0 comment Saturday, May 10, 2014 | admin
Reuben Margolin creates sculptures that are inspired by waves in the natural world i.e. ripples on the surface of water, the movement of caterpillars, the wings of birds.
The sculptures are finely engineered, and are complex to make. If one component of the machine does not work, the entire movement of the sculpture will come to a halt.
For me, Margolin captures the elegance of the natural world, which comes from a true understanding of science and nature. Margolin draws a series of equations accompanied by sketches of his final piece, it is hard to understand where the art ends and the science starts.
Labels: Birds, Caterpillar, Kinetics, Materials, Movement, Moving, Natural, Nature, Recycled, Reuben Margolin, Sculpture, Video, Waves, Youtube
0 comment Monday, April 14, 2014 | admin
This year, I started the 365 Project for the second time, which means that I take a picture every day for a year.
Recently, I have noticed that many of my pictures have involved leaves in some way:
Understandably then, I was inspired by the leaf-cutting art of Lorenzo Duran.
Personally, I think it is important for artists to be inventive in choosing materials, and looking towards the raw fruits of nature is very inspiring.
The leaves do not cost money to collect, are plentiful and use less of the earths' resources to produce.
Recently, I have noticed that many of my pictures have involved leaves in some way:
Understandably then, I was inspired by the leaf-cutting art of Lorenzo Duran.
Personally, I think it is important for artists to be inventive in choosing materials, and looking towards the raw fruits of nature is very inspiring.
The leaves do not cost money to collect, are plentiful and use less of the earths' resources to produce.
Labels: Leaves, Lorenzo Duran, Materials, Nature, Trees
0 comment Friday, March 21, 2014 | admin
The artist Iori Tomita is trained as a fisherman, Tomita studied at Kitasato University School of Fisheries Sciences.
The images that you see in this entry, are real fish that have been preserved using the artists own method.
Tomita removes the scales and skin, which have been preserved in formaldehyde and soaks the specimen in blue stain, ethyl alcohol and glacial acetic acid. Tomita then uses an enzyme trypsin to break down proteins and muscles, which is how the specimens become transparent. As soon as the fish become transparent, the artist then soaks the fish in potassium hydroxide and red die, to stain the fish further.
When the artist is happy with his specimen, he then preserves it in glycerin.
This process is detailed and formulaic, which is interesting. An artist would use a particular formula to create say, a sculpture, in their own style. For example, if you were making a sculpture out of wax, using a plaster cast, there are certain stages, times and formulas that you must bear in mind if you want your sculpture to be a success. Similarly, Iori Tomita's specimens follow a very scientific path, in which certain chemicals must be used in order and for exactly the right amount of time. The choice to remove the fish from the enzyme trypsin when the specimens have become transparent is a purely aesthetic decision.
I am passionate about creativity with materials, thanks to a "materiality" module in my degree in Fine Art.
This module was when I started to become more creative with the art materials I chose, using sugar, glucose and water to make sculptures from. The sugary mixture had to be warmed to exactly the right temperature before it could harden as it cooled. After that module, it was hard to go back to say, wax or plaster.
I think it is important for artists to find new processes that have not been used before, taking inspiration from their everyday lives, just as Iori Tomita has done.
The images that you see in this entry, are real fish that have been preserved using the artists own method.
Tomita removes the scales and skin, which have been preserved in formaldehyde and soaks the specimen in blue stain, ethyl alcohol and glacial acetic acid. Tomita then uses an enzyme trypsin to break down proteins and muscles, which is how the specimens become transparent. As soon as the fish become transparent, the artist then soaks the fish in potassium hydroxide and red die, to stain the fish further.
When the artist is happy with his specimen, he then preserves it in glycerin.
This process is detailed and formulaic, which is interesting. An artist would use a particular formula to create say, a sculpture, in their own style. For example, if you were making a sculpture out of wax, using a plaster cast, there are certain stages, times and formulas that you must bear in mind if you want your sculpture to be a success. Similarly, Iori Tomita's specimens follow a very scientific path, in which certain chemicals must be used in order and for exactly the right amount of time. The choice to remove the fish from the enzyme trypsin when the specimens have become transparent is a purely aesthetic decision.
I am passionate about creativity with materials, thanks to a "materiality" module in my degree in Fine Art.
This module was when I started to become more creative with the art materials I chose, using sugar, glucose and water to make sculptures from. The sugary mixture had to be warmed to exactly the right temperature before it could harden as it cooled. After that module, it was hard to go back to say, wax or plaster.
I think it is important for artists to find new processes that have not been used before, taking inspiration from their everyday lives, just as Iori Tomita has done.
Labels: Fish, Formula, Iori Tomita, Materiality, Materials, Preservation, Science, Specimens, Transparent