Chimecco Interactive Chime by Mark Nixon

I was thinking the other day about content sharing and why I started this blog. There are so many amazing things out in the world that ingenious artists have created that aren't hanging on walls somewhere behind glass barriers or velvet ropes. 

Art that you can interact with, touch and listen to is so much more important. It becomes part of your life, part of your world. Remembered long after you've forgotten the piece of art you couldn't touch or interact with. 

Chimecco by architect/artist Mark Nixon is a perfect example - an interactive wind chime that can be played by walkers on the bridge above. Wind will also create sounds naturally (similar to the Aeolus Wind Pavilion.) 

Go make something today and change the world.....

Chimecco by Mark Nixon

Chimecco by Mark Nixon

Chimecco by Mark Nixon

Chimecco by Mark Nixon

Interactive Light Sculpture by WhiteVOID

Just because I cannot resist cool interactive installations involving light (and water.)

This one uses 12,000 ping pong balls, motion sensors, a pool of water, and high speed laser projectors.




FLUIDIC - Sculpture in Motion from WHITEvoid on Vimeo.

Fluidic by WhiteVOID

Fluidic by WhiteVOID

The Silent Evolution - an Underwater Art Installation by Jason deCaires Taylor

This is such a great idea - help rebuild coral reefs that human activity is destroying  AND create some groovy art. The symbolism of Jason deCaires Taylor's The Silent Evolution underwater sculpture installation is pretty obvious - people are why coral reefs are threatened and it is people who will rebuild them.

The first set of photos is from when the sculptures were first installed, over time you can see the figures attract corals and provide infrastructure to rebuild reefs.

Silent Evolution by Jason deCaires Taylor

Silent Evolution by Jason deCaires Taylor

Silent Evolution by Jason deCaires Taylor

Silent Evolution by Jason deCaires Taylor

Silent Evolution by Jason deCaires Taylor

Kinetic Wind Sculptures by Anthony Howe

Today it's all videos since we're talking about things that move in the wind (a perpetual favorite topic of mine!)

It was really hard to choose which pieces to feature first from artist Anthony Howe because they are all so phenomenal. Once again, I need 30 acres and a botanical garden so I can start a collection of this guy's work.....

Lovely, lovely stuff.

Lost Time by Glithero

How about some pre-holiday sculpture with Guadiesque origins? You in? I thought so....

British design team Glithero created this lovely installation for Design Miami. The piece references Gaudi's method for creating the shapes that would become   Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. In place of a mirror, Glithero used a long pool of water to create the reflection, which coincidentally also gave the impression of champagne bubbles (Perrier-Jouët Champagne sponsored the installation.)

What I love about this is the creation of shapes over the reflection of water, the whole thing is just stunning.

Lost Time by Glithero

Lost Time by Glithero

Lost Time by Glithero

Lost Time by Glithero

Lost Time by Glithero

Musical Wood - Bach's Cantata 147

This is kinda perfect for your Sunday morning. The level of engineering ability to figure this out and build it is just astonishing. Bravo.

A wooden ball plays Bach’s Cantata 147 in a forest just by rolling down a track.

Made by Humans / Hyundai Vision Hall by Universal Everything

A little something to stimulate your neurons post-Thanksgiving.

This video sculpture from Universal Everything is one of 18 visual art installations designed for Hyundai Vision Hall in South Korea.

Pull out of that turkey and pie coma....watch full screen.


#1 / Made by Humans / Hyundai Vision Hall, South Korea / Hyundai Motor Group from Universal Everything on Vimeo.

Andy Harman - The Owl

Andy Harman calls these props. I think it's rather common for artists in their early years to not think of themselves as artists. We call ourselves "craftspeople" but we're really making art. 

Another artist would call this yarn sculpture, or rope sculpture, or macrame sculpture. So, Andy Harman, I dub thee sculptor and artist, not prop maker. Create and be proud. 

Andy Harman - The Owl, Macrame Sculpture

Andy Harman - The Owl, Macrame Sculpture

Andy Harman - The Owl, Macrame Sculpture

Penny Hardy - Metal Sculpture

The picture of "Blown Away" recently surfaced in my Facebook news feed and it really stuck with me. I'm not always a fan of "junk art" but the simplicity and sense of freedom from this piece really did blow me away.

The mental imagery of standing tall while the wind blows your mundane problems off into the ether, leaving you light as a feather and dancing in the grass is just so emotionally appealing. It reminds me of the sense of freedom that I feel standing near crashing ocean waves and realizing how insignificant all my little life dramas really are.

A trip to Penny Hardy's website brought more wonders in metal and is now making me look up metalworking classes over at Long Beach City College. Like I need another hobby.....

Enjoy the beauty!

Penny Hardy - Blown Away - Metal Sculpture

Penny Hardy - Shield 2 - Metal Sculpture

Penny Hardy - Angels in Harlem - Metal Sculpture

Kinetic Rain at Changi Airport

I swear, all the cool art in the world is happening in Singapore. Not only do they have the Helix Bridge and the Supertrees, but now they also boast the world's largest kinetic art sculpture at the Changi Airport created by ART+COM.

This looks so unbelievably lovely, I'm just imaging what it must be like to sip your Chai Latte at the terminal while watching the peaceful drops of bronze dip and sway like an whimsical natural rainstorm.

Pictures don't do this one justice, so it's all videos on this post.

Bleigiessen Glass Sculpture - Thomas Heatherwick, Artist

From my "things that make you go ooooohhhhh" files.

This piece of 30m (that's 8 stories to US readers) high piece of loveliness hangs in the atrium of the Welcome Trust Building in London. Designed by Thomas Heartherwick, the sculpture uses 142,000 glass spheres suspended on 27,000 high tensile steel wires. The effect is almost like a waterfall of light and color.

Thomas Heatherwick - Bleigiessen Glass Sculpture

Thomas Heatherwick - Bleigiessen Glass Sculpture

Thomas Heatherwick - Bleigiessen Glass Sculpture

Thomas Heatherwick - Bleigiessen Glass Sculpture

Thomas Heatherwick - Bleigiessen Glass Sculpture

Thomas Heatherwick - Bleigiessen Glass Sculpture

The Wave Organ at Exploratorium

Filed under: cool art things that make noise naturally.

This one is close enough that I can actually visit! Located in San Francisco, the Exploratorium is a museum of science, art and human perception (it says so right on their website! Handy for blogging copy, that.)

The Wave Organ is an "acoustic sculpture," which means I'm on-board right from the start. Actually, I'm on-board at Sculpture and Acoustic is icing on the cake. An acoustic piece of sculpture isn't complete without audio, so when you visit the web page you will be treated to some of the musical stylings of The Wave Organ.

Start with the video:

The Wave Organ - Peter Richards, Artist

The Wave Organ - Peter Richards, Artist

The Wave Organ - Peter Richards, Artist

The Wave Organ - Peter Richards, Artist

Pacific Portal - James Hubbell, Artist

With a little over a month away from the annual Open House of Hubbell Studios in Julian, I'm going to feature a lot of James Hubbell here and cap it all off with pictures from the event on June 17, 2012.

Today...a funny story. I was visiting friends in San Diego a few months ago and we happened to take a drive out to Shelter Island, where I'd never been. As we drove down the only road on Shelter Island, I saw a piece of large sculpture and said to my companions "that HAS to be a James Hubbell. It just has to be."

Sure enough, it was the Pacific Portal, one of a number of Pacific Rim Parks that Hubbell has been involved with.

I guess it is a tribute to the power that James Hubbell's work holds over me that I can recognize the work at a glance, anywhere....

Pacific Portal (Shelter Island, San Diego) - James Hubbell, Artist

Pacific Portal (Shelter Island, San Diego) - James Hubbell, Artist

Pacific Portal (Shelter Island, San Diego) - James Hubbell, Artist 

Pacific Portal (Shelter Island, San Diego) - James Hubbell, Artist

"Pacific Spirit" (Shelter Island, San Diego) - James Hubbell, Artist 

Rain Bow Gate - Tonkin Liu

Since I featured the Singing Ringing Tree recently, let's see what else has been cooking in the workshop of architects Tonkin Liu, shall we?

The Rain Bow Gate integrates prisms to create rainbows from captured light, the location (Burnley) is noted for rainfall and the sculpture was name for Rain and for the the lovely aftereffect of rainbows.

Public art is very divisive for me, I find myself underwhelmed with things that offer no sensory experience. Art should do more than just sit there. It should fill the senses and transport the viewer to a changed place. I like museums, but art that you can experience has more impact for me than great works behind glass and velvet ropes.

Rain Bow Gate - Tonkin Liu, Architects

Rain Bow Gate - Tonkin Liu, Architects

Rain Bow Gate - Tonkin Liu, Architects