second storie indie market: art crush

Showing posts with label art crush. Show all posts

See America

I don't know about you guys, but I spent last week glued to the television for Ken Burns' documentary on our National Parks. I sat in awe of their beauty, and was shocked at the struggle that ensued not just to create them, but also keep them intact. It was riveting. I realize now though, that there was never a mention of the WPA posters that were commissioned to promote them. Not only were they providing much needed work to artists during the Depression, they are absolutely stunning.

Sadly, not many of the original serigraphs exist today. Most of what you see are reprints, and a good number of them are new designs fashioned in the original style. You can find all the designs here, thanks to Ranger Doug who has made it his mission to recover all of them and make them available to everyone again.

I love that they simply say "See America."
I for one, intend to.
JoAnn

Nuit Blanche

How cool is this? All throughout Toronto, galleries will open their doors for an all-night exhibition. And it's free. It's called Nuit Blanche.

From their website:
For one sleepless night experience the city transformed by close to 500 artists for Toronto's fourth annual sunset to sunrise celebration of contemporary art. Discover art in galleries, museums and unexpected places. From churches and grocery stores to chimney stacks and bus stations, choose from 130 projects and chart your own path.

This is a brilliant idea and one that I hope more cities would consider. Because it's free, those that wouldn't otherwise have the means to view art in a gallery have an opportunity to do so. Because it is open all night, those that work unconventional hours have the opportunity to see works they might otherwise have missed. I love the idea that an entire city can come together for what seems like an all night party.

You can check out the list of artists, see the map and plot a course for the night by going here. These are the times that I am thankful I live relatively close to Toronto. You may just find me there, wandering the streets this weekend!

JoAnn

Cocoon

Hope everyone here in the states enjoyed a relaxing Labor Day weekend. We're excited to be back!

I am absolutely loving these installations by French artist Sébastien Preschoux. Aren't they stunning? I found them on Rachael's blog and have been obsessed ever since. The white ones are an installation titled Cocoon and the magenta one is titled Lasers. Imagine if you came across one of these while walking through the woods...

You can read an interview with Sébastien here.

Knit The City

Guerrilla knitting. The act of politely (or maybe not so politely) adorning simple everyday public spaces with knitted goods. Knit The City has been targeting areas of London with their creations since February. I love how they put it: "No part of the city is safe from Knit the City’s woolly war on the mundane, humdrum and expected." Their inspiration comes from Knitta Please (featured in the film Handmade Nation) who have been "bombing the inner city with vibrant, stitched works of art" in NYC since 2005. Signposts, beer bottles, monuments, even telephone booths, nothing is safe from a yarn bombing! These women, at home or abroad are seriously cool.

What I love about Knit The City is how beautiful their pieces are. These photos are from their most recent project the Oranges and Lemons Odyssey. As if London wasn't pretty enough!

The lesson? You can be both subversive and gorgeous.

JoAnn

A Cut Above

As a lover of all things paper I can not even begin to express my love for these fabulous artists.

The patience, skill and imagination that transform a mere white or colored sheet of paper, a newspaper or an entire book as everyday as a dictionary astound me!

I am inspired and hope you are as well!!

check out even more here.

Bovey Lee

all images courtesy of webdesignerdepot.com

May your day be a cut above!

Cris

Dust

video from chloe elise on flickr

I found this the other day and I can't stop watching it, so I wanted to share it with you. It is made completely from stop-motion and natural light. The first few frames are my favorite.

She also has lots of beautiful natural light photographs you can see here.

Installation envy

First, take a look at these photos of Tara Donovan's work.
Okay, now look at them again, knowing that these installations and sculptures are made from ordinary things like drinking straws, fishing line, Styrofoam cups and tar paper. Incredible, right? I am completely in awe.

These photos come from the Ace Gallery website.

Plastic Life

Have you guys heard of this? Photographer Vincent Bousserez's project entitled Plastic Life is on display in the Charly Bailey Gallery in Geneva Switzerland. The photos depict tiny little people living a life in our world, right under our noses (literally in some cases!). As well as a seriously cool idea, the photos are gorgeous. Check out his collection on flickr.

I'm completely captivated!
JoAnn