The Open Press Project is Making the World’s Smallest 3D-Printed Press Even Tinier

All images © Open Press Project, shared with permission

A few years ago, Cologne-based designers Martin Schneider and Dominik Schmitz noticed that access to intaglio printmaking resources was limited because presses are prohibitively expensive, require lots of space, and are often located in private workshops or institutions. To make the practice more accessible, the artists launched the world’s first 3D-printed etching press in 2018, and the Open Press Project was born. Schneider and Schmitz’s miniature, open-source, fully-functional model allowed people to download and assemble the machine themselves at a fraction of the cost of a traditional press—and a fraction of the size!

Now, Schneider and Schmitz are scaling up by scaling way down in a new Kickstarter campaign that launches the smallest press they could make. Complete with ball bearings and a stainless steel roller, “it can be used for any intaglio and relief technique, like drypoint, etching, engraving, or linocuts and woodcuts of up to 13 millimeter thickness.” Learn to make your own press and tiny prints on the project’s website and join its growing community on Instagram.

 

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The Other Art Fair Returns to Brooklyn

Image courtesy of The Other Art Fair

Born in London in 2011, The Other Art Fair has expanded with local editions running in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, and Sydney. Presented by Saatchi Art in partnership with BOMBAY SAPPHIRE®, each fair typically features 100+ independent artists, live performances, DJ sets, immersive installations, food trucks, and a buzzing late-night scene.

The 2022 Brooklyn edition is one of the busiest events and a top New York show to attend in the fall. Now in its 10th year, organizers have moved the event to Agger Fish at Brooklyn Navy Yard. After years at the Brooklyn Expo Center and a detour in Maspeth last year, the event is now more accessible than ever with most major train lines and even ferries from the city going directly to the venue.

Running November 3 to 6, The Other Art Fair Brooklyn will feature 120 independent emerging artists, thousands of artworks to shop from (at nearly every price point), live DJs, food trucks, and the signature BOMBAY SAPPHIRE® bar where attendees get one free gin cocktail with admission. There are always some last-minute reveals, so don’t be surprised if there’s live tattooing or Japanese rope-tying performances on site.

There are distinctive scenes happening over all four days. Private View on Thursday night attracts post-work industry folks, collectors, and press, while the Friday late-night party brings local creatives out for some mischief at the bar. Saturdays and Sundays see everything from serious shoppers looking to fill up wall space in their new apartment to post-brunch flea marketers meandering through.

All food, entertainment, and happenings are a part of The Other Art Fair’s mission to break down traditional art world barriers and make art affordable and accessible to all. The environment fosters genuine connections between all attendees from art amateurs to seasoned collectors. The event feels more like an open house party than just another art gallery opening.

The Other Art Fair Brooklyn will take place on November 3 to 6 at Brooklyn Navy Yard. Save up to 30 percent by booking in advance. Tickets are available at theotherartfair.com.

 

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In ‘A Sense of Scale,’ Roman De Giuli’s Elaborate Topographies Made of Pigments Nod to Hollywood Special Effects

The sweeping topography of German photographer Roman De Giuli’s “A Sense of Scale” suggests rivers coursing around islands, lava flows, or clouds moving over land masses as if seen from Earth’s atmosphere. Look a little closer, however, and you will find these effervescent terrains are composed of paint, powders, and water that the artist applies with droppers to the surface of paper and sets into motion with small doses of air. Known for elaborate timelapses imitative of satellite imagery, De Giuli’s work harnesses the power of high-definition photography to document the voluptuous movement of fluid pigments.

Using a custom lens setup to zoom in and out, the piece took about a year to complete and was filmed in 8K resolution with the aid of several macro lenses. The title is a nod to the 2011 documentary “Sense of Scale” by Berton Pierce, which chronicled the world of Hollywood special effects as CGI had begun to render scale miniatures obsolete in the film industry. Struck by the detail and beauty of camera effects and the ability to transform objects on screen, De Giuli explains, “I want to emphasize the meaning of handmade visuals and the effort it takes to stage sceneries on a small scale.” You can discover more on Instagram and his website.

 

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Plant Magick: A 520-Page Book Explores the Vast Esoteric Connections Between Botanics and the Divine

All images © Taschen

The most recent addition to Taschen’s Library of Esoterica series, Plant Magick delves into the mythical, religious, and metaphysical histories of botanical life. The vast visual compendium explores an array of human interactions with the natural world as they relate to the spiritual and symbolic. Illustrations, photos, collages, and hundreds of other artworks across mediums are nestled within the 520 pages and include references to Buddha’s meditation under the Bodhi tree, the elaborate flower crowns worn during May Day celebrations, and the mind-bending experiences associated with psychedelics. 

Similar to the series’ book on tarot, Plant Magick offers insight into the long legacies and enduring links between the creative and the divine. The title is currently available for pre-order from Taschen and Bookshop.

 

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Deceptively Flat Weavings by Artist Susie Taylor Interlace Threads into Playful and Nostalgic Patterns

All images © Susie Taylor, courtesy of Johansson Projects, shared with permission

Patterns we might typically associate with childhood—the plaid vinyl lawn chairs of family barbecues, thick pink, brown, and white stripes of Neapolitan ice cream, and the simple ruled markings on notebook paper—become vibrant woven tapestries in the hands of artist Susie Taylor. Nostalgic in aesthetic and vivid in color palette, the Bay Area artist and textile designer interlaces cotton and linen threads to create flat weaves that appear almost three-dimensional in complexity, with the mathematically-inclined motifs and subtle shifts in color embedded within the pieces themselves.

The fiber compositions draw on the traditions of Bauhaus and Black Mountain College through a boldly playful lens and “include basic shapes like blocks and stripes to address pattern, symmetry and color interaction and the notion that ordered systems can still flirt with chance, interruption, and improvisation,” the artist says.

Taylor’s works are on view through October 27 as part of Origin Stories at Johansson Projects in Oakland. Explore more of her intricate designs on her site.

 

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This Year’s Small World Photo Contest Unveils the Astounding Details Only Visible Under the Light Microscope

Long-bodied cellar/daddy long-legs spider (Pholcus phalangioides), Dr. Andrew Posselt. 4th place. All images courtesy of Nikon Small World, shared with permission

For 48 years the Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition has garnered some of the most awe-inspiring and illuminated images of all that’s visible once placed under a light microscope. The 2022 contest continues the tradition with a captivating collection that exposes the minuscule details of life on Earth. Winning images zero in on the prickly hairs covering a daddy long-legs, the trippy patterns of a marine snail’s tongue, and the tessellation-like heads of a slime mold. This year’s top photos were selected from more than 1,300 entries from 72 countries, and you can see some of our favorites below. Peruse the entire collection on the competition’s site.

 

Radula (rasping tongue) of a marine snail (Turbinidae family), Dr. Igor Siwanowicz. Honorable mention.

Unburned particles of carbon released when the hydrocarbon chain of candle wax breaks down, Ole Bielfeldt. 6th place.

Cross sections of normal human colon epithelial crypts, Dr. Ziad El-Zaatari. 15th place.

Embryonic hand of a Madagascar giant day gecko (Phelsuma grandis), Grigorii Timin & Dr. Michel Milinkovitch. First place

A fly under the chin of a tiger beetle, Murat Öztürk. 10th place.

Slime mold (Lamproderma), Alison Pollack. 5th place.

Butterfly egg, Ye Fei Zhang. Honorable mention.

Ammophila arenaria (grass stem), Anatoly Mikhaltsov. Image of distinction.

Paper wasp stinger, Pablo Piedra. Image of distinction.

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Elaborately Constructed Shops and Homes Translate Tokyo’s Distinct Architecture into Miniature Models

All images © Christopher Robin Nordstrom, shared with permission

From his studio at Skeppsholmen, the small southern island in Stockholm, Christopher Robin Nordstrom constructs precise miniatures of Tokyo’s architecture. Flower shops, hair salons, and neighborhood police stations known as kōban are recreated at 1:20 scale from materials like MDF board, styrene plastic, wood, and brass. The tiny models are both quaint and true to city living: little air conditioners nestle into windows and autumn leaves float across the sidewalk, while trails of rust run down walls and street dirt splatters on doorways and facades.

Nordstrom shares that his dad built model planes and trains throughout his childhood, and after a trip to Tokyo in 2018, the artist decided to try a tiny construction project himself. “I (was) struck by all the small weather houses with amazing patina. Back in Stockholm, I was really tired of just ending up in front of Netflix each night,” he says. “I really wanted a nice kitchen table hobby.”

That pastime has since grown into a vast collection of architectural works in an array of styles and forms, which you can find more of, in addition to glimpses behind the scenes, on Instagram. (via Present & Correct)

 

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