A Mesmerizing Video-Filtering Technique Called ‘Motion Extraction’ Helps Visualize Time

How do you visualize seemingly imperceptible changes over time, like trees rustling in the wind or cabinets shaking when someone walks by? Michiel de Boer, a.k.a. Posy, devised what he terms “motion extraction,” a filtering technique that leaves only the variances in time visible.

In a compelling and instructional video, de Boer explains a rather straightforward editing technique he uses to isolate movement over time. Examples include how to reveal a camouflaged deer walking through a forest and rain plunking into puddles, transforming scenic landscapes into what appear like glowing, abstract animations. As Kottke notes, the most stunning moment shows a man walking through a gravel bed, his footprints suddenly illuminated as bright splotches where the rocks have shifted.

Check out the tutorial-turned-artwork above, and find more of de Boer’s educational experiments on YouTube.

 

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 A Mesmerizing Video-Filtering Technique Called ‘Motion Extraction’ Helps Visualize Time appeared first on Colossal.

from Colossal https://ift.tt/iLCDj31
via IFTTT

Remarkable Drone Footage Captures a New Volcanic Eruption in Iceland

All images © Isak Finnbogason

Photographer and drone pilot Isak Finnbogason captured stunning footage of a new eruption on Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula in December, documenting the nearly two-mile-long lava vent on the first day it was active. Streams of magma rolled across the snowy landscape, creating a dramatic contrast between the frozen surface and molten earth surging up from below.

See more of Finnbogason’s aerial shots on his YouTube, and follow him on Instagram for updates. You might also like this video, filmed at night, which just shared of last summer’s incredible eruption.

 

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 Remarkable Drone Footage Captures a New Volcanic Eruption in Iceland appeared first on Colossal.

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

Undulating 3D-Printed Ceramic Tiles by Studio RAP Envelop a Boutique Facade in Amsterdam

All images © Studio RAP, shared with permission

Visitors peering into the storefronts along Amsterdam’s popular P.C. Hooftstraat are greeted by a striking, technologically advanced new facade by Studio RAP. Utilizing custom-built 3D printers, the firm conceived of white and brick-colored ceramic tiles that undulate across the surface, fusing historic architectural styles with contemporary design.

On the first floor, pearlescent pieces capture your attention at eye level, and on the higher floors, three shades of red mirror the original cross bond, or brick arrangement. A laser-cut steel framework perfectly aligns with the outlines of the blocks, its metallic edges employed as a high-tech reference to the original flush joints, or mortar.

Studio RAP created the delicate curves and fold-like details as a nod to stitch patterns and knitted textiles, responding to the building’s function as a boutique and creating a playful tension between tough building materials and associations with softness and pliability.

See more projects on Studio RAP’s website, and follow updates on Instagram. (via Yatzer)

 

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 Undulating 3D-Printed Ceramic Tiles by Studio RAP Envelop a Boutique Facade in Amsterdam appeared first on Colossal.

from Colossal https://ift.tt/W17Ij9G
via IFTTT

Colossal Members Have Funded 75 Art Projects in K-12 Classrooms through DonorsChoose

Illustration by Katie Lukes

The Colossal community hit an exciting milestone this week: thanks to our ever-generous Members, we funded our 75th classroom through DonorsChoose.

A portion of all Colossal Membership fees are allocated to K-12 art education, and so far, we’ve collectively donated $8,090 to classrooms in need. In celebration of the occasion, we’re sharing some feedback from educators whose students have directly benefited from the support.

Thank you for your donations to this project to help our students engage in hands-on learning and use their creativity. During the pandemic, they missed these projects and the joy of working with their peers. As they are creating, they are reconnecting with their peers and developing those social skills that are crucial to their success as productive citizens. Not all students thrive academically. These projects will allow my students to express themselves in other ways. —Mrs. Lindsey, Carver Elementary School

A heartfelt thank you for funding the art therapy supplies for our school’s social work services. Your generosity will enable us to provide a creative and healing outlet for our students. Your support means the world to us and our students. —Ms. Roberts, Pilsen Community Academy

It is so amazing to be in a community that supports the arts as much as you do! Because of your generosity, year after year, we can continue to expand and experiment with new materials, which makes it exciting for me and the kids! Thank you so much for your support. —Mrs. MacBeth, Amundsen High School

You can find out more about the specific projects funded on DonorsChoose, and join us by becoming a Colossal Member.

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 Colossal Members Have Funded 75 Art Projects in K-12 Classrooms through DonorsChoose appeared first on Colossal.

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

In Delicate Detail, Ester Magnusson Meitculously Fashions a Human Skull From Lace

All images © Ester Magnusson, shared with permission

“I’m obsessed with lace,” says Swedish fiber and textile artist Ester Magnusson, who loves to deep-dive into the history of garment design. As she prepared her portfolio for a residency focused solely on bobbin lace, she conceived of the idea of a human skull made entirely from the dainty fabric. “Once you express an interest in lace, people come out of the woodworks to give you their grandma’s old collection, so I had a lot of thrifted and gifted material to work with,” she says.

The resulting piece is titled “Skör,” which is pronounced like “sure” and translates to English from Swedish meaning “fragile.” Adjacent to Magnusson’s passion for textiles is a curiosity about wordplay, especially puns. “In Swedish, the words for ‘a piece of weaving’ and ‘tissue (anatomical)’ are both Vävnad, so I was coming up with ideas for a very punny fantasy exhibition when I thought of the concept,” the artist says.

Made of a mix of cotton and linen lace, “Skör” is assembled using cotton thread and wood glue. Tiny stitches connect various strips and shapes, but felt that she needed to add something she had created herself. “I had a feeling that I was just working with other people’s materials, that the piece wasn’t quite mine… so I made the teeth by hand,” she says, noting that she crocheted the details in a scallop pattern using a tiny metal hook. Once the work was complete, the artist used wood glue as a substitute for traditional starching agents like cornflour or sugar glue.

Interested in sustainable production, Magnusson continues to work in the garment industry and has recently been experimenting with a tapestry crochet variation of “Skör” that merges the concepts of pixel art, anatomical studies, and sweaters. Follow her on Instagram for updates.

 

binary comment

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 In Delicate Detail, Ester Magnusson Meitculously Fashions a Human Skull From Lace appeared first on Colossal.

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

Vibrant Digital Illustrations by Muhammed Sajid Evoke Memories of the Artist’s Hometown

All images © Muhammed Sajid, shared with permission

“The two things I love the most are observing people and playing with colours,” says Bangalore, India-based artist Muhammed Sajid, whose vivid digital illustrations highlight personalities, garments, and visual culture inspired by his home state of Kerala. Ornate fabrics and objects surround figures who gaze directly at the viewer or interact with flora and fauna, and symbolic references to vernacular architecture and art fill each vibrant composition.

Sajid was inspired to start making portraits while he was in college, and over time, he honed his interest in portraying people and their surroundings. Initially, he worked in watercolor and poster paints, but found it difficult to achieve the saturated hues he was drawn to. “In the digital era, things are entirely different, and I started using different types of colours,” he says, exploring the full spectrum and building bold contrasts.

In his Folks from Kerala series, Sajid draws from memories and renders subjects who are reminiscent of people he would see around his childhood town. “Some of the pieces that I had done in that series show people who are familiar folks and faces from the village,” he says. “I felt that no one gave much attention to how simple and beautiful their lives were.” He continues to build on these initial explorations, combining elements of pop culture, fashion, and landscape.

Later this year, Sajid will show a couple of new pieces with Galerie Kurokama in Paris, which focuses on contemporary Asian art. Find more of the artsit’s work on Behance and Instagram.

 

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 Vibrant Digital Illustrations by Muhammed Sajid Evoke Memories of the Artist’s Hometown appeared first on Colossal.

from Colossal https://ift.tt/D1T64jH
via IFTTT

Ryan Villamael’s Cascading Floral Sculptures Reconsider Maps and Identity

“Locus Amoenus.” All images courtesy of Silverlens, Manila/New York, shared with permission

Gathered in bunches and trailing like vines, Ryan Villamael’s paper-cut sculptures cascade through niches of interiors, history, and identity. Utilizing maps to create overgrowths of leaves, the artist addresses complex relationships between cartography and culture.

Based in Los Baños, Laguna, in the Philippines, Villamael focuses his practice on tangled narratives within himself and the country. Because his father had to leave home as an overseas worker, the young artist grew up without his presence. This physical disconnect was challenging and catalyzed Villamael’s fascination with cartography. He explains, “Looking at maps was my way of connecting with him, of tracing the paths he might have traveled.”

 

“Locus Amoenus” at Ateneo Art Gallery, Manila

This fixation has carefully cultivated itself ever since, as the artist sees the geographic representations as a way to uncover familial paths and collective memory. However, at odds with this sentiment of reclaiming personal history, Villamael also alludes to the presence of authoritative geopolitical ambitions that perpetuate partial truths. He tells Colossal:

So much of my work, I realize in hindsight, is about a kind of mourning. To be Filipino, I feel, is to be constantly in mourning—for the heritage that was taken from our nation by colonialism, for the memories we discard so systematically as a way of survival, for the historic structures in Manila that are constantly demolished… That does something to a nation’s psyche, and it’s something I feel deeply.

Such longing for ancestral truth beyond the stain of colonialism is evident in the artist’s work, as meticulous cutting, folding, overlapping, and puncturing alters the printed surfaces. Originally working with paper out of financial necessity, the humble material eventually became Villamael’s avenue for the tactile transformation and reclamation of cartographic records.

From the expansive nature of the material to the concept of stitching together ideas of home, the nuances of breadth and space guide his work. Quelled inside glass cloches and proliferating across gallery ceilings, floral motifs and sinuous vines carry a consuming desire for the recapitulation of history.

Villamael has two shows opening this month: a solo exhibit at Silverlens Gallery in Manila and an installation at the Esplanade in Singapore. Follow his Instagram to keep up with his work.

 

Detail of “Locus Amoenus”

Detail of “Locus Amoenus”

Detail of “Locus Amoenus”

“Locus Amoenus” at Ateneo Art Gallery, Manila

Left: “Pulô series X.” Right: “Pulô series IX”

“Pulô series III”

Left: From “Kadō Series.” Right: detail of “Kadō Series 2”

“Kadō, Series 1”

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 Ryan Villamael’s Cascading Floral Sculptures Reconsider Maps and Identity appeared first on Colossal.

from Colossal https://ift.tt/1XAz8Vm
via IFTTT