Calder and his shadow

While in New York and a visit to the MoMA, I saw a great display of several Calder sculptures. Many were very complex, but this lone figure dangling from the ceiling and its cast shadow kept me mesmerized of its form and its ever changing shadow on the wall.

Happy Halloween!

La Cabeza

The Garfield Park Conservatory here in Chicago is currently playing host to Niki In The Garden.

Who is Niki you ask? Niki is Niki de Saint Phalle, an artist, sculptor that creates wonderous mosaic sculptures of animals, mythical figures, sports and music heroes, and of course, Nanas, larger than life female figures, all bejeweled with stones, glass, mirrors and semi-precious materials.

The exhibition features over 30 extraordinarily colorful and whimsical outdoor sculptures by Niki de Saint Phalle, this spectacular exhibition will grace the breathtaking Garfield Park Conservatory inside and out.

The textural look and feel of these imaginative artworks from afar or close-up invite you to interact and touch the art. Many pieces such as the Nikigator, Guardian Lion and Seal are perfect for climbing and crawling, while others, including La Cabeza and Chair invite you inside the piece to actually have a seat and look at the world from within the sculpture.

La Cabeza is also a perfect for Halloween Eve!

Illustration Friday - Alphabets

Sculptures created by JK Keller
The ASL (American Sign Language) alphabet illustrated using matchbooks.

Thomas Allen

Chip Kidd, besides being a great speaker at HOW, introduced many people to the photographer/sculptor Thomas Allen.

He describes his distinctive photographs as simply, "dames, dicks, and deadbeats 'cut loose' from the covers of vintage paperbacks to mix it up for the camera, blending pulp with pop-up, dime novel with diorama, and illustration with illusion."

He literally cuts the characters free from the covers of old pulp novels, creates a three-dimensional sculpture, then photographs it as if the characters are actual models for the camera, all from his basement in home basement in Michigan.