For a project called “The City Is A Playground,” artist and self-described “urban hacktivist” Florian Rivière used hot pink duct tape to create playground games around the city of Dublin. He improvised mazes and hopscotch squares and race tracks in all kinds of unexpected places, but unfortunately for those of us who would love to get some quality playtime in, the works are not exactly user-friendly: a maze leads into an office building, race lanes stop abruptly at a brick wall, and as you can see, anyone hoping to partake in this game of hopscotch would be stopped by an imposing metal fence. Is it a powerful commentary on the rigidity of adult life in the city? Yes. Does it also have me itching to buy a bucket of sidewalk chalk and play some fucking hopscotch? Definitely. [Neatorama]
Tag Archives: art
Artist Documents 160-Pound Weight Loss In Dressing Room Photos
When photographer Julia Kozerski lost 160 pounds following her wedding in 2009, her weight loss journey culminated in a beautiful–and heartbreaking–nude portrait series called “Half,” which explored the emotional repercussions of losing half of your self. But in addition to these striking artworks, Kozerski was also documenting the process in a more casual, intimate way: in the dressing room with her iPhone. She didn’t plan to share these photos with anyone (she took them to map her progress), but I’m really glad she changed her mind. The pictures aren’t aesthetically perfect, they’re just real, and it’s fascinating to see an honest illustration of someone in the process of transforming their body in such a radical way. For Kozerski, these quick iPhone shots are intense reminders of a confusing time: “I recall the thrills of trying on smaller sizes and the satisfaction of feeling more attractive, even sexy,” she told NPR. “More so, I remember the devastation of not recognizing the person reflected back to me in the mirror.” See all the photos on Kozerski’s website.
The Met Costume Institute Chooses An Unlikely Subject For Next Year’s Exhibit
7 Celebs In All-Black
You can wear head-to-toe black and avoid goth trappings — here's how. Read More »
Killer news for gritty Sid Vicious appreciators and louche Givenchy fanatics alike: the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute has announced the subject of next year’s illustrious spring exhibition, and they’re drawing inspiration from some very badly behaved candidates. On the heels of this year’s “Schiaparelli and Prada” exhibit, which drew less-than-desirable numbers, the museum has secured itself a premise that’s guaranteed to be a number one hit. “Punk: Chaos to Couture” will highlight the roots of the punk revolution and the manner in which it diffused into mainstream culture, particularly high fashion. Keep reading »
As You Can See, We’re All Made Of Stars
When astrophysicist Carl Sagan said, “We’re made of star stuff,” he was speaking about the fact that human beings are quite literally composed of elements that were forged within the cores of stars that went supernova. “Some part of our being knows this is where we came from,” he posited, “because the cosmos is also within us.” Photographer Ignacio Torres wanted to illustrate this amazing concept, so he used glitter, dust, and dramatic lighting to produce a series of photos like this one, which “suggest [a] celestial creation.” Check out more of his stunning images, presented in GIF form, on his website. [Scientific American]
Amy Mebberson Shows That Disney Characters Can Wear High-Fashion
Amy Mebberson is a frequent staple of our Things We Saw Today posts, an artist who not only uses her spare time to create adorable Disney and Muppets crossover art, but who draws a lot of Disney stuff professionally, from being the regular cover artist for Boom! Studios’ Muppets, Pixar, Darkwing Duck and other Disney titles, to her current stint as the artist on APE Entertainment’s Strawberry Shortcake and Sesame Street comics. Mebberson took issue with Barney’s New York’s recently unveiled designs for a holiday window display using classic Disney characters like Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck. The problem was the drastic redesign that stretched the characters’ limbs to creepy lengths and rendered Minnie and Daisy rail thin everywhere but their heads. So, she decided to provide an alternative. Read more…
Macaulay Culkin’s A Painter Now! Plus 11 Other Celebs Who Fancy Themselves “Artists”
Macaulay Culkin has been off the grid for awhile now, popping up looking sort of frail, which some gossip mongers attributed to a possible heroin addiction, but maybe Macaulay has just been too focused on his art to eat? And by art, I mean the paintings he’s apparently been working on with the two friends in his “collective” 3M. They just debuted their first pieces, among them this portrait of a dog playing poker (top), and another featuring He-Man painting the guys from “Seinfeld” (bottom). That one is my favorite. Also, I would much rather believe that Mac has just been devoted to painting, not shooting up, you know? [Buzzfeed]
Macaulay isn’t the only famous person who has tried his hand at a different creative medium. Plenty of celebs have picked up the palette. Click through to see more celebs who fancy themselves artists.
Be My Boyfriend: Russian Pasta Artist
Dear Sergey Pakhomov aka The Pasta Artist,
Six years ago you were working on an ad campaign for a Russian macaroni company and were struck by divine inspiration: what if you built models of various objects using macaroni? So you did, and the ad campaign fizzled, but your life was forever changed. Now you build all kinds of things using all different kinds of pasta: spaghetti motorcycles with rotelle wheels, bi-planes with lasagna wings, and a whole pasta town complete with a linguini windmill and penne playground.
So why am I contacting you today? Well, I’m something of an amateur pasta artist myself. A beautiful pan of cheesy rigatoni speaks to my heart and soul in a much more profound way than the Sistine Chapel ever could. I don’t care for oil paintings unless the oil is olive and the canvas is cannelloni. Your work truly moves me. What do you say we collaborate sometime?
xoxo,
Winona
Pizza The Hut’s Family Portrait
You all know Pizza the Hut from the seminal 1987 Mel Brooks film, “Spaceballs.” But here, for the first time, we meet the rest of Mr. Hut’s saucy and cheesy family. Portland, Oregon, artist Ilan Schraer gives us a rare glimpse into the lives and minds of the Pizza the Hut family tree. [Pony Club Art Gallery Flickr]
First Look: Goodbye, Life Savings; Hello, NARS x Andy Warhol
You know that saying about love — you know, the classic line from the classic film “The Hot Chick” — that it makes your heart beat faster and slower at the same time? Well, I have intimacy issues, but that’s the kind of feeling I get towards new makeup releases, particularly when not one, but two, of my favorite icons are involved. Let’s get down to it: I’m talking Andy Warhol, artist, socialite, pop culture hero, as the inspiration behind a cosmetic line from makeup innovator and photographer François Nars. The NARS founder and namesake has crafted the brand’s — and the Warhol Foundation’s — largest collaboration, with Andy as its muse. Keep reading »
Finding Freedom: Artist Explores The Ocean In Underwater Wheelchair
Sue Austin is a performance and installation artist based in the UK. She has been wheelchair-bound since 1996, and dedicated her artistic work to “finding ways to understand and represent my embodied experience as a wheelchair user.” Most recently this goal has led her to team with scientists and diving experts to create a self-propelled underwater wheelchair. Using fins and a propeller, Austin is able to steer the machine with her feet and navigate a beautiful underwater world that was previously off-limits. Seeing her move through the water with ease and grace is both unexpected and powerful. Check out the video to see for yourself. [YouTube via Smithsonian]
