art

02.27.13:

Mechanical Interactive Walls

Some of the exhibits that have always seemed to suck us into mesmerizing states of fascination have actually been interactive (and at times non-interactive) large-scale wall experiences. Recently, we have become aware of two that should get your brain turning and will no doubt “spin off” countless ideas. (Pardon the pun, which you’ll understand when you see these.) The first is a work by the design group called Humans Since 1982. This is called “A Million Times.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Made with clocks (a subtle time-related experience, connected in this way to the melting piece Calamidad Cósmica), this piece can create messages and depict complex patterns and fields, suggesting many ideas for riffing and evoking many related ideas and aspects. A system like this could be responsive to viewers or to objects such as magnets or other more technological EM transmitters (i.e. cell phones anyone?). This could be a beautiful way to engage people in some complex ideas. On its onw it’s a beautiful, evocative piece.

Another piece we ran across was the experience “Flow 5.0” by Daan Roosegaarde a Dutch artist.

 

 

Here, what interests us is that fact that this interactive piece is different than, say, “Pipe Dream” by Bruce Shapiro    

 

or the work of Daniel Rozin (like this at the Perot Museum).    

 

 

“Flow 5.0” actually sends something physical back to the viewer – moving air. This could open up other ideas about what else could touch the viewer/user that they might explore or appreciate.

Certainly, with both the physical and visual interactive and non-interactive wall experiences, there is ample material and inspiration to evoke some truly immersive and memorable museum visits, not to mention make many buildings more engaging.

Let us know about more if you run across them. What ideas do these spin off?

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02.21.13:

creating a smile with scale

To combat the winter blahs this week our inspiration takes us back to playing with scale but with a little levity.  As we have mentioned before,  playing with scale is both an artist’s as well as a designer’s invaluable tool. While used as a sense of awe, its role in creating humor and fun – a moment of levity in a serious world or serious museum “environment” – should perhaps be explored more often. Here are two favorites that have passed by our desk this week.
The first is the great installation called “Bad Dog” (we need to admit that ALCHEMY studio has two office Labradors).

Yes, that’s yellow paint that get sprayed on the museum wall. Check out the public’ reaction through this local tv story!

This work, done by Richard Jackson, is part of an exhibition called “Ain’t Painting A Pain” at the Orange County Museum of Art, which provides a retrospective of the Los Angeles artist’s work.

The second is the piece “Calamidad Cósmica” by the artist Luciana Rondolini.

 

These giant popsicles are intended to have viewers reflect on the process of time elapsing. Of course, they also evoke the fun and memories that such items have played in one’s life. Surely an exhibit such as this would be great fun in a children’s museum or as a surprise encounter in an outside gallery.

Be sure to send us your fun encounters with scale and look for some upcoming inspirations sparked by ideas about time.

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01.30.13:

light shadow mirror: viewpoint – weekly inspiration

A recent rash of projects that are definitely making us think includes works by these two artists.

 

The first set is by Rashad Alakbarov who hails from Azerbaijan. He recently displayed these works at the De Pury Gallery in the show called Fly to Baku. Here is a write-up from art wednesday.

 

 

The second set, which has also gotten some recent press, is by Jonty Hurwitz.

What both of these have in common is their powerful exploration of the importance of one “viewpoint.” Certainly, we know that whether it be looking at past moments in history, interpreting art, or even discussing science (just consider the observer impact in quantum mechanics), where one observes and when one observes have powerful effects on experience.

In thinking about exhibitions and museums, it appears at times that we concentrate too much on restricted singular views of subjects from particular institutional types: art in the art museum, science in the science museum, history in the history museum. What has gotten us thinking is how subjects like “viewpoint” can be a fascinating and intriguing way of blending all of these.

This may be fertile ground for many museums to really stress the cross connections. These pieces are just two powerful examples of art and science coming together.

We are now on the hunt for more interesting takes on “viewpoints” and we think there is an exhibition that could take shape. Look for more examples over the coming weeks and please feel free to send us yours.

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01.17.13:

floating on a bubble

A museum/gallery experience that has been making the rounds a while in the studio is Tomás Saraceno’s On Space Time Foam.

 

We are excited and intrigued with the opportunity it gives visitors to actually float in or step on a mega scale bubble/foam structure. This certainly fits into our whole fascination with scale.

One can imagine this is what it is like to be miniaturized and walk amongst a soap bubble cluster.

Obviously this experience could be an incredibly powerful additional component to a bubble area.

But more intriguing is to use such an experience to communicate something about materials, or about the very structure of the universe. Just imagine finding this experience in a space or planetarium institution. It would be an exhibit that might change the very nature of what people expect in institutions such as this.

What other connections does it suggest to you?

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01.10.13:

firewall – inspiration weekly

The first thing that has captured our eye this year is this engaging and beautiful piece called Firewall:

It’s both artistic and musical and has an almost magical feel. It certainly would fit into many of the institutions we know. This was created by Aaron Sherwood created in collaboration with Michael Allison.

In addition, the experience has made us “riff” off of this piece for new experiences we might be part of, including:

-          explaining topography

-          exploring earthquakes

-          physically demonstrating sound waves

-          creating an illusionary environment

We would love to hear your ideas!

Meanwhile, back in October we were captured by the work of Antonin Fourneau and the Water Light Graffiti system. So now we have both fire and water. We just need to add earth and air and we’ll have the alchemy quattro.

 

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12.19.12:

Isaac Newton vs. Rube Goldberg – Inspiration for the Holidays

As we are fully in the holiday season, here is a little gift of inspiration.

Some of our favorite concepts and experiences – ones that, to us, always reflect a bit of alchemy – are Rube Goldberg devices. We recently came across this latest version by 2D House, a Toronto-based photography studio.

It’s a wonder we don’t see more of these in our museums and science centers. Here’s an idea: We would love to engage with someone on a Rube Goldberg exhibition. Imagine the “tinkering” space that could be added to this type of exhibition.

Lets have a Rube Goldberg movement

We hope you enjoyed this video as much as we did. By the way, want to see more? Take a look here at some of 2D House’s other work inspired by Rube Goldberg.

Happy Holidays for 2012 from alchemy studio

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10.14.12:

Inspiration – Water Light Graffiti

Having been a part of doing a digital “graffiti” wall in an earlier project for the Liberty Science Center, this new form of a digital “graffiti” wall that uses water is a new source of inspiration.  This is the Water Light Graffiti system

 

Check out the video

This project was project done under the Digitalarti Artlab by the artist Antonin Fourneau in Paris.  This graffiti wall uses a large wall of LEDs that are activated by moisture sensitive sensors. Participants can use a variety of tools to participate. We love the way this could add a bit of art/digital to water spaces in museums and science centers.

Part of the Wayne LaBar, ALCHEMY studio inspiration set at the ASTC session “Design Inspiration” being presented Tuesday.

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07.26.12:

Fun with scale (part 3) – the city as a canvas

So over the past few weeks there has been another set of playing with scale that caught our eye and perhaps some of this blog’s readers since they may have seen them in person. The examples continue the theme:

The unexpected and almost whimsical use of scale attracts attention, inspires levity and whimsy, and can often bring a point home.

A future blog post will cover the subject of levity but we here at ALCHEMY studio feel that this often an underused tool in our collective experience tool box. The first scale example some readers may have seen in Chicago is by the artist or artists named Bored.  Here are some examples cited by Nate Berg of the Atlantic, several people on Reddit. Check out the messages on the cards!

 

 

We would love to see more so please send us links to pics if you have some.

A second is the “lego” work don by Megx. Here using a little paint and imagination a bridge in Wuppertal, Germany is transformed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both of these examples suggest also that museums and cultural institutions could possibly extend both brand, experience and a small bit of perhaps a lighthearted aspect of their mission (play, science is cool, arts all around us, etc.) by engaging in imaginative ways with the city canvas.

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07.12.12:

UNESTs – UNexpected Encounters with Science and Technology

Recently a couple of things we have run across have energized us about cataloguing, designing, and thinking about a concept we are calling UNEST experiences. UNEST stands for UNexpected Encounters with Science and Technology.

Often some of the most powerful and engaging encounters with science and technology occur through experiences where you weren’t expecting to wrap you head around that.

In exhibition design, presenting the weird, the surprising, the unexpected creates an emotional as well as cognitive disconnect that can spark a memorable/learning/aha! moment.

Encountering such an experience in the regular everyday existence (outside of the “artificial” learning environment of a museum), for example in city or urban life, might in fact heighten the memorable/learning/aha! moment. These are what we are calling UNESTs. One wonders if encountering these might “raise the tide” of public engagement with science and technology. One reason, you don’t choose to go to these – rather they find you!  Because of this, UNESTs possibly reach members of the public who might never choose to visit a museum/science center about sci/tech subjects.

Here are some examples of UNESTs

The first is a project by Maskull Lasserre called Outliers. Imagine finding animal footprints in places you least expected.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What might you think? Where might your inquiry take you? Twilight references? Loose zoo animals? By the way WOW! someone should adapt this for all year round fun at nature centers, zoos etc.

 

 

Another is the amazing Kinetic Rain sculpture by ART+COM at Terminal 1 of Changi Airport in Singapore.  Equations, models, nature, beauty all wrapped into one.

 

 

 

 

Once again, one can imagine conversations discussing how is this done to what it represents, to the beauty of it all. Something we don’t expect to have on a busy travel day going home or heading to a meeting.

Let’s all do our own UNESTs!

One wonders if our work in museum/science centers should  be taken as much as possible “out of the box” of the museum building.  It would be fun to do. Only question is finding the support to do so.

 

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06.15.12:

Inspiration – Light Reeds

Here is a very cool concept that we believe deserves to be built:

 

It comes from the company Pensa. Actually would be great to see these at museums with water or think of how you might riff on this idea for other “plants” or objects.

A great alchemy of art, technology, inspiration and message.

Posted in: Alchemy Today, Experiences and Museums, Uncategorized

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