Mmmmm, sticky. Oh how I love these huge, melty lollipops by LA based artist Desire Obtain Cherish (DOC), aka Jonathan Paul. So, obviously giant, shiny, colorful candy art is lovely to look at, but the story behind this “Cherry Meltdown” is even better. This is an excerpt from an interview DOC did with Artsy:

“The idea for the series came to me after I had dinner with a friend years ago. She told me she was breaking up with her boyfriend. I asked what was wrong, and she said, “Nothing’s wrong, I’m just kind of bored. Onto the next!” Many people look a the sculptures of my Blow Pops and feel that I make art about candy. The truth is, I make art about us. If you look carefully, it’s a sculpture of a perfect candy discarded, in fact, barely even tasted. Almost brand new, just melting in the sunlight. Simply discarded, as if our attention span was that of a child’s.”

Love it! Oh look, an excuse to show the scale of this 9 foot blow-pop one more time… here it is standing proudly beside the Grand Canal at the 2015 Venice Biennale:

Si, si, si!

*Venice images via UNIX Gallery, NY.

Gasp! Imagine walking through London, turning a corner and seeing this?! This insane floating net, titled “1.8” is the work of American artist Janet Echelman. In 2016 this beauty was hung in the middle of Oxford Circus, the busiest pedestrian area in all of London. This was its world premiere, opening Lumiere London {light festival}, but now it will continue to travel the world being shown in other cities. Ok, back to that title. Why “1.8” …

“The work’s title is 1.8, referring to the length of time in microseconds that the earth’s day was shortened as a result of a single physical event, the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that emanated from Japan. The sculpture’s form was inspired by data sets of the tsunami’s wave heights rippling across the entire Pacific Ocean. The artwork delves into content related to our complex interdependencies with larger cycles of time and our physical world. The sculpture’s net structure is a physical manifestation of interconnectedness – when any one element moves, every other element is affected.”

Chills.

ps. Janet is one of the artists featured in my upcoming book! Could I be more thrilled? NO.

Ok, let me begin by saying that photos do not do the work of American artist Lindsay Jones justice. I held some of her tissue paper pieces in my carefully gloved hands the last time I was in LA, and they’re so, so lovely! Speaking of which, her latest show, titled “Pattern Recognition” was just showing at Carbondale Arts in Colorado. It came down a couple of weeks ago, but I’ve done my best to give you a glimpse into the world she created. Here is a description of the show, found on the gallery’s site:

“Abstracting images from architecture and landscape, Lindsay Jones creates drawings, small sculptures, and installations out of materials such as paper, collage, and balsa wood. Her work is the result of her observations of the landscape; the rural, the urban, the exquisite, the boring, the natural, the unnatural, etc. Lindsay says she finds herself both in awe of, as well as disturbed by, the way that we build, and transform our environments, and believes that humanity will always be trying to figure out how to negotiate our life in this shared environment … This collection of drawings by Lindsay uses imagery from the Western Colorado and Utah deserts, whose environments she finds to be valuable because of their lack of human development.”

Beautiful. Now I have to go and make stuff.

What? Oh my goodness… none of my paper looks like this. This is the absolutely lovely work of Dutch animator turned artist Vera van Wolferen. These pieces are part of an installation, titled “Plant Life”, that is currently showing in Porto, Portugal in one of the city’s oldest bookstores – Livraria Lello. Clearly, if you’re anywhere near Porto you have to go see these beauties in person. Oh, but before you do, I have to share part of the email Vera sent me… I love this:

“During my study in Fine Arts I was in the sculpture department, and kept making videos of my sculptures. That’s why I went to do animation, cause everyone said – hey you should make your sculptures move! So I did stop motion for a year, but figured out I was most interested in creating the set design, lighting and photographing the sets… not so much the animation part of it. I now focus on making “Story Objects”, sculptures that are vehicles for the imagination of the viewer. It feels like the objects contain a story, but it up to you to create your own.”

Paper, maps, paint and pins all living together as a delicate, intricate, important narrative. This is the gorgeous, mind-boggling work of Fidencio Fifield-Perez. He was born in Mexico and grew up in the USA. After graduating from art school, he has focused on creating these beautiful, intricate, paper-cutting mixed media pieces. How do I know this? Well, I got an amazing email from a woman that runs the galleries and visiting artist lecture program at his alma mater. She wanted to make sure people knew about Fidencio’s work, and his very important/timely story:

“… Last semester I hosted an exhibit of paintings and cut paper installations made by one of our alumni, Fidencio Fifield-Perez. Fidencio is a DACA recipient, and has spent his life as an artist advocating for fellow undocumented residents and making gorgeous, pointed artworks about his experience living undocumented in the United States  …  Some of his most poignant works are made from appropriated, painted maps. He cuts away the “real” things the map represents- land, water, cities, people- and leaves the imagined, the drawn- roads, latitudes, boarders. Is this mud? A field to be harvested? A body of water to be crossed? Fence, net, or viscera? Every piece is meticulously cut and pinned to the wall with red map pins.”

Beautiful. The world needs more artists like Fidencio, and more people who send this kind of email.

Gasp! “Home Within A Home” is the work of Korean artist Do Ho Suh. This insane polyester fabric and metal frame house is an installation from 2013, and was shown at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul. Can you imagine wandering around inside that blue beauty? Breathtaking. Oh… and if you’re going to have a home like that, some of his other work will be, um, a necessity:

So. Good.

Unconventional and absurd? Yep, that pretty much describes my “s’moreo” photo for the day 7 prompt {“snacks”} from the first week of camp {combined with a photo of me, age 6}. And yes, you better believe I have a fresh s’moreo sitting right beside me at this very moment! So, before we get started on week 3 at AFYE Summer Camp, I want to show you just a handful of images created for last week’s art project (hashtagged #AFYEcamp). “Collaboration-Nation”, indeed! I did it too {posted below} by getting my husband and son to each make marks on a scary wooden panel I’ve been nervous to “ruin”… and I love it! Red marks made by my son Charlie, orange marks by my husband / amazing AFYE producer Greg, and the final piece by me:

Ahh, finally, that wood panel has paint on it… the title: “The rainbows and candy-colored chaos gave it away – Suzanne was hashtag blessed.”

And, of course, here are just a few of the many, many fabulous pieces you all collaborated on {photo credit links are at the very bottom of the post} :

So fantastic! Speaking of which, let’s get on to this week’s challenge:

Art Project No.3 

Shopping List : Yep, we’re heading to the grocery store for our art supplies this week {feel free to buy ingredients for s’moreos while you’re there!}. Using unconventional, AND CHEAP, materials can help bring back that fun, childlike joy in making. Paper plates, bags of macaroni, lunch bags, plastic bags from the bakery dept, pie tins, potatoes for potato stamps… whatever you can find! And if you want this to be super duper cheap, ie free, just raid your recycle bin!

Artist Examples: 

Here are three artists who don’t use the usual go-to art supplies for their work. First, American artist Hollie Chastain. She uses old book covers in place of canvas:

UK based artist Claire Brewster works with old maps and atlases:

Lydia Ricci uses, well, everything:

And finally, a few images of the absurdity embracing Eva Hesse:

Love!

Ah, another week of camp done… another s’moreo eaten! Thank you to Saatchi Art for supporting summer camp, and thanks so much to you for listening! AFYE camp will be back on Saturday June 17th … until then, be sure to hashtag your unconventional material piece {or pieces!} on Instagram with #AFYEcamp. Have fun!

Other links:

1. Hollie Chastain on AFYE : Episode 15
2. Claire Brewster on AFYE : Episode 84
3. “Eva Hesse” – Documentary by Marcie Begleiter and Karen Shapiro
4. Book signing at Book Passage Ferry Building, SF (June 9th, 6pm)
5. Hotbed Benefit 2017
6. Plant Hope Foundation
7. Venice! European Cultural Academy
8. TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST: subscribe on iTunes.

*Photo credits from Project No.2, in the order they appear above:

1. @mary_stack // 2. @elisegedig  //  3. @nullsie  //  4. @bababeloco  //  5. @mlestudio

Did it take you a moment to realize these weren’t actual swimmers? Yep, me too. This is the absolutely gorgeous work of well known American hyperrealist sculptor Carole A. Feuerman... and I’m actually going to see some of her work in person this August at the Venice Biennale! She has several exhibitions happening at one time in Venice. She’ll be showing work at: Giardino Della Marinaressa, Bel Air Fine Art, Palazzo Mora and Palazzo Bembo –  both palazzos will each have a special Feuerman swimmer exhibitions during their shows, called Personal Structures, Open Borders. The course that I’ll teaching in Venice {I’m one of several instructors from Aug 7 – 20} is taking place at Palazzo Bembo through the Academy at the European Cultural Centre – here’s hoping one of Carole’s swimmers is close by!

ps. I just found out that there are ONLY SIX SPOTS left at the academy the weeks I’m there. To find out more, visit the ECC’s site. I hope we can see Carole’s work together! Oh, and stay tuned because I’ve got a collage contest coming up with the prize being the tuition for one week at the Academy … worth EUR950! I’ll talk about this more on the podcast this weekend. 

Gasp! “Shelter”, an installation by Canadian artist Aimée Henny Brown. I’m not sure where to start? The mixed media collages, the pink ranger station… that paper cutting!? Ok, I’ve got no words so I’m handing this over to Aimée :

“Exhibited at the Ranger Station Art Gallery for June, 2015,  the work was inspired by my artist residency in the district of Kent, and through access to archives held at the Agassiz-Harrison Museum and Archives.   Through this body of work, I am visually exploring a period in this area’s history where the land was wild, shelter was provisional and industry was just beginning to imagine its place in the Fraser Valley. The re-presentation of these historical moments is also informed by imagined, alternative visions of what the term shelter can represent. In its most essential form, shelter is depicted as a triangle – an icon of sanctuary and dwelling. The triangle motif is employed throughout the work as a talisman to conjure concepts of protection, survival and home – but it is also the essential geometric building block of geodesic domes, tent structures, gabled walls, pitched roofs and signal flags. In this exhibition, the triangle is both form and metaphor. The aim of this work is to glimpse into local histories while discovering the imaginative potential of digging deeply into this past, and closely examining our relationship with place.”

Beautiful. Happy Friday.

I don’t normally write about architecture, but when you come across a golden solar egg sauna in the most northern part of Sweden… then yeah, it’s time to write about architecture! This is the work of architects Bigert & Bergstrom, and is of course, so much more than an egg shaped sauna. Here is the story behind the egg, the town of Kiruna, and the discussion of climate and sustainable community development:

“Kiruna is currently undergoing a radical transformation, which involves a gigantic move for the whole town. This is so that the mining company LKAB can extract more of the iron seam that cuts diagonally downwards beneath the town. The iron ore is and has been – ever since it first began to be extracted at the end of the 19th century – an important source of income for Sweden, and absolutely vital for the town of Kiruna. No mine, no town. But the breaking up and devastating transformation of the landscape, the environment and the architecture caused by the move are also sparking a lot of debate. Solar Egg has been made as a social sculpture where local people and visitors to the town can meet and, for instance, discuss these challenges. In the arctic climate of Lapland the sauna occupies a key position, as a room for warmth and reflection. B&B have taken up this tradition and developed a sculptural symbol that prompts thoughts of rebirth and an incubator that nurtures conversation and exchanges of ideas. The project is a continuation of the artists strategy to incorporate the climate into the experience of the artwork which was initiated with the Climate Chambers in 1994.

The egg is made out of stainless golden mirror sheeting, its multifaceted form breaking up the surroundings that it reflects into a multiplicity of different mirror images. Landscape, mine, town, sky, sun and snow are here combined into a fragmented image that can evoke associations with the complexity spanned by today’s discussion about climate and sustainable community development.”

Truly brilliant.

{via Colossal}