dujardin often uses digital manipulation to create not-so-unbelievable architectural fictions.”
Via: Beautiful Decay

Gabriel Orozco: Geometry & Organicity

2010-08-11T16:28:00.010-04:00

Mexican Artist Gabriel Orozco states: ‘The circle for me is a very useful Instrument in terms of movement, in relation to gravity and erosion. It's the tendency of objects when they're in movement and are eroded by friction... I decided to do [the paintings] to see how much they could express geometry but also organicity... I decided to start from the centre of the plane, which I think is not very common. I started from the minimal point of the centre, and then developed the structure towards the frame as the limit. ... The sequence of colors is distributed based on how the chess knight moves, jumping two blocks and one, which I take as a representation of tri-dimensionality in a bi-dimensional field... I believe this system represents the rotation of the body, in its growing or shrinking and in moving and rotating. ... Even though I was curious to explore the possibilities of abstraction, I don't quite think in terms of abstraction in art. I think in terms of fields connected through this structure, making this a geometric field in which, when you look at it, you become aware of something that is obviously very abstract . But it's also something that sounds as if it is, or can be logical in relation to an organism, or in relation to how things grow or happen, in relation to abstract thinking itself, in relation to instruments, in relation to mechanicity, in relation to our body.’
Via: Marian Goodman Gallery

A Tiny House in the Australian Outback

2010-08-11T00:00:00.007-04:00

“A tiny treasure in the Australian outback, this cool, tiny house design by Australia architects Casey Brown Architecture brings a bit of the unexpected into its natural surroundings. This prefab cottage measures only 10 by 10 ft., clad in copper with a glass-enclosed lower level revealed when the shades are drawn. This rustic house style boasts a simple cube shape with unadorned, unpretentious interiors with a relaxed, casual country-chic character. But there’s more to this countryside home than meets the eye. An eco sustainable home design, this compact house incorporates passive heating and cooling technologies, and a water-harvesting system for some keen ‘green’ appeal.”
Via: Trendir

Guy Bourdin: The Power of Style

2010-08-10T18:04:00.008-04:00

Stylish, evocative and powerful are just a few of the words that describe the work of Guy Bourdin.
Via: 填鴨教室

The End of the World as We Know it

2010-08-03T00:04:00.025-04:00

Produced in collaboration by Artists EA Byrne and Jamie Lau these posters are from a past exhibition at the FOLD Gallery in London entitled “TEOTWAWKI: The end of the world as we know it” and the artists intent was to “investigate our culture's fascination with the ever-imminent End of the World...” While the theme has been prevalent in our culture for some time the message is still as poignant as ever. Remember the song “It’s the End of the World as We Know it” by REM.
Via: Creative Review

The Mixed Media Work of Steven Riddle

2010-08-01T21:17:00.007-04:00

Baltimore Maryland based Artist Steven Riddle’s mixed media work has a vivid and singular voice.
Via: PICDIT

Tropicalia Chair by Patricia Urquiola

2010-08-01T11:26:00.002-04:00

Part of the Tropicalia line by Patricia Urquiola this chair has the aura of a future design icon.
Via: Apartment Therapy

Sergej Jensen: Painting Without Paint

2010-08-01T00:49:00.016-04:00

Danish Artist Sergej Jensen who once described his work as ‘painting without paint’ utilizes fabrics as “ready-mades”. Upon which various liquids and materials are applied, “all mimicking the gesture of painting.”
Via: Anton Kern Gallery

Biennale Di Venezia: Making Worlds

2010-07-31T18:19:00.016-04:00

“The Venice Biennale is the world's most exciting visual arts event that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The 53rd International Art Exhibition, titled Fare Mondi/Making Worlds, is directed by Daniel Birnbaum and will comprise works by over 90 artists from all over the world.” Stockholm Design Lab designed this sharp visual identity which was intended to communicate the theme “Making Worlds” by use of abstract forms.

The Missing Link in Ansel Adams’ Career

2010-07-27T17:38:00.012-04:00

“A trove of old glass negatives bought at a garage sale for $45 have been authenticated as the lost work of famed nature photographer Ansel Adams and are worth at least $200 million, an attorney for the owner said Tuesday.

A team of experts concluded after an exhaustive, six-month examination that the 65 negatives are Adams' early work, which were believed to have been destroyed in a 1937 fire at his Yosemite National Park studio, Arnold Peter said.

‘These photographs are really the missing link,’ he said. ‘They really fill the void in Ansel Adams' early career.’

Adams is best known for his striking black-and-white photographs, mainly landscapes, of the American West. He died in 1984 at 82.”
Via: Yahoo!

Bru 1.25 by SoHo Architects

2010-07-27T02:09:00.019-04:00

Called Bru 1.25 this straightforward and well executed house was designed by the German firm SoHo Architektur. “The roof and external walls have been clad in fibre-cement corrugated panels, eliminating the need for rain-pipes or gutters.” This served to further reduce costs which was the primary factor for construction and design decisions.
Via: Dezeen

Ibán Ramón: Industrial Inspiration

2010-07-23T01:22:00.005-04:00

“Spanish Photographer Ibán Ramón has a tendency of framing his subjects smack-dab in the middle of the frame. Turning to industrial, man-made machinery for inspiration, Ibán manages to bring out an indescribable solitude within these massive, steel built noise polluting contraptions, giving each one their own sense of self and belonging. His use of tones and colors are also worth mentioning.”
Via: doubleyouwhy

The Oluce Stone Outdoor Lamp

2010-07-20T16:27:00.005-04:00

The Stone Outdoor Lamp by Oluce will link your outdoor environment with the cosmos.
Via: Uncrate

Cassini Equinox Mission

2010-07-20T13:15:00.011-04:00

A few images from the Cassini Equinox Mission which transcend science.

Lara Schnitger: Damned Women

2010-07-19T23:27:00.013-04:00

Artist Lara Schnitger’s 2D work demonstrates a wonderful sense of style and color in her exhibition Damned Women.

Balance by Porro

2010-07-16T00:41:00.017-04:00

The Porro balancing boxes table feels like a metaphor for the compartmentalized juggling act of contemporary life and the never ending quest for balance.

Fuck You

2010-07-14T19:37:00.008-04:00

Artist Marion Peck has a talent for well poised communication.
Via: Hope/Glory Blog

Lydia Lys Selmalhigazi

2010-07-13T23:13:00.009-04:00

French Art Director Lydia Lys Selimalhigazi has some wonderfully vibrant collage work.
Via: Paperoddbird’s Blog

The Letterhead Collection at Letterheady

2010-07-12T02:19:00.013-04:00

Just some of the letterheads to be found over at Letterheady.
Via: Design for Mankind

Echoes by Max Ash

2010-07-11T01:33:00.015-04:00

The Echoes Series by photographer Max Ash has a beautiful poetic tone.
Via: Open-Eye-Photography

Aristide Antonas: Crane Rooms

2010-07-10T12:11:00.017-04:00

Architect Aristide Antonas writes “Simple concrete foundations and elementary water pools are proposed to be installed in non hospitable beaches or arid hills nearby the sea. The room units form independent cells, they can be covered by tissues during the day; they provide a quality connection to the Internet. The private or public character of each room is regulated by the chosen high of every unit. The high control system is located inside every room. Platforms go up and down following the will of every provisional inhabitant. A bigger screen, related to the bed, serves as a home cinema structure; a small office, a wardrobe and a shower are placed in the same moving platform. A common underground kitchen serves the needs of all the complex; a reverse osmosis desalination plant provides drinkable water to the invisible kitchen and to the units (the water pipes follow the length of the crane).”
Via: BLDGBLOG

Christopher Wool

2010-07-09T17:41:00.008-04:00

New York based artist Christopher Wool has some fine abstract work that is currently on exhibit at the Gagosian Gallery.
Via: Art Observed

The Lines of Utility Circa 1961

2010-07-08T03:47:00.017-04:00

This oh so nice vintage engineers light can be further admired as well as purchased at Modern50.

Susanna Hertrich: The Poetry of Time

2010-07-07T00:31:00.008-04:00

Hertrich states:“The machine as performer. Chrono-Shredder is a poetic time-object that reminds us of the volatileness of the »now«. As hybrid object with functions similar to those of a calendar and a clock, it shreds every single day in realtime. All that time that is irrevisibly lost gets a tangible existence in form of shredded paper. As time passes by, the tattered remains of the past pile up under the device.”
Via: Dezeen

Ross Gunter: Bridging the Gap

2010-07-06T21:23:00.016-04:00

London graphic designer Ross Gunter has created a seriously solid series of posters for Bridging the Gap.
Via: Think.BigChief

Daylight Entrance by Daniel Rybakken

2010-07-05T11:15:00.023-04:00

“Sunlight has an important role in sustaining life on earth and has shown a positive affect on the mood. Born in Oslo – Norway and currently based in Gothenburg – Sweden designer Daniel Rybakken made an installation – Daylight Entrance – to ‘replicate the positive sensation of sunlight’ in both the entrance and staircase of an office building in central Stockholm.

Using the technical princples of one of his previous projects Rybakken used over 6000 LED lights over 3 stories to give the visitor or employee the suggestion of multiple windows somewhere in the staircase.”
Via: Minimalissimo

Tamar Cohen: Driving in Circles

2010-07-03T22:37:00.016-04:00

If you’ve ever felt like you were going around in circles you probably can identify with the Driving in Circles series by Tamar Cohen.
Via: Art Splash

Owen Silverwood: the Oblique Series

2010-07-03T21:36:00.013-04:00

Multi-talented Owen Silverwood has created a wonderful collection of graphic images in his Oblique series by integrating one object into another.
Via: It’s Nice That

Felipe Guga: Hot Stuff

2010-07-03T19:47:00.016-04:00

“Brazilian artist Felipe Guga creates melt-in-your-mouth imagery in sunny Rio de Janeiro. Maybe that’s why his pieces remind me of fruity cocktails and sand in my hair. Guga has successfully designed an array of t-shirts, websites and print ads with his sun-bleached pallete and swirling collage effects.”
Via: Beautiful/Decay

Fabio Zanino: The Decostruzioni

2010-07-02T11:41:00.010-04:00

Artist Fabio Zanino states “The Decostruzioni are born out of this artistic research: the words leave behind their original purpose and meaning to become pure shapes. The surface of road signs and warning signals is cut into smaller pieces and then re-assembled into abstract artworks, in accordance with the following pattern: objet trouvé > de-construction > assemblage, where iconoclastic act and street art draw from each other. At the same time I experimented with photography and worked on the theme time-man-material, which I called Contexture. Time prevaricates man’s action on material and transforms it. The aging of different types of material allows for new details to surface and acquire aesthetic value. The decontextualization casts the texture in a new dimension, which investigates the origins of abstract art and inspiration.”
Via: Sweet-Station

Less & More: The Design Ethos of Deiter Rams

2010-07-01T19:20:00.019-04:00

Deiter Rams established himself as one of the most influential designers of the 20th century in his over 40 years at Braun. “His elegantly clear visual language not only defined product design for decades, but also our fundamental understanding of what design is and what it can and should do.” Less and More published by Gestalten is the ultimate collection of his work.
Via: The Strange Attractor

A Sign of the Times by Philippe Starck

2010-07-01T09:21:00.017-04:00

Philippe Starck who is a firm believer in peace communicates his vision of our times with the Gun lamp collection for Flos. He states “Why doesn’t furniture show that everything is a political choice? I am a designer and design is my only weapon, so I use it to speak about what I think is important. Nowadays we kill – religiously, militarily, civilly, indeed very civilly sometimes. We kill out of ambition, out of greed, for the fun of it or of the show. Republics turn bananas. Tyrants are our masters, designed, manufactured, sold, dreamed, purchased and used, weapons are our new icons. Our lives are only worth a bullet. The Guns Collection is nothing but a sign of the times.”
Text Via: The King of Design
Image Via: Broccolicity

EVOL: Cardboard & Spray Paint

2010-06-21T00:03:00.009-04:00

The transformation of cardboard with spray paint by EVOL.
Via: PICDIT

Steven Brooks: Photographer

2010-06-14T19:06:00.009-04:00

Seattle based photographer Steven Brooks is inspired by the American roadside.

Carie Bauer: Photographer

2010-05-22T15:15:00.022-04:00

Portland, Oregon based photographer Carie Bauer sees more than most.

Felix Schramm: Destruction & Reorganization

2010-05-11T23:01:00.016-04:00

German artist Felix Schramm explores “architectural destruction and reorganization in pre-existing spaces through the introduction of irregular structures” with his sculptural work.
Via: Sweet Station

José Collection by Mauricio Arruda

2010-05-09T17:40:00.011-04:00

Brazilian designer Mauricio Arruda transforms the everyday plastic crate into stylish and environmentally friendly furniture with his new collection of storage units.
Via: Dezeen

Donut Seeds

2009-11-13T00:05:00.014-05:00

Now I understand! Check out the book Eat Me: The Food and Philosophy of Kenny Shopskin for more.

The 1930s & 1940s in Color

2009-09-29T15:49:00.019-04:00

Just a few of the images from the 1930s & 1940s that can be found on the Flickr photostream of the Library of Congress.

Book Trade Labels

2009-09-28T00:25:00.007-04:00

Just a few of the Book Trade Labels that caught my eye in the Seven Roads Gallery of Book Trade Labels.

Eduardo Paolozzi Still Fresh

2009-09-27T19:01:00.004-04:00

Artist Eduardo Paolozzi was “amongst the earliest forerunners of Pop Art” and to this day his work still retains the fresh scent of innovation.

Vintage Magic Posters

2009-09-26T18:05:00.010-04:00

Magicgallery has a cool collection of vintage magic posters from magic’s “Golden Age” which was from 1890 to 1930. I found these posters for the amazing Kellar to be very good! The world sure could use some good magic during these gloomy days.

The Age of Power & Wonder

2009-09-18T16:13:00.014-04:00

These beautiful cigarette cards from the Age of Power & Wonder are just a fraction of the collection available in the NYPL Digital Gallery.

The Selby: Come In Sign

2009-08-17T22:01:00.010-04:00

I just received a tip about this really cool sign on the Selby and I just had to share it. The photo is from the home of Lucy Chadwick & Duffy in London.

Desiderata: A Poem for Inner Peace

2009-07-18T00:04:00.010-04:00

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself to others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the the world is full of trickery. But let not this blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all it's sham drudgery and broken dreams; it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

— Max Ehrmann
Photo by Mike Reynolds

Greg Lamarche

2009-07-16T12:01:00.013-04:00

Artist Greg Lamarche creates bold compositions, primarily in collage. His background is in graffiti.
Via: It’s Nice That

The Anonymous Hugging Wall

2009-07-15T19:15:00.029-04:00

Feel the LOVE! With the Anonymous Hugging Wall created by Keetra Dean Dixon as part of her “ongoing series METHODS & APPARATI for Social Facilitation and Mood Elevation.”

Franco Fontana: “Writing With Light”

2009-07-12T12:14:00.040-04:00

“Photography, writing with light is certainly still magic, one click leads through mysterious chemistry to develop and realize an image. But Fontana doesn’t restrict himself to just the image, he transforms it to something else, probably curious about other people’s life, about moments that are never his, panorama’s presumed real but felt differently, dreams that were dreamt by other people somewhere one has not been. Like Elias Canetti wrote what could be the motive of every artist: ‘Nobody resists without a borrowed life, our own is not enough’. There are landscapes in the mind that surpass those that casually could happen in front of our eyes and they are superior. They are made of so many of those things that we do not even know where and when and how: a book we read, or a song, the memory of a person or the wish to forget, an instant moment or a long run of years. Fontana, with his brilliant simplicity (apparent simplicity, as matters from the mind and from the heart appear in a complicate way) registers this and meanwhile gives space by suggesting to enable us to fill in with our own memories. From our times, with all our own fantasmagoria as everyone of us makes.”

— Francesco Guccini

Via: Notcot

John Polgreen: Space Travel

2009-07-09T01:58:00.025-04:00

I really like the style of these illustrations by John Polgreen. They were found on the Flickr stream of Nick Darrington.

Kunal Anand: Del.icio.us Visualizations

2009-07-06T22:59:00.016-04:00

I really like the look of these visualizations by Kunal Anand.

Rosemarie Fiore: Fireworks & Art

2009-07-02T01:23:00.025-04:00

New York based artist Rosemarie Fiore plays with the potentially lethal combination of fireworks and art. By exploding and containing life fireworks. Then creating compositions with the resulting bursts of color. Speaking of explosions, I am in need of a short break from the blog and will be taking one. Have a good holiday weekend!
Via: Sweet Station

Noel Kerns: Abandoned Gas Stations

2009-06-30T18:11:00.028-04:00

Noel Kerns has a great collection of abandoned gas station photos on his Flickr stream.

Jaime Martinez

2009-06-28T18:02:00.017-04:00

Jaime Martinez has some very interesting work.

Via: Hello Jupiter

Photos from A Fun Time

2009-06-27T09:55:00.019-04:00

Joseba Elorza / Miraruido

2009-06-26T21:11:00.009-04:00

Joseba Elorza’s collage work is inspiring.
Via: Booooooom!

Cottingley Fairies: Just Beyond the Truth?

2009-06-25T14:26:00.015-04:00

“ Flying wonders and
Comical gnomes are waiting
Just beyond the truth”
— Victoria
Via: Museum of Hoaxes

Type Tart Cards

2009-06-23T23:05:00.019-04:00

Explore the tart hiding in every type at the Type Tart Card Gallery hosted by Wallpaper*. Maybe you’ll will find your type.
Via: Nerdcore

The Mysterious World of Shannon Freshwater

2009-06-23T03:25:00.011-04:00

Shannon Freshwater “is interested in the mysterious and unknown, and finds inspiration in her own fears of death, decay, ghosts, vortexes, and various other natural and supernatural events.”

1978: Comic Sans & the Sex Pistols!?

2009-06-20T09:40:00.044-04:00

Christie’s had planned to auction this supposed 1978 Sex Pistols flyer with an estimated value of $2,000 - $3,000. That is until they noticed the presence of a font that sure looks like Comic Sans. Which was released in 1994. Check out Typophile and Emvergeoning for additional information.

Via: Boing Boing

Untitled Tower by Jane South

2009-06-18T13:31:00.017-04:00

Jane South specializes in “architectural paper constructions” and she has really outdone herself with this monumental tower. That was recently on display at the Spencer Brownstone Gallery.
Via: Beautiful Decay

Selgasono: Office in the Woods

2009-06-18T09:58:00.018-04:00

“Spanish architects Jose Selgas and Lucia Cano of Selgascano have designed an office for their own practice, located in the woods near Madrid in Spain.” That seems akin to a nature observatory.
Via: Dezeen

Sébastien Preschoux ([Hu] Man vs. Machine)

2009-06-18T01:17:00.013-04:00

French artist Sébastien Preschoux ([Hu] Man vs. Machine) works with lines and his string installations look like an extension of nature.
Via: Notcot

Geometric Patterns

2009-06-17T14:17:00.019-04:00

1976 Montreal Olympics Posters

2009-06-16T15:57:00.018-04:00

I love these posters for the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Checkout the Official Olympic Games Report for additional information.

The Ballad of the Northern Lights

2009-06-12T02:14:00.020-04:00

One of the Down and Out — that’s me. Stare at me well, ay, stare!
Stare and shrink — say! you wouldn’t think that I was a millionaire.
Look at my face, it’s crimped and gouged — one of them death-mask things;
Don’t seem the sort of man, do I, as might be the pal of kings?
Slouching along in smelly rags, a bleary-eyed, no-good bum;
A knight of the hollow needle, pard, spewed from the sodden slum.
Look me all over from head to foot; how much would you think I was worth?
A dollar? a dime? a nickel? Why, I’m the wealthiest man on earth.

No, don’t you think that I’m off my base. You’ll sing a different tune
If only you’ll let me spin my yarn. Come over to this saloon;
Wet my throat — it’s as dry as chalk, and seeing as how it’s you,
I’ll tell the tale of a Northern trail, and so help me God, it’s true.
I’ll tell of the howling wilderness and the haggard Arctic heights,
Of a reckless vow that I made, and how I staked the Northern Lights.

Remember the year of the Big Stampede and the trail of Ninety-eight,
When the eyes of the world were turned to the North, and the hearts of men elate;
Hearts of the old dare-devil breed thrilled at the wondrous strike,
And to every man who could hold a pan came the message, “Up and hike”.
Well, I was there with the best of them, and I knew I would not fail.
You wouldn’t believe it to see me now; but wait till you’ve heard my tale.

You’ve read of the trail of Ninety-eight, but its woe no man may tell;
It was all of a piece and a whole yard wide, and the name of the brand was “Hell”.
We heard the call and we staked our all; we were plungers playing blind,
And no man cared how his neighbor fared, and no man looked behind;
For a ruthless greed was born of need, and the weakling went to the wall,
And a curse might avail where a prayer would fail, and the gold lust crazed us all.

Bold were we, and they called us three the “Unholy Trinity”
There was Ole Olson, the sailor Swede, and the Dago Kid and me.
We were the discards of the pack, the foreloopers of Unrest,
Reckless spirits of fierce revolt in the ferment of the West.
We were bound to win and we revelled in the hardships of the way.
We staked our ground and our hopes were crowned, and we hoisted out the pay.
We were rich in a day beyond our dreams, it was gold from the grass-roots down;
But we weren’t used to such sudden wealth, and there was the siren town.
We were crude and careless frontiersmen, with much in us of the beast;
We could bear the famine worthily, but we lost our heads at the feast.

The town looked mighty bright to us, with a bunch of dust to spend,
And nothing was half too good them days, and everyone was our friend.
Wining meant more than mining then, and life was a dizzy whirl,
Gambling and dropping chunks of gold down the neck of a dance-hall girl;
Till we went clean mad, it seems to me, and we squandered our last poke,
And we sold our claim, and we found ourselves one bitter morning — broke.

The Dago Kid he dreamed a dream of his mother’s aunt who died —
In the dawn-light dim she came to him, and she stood by his bedside,
And she said: “Go forth to the highest North till a lonely trail ye find;
Follow it far and trust your star, and fortune will be kind.”
But I jeered at him, and then there came the Sailor Swede to me,
And he said: “I dreamed of my sister’s son, who croaked at the age of three.
From the herded dead he sneaked and said: ‘Seek you an Arctic trail;
’Tis pale and grim by the Polar rim, but seek and ye shall not fail’ ”
And lo! that night I too did dream of my mother’s sister’s son,
And he said to me: “By the Arctic Sea there’s a treasure to be won.
Follow and follow a lone moose trail, till you come to a valley grim,
On the slope of the lonely watershed that borders the Polar brim.”
Then I woke my pals, and soft we swore by the mystic Silver Flail,
’twas the hand of Fate, and to-morrow straight we would seek the lone moose trail.

We watched the groaning ice wrench free, crash on with a hollow din;
Men of the wilderness were we, freed from the taint of sin.
The mighty river snatched us up and it bore us swift along;
The days were bright, and the morning light was sweet with jewelled song.
We poled and lined up nameless streams, portaged o’er hill and plain;
We burnt our boat to save the nails, and built our boat again;
We guessed and groped, North, ever North, with many a twist and turn;
We saw ablaze in the deathless days the splendid sunsets burn.
O’er soundless lakes where the grayling makes a rush at the clumsy fly;
By bluffs so steep that the hard-hit sheep falls sheer from out the sky;
By lilied pools where the bull moose cools and wallows in huge content;
By rocky lairs where the pig-eyed bears peered at our tiny tent.
Through the black canyon’s angry foam we hurled to dreamy bars,
And round in a ring the dog-nosed peaks bayed to the mocking stars.
Spring and summer and autumn went; the sky had a tallow gleam,
Yet North and ever North we pressed to the land of our Golden Dream.

So we came at last to a tundra vast and dark and grim and lone;
And there was the little lone moose trail, and we knew it for our own.
By muskeg hollow and nigger-head it wandered endlessly;
Sorry of heart and sore of foot, weary men were we.
The short-lived sun had a leaden glare and the darkness came too soon,
And stationed there with a solemn stare was the pinched, anaemic moon.
Silence and silvern solitude till it made you dumbly shrink,
And you thought to hear with an outward ear the things you thought to think.

Oh, it was wild and weird and wan, and ever in camp o’ nights
We would watch and watch the silver dance of the mystic Northern Lights.
And soft they danced from the Polar sky and swept in primrose haze;
And swift they pranced with their silver feet, and pierced with a blinding blaze.
They danced a cotillion in the sky; they were rose and silver shod;
It was not good for the eyes of man — ’twas a sight for the eyes of God.
It made us mad and strange and sad, and the gold whereof we dreamed
Was all forgot, and our only thought was of the lights that gleamed.

Oh, the tundra sponge it was golden brown, and some was a bright blood-red;
And the reindeer moss gleamed here and there like the tombstones of the dead.
And in and out and around about the little trail ran clear,
And we hated it with a deadly hate and we feared with a deadly fear.
And the skies of night were alive with light, with a throbbing, thrilling flame;
Amber and rose and violet, opal and gold it came.
It swept the sky like a giant scythe, it quivered back to a wedge;
Argently bright, it cleft the night with a wavy golden edge.
Pennants of silver waved and streamed, lazy banners unfurled;
Sudden splendors of sabres gleamed, lightning javelins were hurled.
There in our awe we crouched and saw with our wild, uplifted eyes
Charge and retire the hosts of fire in the battlefield of the skies.

But all things come to an end at last, and the muskeg melted away,
And frowning down to bar our path a muddle of mountains lay.
And a gorge sheered up in granite walls, and the moose trail crept betwixt;
’twas as if the earth had gaped too far and her stony jaws were fixt.
Then the winter fell with a sudden swoop, and the heavy clouds sagged low,
And earth and sky were blotted out in a whirl of driving snow.

We were climbing up a glacier in the neck of a mountain pass,
When the Dago Kid slipped down and fell into a deep crevasse.
When we got him out one leg hung limp, and his brow was wreathed with pain,
And he says: “ ’Tis badly broken, boys, and I’ll never walk again.
It’s death for all if ye linger here, and that’s no cursed lie;
Go on, go on while the trail is good, and leave me down to die.”
He raved and swore, but we tended him with our uncouth, clumsy care.
The camp-fire gleamed and he gazed and dreamed with a fixed and curious stare.
Then all at once he grabbed my gun and he put it to his head,
And he says: “I’ll fix it for you, boys” — them are the words he said.

So we sewed him up in a canvas sack and we slung him to a tree;
And the stars like needles stabbed our eyes, and woeful men were we.
And on we went on our woeful way, wrapped in a daze of dream,
And the Northern Lights in the crystal nights came forth with a mystic gleam.
They danced and they danced the devil-dance over the naked snow;
And soft they rolled like a tide upshoaled with a ceaseless ebb and flow.
They rippled green with a wondrous sheen, they fluttered out like a fan;
They spread with a blaze of rose-pink rays never yet seen of man.
They writhed like a brood of angry snakes, hissing and sulphur pale;
Then swift they changed to a dragon vast, lashing a cloven tail.
It seemed to us, as we gazed aloft with an everlasting stare,
The sky was a pit of bale and dread, and a monster revelled there.

We climbed the rise of a hog-back range that was desolate and drear,
When the Sailor Swede had a crazy fit, and he got to talking queer.
He talked of his home in Oregon and the peach trees all in bloom,
And the fern head-high, and the topaz sky, and the forest’s scented gloom.
He talked of the sins of his misspent life, and then he seemed to brood,
And I watched him there like a fox a hare, for I knew it was not good.
And sure enough in the dim dawn-light I missed him from the tent,
And a fresh trail broke through the crusted snow, and I knew not where it went.
But I followed it o’er the seamless waste, and I found him at shut of day,
Naked there as a new-born babe — so I left him where he lay.

Day after day was sinister, and I fought fierce-eyed despair,
And I clung to life, and I struggled on, I knew not why nor where.
I packed my grub in short relays, and I cowered down in my tent,
And the world around was purged of sound like a frozen continent.
Day after day was dark as death, but ever and ever at nights,
With a brilliancy that grew and grew, blazed up the Northern Lights.

They rolled around with a soundless sound like softly bruised silk;
They poured into the bowl of the sky with the gentle flow of milk.
In eager, pulsing violet their wheeling chariots came,
Or they poised above the Polar rim like a coronal of flame.

From depths of darkness fathomless their lancing rays were hurled,
Like the all-combining search-lights of the navies of the world.
There on the roof-pole of the world as one bewitched I gazed,
And howled and grovelled like a beast as the awful splendors blazed.
My eyes were seared, yet thralled I peered through the parka hood nigh blind;
But I staggered on to the lights that shone, and never I looked behind.

There is a mountain round and low that lies by the Polar rim,
And I climbed its height in a whirl of light, and I peered o’er its jagged brim;
And there in a crater deep and vast, ungained, unguessed of men,
The mystery of the Arctic world was flashed into my ken.
For there these poor dim eyes of mine beheld the sight of sights —
That hollow ring was the source and spring of the mystic Northern Lights.

Then I staked that place from crown to base, and I hit the homeward trail.
Ah, God! it was good, though my eyes were blurred, and I crawled like a sickly snail.
In that vast white world where the silent sky communes with the silent snow,

In hunger and cold and misery I wandered to and fro.
But the Lord took pity on my pain, and He led me to the sea,
And some ice-bound whalers heard my moan, and they fed and sheltered me.
They fed the feeble scarecrow thing that stumbled out of the wild
With the ravaged face of a mask of death and the wandering wits of a child —
A craven, cowering bag of bones that once had been a man.
They tended me and they brought me back to the world, and here I am.

Some say that the Northern Lights are the glare of the Arctic ice and snow;
And some that it’s electricity, and nobody seems to know.
But I’ll tell you now — and if I lie, may my lips be stricken dumb —
It’s a mine, a mine of the precious stuff that men call radium.
It’s a million dollars a pound, they say, and there’s tons and tons in sight.
You can see it gleam in a golden stream in the solitudes of night.

And it’s mine, all mine — and say! if you have a hundred plunks to spare,
I’ll let you have the chance of your life, I’ll sell you a quarter share.
You turn it down? Well, I’ll make it ten, seeing as you are my friend.
Nothing doing? Say! don’t be hard — have you got a dollar to lend?
Just a dollar to help me out, I know you’ll treat me white;
I’ll do as much for you some day . . . God bless you, sir; good-night.
— Robert William Service
Photos Via: Dick Hutchinson

Lee Gainer: Unhidden

2009-06-10T00:37:00.023-04:00

Artist Lee Gainer utilizes weekly advertisements and ink to draw our attention to socially acceptable representations of appearance, behavior and lifestyle in her Unhidden series. By isolating one component of the message to help the viewer cut through the noise of our image and media saturated environment. So that we notice the subtle symbols that often go unnoticed. In the proroces she reveals the inherent ideologies of advertising.
Via: Design Boom

Vintage Prison Nation

2009-06-09T19:05:00.039-04:00

Catch a glimpse of vintage mug shots on the Flickr photo stream of Least Wanted. Please keep in mind that the US now claims the highest incarceration rate in the world. A rate that surpasses those of other democracies by a large margin. With an unequal rate of incarceration for black males. Who are 6.6 times more likely to be incarcerated than white males. Is this the product of a progressive society?

Trouvelot Astronomical Drawings

2009-06-08T17:26:00.018-04:00

The Trouvelot Astronomical Drawings are impressive. Especially when you realize that they were created during the 19th century.

The Real World With Nick Veasy

2009-06-06T02:32:00.024-04:00

X-Ray photographer Nick Veasy counters societies obsession with superficial appearances by showing what things are like under the surface.

The Everyday Art of Chris Wright

2009-06-05T11:01:00.018-04:00

New York artist Chris Wright finds inspiration in the graphic qualities, texture, material and color of everyday objects. That have a particular purpose and a cultural voice.
Via: Sweet Station

Thisisfed − Federico Ferrari

2009-06-04T00:03:00.016-04:00

Photographer Federico Ferrari has a pleasing rather minimal style.

Not Art, Just Nature

2009-06-03T02:22:00.021-04:00

These images may look like abstract art but they are all highly magnified scanned images of minerals and rocks. Perhaps the Earth’s oldest art? These photos and many more can be found at Earth Images. Which has “the world's largest private collection of highly magnified, scanned images of the ‘insides’ of rocks and minerals.”

John Heartfield: Anti-Nazi Photomontages

2009-06-02T14:40:00.050-04:00

During the 1930s at a time when many preferred to ignore the inherent danger posed by the German Nationalist Socialist policy of expansion. John Heartfield chose to criticize the Nazi regime and show its true colors via art by creation of poignant photomontages. His images are powerful reminders of the hazards posed by fascist radical nationalism.

Greg Gossel

2009-06-01T22:36:00.013-04:00

Minneapolis based artist Greg Gossel has a background in design and it shows in his multi-layered graphic style. Which features a vibrant interplay of images, gestures and words. A new exhibition of his work is scheduled at the Shooting Gallery in San Francisco.
Via: Le Zèbre Bleu