The creator of the Anatomical Wax Model Cake, Annabel de Vetten of Conjurer’s Kitchen, was recently commissioned to make solid white chocolate baby heads for an undisclosed client. These aren’t cheery little candy baby heads but rather dark, seemingly soul-less ones, all ready to be nibbled up. They are nearly the size of a real newborn’s head.
images via Eat Your Heart Out
At the recent IDEO-hosted craft festival, Wunderfaire, I met Dustin Page, the founder of Platinum Dirt, an Oakland-based company that makes fashion accessories and jackets out of reclaimed leather automobile upholstery. At Wunderfaire, he had on display one of his VIN Jackets, a motorcycle-style jacket made out of (in this case, Cadillac) upholstery and parts. It not only used the leather from old Cadillac seats, it also incorporated its hood ornament (as a zipper pull), its embroidered wreath (as a sort of perfectly-placed crest), its metal logo and its metal VIN tag (as an adornment). The VIN Jacket is a special order and can be made with leather from Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz, Lincoln, BMW, or Volvo vehicles. All of the Platinum Dirt products are available to order online.
photos by Rusty Blazenhoff
Filmmaker Robert Weide quizzes Woody Allen with 12 questions (give or take) on subjects ranging from movies to Allen’s childhood. Weide was granted unprecedented access to Allen’s work and personal life for the 2011 biographical documentary Woody Allen: A Documentary.
via Viewsource
Tetris (1984)
The Museum of Modern Art has currently acquired 14 popular video game titles from the past and present (with a total of about 40 being acquired in the future) to add into an upcoming new category of artworks in their collection. You will be able to view the exhibit at the MoMA’s Philip Johnson Galleries coming in March of 2013. As a response to the question “Are video games art?”, MoMA’s Senior Curator Paolo Antonelli responds:
“They sure are, but they are also design, and a design approach is what we chose for this new foray into this universe. The games are selected as outstanding examples of interaction design—a field that MoMA has already explored and collected extensively, and one of the most important and oft-discussed expressions of contemporary design creativity. Our criteria, therefore, emphasize not only the visual quality and aesthetic experience of each game, but also the many other aspects—from the elegance of the code to the design of the player’s behavior—that pertain to interaction design.”
Current list video game titles (14) acquired:
Pac-Man (1980), Tetris (1984), Another World (1991), Myst (1993), SimCity 2000 (1994), vib-ribbon (1999), The Sims (2000), Katamari Damacy (2004), EVE Online (2003), Dwarf Fortress (2006), Portal (2007), flOw (2006), Passage (2008) and Canabalt (2009)
Pac-Man (1980)
Another World (1991)
Portal (2007)
images via MoMA
via Gothamist
On a special episode of Chris Hardwick’s All Star Celebrity Bowling on the Nerdist Channel, Team Nerdist challenges Team NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to a rousing game of bowling. Team NASA JPL consists of “the engineering wizards behind the Curiosity Mars rover,” Flight Director Bobak Ferdowsi (aka “NASA Mohawk Guy”), Cruise Altitude Control Engineer Steve Collins, Entry Descent & Landing Operations Lead Al Chen and Entry Descent & Landing Phase Lead Adam Steltzner.
submitted via Laughing Squid Tips
“…who is John Frum, where is he really from, and where, on spaceship Earth, are we all going?” / art by “DA” Dominic Tinio
The art theme for the 2013 Burning Man festival has been revealed: Cargo Cult. The theme is based on the still-active Melanesian alt-religion whose followers (“messengers”) worship a mysterious deity figure named John Frum. Frum embodies the spirit of American serviceman who dropped cargo from the sky (in the form of “unimaginable riches,” “magical foodstuffs that never spoiled” and “inconceivable power sources”) to the South Sea island chain during World War II. After these troops left, the primitive islanders constructed a “sky-craft” to woo back “Frum” and hasten the return of his magic life-altering cargo.
This Myth of Return is no less relevant today. To put this in a modern context, what if your electricity went dead and stayed that way — would you know how to make the current flow again? Can you fix your car if it breaks down, or build yourself a new one? Like the islanders, most of us are many steps removed from the Cargo that entirely shapes our lives. We don’t know how it’s made, where it’s made, or how it works; all we can do is look beyond the sky and pray for magic that will keep consumption flowing.
To honor the theme, the Burning Man figure will be constructed on top of a spaceship-like “sky-craft” pavilion. Burning Man happens at Nevada’s Black Rock Desert from August 26 to September 2, 2013.
Burning Man 2013 will court the return of our benevolent Visitors from Elsewhere by constructing an enormous replica of their sky-craft, hewn from the primitive materials of our backwater planet. Burning Man will stand atop this streamlined structure, majestically revolving like an interstellar beacon. Within this three-decked vessel participants will encounter the Temple of the Navigator, a shrine that features six hand-operated zoetropes that will function as prayer wheels. These will rehearse what little we know, or believe we know, of John Frum’s story. A sweeping observation ring surrounding this central chamber will afford panoramic views of both the playa and our city.
pavilion design by Lewis Zaumeyer, illustration by Andrew Johnstone
The Periodic Calendar is an ingenious calendar design that can be used for any year in the past, present, or future (video). The calendar works by categorizing years based on which day of the week they begin with (in essence there are only seven “types” of years.) The calendar was designed by artist Joey Sellers. He is raising funds on Indiegogo to finance the first print run.
Thanks Noona!
images and video by Joey Sellers
BLAZE is an ingenious bike light that uses a laser to project a warning symbol on the street in front of the bicyclist (video). The bright green symbol of a bicycle alerts motorists and pedestrians of the bicyclist’s approach, eliminating deadly blindspots that lead to accidents. UK-based designer Emily Brooke first created the light as a student project. She is now raising funds on Kickstarter in order to produce the first batch of lights.
Thanks Andrew Hyde!
photos and video via Blaze Components
Jeff Wysaski of Pleated-Jeans has created Classic Movies: Now With More Nic Cage, a video that takes scenes from classic films and humorously adds in actor Nicolas Cage (who has become quite an internet meme).
I got tired of Nic Cage always asking me “How am I not in THAT MOVIE!?” So, I decided to insert him into a bunch of classic films. I think you’ll agree that any movie is instantly 100 times better when you add Nicolas Cage.
Inspired by the Scooby Doo gag of the villain hiding behind a portrait, Mark Rober shows how to build a picture frame surveillance camera using an iPhone, an iPad and a thrift store picture frame.
via Gizmodo
image and video by Mark Rober
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