The Donut Project

These collections of contemporary art and photography are the publishing work of J&L Books. This New York / Atlanta based non-profit publisher produces the work of rarely seen or unpublished contemporary artists. J&L and its volunteers only produce two to five new books each year. They also offer collections of limited edition prints. If you follow the New York Art Book Fair you might have already come across them. According to their site they are making another appearance this November. See more at J&L Books

French Artist Licoti has created an amazingly detailed piece of art depicting our solar system. The file, which you can download for free here, is 30,000 pixels wide and weighs in at a whopping 18megs. It’s more than worth the download, and makes for some impressive desktop backgrounds at the very least.

Here is the entire thing at 600 pixels wide, and a selection at 100%, to really understand the scale.

( via Forgetomori )

I’m not sure how long ago this occurred, but I just recently happened to stumble past it and thought I would share. American artist Mark Reigelman in partnership with the Cleveland Public Art was commissioned by the Cleveland Museum of Art to create White Cloud an outdoor installation for their annual Summer Solstice party. The installation took Reigelman and CPA almost two weeks to construct. Eventually the piece had to be taken down due to thunderstorms and strong winds. The installation comprised of nearly 100 eight-foot weather balloons, a dozen 22-foot steel poles and rope. Pretty awesome what some people can do with balloons, rope and some imagination.

Peter Root created this miniature cityscape out of 100,000+ staples. Stacks of staples were broken into varying sizes from full stacks about 12cm high down to single staples. These stacks were then stood up and arranged over a period of 40 hours.

The making-of time-lapse video is after the jump.

(more…)

Pamela Michelle Johnson’s American Still Life series of paintings is a commentary on the American way of life. These large oil paintings throw our junk food culture back into our faces. The work is both gross and enticing.

Teetering towers of hamburgers, drippy stacks of syrupy waffles, sticky piles of sugary candy… Junk food. It’s the taste of America. It is what we eat. It is who we are. The insatiable American appetite is set on a path of consumption. Devouring to the point where we are left with nothing, nothing but the consequential garbage. Quintessentially American, junk food is not just part of our diet, it epitomizes our cultural ideals and social norms.

Continue for more of her work.

(more…)

Telegraph has a great photo story on artist Dalton Ghetti, who creates miniature sculptures out of pencil graphite. The level of detail at this small size is remarkable.

Dalton uses three basic tools to make his incredible creations – a razor blade, sewing needle and sculpting knife. He even refuses to use a magnifying glass and has never sold any of his work, only given it away to friends. He said: “I use the sewing needle to make holes or dig into the graphite. I scratch and create lines and turn the graphite around slowly in my hand”

It really is a cool story, with many photos. The full read is at Telegraph.

This amazing short animated film is the work of Canadian animator, Norman McLaren (1914–1987). Experimental Films like Boogie-Doodle serve as a great example of early exploration into film and motion graphics. Much of McLaren’s work was produced directly onto 35mm film, the reason for their simplicity. Mclaren is known for his animation, experimental film, and his pioneering role in visualizing music. Good Stuff. I recommend muting the sound and playing anything by Justice.

I love “cute” as much as anyone, but there’s nothing like a getting a little bite with your sweet. When I saw Scott Hove’s images from his installation Cakeland, my jaw DROPPED. This is some amazing shit. The purpose of Cakeland, from Scott’s website:

The sculptures, with their display of beauty and potential for satisfaction, lure the viewer into a sense of anticipation. The viewer will slowly notice that Cakeland contains defensive elements, not immediately seen, that create a sense of anxiety and fear. This in turn creates a visual and emotional resonance that is intended to represent what we all have to deal with in our lives everyday…the hunt for satisfaction, and the anxiety that we won’t get it.

The detail in the decoration and pairing of sweet and evil is perfection. Would love to visit it someday, however the 360 degree video tour will have to do. (Oh and no, you can’t eat the cakes. They’re not real).

BMW Art Cars have been going on since the mid-seventies. The task for the artist is to take a production or race-spec BMW and create an artistic outer appearance. It is fascinating to the see the transition of art styles over the years as well that the design of the cars. This years artist is Jeff Koons. The M3 GT2 will be used in various upcoming races, most notably The 24 Hours of Le Mans. Old BMW Art Cars have be done by Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, R. Rauschenberg and David Hockney, just to name a few. More images after the jump.

via Fast Company

(more…)

How to Stay Hard with James Victore was recorded last year as a talk by AIGA NY. James shows a bit of his work, but more importantly, he talks about how he is able to stay fresh as a designer, how to keep loving what he does.

The entire talk is split up into 4 video parts, and total about an hour. If you can’t watch it now, come back and watch these when you have time. If you won’t take an hour sometime to watch James speak, then I dunno why you’re a designer in the first place.

James Victore is my idol in design, and maybe even my idol in life. I really admire his attitude and lack of bullshit, and his talent is unquestioned. I love that he thinks Shepard Fairey’s Obey shit is well, just that. I also wish I could pull off his facial hair.

James Victore = American Badass. Read more to see parts II, III & IV.

(more…)