awesome uses for books

http://www.offbeatearth.com/dont-like-reading-other-uses-for-books/

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Sculpture By The Sea

Sydney, Australia

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http://www.sculpturebythesea.com/

Theodore Watson “Funky Forest”

2007

“‘Funky Forest’ is an interactive ecosystem where children create trees with their body and then divert the water flowing from the waterfall to the trees to keep them alive. The health of the trees contributes to the overall health of the forest and the types of creatures that inhabit it.”

http://muonics.net/site_docs/work.php?id=41

Arte Sella–hella!

“Arte Sella is a manifestation of international contemporary art, born in 1986, which takes place outdoors in the fields, in the woods of Val di Sella (town of Borgo Valsugana, in the province of Trento). Since the 1996 draft Arte Sella has developed along a forest road on the southern side of Mount Armentera: it is so outlined an ideal path called ArteNatura along which visitors can view the works at the same time enjoy the environmental particularities of place ( different types of forest, the presence of rocks, trees monumental …)
The event is not only qualified as exhibition of works of art, but also and above all as the creative process: the work is followed day by day in its growing intervention of the artist must express our relationship with nature based on respect , drawing from it inspiration and encouragement.
The works are generally three-dimensional, as obtained with rocks, leaves, branches or trunks; most are rarely used items, materials or artificial colors. At the closing of the event many works are abandoned to decay and fall within the life cycle of nature; other instead begin a path that leads in museums, art galleries, exhibition spaces in various Italy or abroad.”

1997-2004

You are here (You are here)
Tim Curtis Tim Curtis

Water Emergency
Maria Dompè Mary Dompè

Germination (Germination)
Gabriele Jardini Gabriele Jardini

Eira (Snowfall)
Gabriele Jardini Gabriele Jardini

The Spiral (The Spiral)
François Lelong François Lelong

Rudere (Ruins)
Urs Twellmann Urs Twellmann

Intersizi
di Matilde Grau Matilde Grau

Like a beehive, as an egg
di Steven Siegel Steven Siegel

Disco
di Thierry Teneul Thierry Teneul

http://www.artesella.it/

Artist Presentation: Don Ritter

[this needs to be fixed.  be patient.]

Fast Facts:

Born 1959
Canadian, living in Berlin
Generally awesome

Installations:

Defenestrationinteractive video and sound installation 5 x 8 m, work in progress Viewers enter a 5 x 8 meter space containing a series of steps in the centre of the room and three video projections on the front and side walls. The front projection displays a window, while the side projections display the interior walls of a room.
If a person walks up the steps and towards the front projection, the window becomes larger and it eventually opens, while video imagery on the side walls tracks accordingly. The sounds of the person’s footsteps are amplified through a sound system, and they become increasingly louder as the person approaches the end of the steps. If the person walks off the end of the steps, the front projection conveys the point-of-view of a person jumping out of a window and striking the ground face down. The projections on the side walls convey the defenestration from left and right points-of-view. After the imagery and sound of striking the ground are presented, the video projections fade to black for 30 seconds, followed by a new window displayed on the front projection. Defenestration provides a participating viewer with an experience of defenestration, while providing a Roman Holiday to other viewers in the space. *** Intersection interactive sound installation, 1993 dark space, 16 x 13m Visitors encounter the sounds of 4 or 8 lanes of car traffic rushing across a completely dark space while a dimly lit exit sign on the other side of the room instructs them to venture into the random moving traffic. If visitors encounter a car in the darkness, it comes to a loud screeching halt with its engine idling in front of the visitor. When a visitor steps away from a stopped car, it quickly accelerates past the visitor and across the room, then it slowly fades out into the darkness. When a visitor remains in front of a stopped car for more than a few seconds, a continuous pile-up of cars is created with smashing sounds behind the stopped car.Hundreds of visitors can be in the installation at one time, each capable of affecting the traffic. *** TV Guides interactive video and sound installation with live television, 1995 8 x 5m Viewers confront a living room environment containing a television that placed upon a small stage and illuminated with a spotlight. The television plays live television broadcasts, presenting viewers with typical afternoon programming of soap operas, talk shows, advertisements and TV game shows. The imagery on the television is overlaid by cross hairs within a circle, giving the impression that the programs and the viewer are separated by a viewing scope. In response to any movement by viewers, the television sound fades out and the cross hairs recede into black followed by text on the screen that requests viewers to remain still. The live television imagery and sound will resume only when all viewers within the installation are motionless for at least 5 seconds. Each time a television program is switched off by viewers’ movements, a different text message is provided on the screen of the television, including “Please Remain Still,” “Be Calm,” or “Just Relax.” *** Vox Populiinteractive video and sound installation 13 x 15m, 2005 A video projected crowd of 28 people yells “speech, speech” and encourages visitors to speak from a lectern equipped with a microphone and a teleprompter that displays the text of historical political speeches. When a visitor assumes the role of leader by delivering a speech through the microphone, the text scrolls on the teleprompter, the crowd responds with varying degrees of hostility, support or ridicule, and the leader’s speech is mixed with the screaming of the crowd through a large sound system. There are no indications within the installation that the speeches on the teleprompter are from influential leaders, including John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr, and George W. Bush. Vox Populi provides anyone with an opportunity to control the masses through public speeches. Documentation of the installation shows audience members spontaneously adopting the role of leader and delivering their speeches with passion. Leaders are free to speak whatever they want through the microphone, but most read the speeches provided. The response of the crowd, speech selection, and speed of the scrolling text are determined by an analysis of a leader’s voice. The specific actions of the crowd—encouraging, mildly supportive, unsupportive or enthusiastically supportive—are determined by various vocal characteristics. If a leader speaks continuously for 4 minutes at a high volume and tempo, the crowd remains enthusiastically supportive. The installation provides over 40 minutes of video and 3000 lines of historical speeches in English or French. *** o telephone 8 channel interactive sound installation, 2007 6 x 6m Six modified 1960’s telephones are arranged in a circle within a darkened room. Each randomly rings with a distinctive sound. If a viewer answers a ringing phone, “om” is heard through the handset and through the speaker in the body of the phone. When viewers answer other ringing phones within the installation, the resulting “om” sounds will pan through all the answered phones. If no ringing telephones are answered by viewers, the telephones will spontaneously begin a new composition comprised of “om” sounds. If viewers pick up a telephone at this time, all sounds will stop and the phones will eventually start ringing again. *** Vestedinteractive video and sound installation 10 x 15m, work in progressViewers enter a dark room and encounter a 15m video projection depicting panoramas of political and cultural buildings. The imagery is comprised of three video projections that provide three points-of-view of the same building simultaneously. A vest hangs on a coat rack in the middle of the room, illuminated with two green spotlights. If a viewer puts on the vest and walks to the left, the panoramas track right; if the person moves to the right, the panoramas track left. Different types of panoramas– of museums, political buildings, towers or temples–are provided when the vested person walks forward or backward. Two robotically controlled spotlights track the location of the vested person within the room. As this person walks around, images of this person and anyone standing nearby are captured by three video cameras and combined with the video of the buildings. Three video projections of the vested person walking in front of the building are presented from three perspectives simultaneously. top view of vested person tracked by spotlights When the vested person presses the red button on the vest, the three video projections present imagery of a large explosion with sound, followed by a moment of blackness. When the video imagery returns, the vested person is located in front of a new panorama, permitting the person to locate a different buildings by walking around the room.   Audience members can participate in the installation as the vested person, as victims captured by the video cameras because they stand near the vested person, or as viewers having a Roman Holiday. *** Digestion interactive video and sound installation or performance, 2003 5 x 10m Digestion presents organic imagery–originating as boiling water–that is interactively transformed into a series of mechanical movements with synchronized sound. Viewers are presented with an abstract experience of multi-channel imagery that is controlled by sound. The unpredictable nature of the work provides an internal interactivity which can be observed by an audience, but not controlled.   *** Skies interactive video and sound installation, 1998 16x16mVisitors encounter a large dark room containing two video projections of a night sky, one on the floor and one on the back wall. When visitors walk onto the video projection, black paths appear under their feet at specific locations. As the five hidden paths are discovered by multiple viewers, the imagery and sound transform according to the specific paths discovered. Depending on which paths are found, the environment projected will be a night sky, day sky, water, land, or a sunny sky. The installation uses a “collaborative interface” which forms a hierarchy of imagery and sound based on the cooperation of the visitors. Skies requires that people cooperate with each other in order to experience the work completely. The installation can accommodate an unlimited number of viewers. *** Elephant Keyboard interactive music instrument, 2000 1x1x3m; 450kg Thai Elephant Conservation Center, Lampang, Thailand. Each key of the instrument provides a distinct drone or melody derived from traditional Thai music. Musical characteristics are controlled by the speed that a key is pulled, and by the duration it is held. Performers Jo Jo, 9 year old male Luuk Khang, 7 year old female Luuk Kob, 6 year old male Phrathida, 7 year old female Design and electronic construction by Don Ritter. Construction of wooden components by staff at the Thai Elephant Conservation Center under direction of Nipakorn Singhputhankul and Don Ritter. Access to elephants provided by Richard Lair. Video documentation shot by Tamara Barton and Kurt Ossenfort, with editing by Don Ritter. Photos by Neil Budzinski. *** FIT interactive video and sound installation, 1993 5 x 9 mAudiences encounter a video projection of an aerobics instructor who stands in silence until a viewer approaches. When a viewer moves in front of the projection and into the spotlight, the instructor begins exercising to music. If a viewer stops moving, the instructor also stops exercising and the music becomes silent. Each time a viewer begins moving his or her body, the instructor begins a new exercise with music. If a viewer exercises non-stop, the music and the instructor’s exercising will increase in tempo until an extremely fast level is reached. Although the aerobics instructor is technically controlled by the physical motion of audiences, viewers are compelled to exercise faster and faster without stopping.Installations: A Structural Theory of Emotions interactive video performance, 1992 8:00 min. Don Ritter: video imagery and interactive programming Trevor Tureski: percussion and original musicDuring this performance, custom software listens to the live music and rates it into one of eight emotional categories–such as sad, happy or angry. This rating stimulates a corresponding emotion within the video character. Based on research by neuroscientist and musician, Dr. Manfred Clynes.

Chris Jordan: “Contemporary American Culture Through the Austere Lens of Statistics”

It might not be directly trash-related (all the time), but there are parallels and similarities, I think…

Barbie Dolls, 2008
60×80″

Depicts 32,000 Barbies, equal to the number of elective breast augmentation surgeries performed monthly in the US in 2006.

Paper Cups, 2008
60×96″

Depicts 410,000 paper cups, equal to the number of disposal hot-beverage paper cups used in the US every fifteen minutes.

Skull With Cigarette, 2007 [based on a painting by Van Gogh]
72×98″

Depicts 200,000 packs of cigarettes, equal to the number of Americans who die from cigarette smoking every six months.

Plastic Bottles, 2007
60×120″

Depicts two million plastic beverage bottles, the number used in the US every five minutes.

Cell Phones, 2007
60×100″

Depicts 426,000 cell phones, equal to the number of cell phones retired in the US every day.

Prison Uniforms, 2007
10×23 feet in six vertical panels

Depicts 2.3 million folded prison uniforms, equal to the number of Americans incarcerated in 2005.

Paper Bags, 2007
60×80″

Depicts 1.14 million brown paper supermarket bags, the number used in the US every hour.

Handguns, 2007
60×92″

Depicts 29,569 handguns, equal to the number of gun-related deaths in the US in 2004.

http://www.chrisjordan.com/current_set2.php?id=7

Ubuntu Trash Art Show

“The Fantastic Rubbish Art Exhibition, showcasing how valuable rubbish can be, runs at the Ubuntu Village at the Wanderers in Johannesburg until 6 September as part of the World Summit on Sustainable Development.”

“The intention is to provide a platform for communication between the artists and crafters on the one hand, and the general public on the other, and to inspire thoughts and discussions around the environment and waste specifically.”

“Artworks, showcased in containers, are made from rubbish ranging from scrapyard objects to melted plastic and telephone directories.

To reach the containers, one follows a footpath through a maze which could easily be mistaken for a scrapyard, because its high walls are made of scrap metal and discarded household appliances.”

“Discussions happen at the end of the exhibition in a ‘South African Talking House’ built by French artists and South African crafters from KwaZulu-Natal. Constructed out of crates and plastic, it looks like a shack – but inside there is a pool table and sound-sensitive lights that shine brightly when you shout and dimly when you whisper – art and technology in action.”

Yeah! I love the fact that they have a manditory meeting place at the end of the show. Awseome stuff–this is what art should be, I think.

http://www.southafrica.info/what_happening/arts_entertainment/arttrash.htm