They say you can’t control the weather—but for Berndnaut Smilde, that’s exactly his life’s work. The Dutch artist is known for his “Nimbus” series, in which he creates perfect, fluffy clouds in unique indoor spaces: churches, castles, dungeons, and most recently, in honor of Frieze New York, NeueHouse on 25th Street. The only lasting memory of his series is singular photograph—the perfect picture of the cloud in that space—which Smilde and his team work endlessly to capture.
He loved the duality of bringing something outdoor, indoor, as well as the duality of clouds themselves. “They can, for example, stand for the divine but also for something threatening or misfortunate,” he said. “Clouds are something really universal. Something that people give meaning to.” (source).
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The iconic Empire State Building in New York City was transformed into a moving tribute to endangered animals around the world. This spectacular light show, called Projecting Change: The Empire State Building, was organized by director Louie Psihoyos and producer Fisher Stevens of the Oscar-winning documentary The Cove, a film that explored dolphin hunting in Japan. Endangered creatures both large and small were depicted on the 33-story structure, including a black rhino, a humpback whale, and a bald eagle. The projections served as a companion to Psihoyos’s documentary, called Racing Extinction.
Producing the awe-inspiring sight was no easy feat — 40 stacked, 20,000-lumen projectors were placed on the roof a building on West 31st street. Together, they turned the Empire State Building into a shining beacon of hope for these voiceless animals, acting as reminder of how little time some of these species have left. (source).
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Artist Wolf Buttress has created a sculptural installation that looks like a giant dandelion wafting in the breeze. Titled Lucent, this larger-than-life orb is suspended above a darkened, reflecting pool that mirrors the brilliant illuminated tips, doubling its stunning presence. The installation’s name, derived from the Latin “to shine,” and its 3,115 hand-blown glass spheres represent stars on a map that are visible to the naked eye from the Northern hemisphere. To fully realize this sublime, suspended sculpture, Buttress affixed fiber optic cables to each orb, producing the piece’s diffused glow. Additionally, he ensured its spatial accuracy by working with astrophysicist Dr. Daniel Bayliss of Australian National University. Buttress also uses the reflective aspect of the piece as more than a visually appealing element, it is a conceptually integral part of Lucent. Its mirroring on the water suggests the Southern hemisphere, and implies a sense of infinity at the same time. (source).
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They say you can’t control the weather—but for Berndnaut Smilde, that’s exactly his life’s work. The Dutch artist is known for his “Nimbus” series, in which he creates perfect, fluffy clouds in unique indoor spaces: churches, castles, dungeons, and most recently, in honor of Frieze New York, NeueHouse on 25th Street. The only lasting memory of his series is singular photograph—the perfect picture of the cloud in that space—which Smilde and his team work endlessly to capture.
He loved the duality of bringing something outdoor, indoor, as well as the duality of clouds themselves. “They can, for example, stand for the divine but also for something threatening or misfortunate,” he said. “Clouds are something really universal. Something that people give meaning to.” (source).
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/Enter your password to view comments./in Uncategorized /by Ken Hiltner (UC Santa Barbara)Jon Christensen, The Role of Narrative in Bending the Curve on Climate Change
Wednesday, February 24 / 2 PM, Flying A Studio, University Center
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Bjarke Ingels’ firm has unveiled plans to build a school in Arlington,Virginia, featuring a fan-like plan that creates cascading roof terraces. Wilson Secondary School will comprise five storeys. But Copenhagen- and New York-based BIG wants it to feel like a single-storey block, so has arranged the floors so that they fan out from a single point, creating outdoor spaces above each level. This arrayed plan is intended to help break up the massing of the 15,800-square-metre building, which will be located in a low-rise residential neighbourhood on the edge of the Rosslyn central business district. (source).
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Design studios Lateral Office and CS Design collaborated with EGP Group’s engineers to produce 30 interactive seesaws that emit radiant light and sweet sounds. The entire installation, called Impulse, is located in Montreal’s Place des Festivals, where visitors can now embrace these playground toys to create their own art. Once they’re in motion, the seesaws generate harmonious tunes and illumination through their built-in speakers and LED lights. These pieces constantly change as they move up and down, allowing visitors to become spontaneous composers with one-of-a-kind instruments. The surrounding buildings are also incorporated into the installation experience, as imagery inspired by the seesaws is projected on them. (source).
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