Strings of Pearls Emulate Tears and Form Connections in Intimate Ceramic Sculptures by First of May Studio

“Dear” (2021), pottery and mixed media. All images © Butaoxi Kao of First of May Studio, shared with permission

For millennia, pearls have been treasured for their luminous sheen and range of hues and were first documented for their use as gemstones more than 4,000 years ago in China. Symbolic of luck, wisdom, and prosperity in cultures throughout the world, these organic orbs have given rise to myths and legends related to divine beings, often said to be fashioned from the tears of mermaids or gods. In Greek myth, it’s said that if a bride wears pearls on her wedding day, she won’t cry. Ceramic sculptures by Butaoxi Kao of First of May Studio build upon this history and express emotions and connection through strings of pearls.

Based in Taiwan, Butaoxi’s background as an illustrator and graphic designer influenced her interest in modeling with ceramic, which she began working with in 2015 following an injury that prompted a new way of thinking about her practice. In the ongoing series Tears are Pearls, she explores the universality of intense feeling and applies the iridescent droplets to express a range of emotions from sadness to frustration, pain to joy. Examining how emotions connect us to one another and to our past, the artist uses pearls in various shapes and sizes, which leak from eyes or link to other figures. Their upper bodies are often shaped into forms that resemble toys or games like jigsaw puzzles or swings. Several new works are currently on view in a solo exhibition The Crying Game that delves into links between childhood and nostalgia, evoking a connection to innocence, play, and deep-seated memories.

Several new works are currently on view in a solo exhibition The Crying Game, on view at Yuri Arts in Taipei through October 15, which delves into the connection between childhood and nostalgia, evoking a connection to innocence, play, and deep-seated memories. You can find more work by First of May Studio on Instagram.

 

“Inner balance” (2021)

“Snowflake blocks” (2022)

“I am happy” (2021)

Left: “#Stickergirl” (2022). Right: “Tears Slide” (2022)

Detail of “I am happy”

“Miss” (2021)

Left: “Coral Sea (Pacific)” (2022). Right: “Fragility and tenderness” (2022)

“Tears swing” (2022)

Detail of “Dear”

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University of the Arts’s Dynamic Grad Programs Advance Your Creativity

Devised Performance MFA students perform in “’scapes” as part of ‘Catapult,’ a series of student performances. Photo by John C. Hawthorne

Attend the University of the Arts (UArts)’s virtual grad information session on October 26, 2022, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. EST. Meet program directors, current students, and faculty, and learn more about how you can advance your creativity at UArts.

MFA in Book Arts & Printmaking
UArts’s program is the most prominent and established professional master’s degree program in the U.S.

MFA in Dance
Internationally situated, the program rethinks itself anew each year and departs from a traditional educational format.

MFA in Devised Performance
In collaboration with Pig Iron Theatre Company, this program explores ensemble theater practice, trains students’ bodies and imaginations, and helps them create original performance works in response to the world around them.

Master of Education in Educational Program Design (online)
This online-only program demystifies curriculum, instruction, and assessment as educators gain tools to meet the needs of diverse learners.

Master of Education in Educational Technology (online)
This online-only program deepens students’ expertise in integrating technology into the classroom.

Master of Music in Jazz Studies
Students get advanced private instruction, focus on their individual goals, and develop their musical identities.

MFA in Museum Exhibition Planning & Design
Students learn to design experiences that cultivate curiosity, build empathy, and inspire people to action.

Master of Arts in Museum Studies (emphases: Education, Engagement)
Students are engaged in a cohort and community learning environment and are passionate about the mission-driven impact only museums can deliver.

Master of Music in Music Education (summers only)
The nation’s premier program for music educators is designed for teachers and others interested in studying music education at the graduate level.

Master of Design in Product Design
Students learn how to solve social, economic, technical, and material challenges through human-centered design, maker culture, and entrepreneurship.

Master of Arts in Teaching in Music Education or Visual Arts Education
Students gain hands-on teaching experience and take coursework in practice, pedagogy, and current theory and research to become certified art or music educators.

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Street Artist Blu Protests the Valencia Port Expansion with a Tumultuous Battle Between Nature and Guards

All images © Blu, shared with permission

The legendary anonymous street artist known as Blu has spent his career critiquing the ills of capitalism, the carceral system, and the destruction of the environment, among myriad other problems afflicting the world today. One of his most recent projects brought him back to Sensemurs Valencia to paint a charged mural protesting the expansion of the port in the Spanish city.

The 2022 festival centered around the government’s extension of the industrial area to the north, which would “mean, among many other things, the final lunging to the beaches of l’Albufera (and) the multiplication of air pollution of ships and truck traffic.” Part of a movement to halt the proposal, the public art event brought several muralists to the city, including Blu, whose multi-part work features a battle between fist-shaped trees and port defenders. Similar to some of his earlier projects, this piece is designed as a sequence that when photographed and stitched together, creates an animation. Yellow shipping containers morph into armored guards, who are swiftly pummeled and destroyed as nature resurges from the ground.

To see more of Blu’s recent works, including a piece speaking to the current fossil fuel crisis, visit his site and Instagram.

 

 

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Expressive Snake Portraits by Ben Simon Rehn Capture Serpentine Elegance in Brilliant Hues

All images © Ben Simon Rehn, shared with permission

More than 3,000 species of snakes can be found on our planet, slithering through vastly different ecosystems and exhibiting an extraordinary range of colors, patterns, and sizes. Regarded in myth as guardians of the underworld, cunning spirits, or wielders of magic, they have long been dreaded, revered, and eyed with suspicion by cultures around the globe. German photographer Ben Simon Rehn, who is interested in drawing connections between humans and nature, kindles empathy in a series of expressive serpent portraits.

While Rehn has previously trekked to destinations around the world to capture landscapes and wildlife, these images were taken at a snake refuge close to his home in the Harz Mountains. Capturing the often misunderstood creatures in a range of vivid hues, supple textures, and intense gazes proved a bit of a challenge, as even in captivity, the creatures could be elusive. “It wasn’t very easy to capture the snakes as some of them are really small—it doesn’t seem like it in the pictures—and moved fast,” he tells Colossal. “Also a few are venomous so you have to keep a distance, and a long lens helps here.” Portraying them close-up not only highlights the vivid details of their scales, mouths, and eyes, it also brings us face-to-face with the creatures to engender a different understanding.

You can explore more work by Rehn on his website and Instagram.

 

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October 2022 Opportunities: Open Calls, Residencies, and Grants for Artists

Yayoi Kusama, “Pumpkins Screaming About Love Beyond Infinity” (2017), mirrors, acrylic, glass, LEDs, and wood panels, 59 x 59 x 83 ½ inches. Collection of the artist, courtesy of Ota Fine Arts

Every month, Colossal shares a selection of opportunities for artists and designers, including open calls, grants, fellowships, and residencies. If you’d like to list an opportunity here, please get in touch at hello@colossal.art. You can also join our monthly Opportunities Newsletter.

 

Massachusetts Design Art and Technology Institute (DATMA) – SHELTER 2023Featured
This request for qualifications asks artists to consider themes of shelter for an outdoor public installation in New Bedford. Three finalists will get $1,000 to develop proposals; the selected artist receives another $25,000.
Deadline: November 1, 2022.

Lenore Tawney FellowshipFeatured
Artists, scholars, writers, and curators are invited to apply for the 2023 remote Lenore G. Tawney Fellowship at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. This fellowship fosters engagement with Tawney’s art environment installed at JMKAC’s Art Preserve in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
Deadline: November 14, 2022.

 

Open Calls

The Bennett Prize for Women Figurative Painters (U.S.)
U.S.-based painters are invited to apply for the third iteration of The Bennett Prize, which awards $50,000 to one artist with a runner-up receiving $10,000. The entry fee is $40.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. MST on October 7, 2022.

Carmignac Photojournalism Award (International)
One photographer will receive a €50,000 grant to produce a body of work, followed by a traveling exhibition and a monograph. The project will focus on Ghana and the ecological and social challenges it faces.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. GMT on October 17, 2022.

apexart Open Call (International)
apexart is accepting exhibition proposals for its open call. Five curators, artists, writers, and others will be awarded $10,000 and a chance to curate an exhibition at the New York City space.
Deadline: October 31, 2022.

Beam Center Open Call (International)
Beam Center is requesting design proposals for ambitious public artworks that will be brought to life through collaborations with youth. Chosen artists will receive a $5,000 award and a $15,000 fabrication budget.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. EST on November 7, 2022.

London Craft Week 2023 (International)
The 2023 edition of London Craft Week runs May 8 to 14, and the annual event is accepting applications from emerging artist-maker-designers. There are a few free spaces available for those who qualify.
Deadline: November 25, 2022.

 

Grants

Precipice Fund (U.S.)
The Portland Institute for Contemporary Art will award up to $5,000 to unincorporated visual art collectives, alternative spaces, and collaborative projects as part of Round 11 of the Precipice Fund. Proposed projects must be based in and around the City of Portland.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. PDT on October 7, 2022.

The Stanley Bleifeld Memorial Grant (U.S.)
This grant awards $5,000 annually to a sculptor who has created a body of work inspired by nature in bas-relief and in the round.
Deadline: November 1, 2022.

$500,000 Creative Capital x Skoll Foundation Fund (U.S.)
Kickstarter, Creative Capital, and Skoll Foundation launched a $500,000 Creative Capital x Skoll Foundation Fund to support projects by Asian, Black, Indigenous, and Latinx creators. Awards are given out on an ongoing basis to creators in categories like Arts, Comics & Illustration, Design & Tech, Film, Food & Craft, Games, Music, and Publishing.
Deadline: Rolling.

Adobe Creative Residency Community Fund (Ukraine or refugee)
Adobe’s Creative Residency Community Fund commissions visual artists to create company projects on a rolling basis. Awardees will receive between $500 and $5,000.
Deadline: Rolling.

 

Residencies & Fellowships

Art Omi Residencies (International)
Art Omi provides residencies to international artists working in architecture, visual arts, dance, music, and writing. Residents receive lodging and meals.
Deadline: October 15, 2022.

Hyperallergic’s Journalism Fellowship for Curators (International)
Hyperallergic will grant five curators $5,000 to support research and writing. Established and emerging curators with more than two years of experience are eligible.
Deadline: October 15, 2022.

Squeaky Wheel Workspace Residency (U.S.)
The Squeaky Wheel Residency is open to artists and researchers working in film, video, virtual reality, game development, textiles, metal, woodwork, 3D printing, sonic arts, installation, performance, and more. Residents receive a $1,000 stipend, up to $700 for child care and/or disability support, and up to $300 in travel.
Deadline: October 15, 2022.

Craft Research Fund Artist Fellowship (U.S.)
Five mid-career artists will be awarded $10,000 to five mid-career artists to support research that advances craft practices and supports further research in the discipline.
Deadline: October 21, 2022.

Denbo Fellowship (International)
Artists interested in papermaking, printmaking, and book arts are eligible for the Denbo Fellowship, which provides studio and storage space, access to facilities, and a living stipend.
Deadline: October 18, 2022. 

Wildacres Residency Program (International)
Artists and artist pairs working across disciplines are eligible for the Wildacres Residency, which provides lodging and workspace for one or two weeks near Mt. Mitchel. There is a $25 application fee.
Deadline: October 31, 2022.

A.I.R. Fellowships Program (New York)
Open to emerging women and non-binary artists living in New York City, this fellowship offers sponsored membership with A.I.R. Gallery for one year, professional development, a solo exhibition, an artist-mentor, and a stipend.
Deadline: November 1, 2022.

2023 Rome Prize Fellowship (U.S.)
Each year, the American Academy in Rome recognizes about 30 artists and scholars working in the humanities. Fellows  Each receive stipends of either $16,000 or $30,000 depending on the duration of the program, meals, a bedroom with a private bath, and a private workspace.
Deadline: November 1, 2022.

Amant Studio & Research Residency Program (International)
Artists working in visual arts, cultural theory, performance, filmmaking, and writing are encouraged to apply for the Amant residency, which provides a $3,000 monthly allowance, roundtrip flights and airport transit to New York City, studio space, and access to the artistic team.
Deadline: November 15, 2022.

Women’s Studio Workshop Residencies (International)
Women’s Studio Workshop has several residencies open to women, trans, intersex, nonbinary, and gender-fluid visual artists.
Deadline: November 15, 2022.

Baxter St Residency (New York)
Open to emerging New York-based photographers, the Baxter St Residency provides a monthly $1,000 stipend, use of the facilities and equipment at Baxter St at Camera Club of New York, a secondary photo lab, and a solo exhibition.
Deadline: November 17, 2022.

Smack Mellon Studio Program Open Call (International)
Six emerging or early career visual artists will be awarded private studio space and access to a digital production lab and a fabrication shop in Dumbo.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. EST on November 23, 2022.

On::View Artist Residency Program (International)
Sulfur Studios in Savannah, Georgia, will host four artists throughout summer 2023 for consecutive residencies with a group exhibition slated for early 2024. The application fee is $50.
Deadline: December 10, 2022.

Etant Donnés Curatorial Fellowship (U.S.)
Open to U.S.-based curators interested in researching the French art scene, these fellowships offer research opportunities and a $3,000 stipend.
Deadline: Rolling.

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A Playful Population of Ceramic Specimens Inhabit the Imaginary Planet of Monsieur Cailloux

All images © Monsieur Cailloux, shared with permission

The story goes that the lifeforms discovered by Monsieur Cailloux developed a third leg in order to gallop 200 miles per minute across the imaginary planet known as MRCX. Sensitive and spirited, the specimens are part of the Paris-based artist’s ever-expanding “tribe of pebbles,” a fictional population of blobby ceramic characters apparently capable of breaking the sound barrier.

Monsieur Cailloux began sculpting the tiny creatures in 2020 when he dreamed up a space exploration and an entire universe inhabited by the tribe—find maps of the planet and an animation detailing their evolution on Instagram— in order to explore new avenues in his ceramics practice. Now numbering in the hundreds, the rock-like figures are diverse in color, glaze, and body shape, although most feature small eyes and of course, a signature third limb for aforementioned galloping.

In creating the MRCX world, the artist shares that he strives for imperfections and allows each character to evolve naturally. He says:

I try to make visible the humanity that is hidden in us by pressing on the irregularities and flaws of a handmade work. Mistakes are then, for me, a source of happiness. For example, when (a piece) does not react as I had planned, I try to change my view of the sculpture in front of me to add or subtract an element that will make it beautiful. I end up with a result that is completely different from my initial idea, and it is in these moments that I experience my greatest creative joys.

If you’re in Paris, you can meet Monsieur Cailloux’s specimens next month in a show that opens on October 6 at Club Sensible.

 

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Sunlight Illuminates a Full Spectrum of Color As It Filters Through Hummingbird Wings in a New Photo Book

“Opal Wings.” All images © Christian Spencer, shared with permission

Poetry in the Sky is a fitting title for a book of the elegant images of Australian photographer Christian Spencer. Slated for release next month, the volume gathers approximately two decades’ worth birds Spencer encountered during visits to the Brazilian Amazon, including macaws, emus, and the species he’s perhaps most notable for documenting: the hummingbird.

Taken when the creatures are mid-flight and beating their wings at incredible speeds, Spencer’s striking photos capture sunlight as it filters through their feathers, emitting a full spectrum of color. The opalescent phenomenon is caused by diffraction and transforms their limbs into tiny, ephemeral rainbows.

Poetry in the Sky contains several photos of the prismatic birds—many of which we’ve featured previously on Colossal—in addition to dozens of additional images of avian life. Pre-order a copy from Bookshop, pick up a print,  and find more of Spencer’s work on Instagram.

 

“Stardust”

“Sundance”

“Hummingbird Rain”

“Holy Water”

“3 Amigos”

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