Wednesday, October 25, 2023

The BBC’s Award-Winning ‘Planet Earth’ Returns for a Thrilling Yet Alarming Third Series

The BBC’s award-winning series Planet Earth returned this month with eight episodic documentaries that showcase the most awe-inspiring, miraculous, and seemingly impossible-to-capture sights of the natural world. As usual, the stunning footage is paired with the iconic voice of now 97-year-old Sir David Attenborough and captures a wide range of animal life, from a rhinoceros lumbering through city streets to flamingoes attempting to nest among the flooded lands of the Yucatán Penninsula.

Shot in 43 countries for the past five years, the episodes are thematic, focusing on ecosystems like oceans and forests or topics like extreme living conditions and human impacts. As should be expected with anything planet-related in 2023, critics are warning that this season is as beautiful as it is frightening. The series includes the usual animal antics and predator vs. prey relationships, along with necessary adaptations and struggles faced by life on a planet facing catastrophic collapse and habitat destruction.

Watch the trailer above, and mark your calendars for November 4 when Planet Earth III premieres on BBC America in the U.S.

 

a cave opening into a lush forest

camels walk across the desert

two wolves cross ice

a rhino walks in the middle of the city

green frogs cling to each other in a cluster on leaves

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 The BBC’s Award-Winning ‘Planet Earth’ Returns for a Thrilling Yet Alarming Third Series appeared first on Colossal.



from Colossal https://ift.tt/bDqNhAR
via IFTTT

Tuesday, October 24, 2023

Over 100 Spectacular Artworks Line an Australian Beach for the Annual ‘Sculpture by the Sea’

a child sits on a sculpture of a melted ice cream truck on a beach

The Glue Society, “Hot with A Chance of a Late Storm” (2006). Photo by Louise Beaumont. All images courtesy of Sculpture by the Sea, shared with permission

From a beefy seated gorilla to a sleek shell with human legs, a spectacular collection of public artworks currently populates the walk from Bondi to Tanarama beaches on Australia’s southwest coast. Celebrating its 25th year in this location, the annual Sculpture by the Sea festival showcases more than 100 pieces in various mediums, styles, and sizes, all bordering the Pacific Ocean. Through early November, visitors to the two-kilometer stretch will encounter Gleb Dusavitskiy’s enormous pair of wings that soar into the sky, geometric shapes of translucent color by Emryn Ingram-Shute, and The Glue Society’s gloopy, melting ice cream truck, which debuted in the event’s 2006 edition.

Although temporary, Sculpture by the Sea is one of the largest outdoor sculpture parks in the world and on view through November 6. See more from the 2023 edition on Instagram.

 

two massive wire wing sculptures soar above a beach

Gleb Dusavitskiy, “I Believe I Can Fly.” Photo by Tyr Liang

an adult and a child run across the beach populated by colorful geometric shapes

Emryn Ingram-Shute, “No Colour in War.” Photo by Tyr Liang

Four times from top left, a seated silver gorilla, a rusty pipe drips pink fluid, a statue of a man in tattered garments stands near the sea, a geometric ram head rests on grass

Top left: Eiji Hayakawa, “Giant in the Forest.” Photo by Charlotte Curd. Top right: Markus Hofer, “Serum.” Photo by Henri Fanti. Bottom left: Laurence Edwards, “Man of Stones” (2022). Photo by Charlotte Curd. Bottom right: Osamu Ohnishi and Masako Ohnishi, “HITSUJI Hideout.” Photo by Henri Fanti

a tall plinth like sculpture with two sections of water-like material

Tsukasa Nakahara, “Water Blocks 19-11” (2021). Photo by Charlotte Curd

a metallic sculpture of a shell atop human legs

“Keep Walking.” Photo by Charlotte Curd

a melted ice cream truck on a beach

The Glue Society and James Dive, “Hot With the Chance Of A Late Storm” (2006-2022). Photo by Charlotte Curd

an oversized rusted can with peeled open top

Juan Pablo Pinto and Cristian Rojas, “The Hermitage.” Photo by Charlotte Curd

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 Over 100 Spectacular Artworks Line an Australian Beach for the Annual ‘Sculpture by the Sea’ appeared first on Colossal.



from Colossal https://ift.tt/FeUzmph
via IFTTT

Wind Animates Vibrant Fabrics in Thomas Jackson’s Ephemeral Environmental Installations

A photograph of a swathe of tulle floating in the wind in a landscape.

“Tulle no. 046” (2022), Nantucket, Massachusetts. All images © Thomas Jackson, shared with permission

Ethereal sheets of tulle appear to hover in spectral motion over meadows and in copses of trees in Thomas Jackson’s latest photographs. “If there’s a theme I’m focused on this year, it’s the relationship between the materials I use to make my installations and the landscapes they inhabit,” he tells Colossal. Each ephemeral installation (previously) responds to the surrounding environment, changing shape as it interacts with the wind. Often documented during the golden hour, the layers of thin fabric shift to become more or less opaque, overlapping into various color combinations in the light.

Recently, Jackson has begun to work with silk and continues to incorporate other everyday materials into his pieces, like plastic cups or aluminum trays. This past summer, he and a team of 60 volunteers coordinated the installation of “Collaborative Nature,” a public art project in a park in Tiburon, California, consisting of about 800 fabric “puffs” that responded to the wind, stuck into the ground with thin fiberglass stakes.

Jackson focuses on sustainability, taking a “leave no trace” approach to dismantling the installations when they are complete and recycling the materials into new projects. He says:

It would not be incorrect to say that I make art about nature with materials that represent a threat to nature itself. It’s contradictory, I know, and to a large degree, that’s the point. In fact, I think we’re all grappling with a similar contradiction in our daily lives. We revere nature and want to preserve it (most of us at least), but we also want to enjoy the comforts and conveniences of our petroleum-based, industrial economy. I want my work to exist in the space between those two incompatible desires. At the same time, I want viewers to consider what a sustainable equilibrium between ourselves and the natural world might look like.

Find more of Jackson’s work on his website, and follow updates on Instagram.

 

A photograph of a swathe of blue tulle floating in the wind in a landscape.

“Tulle no. 51_v2,” (2023), Serenbe, Georgia

A photograph of a public art installation of fabric "puffs" on the California coast.

“Collaborative Nature,” (2023), Tiburon, California

A photograph of a swathe of tulle floating in the wind in a landscape.

“Tulle no. 039” (2022), Neskowin, Oregon

A photograph of a swathe of yellow tulle floating in the wind on a beach.

“Tulle no. 44_v1” (2022), Nantucket, Massachusetts

A photograph of dozens of plastic yellow cups that appear to be floating in a forest.

“Cups no. 6” (2023), Serenbe, Georgia

A photograph of a swathe of colorful silk floating in the wind in a landscape.

Nantucket, Massachusetts

A photograph of a swathe of tulle floating in the wind in a landscape.

“Tulle no. 052” (2023), Serenbe, Georgia

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 Wind Animates Vibrant Fabrics in Thomas Jackson’s Ephemeral Environmental Installations appeared first on Colossal.



from Colossal https://ift.tt/9O2yJIn
via IFTTT

Five Copper Petals Dramatically Enclose a Bamboo Yoga Studio in a Lush Bali Village

a building made with a scalloped roof in copper

All images © Lumi Shala

A yoga and meditation studio in Bali welcomes visitors to relax and stretch under an airy bamboo canopy. A recent project of the local architecture firm IBUKU, “Lumi Shala” is a copper-coated structure with scalloped roofing that layers like five overlapping petals. The metallic covering is met with interlaced bamboo infrastructure inside, as those same botanical-like forms sweep upward in massive arches and “reflect warm golden light onto the bellies of the blonde bamboo ceilings inside, inspiring feelings of lightness and freedom,” the designers said. Earthen walls also support the roof with gaps that allow seamless movement between interior and exterior and sunlight to stream into the space.

“Lumi Shala” is one component of IBUKU’s larger plan for the yoga studio, and you can find more on the firm’s site. (via Dezeen)

 

a copper building with scalloped roof

the interior of a building with three structural forms ascending from floor to ceiling

two images, both of the exterior of the building with copper roofing and concrete base

latticed bamboo leaf-like structures run from floor to ceiling while a person walks inside

an aerial view of the scalloped copper roof surrounded by lush green forests

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 Five Copper Petals Dramatically Enclose a Bamboo Yoga Studio in a Lush Bali Village appeared first on Colossal.



from Colossal https://ift.tt/Mj7ywdn
via IFTTT

Monday, October 23, 2023

Let’s Get Digital: Toshiya Masuda Recreates Retro Technology as Pixelated Ceramic Sculptures

a pixelated ceramic sculpture in red of a boombox with a cassette tape in front

“Low pixel CG ‘Recollection playlist 2.'” All images © Toshiya Masuda, shared with permission

Retro digital aesthetics meets analog techniques in the ceramic sculptures of Toshiya Masuda. The Japanese artist (previously) fuses the low-resolution, pixelated imagery associated with early virtual worlds with quotidian objects from a similar time in pop culture history. Blurry cubes of painted clay form a bright red boombox and cassette tape, a pair of high-top Converse, and a Polaroid camera with a crinkled photo emerging from its slot. By melding the two disparate forms, Masuda creates what he calls an “image gap,” an uncanny feeling in which the unreal is made tactile.

Nostalgic and youthful, the sculptures reflect technological evolution and our increasing reliance on devices. Masuda tells designboom:

I am 46 years old now. I remember when I was in primary school, computers became widespread, and by the time I was a university student, these were followed by smartphones and tablets. It was like the dawn of the digital age. I am part of the generation where digital objects gradually increased their presence in our lives… One of the most important things for me when I create my work is to make sure that it expresses the times in which I live.

A few years back, Keiko Art International produced a short film documenting Masuda’s process and thinking that’s worth the watch. You can find more of his work on his site.

 

a pixelated sculpture of a polaroid camera with ceramic photos nearby

“Low pixel CG’Memory container 2′”

two ceramic sculptures of rollerskates

“Low pixel CG ‘Super Idol'”

pixelate red converse high top sneakers

“Low pixel CG ‘All Star’”

a ceramic cassette player and cassette

“Low pixel CG’Recollection Playlist'”

Two images, both of ceramic vases that appear pixelated

Left: “Low pixel CG ‘Withering Flowers.'” Right: “Low pixel CG ‘Family Taking Refuge from a Bombing Raid’ (V&A collection)”

Two pixelated ceramic flowers in tall green vases

“Low pixel CG ‘Transition'”

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 Let’s Get Digital: Toshiya Masuda Recreates Retro Technology as Pixelated Ceramic Sculptures appeared first on Colossal.



from Colossal https://ift.tt/5YB864m
via IFTTT

Precisely Aligned Paint and Fabric Camouflage Cecilia Paredes Amid Lush Botanical Backdrops

the artist swathed in green forest-like fabric that blends in with the backdrop

“Tapestry” (2023). All images courtesy of Ruiz-Healy Art, shared with permission

In a pair of companion exhibitions, Peruvian artist Cecilia Paredes (previously) expands on her lavish collection of “photo performances” to explore the fluid relationship between our bodies and environments. On view now at two Ruiz-Healy Art locations, the solo shows encompass new works that continue Paredes’ unique methods of camouflage and disguise. The artist swathes herself in densely patterned fabrics and paints any visible skin with the same motif, which she perfectly aligns with the backdrop to create disorienting and endlessly intriguing images that blur the contours of her body.

Both exhibitions, Walking in My Galaxy Blue and The Weaving of Dust, are wide-ranging in their interpretations of surrounding environments as they draw on the cosmos, forests, and ornamental vessels fit for domestic interiors. The self-portraits develop Paredes’ interest in the correlation between personal identity and external forces, questioning how we understand and present ourselves in relation to the outside world.

See the exhibitions at Ruiz-Healy Art through November 3 in New York and November 18 in San Antonio, and keep up with Paredes on Instagram.

 

the artist swathed in blue and red botanical fabric that blends in with the backdrop

“Chrysalis” (2023)

two images, both of the artist on the same botanical beige backdrop, painted and swathed in camouflaging prints

Left: “Dafne Tall” (2022). Right: “Dafne in Repose” (2022)

the artist painted and swathed in yellow vessel-printed fabric that blends in with the backdrop

“Clorinda” (2022)

the artist swathed in red and black confection filled fabric that blends in with the backdrop

“Cupcake Rose” (2023)

the artist swathed and painted in blue botanical fabric that blends in with the backdrop

“Walking in my Galaxy Blue” (2023)

the artist painted and swathed in rust-colored botanicals to blend in with the backdrop

“Rose Garden” (2023)

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 Precisely Aligned Paint and Fabric Camouflage Cecilia Paredes Amid Lush Botanical Backdrops appeared first on Colossal.



from Colossal https://ift.tt/5NtvnDB
via IFTTT

Five Artists to Meet at The Other Art Fair’s Upcoming Brooklyn Edition

a rendering of two people with a colorful form and skull emerging behind them with a frog below

Eriko Tsogo, “The Marriage” (2022), paper, gel pen, ink, mechanical pencil

Prepare to immerse yourself in the world of The Other Art Fair, making a return to Brooklyn from November 9 to 12. This time, the fair brings together an ensemble of over 120 independent artists in a brand-new setting at ZeroSpace.

The November edition ignites with additions like an exclusive exhibition of paintings by Guest Artist Danny Cole, complimentary personalized haikus (exclusive to Thursday’s Opening Night!), a pop-up shop courtesy of OOH Baby, and an interactive AR fashion experience by Zero10. Attendees can also dive into hands-on workshops with the Secret Riso Club, custom pet portraits brought to life by Ben Lenovitz, and video portraits by Tamara Staples.

As the weekend arrives, the fair is alive with activity, attracting serious art enthusiasts and interior designers seeking fresh inspiration, as well as casual shoppers in pursuit of unique treasures. Instagram-worthy murals adorn the scene, complemented by a food and coffee menu served by Maman, and a bar that flows endlessly. This creates a unique atmosphere that has won the hearts of New York City’s adventure seekers and art lovers from all walks of life, from the mildly curious to seasoned collectors.

Here are five artists exhibiting at this upcoming edition:

Mongolian-American artist and cultural producer Eriko Tsogo navigates the diverse realms of visual art, esotericism, performance, social practice, and media as she delves into themes of identity, heritage, placemaking, longing, belonging, and the quest for a sense of home.

 

an abstract rendering of two figures

Charmaine Chanakira, “Strings Attached” (2022), acrylic on canvas

Charmaine Chanakira, a London-based painter with Zimbabwean roots, is an artist whose work is deeply rooted in the complexities of identity and movement. Through vibrant, brightly-colored canvases, Chanakira explores themes of decolonization and social justice.

 

hands grow like grass on a black backdrop

Terra Keck, “Liquid Angels” (2023), graphite on paper

Brooklyn-based artist and performer Terra Keck is known for exploring folklore, magic, and spiritual visitation. Works in her recent solo exhibition, WRETCHED, combine traditional printmaking with mystical aesthetics from the late 1800s.

 

a geometric rendering in navy and blue with blue flowers

Lindsay Alexandria, “So it Goes” (2022), acrylic on wood

Lindsay Alexandria, a Brooklyn-based visual artist, draws inspiration from her upbringing surrounded by the lush landscapes of Pennsylvania. Her artistic journey has evolved to embrace oil painting as her primary medium, melding bold patterns with the ever-changing beauty of nature.

 

a blue painting of nude women in water with flowers

Gabriel Zea, “Go On and On with Homogenous Life” (2020), oil on wood

Colombian-American artist Gabriel Zea explores the intricate realm of traditional gender expressions through oil paintings intended to delve into how traditional ideals of masculinity and femininity can simultaneously confine and liberate individuals.

 

Mark your calendars for The Other Art Fair Brooklyn’s return from November 9 to 12. 

Secure your tickets now at theotherartfair.com/brooklyn.

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 Five Artists to Meet at The Other Art Fair’s Upcoming Brooklyn Edition appeared first on Colossal.



from Colossal https://ift.tt/hSsqbxY
via IFTTT

A Knotted Octopus Carved Directly into Two Pianos Entwines Maskull Lasserre’s New Musical Sculpture

“The Third Octave” (2023). All images © Maskull Lasserre, shared with permission Behind the hammers and pins of most upright pianos is a ...