//BLOODHEAD

I'm busy grappling with my Master's at the moment...It sometimes is pretty tough to keep yourself motivated. In my case the thing that does the job is the artwoks that inspire me to research conservation and re-exhibition, one of them is Marc Quinn's "Blood Head" or "Self".

Self consists of Quinn's head cast out of his own blood. The blood remains frozen in a refrigerator display case, and the artwork is re-cast at an interval of 5 years. Then a new cast is made and Quinn's fresh blood is used and a new mold is made portraying him at that stage of life.

Quinn's first Self was made in 1991 and was first exhibited as part of the Sensation exhibition.
The recasting of the head does not only address the artist's physical deterioration but it's fragile nature also underlines conservational problems that increasingly appear in contemporary art.
Quinn's 2006 Self is part of the National Portrait Gallery. This work definitely challenges our conventional idea of what constitutes an artwork which makes it an important acquisition to the Portrait Galleries collection.

check out more of the artist's work here: http://www.marcquinn.com

//1 BIT SYMPHONY

I figured it'd be best if I just quote the text about this project directly from the project's site as it might get tricky to explain since i'm the most non technical person out there:P

here goes: (quoted from http://www.1bitsymphony.com/ )

Tristan Perich's 1-Bit Symphony is an electronic composition in five movements on a single microchip. Though housed in a CD jewel case like his first circuit album (1-Bit Music 2004-05), 1-Bit Symphony is not a recording in the traditional sense; it literally "performs" its music live when turned on. A complete electronic circuit—programmed by the artist and assembled by hand—plays the music through a headphone jack mounted into the case itself. The project is set to be released on Cantaloupe Music on August 24, 2010.

While 1-Bit Symphony is purely electronic in its execution, its contents reflect Perich's long-standing interest in orchestral composition. Since the release of 1-Bit Music in 2006, Perich's compositional work has combined 1-bit audio with acoustic classical instruments, providing insight into the conceptual and aesthetic relationships between physical and electronic sound. With 1-Bit Symphony, Perich brings this insight back into the digital realm, juxtaposing the grand form of a classical symphony with the minimal nature of 1-bit circuitry.

Tristan Perich: 1-Bit Symphony (Part 1: Overview) from Tristan Perich on Vimeo.

//SUNSHINE THE WEREWOLF / WEREWOLF HEART

I'm not big on hairiness,but what an awesome image-This is what I imagine a contemporary werewolf to look like,these Twilight people got it all wrong...


artwork by Austrian artist Markus Leitsch

Suit 2 & 3 2009
cowhide, resin. 60×30×180cm

//I HAVE THE MOON,YOU HAVE THE INTERNET.

Yep,I stole the post title from a the Field song...I found this on some blog and it made me laugh out loud even though I was sitting in my room alone...It's soooo lame but it's also so relevant!The work is called "Proclaiming my love" by Justin Kemp.The tree is not next to some crowded highway but is situated at the top of some mountain with a breathtaking view...
What more do you want?

via todayandtomorrow

//ART IS HARD

I've come to realize that the older you get (I'm pretty ancient), the more difficult it is to focus on being creative.Nothing ever seems new (duh) and not all ideas seem worth pursuing anymore as they did when you were 5.Nonetheless the lyrics "You mistake talking for breathing" applied to art are sort of what keeps it all going right?I like Dean Sameshima's "Cop Head 69" as it on a vague level embodies the creative failing and frustration and at the end the product despite it all...not always so inspired,often calculated but nonetheless it exists which is sometimes good enough.

http://www.deansameshima.com/

DEAN SAMESHIMA-COP HEAD 69

found via vvork

//PLASTICHANDSHAKES/MISTAKEN FOR STRANGERS/STRANGER DANGER.

This artwork-“Pre-Handshake Handshake Device” by Dominic Wilcox,is so true to real life.It's all about plastic handshakes....It seems the artwork is imed at comunicating the opposite of that...it aims to slowly initiate the first step of reconciliation but it can also be read as questioning what it is/isn''t to know someone..I would love to see this installed in a busy public space.Perhaps I should rip off Wilcox and place these all over town.I think we might just be in need of something along these lines.

//MORE DAVID SHRIGLEY

more David Shrigley

//NEW INNOVATIONS/ second-hand

Derick Melander's work is definitely a true productof innovation!The artist makes sculptures out of old clothes, or rather as he states creates " large geometric configurations from carefully folded and stacked second-hand clothing" !

Yes,his installations are where all old mens sweat pants and all joggers oversized shirts end up.As Melander explains ,clothing is his choice of medium as it wears, fades, stains and stretches it becomes an intimate record of our physical presence .Yet,they are transformed into something beautiful and vibrant(source).His sculptures don't only consist of old clothes but the artist also makes use of old shoes.

These sculptures arent just made out of basic layers of these "left overs",but rather consist of these 2nd hand garments being neatly folded to exact dimension and placed on top of each other in a specific manner.
LOOK AT MORE OF HIS WORK HERE.

//SOME MORE FAVOURITES

SO MUCH NOISE TO MAKE A SILENCE- by MARK TITCHNER

POINTS TOWARDS INFINITY- by TATJANA TROUVE

//THE WORLD ISN'T WORKING.

The world isn't working-by Mark Titchner must be one of my favourite artworks at the moment.I think it says what so many artworks try to say in the most blatant manner which offers part of its charm.Despite the weight of the statement it has an amusing edge to it.I'm not necessarily a pessismist,but this work as simple and straight forward as it may be, pretty much sums up what's "happening" (politics,society,economics etc.etc.) in a pretty concise manner.The artist,Mark Titchner is a British artist who belongs to the Peres Projects stable. Check the Peres projects website here.

Mark Titchner-THE WORLD ISN'T WORKING, 2008

//VERY SLOW SCAN TELEVISION


Gebhard Sengmüller is the man behind this clever TV image scanner to print machine.The VSSR is quite a complicated invention,which consists of an image transmission system used by Ham Radio amateurs. The machine uses broadcasts from a historic public domin tlevision system and bubblewrap (yesss..the fun stuff) to arrive at image stills transferred from the broadcasts ontor rater into teh bubble wrap.Thre is a ploter function which is involved,which works like aprinter,and by making use of 3 different colours injects the ink into th individual bubbles.These bubbles so to say end up functioning as pixels,which in the end as a whole portray a television image still.

found at today and tommorow

/CIRCA

If you are a Johannesburg city slicker,you might have at some point noticed this new "building" in the Rosebank area.Word has it that Everard Read have finally realized that despite making heaps and heaps of cash from the let's call it"stale" art they've been pushing, that the next generation of art investors migh not buy their works like it's going out of fashion(literally).

Hence,these fat cats did some good brainstorming and came up with a nifty plan to impress us young, biased and selective art lovers.Not only did they launch a more contemporary little brother,but they also built a monument that made it difficult not to be taken serious.Circa gallery looks like a post modern monument,designed by South African architect studio, studioMAS architects and urban design.

This gallery can be regarded as an artwork in itself and has been getting a whole lot of well deserved attention.

go visit the studioMAS here!

//MICHAELJOHANSSON.
I've found another favourite artist to add to the list.Michael is an installation artist who's work is most original.He explores the idea of a compact as well as ready made culture,which has many further themes that can be explored.Here are some of my favourite works of his I've come accross so far.

go visit his website here.

//COOL TUNES

Sorry about the lame title.Let's just say it was necessary... Katie Paterson's " Langjökull, Snæfellsjökull, Solheimajökull" is one of those ideas I wish were my own. These 3 records are as the name supposes made from glacier ice,and are played until they've fully melted...

The artist's explains:

Sound recordings from three glaciers in Iceland, pressed into three records, cast, and frozen with the meltwater from each of these glaciers, and played on three turntables until they completely melt.

The records were played once and now exist as three dvds. The turntables begin playing together, and for the first ten minutes as the needles trace their way around, the sounds from each glacier merge in and out with the sounds the ice itself creates. The needle catches on the last loop, and the records play for nearly two hours, until completely melted

more of Katie Pateron's work here

//RYAN MCGINLEY

Since i'm quite a huge Sigur Ros fan, I figured I'd add this, as the Album cover artist is also a renowned contemporary artist who is worth mentioning!
Sigur Ros cover:(originally titled:highway)


and another one titled "Coley"

check out Ryan Mcginley's website of awesomeness and nakedness here