THINK Exhibit

IBM's THINK exhibit at the Lincoln Center in New York composes of 40 interactive panel showing various indicators of life quality in the Big Apple, which engage visitors into a conversation on this subject.
The exhibition is open from September 23 to October 23.

Reverse glass painting

Gil Heitor Cortesao is a Portugese artist, who uses the almost forgotten technique of ‘reverse glass paining’: his works are painted on plexiglass instead of a regular canvas, and then sealed by a layer of white paint. The painting therefore is enclosed between a glass plate and a layer of paint. Its execution is reversed: that what is done last on a canvas is done first on the glass. This type of execution also means that tiny detail cannot be added later.

Cortesao’s works often have modernist houses as their theme: he shows these in an undone way, covered by stains. For him they represent the downfall of the modernist utopia.

Gil Heitor Cortesao: Remote Viewer #2, 2008

Light Painting

Andy Hemingway is a Huston-based photographer, who in his latest series "Light Painting" applies light graffiti to an abandoned parking garage in his home town. Done with a flashlight and some projection  tools, the result is a spectacular combination of flowing light effects to an lifeless concrete backdrop.

Beijing, of course

In recent years some of the world's most breath-taking architecture has been seen in China. A sign of the country's  rapid growth and explosive urbanization, this new wave of cutting-edge architecture is also a sign of the social and political changes China has gone through. One of the biggest face-lifts a Chinese city has received came in the build-up to the 2008 Olympic Games, when a series of buildings, so spectacular that they have their own nicknames, such as "The Bird's Nest"(Olympic Stadium);"The Water Cube"(National Swimming Center);"The Egg"(National Opera House) and the new CCTV Tower were built. Another addition to this list can be The Phoenix International Media Center, scheduled to be completed in 2012. Phoenix, a satellite TV provider, is picking up where CCTV left off, planning to move their programming operations in such a landmark building. In addition Phoenix, it will be housing other businesses, offices and restaurants. The building shape recalls of the "Bird's Nest", built by Swiss architects Herzog and De Meuron.  Unlike the stadium or the CCTV Tower, the Phoenix building has been designed by Chinese firm BIAD UFo, a sign that Chinese companyes can also handle the design end, not just the manufacturing. The ambitious project is also known by a few nicknames: sea sponge and jellyfish are the most popular. Time will tell which one will prevail.

Disney meets Oral Sex

In a work entitled “And The Beast”, Egyptian artist Ghada Amer shows us a juxtaposition of Disney’s Belle –from “the Beauty and the Beast”-  overlaid with subtly drawn erotic female figures. Amer took these female figures from porn magazines and presents them as another version of female stereotypes – in strong contrast with the virginal Disney princesses.

In combining pornographic images with female fairy-tale creatures, Ghada Amer asks us  how innocent these fairy-tale images are to begin with. The entire  canvas is dominated by  the thick black outline of a woman receiving oral sex.

Ghada Amer: And the Beast

The flow

One of the most talked about exhibitions this summer is Nendo's solo show at the National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute. Japanese Designers Nendo present their latest furniture in two collections: Thin Black Lines and Dancing Squares.
Dancing Squares is a collection based on the concept of “Active White” which has been installed onto a room-sized sketch.
The exhibition will accordingly be divided into two rooms: one with black drawings on white and the other with white on black. One striking feature are the curved walls of the second room.
The drawings on the floor were compared by Nendo designers to river water, which flows around the exhibition stands.

 

A new type of sculpture!

Today we’d like to introduce you to a whole new type of sculpture, made by Brooklyn-based artist Nick van Woert.

Van Woert makes weird, awesome and unique sculptures, in which he combines marble busts with polyurethane plastic in adhesive form. The plastic is to be understood as “attacking” the busts. Van Woert himself refers to these sculptures as:  "a hijacking of the art historical past”.

Van Woert is currently partaking in exhibitions worldwide and is represented by the most renowned galleries.



Nick van Woert: Poor me

 




Nick van Woert: Eclipse (yellow)



Nick van Woert: Untitled



Open Space Cafe-Bar

The Open Space Hotel in Murau, Austria, a building dating back to the 13th century, has been expanded with an ultra modern cafe-bar.
But integrating a modern addition within a space characterized by traditional architecture, is never a easy task. Designed by Architektur Steinbacher Thierrichter, the new addition to the hotel towers 12 meters over Muraus medieval town walls, offering great views over the river Mur. However, due to its placement in a historical town, some people are not happy with it.
We feel that it blends in with its surroundings, highlighting even more the old buildings. Therefore the Open Space Cafe-Bar can be seen as a valuable addition to Muraus historical center.

Getting drunk in high heels can be art!

Next time you plan on getting drunk, you better make sure someone’s filming you:

“Walking drunk in high shoes” is a video-installation by Iranian-German artist Anahita Razmi. In her video -which was inspired by a work by Tracey Emin- Razmi films herself while systematically getting drunk on a bottle of vodka.

The video, which last 47 minutes, shows Razmi walking around a room while emptying the bottle of vodka. The rhythm of her steps gets more and more uncontrolled as the bottle becomes emptier. She and the bottle both end on the floor, for obvious reasons.



Anahita Razmi: video Still from "Walking drunk in high shoes"



Anahita Razmi: video still from "Walking drunk in high shoes"

 

Roubaix art pool

Continuing our series of converted spaces, we present you the transformation of the stunning Art Deco public swimming pool from the northern french town of Roubaix into an art museum.
Built between 1927 and 1932 by the architect Albert Baert, the swimming pool had to be closed in 1985 due to safety problems. But instead of demolishing it and building a new one in its place, it was decided to give it a new function.

Architect Jean-Paul Philippon supervised the ten year repair work, adding a modern entrance building and constructing a special exhibition space in the adjoining former textile factory. Known as La Piscine Musee d'Art et d'Industrie, it opened in 2000. All expectations were exceeded by the 200.000 visitors attracted in the first year. These numbers have been growing ever since. In this manner, Roubaix is a fine example of capitalizing on the industrial past.

The new entrance

www.roubaix-lapiscine.com

SARA RAHBAR: violence and healing

Sarah Rahbar is an installation artist, sculptor and photographer, currently represented by renowned galleries worldwide. At a young age, during the Islamic Revolution,  she and her family were forced to leave her homeland of Iran. In her work she explores issues of displacement and belonging which stem  from her own experiences during and after the Revolution.

In her own words:  “I work to work out the turbulence that exist within me, I am healing myself and at the same time communicating an immense pain. It’s about falling, standing and attempting to survive it all. In the end we are all in exile…”



Sarah Rahbar: Love arrived and how red, number 7.

Rahbar is mainly known for her photographic series entitled “Love arrived and how red”. A series that was made as a reaction against the psychiatric impact that the events in the Middle East have had on its inhabitants.

One possible reading of this work,  is the title’s reference to the horrific expectations that traditional societies have of virgin brides.

Sara Rahbar: Flag Series

Initially Rahbar became known for her “Flag Series” (2008-present). Here, she reworked flags  into collages, that express the conflicting roles that flags play as symbols of nationalistic violence.

Post-It Wars

Montreuil, a suburb of Paris, is the scene of an unusual confrontation for the last few months. Ubisoft and BNP Paribas are engaged in a post-it note war between their two company buildings. 
Before this, the two companys had little in common, but what started out as a single figure of video-game character Space Invader on a Ubisoft window grew into a conflict of epic proportions. All of a sudden the employees hidden passion for video game characters had been unveiled.
And when one company presented a giant Mario, the other responded with a character of Zelda.
This battle is not waged solely between the two companys, but different floors and departments are involved in their own confrontations.
 

Last Friday afternoon, while everybody was preparing for the weekend, Ubisoft unleashed a three-story assassin from the game Assasin's Creed. Some call it an attempt to end the game, a "chess-mate" move. We are still waiting for BNP's counterstrike.

More of this amusing conflict on: www.postitwar.com
Here you can see a report made by french television on the post-it wars:                               http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXqPw86P8_g&feature=related