Peter Callesen, an artist from Denmark, works preferredly with paper. Some of his artworks are silhouette-like forms in whole paper sheets, others are three-dimensional paper sculptures.
One common theme of his works ist he reinterpretation of classic fairy tales as well as a general interest in memories connected to childhood.
The richness in detail alone is impressive. Even cooler are Peter Callesens’ experiments in merging two- and three-dimensional representation:
Most recently I have started making white paper cuts/sculptures inspired by fairytales and romanticism exploring the relationship between two and three dimensionality, between image and reality. I find the materialization of a flat piece of paper into a 3D form as an almost magic process - or maybe one could call it obvious magic, because the process is obvious and the figures still stick to their origin, without the possibility of escaping. In that sense there is also an aspect of something tragic in most of the cuts.
Besides his paper cuts, Peter Callesen also presents installations, performances and drawings at his website. The paper cuts are the unchallenged highlight, in my humble opinion.
Jennifer Maestre creates small sculptures with crayons, nails and other materials. According to her the spiky sculptures are inspired by sea urchins.
The spines of the urchin, so dangerous yet beautiful, serve as an explicit warning against contact. The alluring texture of the spines draws the touch in spite of the possible consequences.
I like how she transforms such ordinary things into artworks. Crayons or nails are probably not going to impress many people in everyday life. This seems to be one of their central approaches.
Quantities of industrially manufactured objects are used to create flexible forms reminiscent of the organic shapes of animals and nature.
Chandeliers have a reputation of being antiquated. They just aren’t trandy anymore. Maybe Adam Wallacavage can help this kind of lighting to new fame. He builds chandeliers in tentacle designs.
There is a tentacle for every taste. Black tentacles. Bright pink tentacles. Thick tentacles. Slim tentacles… :)
The only downside ist he pice: The pinc tentacle chandelier costs 10′000 dollars. The other ones probably aren’t much cheaper. Looks like tentacles are only for the wealthy class… *sigh*
The installation called Of the Now by Nick Bednarz gives wings to anyone who steps into the human outline in the center. If you move on, the wings disappear again. There isn’t much hi tech involved (apparently flash and a light barrier), but the idea is still enchanting. Especially if you don’t know the installation yet and step unsuspectingly into the outline, the effect is probably verrry cool. :)
I think it would be even cooler if the wings could follow you around. ^_^
An interactive installation by Daan Roosegaarde is called Dune 4.0. It consists of hundred of black fibers with LED-lighted tops, which react on the movements and sounds of passing visitors. It kinda reminds one of futuristic techno reed. :) Daan Roosegaarde refers to his installation as an interactive landscape.
I like this beautiful, slightly eerie atmosphere.
In the video, Dune 4.0 is installed in an interior space. The artist later installed it in a pedestrian pass underground. I think the atmosphere is better in this video, though.
Judging from the video, the installation’s reactions to the visitors are a little delayed, which would be a pity. But maybe I misjudge it or maybe it has already been improved.
I recently stumbled upon an interesting article about painting. It shows a nice little method to create “freestyle” paintings. This is the short version:
This installation by Pablo Valbuena is called Augmented Sculpture v1.0. I don’t think words can convey the fascinating effect of this installation of light, so better watch the video above. :)
This is one of my favorite installations. I have seen it in reality (at Ars Electronica 2007) and it was at least equally fascinating and beautiful there as in the video. The setup at the Ars Electronica Festival had a more mysterious atmosphere, because it was placed in a very dark, old, room which had the feeling of a ruin.
At the website of Pablo there are more beautiful pictures of the installation, the same video in better quality, as well as the artist’s description:
This project is focused on the temporary quality of space, investigating space-time not only as a three dimensional environment, but as space in transformation.
Some time ago, I visited the Museu d´Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA). Most exhibited artworks could only raise limited interest in me, but there was one exception: The music installation „Opera for a Small Room“ by Janett Cardiff and George Bures Miller. Unlinke our interactive music installation Dave, this installation is not interactive, but it is nevertheless impressive.
Combine long exposure time and bright objects and you get beautiful images. You can find plenty of examples spread over the internet.
What is very uncommon, though, are animated light paintings. Lichtfaktor creates such beautiful animations. His myspace-profile contains various beautiful light paintings and this video:
In 2005, the american sculptors Dan Havel and Dean Ruck built some kind of vortex into two houses. They called the resulting artwork, which lead like a tunnel through the house, “Inversion”.
Unfortunately, this weird construction had only a very short life span. The two houses were scheduled for destruction just a few months later – and most likely, the schedule was kept.
