Erwin Wurm’s Motley Crew of Suits and Sausages Cuts a Rug at Yorkshire Sculpture Park

“Big Mutter” (2015). All photos by Jonty Wilde, installation at Yorkshire Sculpture Park (2023) courtesy of the artist and Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery. Images courtesy of YSP, © Erwin Wurm, shared with permission

Dancing business suits, a handbag with legs, and contorted vehicles are just a few of the uncanny scenes visitors to Yorkshire Sculpture Park will encounter this summer. Acclaimed Austrian artist Erwin Wurm’s first large-scale museum exhibition in the U.K., Trap of the Truth, includes nearly 75 sculptures indoors and dotted around the landscape, plus numerous drawings, paintings, photographs, and videos created during the past three decades.

Wurm began making art with inexpensive, everyday items like used clothes, scraps of wood, and cans. As he experimented with materials and ideas, he had an epiphany: “At some point, I came to realise that everything surrounding me can be material for an artistic work, absolutely everything… That was the decisive step, as then anything was possible.” Now known for playful, surreal, and often humorous installations, the artist challenges perceptions of the human body, quotidian objects, and sculpture itself.

 

“Big Disobedience” (2016)

Wurm often tangles comically with ideas around politics and culture, referencing capitalism, cultural norms, and social conformity. By giving business suits a life of their own and transforming them from dull gray to playful pink, he separates the wearer from the symbol, freeing them to move about on their own. A giant water bottle, a much-loved object of comfort, is personified with a pair of shoes and titled “Big Mutter”—mutter means “mother” in German—along with other references to his nation’s identity and history, like anthropomorphized Viennese sausages.

The title Trap of the Truth nods to the 17th-century French mathematician and philosopher René Descartes, who immortalized the phrase, “I think, therefore I am,” as he interrogated the subjectivity of truth. Wurm captures a sense of uncanny joy, prompting viewers to question what they see and how they relate to the world around them.

Trap of the Truth continues through April 28, 2024, and you can find more on Yorkshire Sculpture Park’s website. Explore more of Wurm’s work on his website and on Instagram.

 

“Big Hypnosis” (2008)

“Renault 25” (1991)

Left to right: “Big Disobedience” (2016) and “Big Kastenmann” (2012)

Left: “Big Suit 2” (2010-2016). Right: “Step (Big)” (2021)

Left to right: “Untitled” (2018), “Giant Big, Me Ideal” (2014), and “Untitled” (2018)

“Truck II” (2011)

Left to right: “Dance” (2021) and “Trip” (2021)

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A 16th-Century Pop-Up Book of Astrological Ideas Tried to Predict the Future

All images via The Library of Congress

More than 2,000 years ago in Hellenistic Greece, the astrolabe was invented as a kind of analog calculator to decode a range of astronomical observations, survey an area, or reckon latitude and time. Often made from metal, the tool was modified and further developed in the Islamic world, then later in Western Europe, throughout the next several centuries. By the medieval period, it had been adopted by astrologers and some physicians—the latter for whom religious belief and medicine were closely intertwined—to determine the course of the planets and their influences. And in the 16th century, the device found its way to scholar Leonhard Thurneisser (a.k.a. Thurneysser, circa 1530-96).

Thurneisser was fascinated by the workings of the universe, and his wide-ranging knowledge landed him a position as an intellectual and miracle doctor at a noble court in Brandenburg, Germany. Denounced as a serious scientist by some of his peers due to his interest in alchemy and astrology, he nevertheless published his findings in a phenomenal tome known as the Archidoxa in 1569, containing a collection of astrological predictions and ideas. Six years later, he released an addition to the volume called the Astrolabium, which used volvelles, or wheel charts, to provide individual horoscopes.

Richly illustrated with hand-colored plates engraved by an artist named Peter Hille, each page contains a different constellation and Des Menschen Cirkel und Lauff, or “man’s circle of life.” The volvelles, which could be layered on top of each page and spun in relation to one another, include the locations of fixed stars and Baum des Lebens, or “tree of life.” Bound in ornate leather, the book would have functioned as a kind of medieval Ouija board, in theory enabling the user to foresee their fate or predict natural disasters.

You can explore dozens more pages on The Library of Congress’s website, and you might also enjoy another 16th-century gem that can be read six different ways.

 

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Weve Got It Made: Process X Goes Behind the Scenes to Demystify the Production of Our Favorite Objects and Tools

When we pull on a pair of denim jeans, hop in our cars, or fill up a bucket, our first thought probably isn’t, “Where did this come from?” We pluck clothing items from racks or off of hardware store shelves, but how in the world were they made? Japan-based project Process X (previously) goes behind the scenes of major manufacturing companies and specialty production studios to discover how simple materials are transformed into ubiquitous objects we rely on all of the time, from pencils to billiard cues to galvanized pails to manhole covers. The team also introduces practices with deep roots in Japanese culture, like the meticulous process of carving Noh masks.

See a few of our favorite videos here, and learn how numerous other things are made—or scrapped—on Process X’s YouTube channel.

 

All images © Process X

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Artist Hilda Palafox Coaxes Emotional Depth from Bodily Contortions and Skewed Sizes

“Camino de vuelta” (2022), oil on linen, 47 6/25 × 35 43/100 × 49 inches framed. All images courtesy of Proyectos Monclova, © Hila Palafox, shared with permission

“A woman’s braid, for me, has a very powerful meaning,” says Hilda Palafox. “It symbolizes the fact of connecting, building, recognizing, changing, and strengthening. And I consider the act of braiding as something very intimate, very personal, and universal at the same time.”

Women convening, considering the size and shape of their forms, or engaging in solitary pursuits are common in Palafox’s works: one figure climbs a ladder sprouting new plant life, others precariously balance bowls on their limbs, and another bends over toward her toes, a table bound to her back with bright red rope.

Primarily working in oil paint on large-scale canvases, the Mexico City-based artist imagines a matriarchal world in which women are free to explore the inner reaches of their psyches and stronger together. Their long, substantial limbs, large hands, and supple curves are repositories for Palafox’s interests.  “I have always thought of the body as a vessel through which we experience the world and emotions and through which we express ourselves and manifest life,” she shares. “I seek to convey certain concerns that travel from a very personal place to a point of universal connection.”

Influenced by her background in graphic design, Palafox’s textured paintings are intuitive and created stroke by stroke, echoing the act of braiding hair strand by strand. “That is very important to me, and that is also why I like simple, clean compositions with some hints of symbolism, where the body language of these beings are the main character and where a door can also be opened for the viewer to finish building the narrative,” she says.

Palafox is represented by Proyectos Monclova, and you can find more of her works on both canvas and walls on Instagram.

 

“Aquí y ahora” (2022), oil on linen, 65.43 x 49.72 x 1.57 inches framed

“¿A dónde llegará?” (2022), oil on linen, 49.72 x 37.87 x 1.57 inches framed

Left: “Cuestión de tiempo II,” oil on linen, 47.24 x 39.37 inches. Right: “Cuestión de tiempo III,” oil on linen, 47.36 x 39.37 x .98 inches

“Portal II” (2022), oil on linen, 47 1/4 × 35 3/8 inches. Image courtesy of Hashimoto Contemporary

“Quizas, un día” (2022), oil on linen, 65.55 x 49.8 x 1.77 inches framed

“Un deseo más al fuego” (2022), oil on linen, 65.55 x 49.8 x 1.77 inches framed

“En aquel breve momento” (2022), oil on linen, 64.96 x 49.21 x 1.61 inches framed

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Artist Hilda Palafox Coaxes Emotional Depth from Bodily Contortions and Skewed Sizes appeared first on Colossal.

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Join Us for a Colossal Workshop on Crafting Paper Entomology Displays with Guardabosques

All images © Guardabosques, shared with permission

We’re thrilled that artists Caro Silvero and Juan Elizalde of Guardabosques (previously) will be joining us this August for a papercraft workshop. The Buenos Aires-based pair will show students how to create the entomological display shown above using new templates designed specifically for Colossal. Grab your scissors and glue, and watch butterflies and beetles come to life during the 1.5-hour virtual session.

Register here, and if you’re a Colossal Member, be sure to use the code in your account for $10 off. Ten percent of proceeds from this workshop will be donated to the Center for Biological Diversity.

 

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In An Unflinching Look Benjamin Dimmitt Bears Witness to the Ecological Disaster of Floridas Wetlands

“Dead palm in creek” (2021). All images © Benjamin Dimmitt, shared with permission

In one photo, dead palm leaves dangle from a desiccated trunk and skim the surface of a creek, making the crispy, lifeless fronds soggy with water. In another, a diptych highlights the same shoreline photographed 18 years apart, the latter sparse and sickly in comparison to its thriving predecessor.

Taken in stark black-and-white, these scenes are a few of many captured by Benjamin Dimmitt during the last three decades. They document the immense ecological changes of Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge, approximately 70 miles north of Tampa on Florida’s Gulf Coast, and are now compiled in a forthcoming book that approaches the climate crisis with raw, unwavering honesty.

Slated for release in September from the University of Georgia Press, An Unflinching Look: Elegy for Wetlands highlights how the region has undergone dramatic changes since the 2010s when saltwater began to infiltrate sources of fresh water due to rising sea levels, over-pumping the underground aquifer, and general contamination of the area. “As the climate crisis worsens, my photographs show wetlands that are no longer an ecosystem in transition but now a ruin, a nearly barren, treeless salt marsh,” Dimmitt tells Colossal of his more than three-decade project bearing witness to this destruction. “The only plants thriving now are grasses, salt-loving mangroves, and the toxic algae that has flourished with the increase of phosphates and other fertilizers in the aquifer.”

 

“View Downstream,” top (2004), bottom (2022)

Although he’s currently based in Asheville, Dimmitt is a Florida native, and his profound respect for the state’s ecosystems and desire to preserve its natural life is evident in his photos. While earlier images show broad swaths of land, today, he primarily focuses on what’s left of the salt-addled forests, zeroing in on the barren limbs and cracked, gnarled roots of downed trees. The images are poignant reminders of the life we’ve already lost due to the climate crisis and that, while much damage has already been done, there’s still more to save.

Pairing more than 90 photos with contributions from scientists and writers, the book is a broad-reaching examination of a damaged ecosystem. It also suggests that what’s happening in Florida is indicative of a much larger problem. “The coastal inundation at the Chassahowitzka is a bellwether for low-lying coasts everywhere,” Dimmitt says. “What I have photographed is happening all around the world. As our planet continues to become warmer, the glacial melting and rising seas will only worsen.”

An exhibition of An Unflinching Look will open the new Wild Space Gallery in St. Petersburg, Florida, for its inaugural show this October and also be on view at Asheville Art Museum in November. Dimmitt will be traveling the southeast U.S. for a book tour this fall, and you can find news about that on his site. Until then, An Unflinching Look: Elegy for Wetlands is available for pre-order.

 

“Late Sun, Blue Run” (2020)

“View Upstream,” top (2004), bottom (2022)

“Blue Ruin Still Life 2” (2020)

“Diagonal trees in creek” (2021)

“Lower Crawford Creek,” top (1988), bottom (2014)

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Get In the Activity Zone: Playfulness Abounds in a Multifunctional Park in Poland by SLAS Architects

Photos by Michał Kopaniszyn, © SLAS Architects

In Chorzów, Poland, a vibrant, multi-use public park highlights the possibilities of play. Designed by architecture firm SLAS, “Activity Zone” perforates a large concrete expanse with myriad shapes and structures, each with its own function. Playground and fitness equipment intersperse between tidy ball courts, seating, and green areas, including a number of large existing trees. To emphasize accessibility, the studio chose concrete as a primary material to ease navigation for wheelchair users and those with limited mobility.

“Activity Zone” comprises the first phase of an integration initiative between the University of Silesia and the city of Chorzów, redeveloping a former military site into a more welcoming space while building connections between the academic and local communities. Find more work by SLAS on Facebook. (via Kottke)

 

 

 

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