The photographs of Katerina Plotnikova are apparitions of fairytales. Female subjects are cradled by ghosts and smoke while narratives come through pops of color. The resulting composition is a dreamlike fashion editorial hinting at both the wistful and sinister. (via)
The paintings of Chase Westfall are pleasantly elusive. His work often toes the line between abstraction and figuration. He seems to often swing from sunny imagary such as flowers or rainbows to that of mutilated animal carcasses. However, he never gives it entirely away. The imagary often is obscured by a diamond grid work or its own abstraction. The viewers eyes constantly shifts between deciphering the images and inspecting the pattern, neither resolving the other. His oil paintings are executed on linen contrasting the soft surface with his hard edged geometric shapes.
We all want to change the world to make it a better place. That’s why last summer Dassault Systemes asked over 550 thinkers from around the world for submissions of world changing dreams as part of their “If We” contest. Pulled from various social networking venues such as Twitter, Facebook, 3ds.com and an assortment of blogs they received brilliant ideas from every corner of the globe proving that progress and innovation can happen if we simply look and ask for it. From the initial pool of submissions they gathered the top 85 ideas and contacted the authors to get more details about their dreams.The above video sponsored by Dassault is a compilation of the top 10 ideas pulled from those 85 contestants. With so many brilliant, quirky and out of the box ideas it’s hard to choose favorites but one that particularly jumped out at us comes from Geoffrey Cooper from Canada: “IF WE designed a rolling tree planting robot, we could send them out to replant forests and restore deserted lands. Let’s make it happen!”
Join in on the conversation and share your ideas with the world today!
Brent Christensen constructs massive towers that he has coined Ice Castles. The monuments are made entirely out of ice with no supporting substructure. “Christensen’s series of Ice Castles are unpredictably constructed towers of ice fortified by more ice. The enchantingly frosty structures start off with a pool of water, naturally frozen atop grass, as their foundation. From there, the artist attaches countless icicles, using water to cement them in place, with the help of about 20 crew members who work tirelessly to deliver Christensen’s self-made icicles from his personal rack, where water drips and forms 3,000 to 5,000 icicles per day. Millions of gallons of water are used for each castle’s assembly, allowing it to reach heights of 20 to 25 feet. Additionally, the interior design of the chilly architectural constructions include tunnels, archways, walls, and stairs. At night, they’re even illuminated from within by multi-colored LED lights, heightening the magical air of the setting.” (via)
Iconograph Magazine has just released its stunning second issue in an edition of 750. The magazine is curated and published by Justin Blyth, with contributing editors Hassan Rahim, Justin Van Hoy & Andrew Pogany. Justin, who runs the expertly curated massive found image blog Them Thangs has produced an amazing encapsulation of contemporary dark esoteric imagery and writings. ”Iconograph #2 is the second print offering in an ongoing series that gathers an eccentric collection of visual media and literature exploring the contemporary use of Ritualistic Iconography—the systems of symbols, mythic representations, and religious imagery from which we seek meaning. Iconograph #2 is an 80-page curated document, offset printed on an 8-color Heidelberg press in Belgium, in an edition of 750. It is privately funded and contains no advertising, promotion, album reviews, or horoscopes.” You can pick up a copy here.
Artist Karina Smigla-Bobinski in a way treats her sculpture like a living creature. The piece titled (or maybe named) ADA is a large ball inflated with helium and covered in charcoal pegs. Visitors are encouraged to interact, even play with the ball thus leaving marks on the walls, floor, and ceiling of the room. The artist considers the piece not only a sculpture, but really a self-creating artwork. ADA’s shape even resembles a cell or virus emphasizing the idea of the sculpture creating on its own (with some help from visitors, of course).
Chris Butler is an autobiographical street photographer based in Los Angeles. He shoots mainly in black and white and was selected as a Leica Explorer in 2011. I recently had the chance to ask him about his process:
“I prefer photographing everyday life. My work is largely autobiographical and about extracting photographic opportunities from the day-to-day. It’s the opposite of studio work, set-building, etc. I don’t like to invent and manufacture; I prefer to seek out what is happening around me, to be improvisational and compel an image out of the moment.”
The Spanish collective Penique Productions creates massive installations that at the same feel nearly weightless. Using fans and colored plastic the collective entirely covers a selected space in a bright hue. Though the concept is relatively simple, the space feels totally transformed. The space and its furnishings are stripped of all their details and reduced to a set of shapes. Penique’s Productions create an interesting way to investigate familiar places. Interestingly the collective says regarding the installations:
“It works the relationship between fullness and emptiness, creating a dialogue with the space it temporarily inhabits.”
