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12.06.07 by ScottC @ 6:21 am  Last year, we were informed that Mike Libby of Insect Lab Studio was merging the mechanical with the entomological to create intriguing works of art that as are bizarre as they are beautiful. Well it seems that Mr. Libby has made some new members to his horological swarm. You can own a scorpion with sprockets, a mantis with a mainspring, or a grasshopper with gears, although you may have to rob a bank to get the cash. Of course, Widge is muttering that it's some sort of interdimensional attempt to hack into the morphogenetic field and it will be the housepets next. We just put on some Art Bell and he usually calms down. Categorized as: Art
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12.04.07 by Widge @ 7:06 pm  Okay, no, sorry, I'm lying again. Although that's the first thing I thought of when BLDG BLOG made us aware of a bunch of pics--they're of a post-apocalyptic metropolis, built in three rooms in an apartment in Sweden (that part I wasn't fibbing about). Fifty of the buildings. And not only do they look badass, but as Geoff points out, the wallpaper they've got up that's like a matte painting to fill out more of the city is pretty choice as well. Is this for the coolest Lionel train setup in the world? Close. It was... "funded by Swedish company Popcore," to a creative design by Mats Sahlström, and it was "built by Warhammer 40K players and students of Nordiska Scenografiskolan (Nordic Set Design school) in Skellefteå, Sweden." They built for a music video by Strata. The album by Strata, we're told here, is called Strata Presents The End of the World. Am I the only one dying to see the video that uses these models now? Didn't think so. Categorized as: Art
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12.04.07 by Widge @ 12:11 am  Carioca is based out of Bucharest and they're a photo production house that apparently has done a crapload of work for various companies in all manner of styles, ranging from funny to morbid whimsy to slightly disturbed with plenty of stops in between. They call themselves a visual machine: "You introduce an idea on one side and the image comes out on the other side." I could certainly use one of those...do they come in a desktop model? Categorized as: Art
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11.29.07 by Widge @ 2:23 am  Simon Rodgers, aka Sim-R, does concept artwork, landscapes, and general digital badassery that makes you want to write crazed sci-fi stories about his images until your fingers fall off. His gallery is online here, but the thumbnails are so tiny I can't tell what the hell's going on in them. I recommend checking out his blog instead, because it's not like there's anything in there not worth checking out. You know something eerie, though? That picture I've put up there (larger version here)? That's uncannily like my desk. No shit. Categorized as: Art
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11.27.07 by Widge @ 4:12 am  Curious Expeditions' latest outing takes them through the Vienna Natural History Museum, where they check out scads of incredible taxidermy and also the glasswork that goes into making replica sea-life. Why? Because you can't stuff and mount a jellyfish: There were a number of beautiful glass models in the section of ocean-life. Delicate and lifelike, the models were of jellyfish and sea anemones; creatures that tend to lose their beauty in the wet specimen’s jar of formaldehyde. What whimsy, what a clever solution, I thought. Imagine then my surprise when D promptly informed me that these glass models were no modern creation. They were the work of the 19th century Blaschkas, a father and son team of expert glassmakers. Read the full article here, then go check out their kickass Flickr photoset. Categorized as: Art
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11.26.07 by Dindrane @ 9:41 pm  Once upon a time, the Japanese defined the female ideal with the term "Yamato Nadeshiko," which referred to a woman possessing a traditional upbringing and mastering the appropriate feminine graces of humility, domestic skills, loyalty to her man, and so on. It was an entire aesthetic concept that birthed novels, art, etc. Now, however, a new generation brings us a new Nadeshiko: Rinne Nadeshico, to be exact. Her artwork is giving us a feminine ideal for a new century; her women and girls are strong, independent, and possessed of strength of character. Link to Rinne Nadeshico's Gallery Thanks to Street X Art for the heads-up. Categorized as: Art
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11.25.07 by Widge @ 1:29 am  Like Johnny over at Drawn!, we think Joshua Middleton's work rocks. In fact, when New Mutants relaunched a few years back, it was Middleton's covers that drew me back to the title. Of course, the title only lasted a short bit before it was renamed and sucked completely into the Uncanny X-Hole at Marvel. But ah well. I had not seen his other work, though. But I think it's brilliant. Find it all at his website here. Categorized as: Art
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11.14.07 by Widge @ 4:34 am  So what must it be like to dine at Clive Barker's place? Well, I would imagine something like this over the dining room table: From a distance, The Fall of the Damned appears to be an organic and intricately textured ornament. Upon closer inspection it is revealed as a mass of naked bodies, reminiscent of Dante and Rubens, fused together in agonizing beauty. What's the price tag on "agonizing beauty"? US $45K. Yeah, that's pretty agonizing for my beautiful wallet. But it's cool: ground shipping to the US and Canada is included. Found by Rox of Spazhouse. Categorized as: Art
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11.13.07 by Widge @ 4:00 am  Here's a little slice of whimsy for you: Terry takes bits of wire, bends them about a bit, and comes up with characters that he can then use for whacked out tableaux. The only problem I have is that looking at this one (which we have part of the graphic up there--but they're all worth seeing), I get either Tom Waits' Black Rider or Lard's "Forkboy" stuck in my head. And they simply won't come out. Categorized as: Art
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11.12.07 by Widge @ 3:03 am  We Make Money Not Art went over to Beijing to check out the "Get It Louder!" exhibition. From their extensive report, the thing that struck me was the work of Mina Wu, who has created clothing that can either go on a chair or on you. And when it's on you, you can then become a chair. I started thinking: where have I seen this before? Maybe the person who has that collection of mothers disguised as chairs should get together with Mina. They could do a joint show. Categorized as: Art
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