30 September 2009

jewellery on the brink of a.....


relationship.
These photos were taken by Jessica Hill.

26 September 2009

I never get tired of Bruce Mau


quote and illustration by Bruce Mau



Rereading An Incomplete Manifesto for Growth and think it needs to be a daily routine. I am really digging #21 today, but enjoying its neighbors as well. Give yourself a present and go read the whole thing here.

20. Be careful to take risks.
Time is genetic. Today is the child of yesterday and the parent of tomorrow. The work you produce today will create your future.

21. Repeat yourself.
If you like it, do it again. If you don’t like it, do it again.


22. Make your own tools.
Hybridize your tools in order to build unique things. Even simple tools that are your own can yield entirely new avenues of exploration. Remember, tools amplify our capacities, so even a small tool can make a big difference.

23. Stand on someone’s shoulders.
You can travel farther carried on the accomplishments of those who came before you. And the view is so much better.

23 September 2009

About, above


Solar-powered cardboard planetarium - Hyde Park, Sydney, February '08
Cardboard, pinholes, sunlight, rivets, string. 90cm x 80cm x 90cm. Edition 1/6

© Kirsten Bradley 2008


The Birds Path (after Herschel) - detail of installation
Cardboard, pinholes, sunlight, rear-projection screen, blacked-out room.
© Kirsten Bradley 2008

Solar-powered cardboard planetarium - Belmore Park, Sydney, February '08

Cardboard, pinholes, sunlight, rivets, string. 230cm x 200cm 230cm. Edition 1/6

© Kirsten Bradley 2008



Kirsten Bradley's work About, above, stands up where I feel that many participatory projects fall short.

  • Emotionally engaging as a viewer or particpant, check.
  • Aesthetic compelling as a stand alone object, check.
  • Theoretical backbone, check.

Here is what she has to say about the work:

A project in two parts, About, above invites the viewer into a world of lo-fi nature through participatory sculpture and installation. The first aspect of the project are solar-powered cardboard planetaria, which are designed to be installed in parks and other public spaces within a city. The second aspect of the project is an installation in the form of a room or chamber containing a camera obscura starmap, which is 'powered' by exterior sunlight, and allows the viewer to experience both a glowing starchart and a mosaic version of the world outside the chamber, simultaneously.
Read more about her project here Kirsten Bradley

21 September 2009

Go West

PHOTOGRAPH: “LISA DE COHEN WITH ADAPTIVE”(1983)/ARCHIV FRANZ WEST via the new yorker
In recent weeks I have discovered some of the most fantastic interactive sculpture.
The first is Franz West's adaptives. This photo breaks my heart, it is so beautiful. I don't think that any words are actually necessary.
But thanks to the Gagosian 2008 catalogue which provides a fabulous background for these adaptives:
In the early 1970s Franz West began making small-scale assemblages incorporating found materials such as cardboard, bandages, and wire, which he then covered with a coat of plaster and white paint. He called these sculptures Paßstück. West maintained that the viewer must engage with, handle, the sculptures in order to fully experience their "ergonomic" nature. Subsequently Paßstück has been translated as "adaptive" but this does not fully capture its original source as a technical term meaning "parts that fit into each other." These early sculptures function as prosthetics for an intimate version of the extreme Actionist spectacles of the mid-seventies in Vienna.

Zdenek Felix said: "West's adaptives are situated somewhere between the poles of body and psyche. Through use by the public, they could definitely become objects for behavioral research. This would comply with the intentions of the artist who is much more interested in the handling of his 'objects' than their formal completion." via the gagosian
so good.

20 September 2009

be happy and eat more cake!

I always feel like I should be making more wedding presents for my dear marrying-up friends. But never quite cracked the idea of "couple jewellery". Ah, once again, Arthur Hash and his lady Liz to the rescue. They have nailed the perfect piece. You can read the whole story here on art escape plan.

What better message to send, than "eat more cake!"



Raewyn Walsh, the challenge is ours if you accept it.

17 September 2009

wooden










I think that this is a really nice show that stand for something even more exciting. There is a little gang called wood club that meets to talk about furniture once a week. Graffiti furnishings appear around the place. They are creating a general buzz and I think it's great.
Well done and thanks for including my rings in this show.

01 September 2009

September 8th is a hot date




Sharon Fitness,
opening 6pm September 8,
Inform Gallery, CHC









And on the same day its got legs begins, the RMIT Gold and Silversmithing Annual Postgraduate and Alumni Award Exhibition 2009. The opening is on the 9th, and one Ms Jacqui Chan is in that show.
via Melbourne Jewller

How great would it be to fly around to all of these openings? I need that job.