Olafur Eliasson has another mindbending installation in the world.

Olafur Eliasson has been a favorite artist of mine ever since luvnmuzic and I stumbled on his work at the Tate during a post-college trip to London. He created a sunset so real to fill the great hall of the Tate that Londoners were laying on the concrete to bask in it during the London December. You couldn't help it. It just told your body that it was warm and waning.

He's at it again, this time with a rainbow walkway above a Danish museum. Don't judge it until you have walked through. These are experience pieces and I am sure this one is surreal. http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/14812/olafur-eliasson-your-rainbow-panorama-now-complete.html.

Etsy Bitch - Hipster on Hipster Violence

I wish I were kidding, but Etsy has spawned "Etsy Bitch". Try this post for an intro. I had no idea, but in retrospect I am not surprised, that the online craft mogul had left bubbling eddies of haterade on the net.

Oh, and Etsy has also spawned its own FailBlog (www.failblog.org) at Regretsy (http://www.regretsy.com).

How about some kewl video.

Here's an incredible video about them dino-puppets I mentioned a while back. What a beautiful implementation of that technology:

And, why, pray tell, are you just getting video link instead of a serious, well-thought-out blog post? Because I am not feeling well, that's why. Apropos that:

Mmmm, Time Lapse Pop Art

Robert Burden likes doing pop art. Better than that, he likes filming the process. I present to you the battlecat from HeMan...

Seeing how much work actually went into the piece in time lapse might actually raise its value. IMHO.

I'm Crafty. And I'm just my type.

I was inadvertantly crafty this weekend. Cleaning up from a meal, I was bleaching our linens in preparation for the washing machine. Little did I know that had also bleached a new H&M polo; that is, until I looked down as I was doing dishes. I was not happy.

15 minutes later, I was resigned to the fact that I would have to buy a new shirt and this one was a 'house' - or in the near future 'burp' - shirt. Five minutes after that, I thought, "You know? I bet I could just paint a design with bleach to hide the spill. Two small brushes and five minutes later, there is a small, organic design on the bottom left of my polo.

To be honest, I am not sure how well this will take. It's getting it's own run through the wash tonight to test for color-fastness. I have already soaked the area twice in cold water to deactivate the bleach. For those in the area, see if you can tell which shirt it is.

Dance is Like Screaming, Except You Open Your Body, and Keep Your Mouth Shut

No No, Reality IS Blurry

http://www.jeanyveslemoigne.com/ understands that a "standard" photo can say a lot more than CGI. The grittiness of a "true" image makes the images far more visually convincing - a plus when you do mind-bending images like these.

See more small versions here or see the artist's site above for big ones. The effect is MUCH better in the larger size, where the pixels are much bigger.

Um. I Guess My Ears Feel Good Too?

Warning. This is NSFW. Or rather, the audio is SFW, which is the point, but the overall performance is kinda NSFW. Really, this is here because I don't get it. She likes microphones and, apparently feedback. Is this just a case of, "Finally, someone has gone and done it?"

It has been a busy day...

...so how about a piece that turns the office into art.


EepyBird's Sticky Note experiment from Eepybird on Vimeo.

(These are the same guys that did the synchro mentos fountains)

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

(I'll catch my breath while you watch this)



AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

I want that job.

What You Can Do When There Are No Rules

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Grafitti Animation by the Artist MUTO.

[HT to Gizmodo]

Humans as Meta-Organism

Flying Dutchman

Much better than Rigolleto, thanks to a solid, pounding melody and a masterful use of the themes. Meaning no offense to the players, I must single out the set. A trio of variously tilted square frames set against an angled stage became a ship as the rear curtain bearing a picture of the ocean rolled up and down. It became a sowing house with a "rectangular" table meant to exagerate the feeling of depth. There were windows, silouhettes, masts, ramps, and rigging, and all without an intermission.

I think the singers might have noticed that their background overshadowed them a little. "Little" Senta, your classic vision of a soprano - particularly in a Wagner production, daintily deposited herself on a bench in the second act during an aria. As she settled, every seat in the house heard that seat issue a mild complaint.

Best moment of the night.

Rigolletto

A great opera by Verdi based on the book by Hugo critiquing the king of France. Of course, this isn't symphony, it is opera, so the action is pounded into the audience with all the subtlety of Lou Dobbs on immigration. Think "Head On" ads. That said, the singing was solid, the sets good, and the story fair.

Oh, and you Hugo fans will be glad to know. As with his other miserable stage adaptation, if you have to die, at least you get to go down singing. Forget the paddles, based on the survival rates of supporting actors, I'd teach everyone an aria. That'll buy doctors at least 6-7 minutes.

On to Wagner Thurs. More boom, less plume.

The Pixels Are Coming

I rarely blog products. Let me rephrase that; I rarely blog products that I or anyone I know can afford. Behold the Icon Clock. Available at the MoMa store for $75.

It's just subtle enough to actually wear, and just snazzy enough to stand out as art.

Yum. Pop.

Pop Culture Tidbit

Like the Great Black Hope did yesterday, I am taking a break from politics today to sound off on pop culture. John Grisham openly states that he doesn't take himself too seriously as a writer -- he just writes pulp for the masses and rakes in the dough. That puts him in with Coldplay, who often deflect criticism of their music as bland and unoriginal by saying that they aren't innovative -- they just give the people what they want.

Just two questions:

1. If you are a fan, aren't they laughing at you? "Yeah, this isn't very good, but, then, you aren't very discerning."
   
2. What satisfaction do you get from producing in a medium that is normally associated with artistic free expression, but which you have purposely wittled down to mere artisanship?

Paper Cuts Never Felt So Good.

Artist Peter Callasen does more without media than many do with it. This is nothing, see the rest.

Animaris Rhinocrous

This incredible machine is a lightweight, wind-powered kinetic sculpture by Theo Jansen.

A Light Touch

GREAT Shadow Puppetry - video powered by Metacafe

Yesterday's posts were a little heavy handed. Figured I'd point this out while I was thumbing through some websites.

Peter Pan Don't Got Nothin' on You.

Appearing at the Tate Modern, this masterpiece is an example of symbolic shadow art.