I love how Matoses re-imagines everyday objects into …other everyday objects. There is such wit and creativity in this set, coupled with beautifully rich tonal contrast in the black and white photography. Simple, wholesome ingenuity.
I would also recommend that you have a look through Matoses’s [no real name supplied, so I'll have to keep calling him that] Flickr photostream - he has a wonderful set of narrative photos, shot in the same style, and a further set based on hands that are just beautiful. The ‘stories’ are a particular favourite of mine, as they capture so much character and information in a still.
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I love these gorgeous rings by SmilingSilverSmith. They have real wit and charm, combined with supreme craftsmanship to form these beautiful pieces of jewellery. All are pure sterling silver, and all are on sale for between $49 and $59.
This shoot by Sharon Nayak is without question the best collection I have seen for this summer. I have a great dislike of prints, as they are rarely pulled off well, but this collection is flawless and I can’t express how much I love it. The colours are beautifully chosen, and the cuts are discreet, but flattering and so elegant. The styling is immaculate, and everything, right down to the accessories, ties in to the collection perfectly. What really makes this collection is the match of the plain, very simple trousers, which are the perfect length, simple but classy heels in just the right colour, and the busy prints above. There really is focus on the patterns, as everything else is chosen not to detract from it, but because of the very harmonious colours it isn’t brash or distracting. It is also eminently wearable – fairly smart, but yet full of life and energy. The best thing I’ve seen on Fashion Served in a long time.
I still can’t quite believe these are real. American artist Gary LeMaster has been working on this fairly unique form of sculpture for many years and has raised it to an astonishing level. Using a 400,000 rpm dental tool, he carefully cuts and sculpts these amazingly intricate forms into the delicate surface of genuine egg-shells. The ones that amaze me the most are the chicken egg portraits – minutely detailed, and cut 7/1000″ into a shell just 14/1000″ thick. I would strongly suggest you have a look at the gallery on his website – the volume, intricacy and all round quality of his work is unbelievable.
This beautiful concept electric bike comes from Art Tic, a Barcelona based design team with a trademark of imaginative, retro, and impeccably crafted designs. Like most retro things, it is 70s inspired, taking its form from the monocoque Ossa bike ridden by Santiago Herrero. It is timelessly iconic, and I suspect would become an instant classic were it to reach mass-production. Every detail has been carefully considered, from the oversized headlight to the straps holding the chassis together, all of which make this unique bike immediately recognisable.
I admit, I’m a bit of a sucker for this kind of thing. Zaramella’s stop-motion short film is incredibly inventive, beautifully thought through and shot, and is all together breathtaking. It tells the story of a man living in a world controlled and timed by light and his efforts to break the routine. Taking over 2 and a half years to shoot, this film has all the elements of a perfect short – wit, charm, great cinematography, and a highly original, imaginative idea behind it, and fully deserved the plethora of awards it won, including two at Annecy 2011, as well as being shortlisted for an Oscar. I would strongly urge you to check out Zaramella’s other work – he is a highly talented director and animator.
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This is simply gorgeous. Somehow a solid wood (I suspect bamboo?) bike is made minimalistic and elegant in this design by Raul Cano. The frame is magnificently simple, with a sleek, laid back and yet streamlined form, all created from as few pieces as possible. This is a contrast to the wheels, which are a chunkier focal point. The fittings are perfect, unobtrusive but still stylish, and even the tires have been carefully chosen. Oh, and bamboo is beautiful.
I know very little about these, other than that they’re the cleverest chocolate I’ve ever seen.
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These light pills by Vaulot and Dyèvre are hilarious. Created for Lyon’s Festival of Lights, they were part of Miniflux, an exhibition compiled by Roger Tator which comprised solely of miniature light displays, all of which had to use less power than a single flashlight. I love how closely these mimic medication – it took me a while to notice all the tiny jokes in the detail.
I’m never sure what to think of Banksy. Firstly, I love his sense of humour. He can do simple laugh-out-loud comedy, dry sardonic wit, and Dadaist creativity all with consummate ease. I’m also impressed by his identity – anonymity can’t be easy to preserve – and his uncaring approach to copyright, by which all his images are available for any use. His stencil-art skill itself is clear to see, and he has brought it to a new prominence - the name Banksy is now a household one across the continent. He is also a skilled painter, as seen in his reworked oil paintings. Yet somehow I still see Banksy as a bit of a low-life. I find some of his stencils too deliberately offensive or provocative, and I’m never entirely convinced he really cares about the causes he protests; it often seems that he is just protesting for the thrill of it, or for shock impact. His rats, on the other hand, I love. They have such charm and elegance in the stencilling, and wit in the way they interact with their surroundings.
This sculpture is an interesting mix of the two. It certainly has a shrewd wit and the idea of the pixellation is superbly executed, but I would love to discuss Banksy’s views on the Church with him to find out how fully considered they are. I worry that this sculpture is very superficial; that he is hating the Church simply to be controversial or because it’s an easy figure to hate. Donating the figure in December last year, the artist said: ”I guess you could call it a Christmas present. At this time of year it’s easy to forget the true meaning of Christianity – the lies, the corruption, the abuse.”, which to me sounds like a crass oversimplification of a delicate situation, designed to shock. However, the fact that it makes the viewer react is a positive in my view. The BBC write-up of the piece contained response from the gallery and a fascinating response from a Catholic art expert. It has been loaned indefinitely to the Walker Art Gallery by the artist.
I should just add, there is also a fair chance that Banksy is in fact far, far more intelligent than I give him credit for, and he’s just laughing at my indignation.
For a good overview of Banksy’s work and an idea of his persona, visit his site.
