Prie Dieu (by Cokau) was the 2012 winner of the Experimental Vimeo award.
About the video:
“Prie Dieu” (Pray to God in french) is one of the designations in France for the praying mantis. Welcome in a world where insects are connected to a divine power by threads until they decide to commit the sin and break this link.
The Mutation Series by Maarten De Ceulaer takes experimental furniture design to its logical conclusion: to resemble an experiment.
About the project:
The pieces in this series look like they weren’t made by hands, but have grown to their present form organically. They might be the result of a mutation in cells, or the result of a chemical or nuclear reaction. Perhaps it’s a virus or bacteria that has grown dramatically out of scale. The Mutation pieces make you look at furniture in a different way. Maybe one day we would be able to grow a piece of furniture like we breed or clone an animal, and manipulate it’s shape like a bonsai tree.
On the other hand, the project can be seen as an experimental review of classic furniture upholstery. It reminds us of the famous and iconic deep buttoned (Chesterfield) sofa’s, interpreted in a highly contemporary and sculptural way. Instead of upholstering springs and foam with leather or textile, these pieces are created by carefully composing patterns with cut-offs of foam spheres of various sizes, and applying them onto a structure. In the end the entire piece gets coated, with a durable rubber or tactile velvet-like finish. It is hardly impossible to ever recreate such a specific pattern, so every piece is completely unique.
Exhaust #1 and Random Relatives by David Rickard
About his work:
Experimentation rather than representation is foremost in the mind of David Rickard. He negotiates the role of control and chance in his work by creating a set of parameters that govern the formation of each work. Be it the effect of gravity, the roll of a dice, or even human exhalation, an element of the unforeseeable is introduced and the experiment begins. The key components of any scientific experiment, control, organisation and an unknown outcome form the basis of Rickard’s work but leave more than a result. Rickard’s work is not just the lasting trace of a process, but the presented evidence of the role of chance in our lives from a molecular to a cultural level.
Architect Michael Jantzen is interested in much more than just form following function. He wants to “reinvent the built environment in order to extend the reach of consciousness.”
Pictured above is his Space Time Transformation Foot Bridge. About the project:
The interactive Space Time Transformation Footbridge is a conceptual design study for a new kind of pedestrian bridge that would be made of glass and steel. As people walk through the bridge, it senses their movements and responds by changing its shape from a pure cylinder to a multitude of varying shapes. As a result, the surrounding landscape is viewed by those crossing the bridge in an exciting fragmented way, which is based on the randomness of their movements. The glass, which covers the structure, is partially coated with a thin photovoltaic film that converts sun light into electricity. This electricity is stored and used to transform the shape of the structure, and to illuminate it at night.
Visit his site to see more work that merges art, architecture, technology, engineering, and sustainable design into one unique experience.
Jacqueline Stewart Brown’s amazing physiograms are created by swinging a light source above a camera and exposing the image from several seconds to several minutes.
Somewhere between the realm of experimental photography and scientific experiment lies the work of Caleb Charland.
From his artist statement:
As I explore the domestic space, from the basement to the backyard, I find ways to exploit the mysterious qualities of everyday objects and familiar materials. Each photograph begins with a simple question “How would this look? Is that possible? What would happen if…?” and develops through a sculptural process of experimentation. This work combines my scientific curiosity with a constructive approach to making pictures. I utilize everyday objects and fundamental forces to elaborate upon experiences of wonder…For me, wonder is a state of mind somewhere between knowledge and uncertainty. It is the basis of my practice and results in images that are simultaneously familiar and strange…
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