Illustrator Karl Addison creates llama explosion, a set of llama drawings done for an outdoor installation in Berlin. I like the concept of drawing being used in installation. The drawings were part of a centrepiece that extended itself into aspects of Peruvian culture. The contrast is interesting within the drawing and the portrait positions suggest the docile nature of the cultures representatives.

This work I belive is a great play on our preconceptions and is quite jarring. The sharp contrast between planes of wood and blue sky is very strong. The presence of this object in the space is strange even though a tree house for us is mostly recognizable from our images of surburbia, and not the canopy of a rainforest like some tribes still live in.

urban tree house.

Link for the videos
http://collabcubed.com/2011/05/21/ryoji-ikeda-the-transfinite-follow-up/

Brand new installation in New York ,The Transfinite a work done by the leading visual artist and electronic sound composer in Japan Ryoji Ikeda; The mesmerising screens show flashes of white and grey and then dark in such quick succession. Watching even the video embraces me in the moment. I feel because of the very large scale it has worked. Otherwise it might not have been successful but this really feels contemporary and is what I envision art to be like in the future.

Shawn Smith creates sculptures of heavily pix-elated subject matter. The sculptures are mostly of natural forms and animals, he uses painted wood blocks to achieve the effect. He also incorporates the use of found objects and makes his sculptures interact with them in different ways. I somehow question Smiths practice. I see it as a contemporary visual exploration. However I am not sure where further involvement in his current practice may lead. To me some of the ideas appear a bit novel and cliché. Some works do though penetrate the surface a bit deeper. Some of the animal sculptures that are presented like trophy heads carry a narrative that is haunting because of the abstracted representation of the animal. I feel some of the pieces work very strongly and can carry some strong ideas and thoughts.

Yale university has opened up its archive digitally to the public offering over 250,000 high quality images from its cultural collections.

http://vimeo.com/23731090

Kinetic sculpture by Behnaz Babazadeh responds to human touch. The Fermid project explores the relationship between artificial objects and nature. The sculpture made up of many white plastic shell shapes moves in an out at a central point producing a con-caving in the body of the sculpture. With the use of this new parametric technology the artist is able to produce a very engaging and seducing effect.

Michelle's Crit

Three paintings placed together as a tapestry of what could be suggested as emotion or movement of the body. The textures and scratching feels as if it is revealing something that already lies behind the canvass. There are two different languages between the three paintings, The large ones are Remington of some sort expressionism whilst the other is more controlled. there is a narration-al conflict.

In terms of medium specificity the smaller tapestry painting is about the act of painting. There is a question about the content of the paintings. The smaller one is more comfortable because of the earthly colours and it suggests more ambiguity. A conversation arose about the formatting of the painting. Whether it should be landscape or portrait. It emerges that their is more authenticity involved with the smaller painting. it feels a reflection of what is inside the artists own psyche. Expressing this idea, there are contemporary artists that have involved themselves with art as a transcription.

The two paintings involve two very different processes. The two styles were meant to bring together. The theme involves the idea of disconnection they are about frustration and the expression of artists block. they are not meant to be resolved but are a experimentation and investigation. The larger paintings are an inhibition of the artists freedom. The act of painting brings along a whole landslide of emotion and can be a representation of the subconscious or more uncomfortable side of the self.There is the aspect of what the artist is talking about of how she would make art that shared characteristics with other artists work. Doing this is explained that it can help let her understand what she wants to do. There is a large conflict with what one makes and what is been done to portray the artists feelings. If embarking on wanting to make something look nice you carry conditioning that you cannot break away from.

Former Yugoslavian relics from world war 2 now make a stark contrast with the flat placid green of the countryside which was once a hotspot for concentration camps. the relics are strangely futuristic and emit a strange disposition.

John Halaka explores concepts of uprooting societies and civillzations. In his most recent exhibition -landscapes of desire- at the mosaic rooms, starting on the 6th of May is a collection of paintings on the abadoned, crumbled houses of the Palestinians after the Israeli occupation. The paintings have a great textured quality to them which is generated by the repeated words that all his paintings are made from. “remember,” “resist,” “return,” “rebuild” and “forgive” with forgive as the most prominent I like the simple message made by these paintings and see it also as a personal journey that the artist is undertaking.

art pass

For anyone that may look at this today; buy the observer newspaper this morning as it contains a free national art pass to over 200 galleries. I think you can also redeem it if you visit artfund.org/guardain and entering your details.

Hotel design by Oppenheim Architecture + Design in Florida to be constructed in the red sandstone cliffs in Wadi rum, close to the ancient city of Petra in Jordan. The 47 desert lodges in the enclaves will benefit from the wild natural beauty of the area. I like how the black and grey water run off's from inside the cliffs is to be sustainably filtered by a natural botanical growth of plants. Architecture like this blurs the line between the wild habitations of the ancient civilizations that inhabited the caves of the Wadi rum sandstone and the modern, very comfortable architecture of today.

Artist Beth Hoeckel produces extrasensory collages that challenge our world view. The pieces made from found paper and archival paste describe a very strong and believable reality. The detail in the scenes present the viewer with an extended narrative where there is much to explore.

1st Thursdays

My first experience of a 1st Thursday night was unforgettable. From setting up our exhibition on Tuesday, and watching only flies visit our gallery early Thursday afternoon, I was not at all expecting the barrage of people come evening time. I had time to visit the other galleries before it got very busy. One installation in a great exhibition space had me mesmerized. One thing floats another thing sinks was a set of water filled tubs with a circular current being created by small pumps. One such tub contained two tomatoes on floating on the surface the other on the bottom, both were seemingly chasing each other in anguish. It was a simple narrative that felt like a entrance into another purer world.

The occasion of so many people coming to look at our art was a great learning experience. It was a climactic end to nearly two years of talking about our practice and other peoples work. Essentially it felt like a live crit, where criticism was expressed by swiftly moving pass some work or a quick exit from the space. In the end the crib sheet was abandoned and speaking about other peoples work became less of a challenge.

There was much positive response and has given me much drive to continue with the what I am doing, as I enjoy doing it and possibly others may enjoy seeing it. It is the first time where I have seen my work as being art. I still do not feel it is, but it made me sure that it would be possible and that there is much, much room for improvement.