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art posts

LAb[au]'s f5x5x5 framework sculpture mesmerizes on video

by Darren Murph posted Oct 28th 2009 at 7:53AM

It's been nearly three full years since we've seen anything hot and fresh from LAb[au], but thankfully, said drought is decidedly over. By using a combination of aluminum, Plexiglas, LED lights, determination, wit, stepper motors, critical thinking and IR tracking technologies, the f5x5x5 sculpture was created. Dubbed a "kinetic and luminous framework," the installation is part of a larger '16n' project designed to confront architectural problems (like congestion and flows) with spatial sensing technologies. We know, that's all pretty deep -- but if you're just lookin' for a good time, we'd recommend heading past the break, mashing play and dropping your kudos in comments.

Continue reading LAb[au]'s f5x5x5 framework sculpture mesmerizes on video

Yanko Design opens store, oodles of concepts now on the market

by Darren Murph posted Oct 19th 2009 at 4:48PM

Yanko Design is well known for digging up some of the most amazing, most commercializable concepts on the world wide web, and today the site has finally taken the next logical step. With every awesome mockup comes the inevitable question: "Yo, holmes -- where can I buy this?" With the grand opening of the YD Store, you can now exchange your currency for such luxuries as the d°light Huggable Pillow, Magnetic Spice Stand, Sorapot and Cloud Chair. We couldn't be happier to see some of these incredible designs ushered into the market place, and if you're feeling the same, you can give that read link a tap to enter a deep, dark world that's bound to drain your wallet dry. Have fun!

Update: Seems the site is getting battered at the moment, though we're sure they're buying more bandwidth as we speak. Right?

David Hockney paints with his iPhone, results not typical

by Laura June posted Oct 11th 2009 at 9:36AM

Artist David Hockney isn't afraid of picking up new media -- over the years, he's used Polaroids, photocollages, and even fax machines to create his art -- in addition to regular, old-fashioned painting. Now, he's taken to using his iPhone to create new works of art. The resultant "paintings" have been exhibited at the Tate Gallery and Royal Academy in London, as well as galleries in Los Angeles and Germany. Like artist Jorge Colombo (whose iPhone fingerpainting was featured on the cover of The New Yorker), Hockney uses the iPhone app Brushes to create his works. In an interview with the New York Review of Books, Hockney notes that he prefers and still uses the original version of the app, not the more recent updates. Hmm... maybe the reason our own Brushes paintings stink is because we're using the update!

[Via All Things D]

Mechanical piano hacked to talk, says nothing you'd be interested in

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Oct 9th 2009 at 10:07AM

It's not exactly the Baroque Vocoder we were hoping for, but an Austrian composer has hacked a mechanical piano to recite text -- and recite text it does (even if you need subtitles and some prompting from the voice-over to understand what it's saying). The video itself is a little skint on technical details -- even if the "wow!" factor remains pretty consistent -- but apparently composer Peter Ablinger took a recording of a child reading the Proclamation of the European Environmental Criminal Court and converted the frequency spectrum to MIDI, which he was then able to play back using the chordophone pictured above. The gang at Hack A Day seems to think that the actual conversion was done in the Pure Data software package, and who are we to argue? We're just wondering how Black Moth Super Rainbow will ever fit this thing onto their tour van. See for yourself after the break.

[Via Hack A Day]

Continue reading Mechanical piano hacked to talk, says nothing you'd be interested in

Video: elaborate multi-camera rig elegantly captures giant redwood tree

by Darren Murph posted Oct 2nd 2009 at 8:23AM

For anyone who's taken a cruise down the Avenue of the Giants or went looking for Stormtroopers within Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park, you're apt to feel a great deal of appreciation for the image just after the break. Michael Nichols, a National Geographic photographer, rigged up a ridiculous camera setup that was strategically lowered from the top of a 300-foot tree to the ground in order to get an astoundingly tall (and downright breathtaking) shot. Oh, and while you're gawking at the pixels down there, feel free to mash play on that video to see how it all came together.

[Via Hack A Day]

Continue reading Video: elaborate multi-camera rig elegantly captures giant redwood tree

OLPC gets microwaved, molded into stunning piece of art

by Darren Murph posted Sep 18th 2009 at 9:41AM

We've seen quite a few a) laptops and b) masterpieces in our day, but it's hard to recall the last time that we saw both in the same instance. Have a look at the object above, which is undoubtedly one of the most amazing pieces of laptop art this planet has ever had the pleasure of seeing. Kenny Irwin, known for his post-microwave creations, decided to zap one of the low-cost PCs and then mold it into the OLPCSlug while things were still gooey, all in the name of good publicity and charity. You see, the buyer of this lovely piece will see 80 percent of the proceeds head straight to OLPC, and given that it will also "help keep you safe from forest beasts of unimaginable size," those currently situated in backwoods retreats have an extra reason to plunk down. The only problem? That $26,001 asking price. A can't-miss demo video is after the break.

[Thanks, Robert]

Continue reading OLPC gets microwaved, molded into stunning piece of art

Conceptual Xbox 1080 handheld beautifully merges Xbox and Zune

by Darren Murph posted Sep 16th 2009 at 3:35PM

Carl Archambeault: you sir, are a champion. We're not exactly sure if you're on a first-class seat to Redmond or not, but the boys and girls in Washington could probably stand to learn a thing or two from the Xbox 1080. 'Course, that's probably just the fanboy in us talking -- after all, who wouldn't want the powers of an Xbox 360 and a Zune HD merged into one beautiful handheld? -- but could you imagine the market shakeup if this thing became real? Paging Mr. Benjamin J. Heckendorn!

[Via Coolest-Gadgets]

Power Bridge flips the strip upside-down, instantly kills ugly

by Darren Murph posted Sep 7th 2009 at 5:58AM

Oftentimes it's the most complex of designs that leads into the next level of a technology. Other times, it's the simplest of tweaks that completely revolutionize things. Take the Power Bridge concept, for instance, which simply takes the conventional power strip, turns it upside down and calls it a day. Designed by Hyukjae Chang, the immensely simplistic device keeps those gaudy plugs underneath the top bridge, and it also makes routing the connecting AC cables all sorts of simple. There's no telling when this thing will finally leave the drawing board and enter the production line, but you can rest assured Monster Cable will figure out a way to throw a "power conditioner" in there and charge two or three C-notes for it.

[Via Unplggd]

Video: Nokia N900 used to control British art installation

by Nilay Patel posted Sep 4th 2009 at 6:58PM

The new Nokia N900 is only a week old, but it's already being put to some interesting uses -- like this nifty little video wall commissioned by Nokia at the onedotzero adventures in motion festival in London. A custom Maemo 5 app sends messages to the display, and then the phone's accelerometer can be used to control the animation. Sure, it's not the most super-original phone+art installation we've ever seen, but it's certainly quite pretty -- check the video after the break.

Continue reading Video: Nokia N900 used to control British art installation

DIY Eyewriter brings the joy of art, vandalism to those with ALS

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Aug 26th 2009 at 1:59PM

You know, there are a slew of devices out there that'll let you indulge in some graffiti action without sullying your hands (or breaking the law). Indeed, we've seen real time 3D paintings in galleries and something called the Wiispray, and now we have Eyewriter. An ongoing effort by a group of graffiti artists from around the world, this open source project has designed and built a low-cost eye-tracking system to enable people like Tony Quam (a.k.a. TEMPTONE), who is paralyzed, to create artwork moving only his eyes. But that ain't all -- the group also designed a "mobile broadcast unit," which is essentially a low-powered, networked bicycle capable of projecting the business onto the side of a building (or street sign, or train). The kids responsible for this heartwarming example of "eye vandalism" promise that how-to materials, software, and the like will all be available soon, but in the meantime check a video of the thing in action after the break.

[Via Jailbreak]

Continue reading DIY Eyewriter brings the joy of art, vandalism to those with ALS

Handcrafted Ceramic Speakers are almost too pretty to blast

by Darren Murph posted Aug 14th 2009 at 6:27AM

Joey Roth blew our collective minds way back in 2007 with his conceptual Felt Mouse, but now the designer is taking his creations to the next level by actually shipping a few. The simply named Ceramic Speakers boast only 10 watts of output per channel, though each 4-inch full-range driver is housed in an acoustically dead porcelain and cork chamber that should do quite a lot with quite a little. We can't say we're totally fond of the expected $400 to $500 price tag when these go on sale in October, but toss in a similarly designed subwoofer and we just might bite.

[Via Cool Hunting]

Humanthesizer turns 15 bikini models into a live dancing synth

by Nilay Patel posted Aug 11th 2009 at 11:51AM

And you thought conductive paint was boring. Say hello to the Humanthesizer, a joint creation between electronic musician Calvin Harris, Sony Music UK, and Bare conductive body ink, which turned 15 bikini-clad ladies into a giant Arduino-powered synth capable of playing Harris's track "Ready For The Weekend" though Max/MSP and Ableton Live. Each patch is triggered by one of the girls closing a circuit with her hands or feet -- you can see the "wires" painted on their arms and legs if you look closely -- and the final performance bounces right along in that blurry space between dancing and playing. You have to see it to understand -- check out the videos after the break.

Gallery: Humanthesizer turns 15 bikini models into a live dancing synth

Continue reading Humanthesizer turns 15 bikini models into a live dancing synth

Halo LED spraycan lets you make grafitti the cheap, legal way

by Vladislav Savov posted Aug 10th 2009 at 10:51AM

If you're down with the latest freshness, like we know you are, you'll already be aware of light writing and the radical imagery that can be created through the use of long camera exposures and stop motion animation. Well, get ready to do your thing with even more style, thanks to the Halo LED spraycan -- a DIY project by Aissa Logerot -- which not only looks like the primary tool of al fresco art, it even recharges itself when shaken. While not quite as sophisticated as the Light Lane, this definitely makes our list of light-based paraphernalia we'd like to see more of. You'll find a few more shots after the break, plus a video of a well-known ad campaign featuring the light writing technique.

[Via Cool Hunting]

Continue reading Halo LED spraycan lets you make grafitti the cheap, legal way

Empty ink cartridges repurposed as glorious lamps

by Darren Murph posted Aug 3rd 2009 at 5:37AM

We all know that those ink cartridge refills never really function perfectly as advertised, so rather than paying too much to have a lackluster printing experience, boxlightbox has decided to repurpose his empty Epson boxes into prepossessing lighting instruments. The simple (albeit masterly) lamps maintain the iconic presence of an ink cartridge while still fitting into the overall feel of an art deco home. At $350, the sensational Ink-Cartridge Chandelier shown above certainly isn't the cheapest of fixtures, but for those who spend entirely too much time at Kinko's, it's totally worth the investment. Hit the read link for more ways to spend money that you don't have -- or, you know, to just get a few ideas for scratching that DIY itch.

[Thanks, David]

Video: Arduino-based 'insecure, egotistical' robot band

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Jul 31st 2009 at 5:37PM

One part gadget, one part art project, and 100% awesome, the Cybraphon is a MacBook powered, Arduino-based mechanical band housed in an antique wardrobe. Including an organ, cymbals, a motor-driven Indian Shruti box (played with 13 robotic servos, no less), and a gramophone, it relies on infrared motion detectors to sense when it has an audience. A number of factors, including the amount of attention it gets on Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, help the device determine its "mood," which in turn determines when the "band" plays, and what material it selects. According to one of the artist / inventors, the Cybraphon is a "tongue-in-cheek comment on people's obsession with online celebrity. We modeled it on an insecure, egotistical band." That's our favorite kind! And you know, the thing doesn't sound half bad. Check it out for yourself after the break.

Continue reading Video: Arduino-based 'insecure, egotistical' robot band