Archive for May, 2010Things That Might Be Art is a weekly feature here on The Jailbreak. We present you, our readers, with a product, idea or creation that skirts the line between art, design, architecture or something else entirely. Then you must tell us what you think via a handy poll. Sound good? Great, let’s get started.
Above Photos Via: Big Picture Architect Bryan Berg holds numerous Guinness World Records for building massive freestanding structures out of playing cards, without the use of such seemingly essential materials like tape and glue. Berg (AKA “The Cardstacker”) has been commissioned by Holiday Inn (to build one of their hotel rooms), Lexus, Disney (for Cinderella’s Castle) and numerous others. He’s built the New York City skyline, the Rhode Island State House, the Olympic Village in Beijing, and a 600 pound, to-size replica of the famous Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Sign. All. Out. Of. Cards. But each of those creations, while still impressive, seem humble in comparison to his tallest, most magnificent structure yet: a 30 ft. x 10 ft. model of the Venetian Macao that Berg built on site in Macau in March. His chef-d’oeuvre reportedly contained 218,792 individual cards (or 4,051 full decks), weighed 616 pounds, and took 44 days to complete. Then they knocked it down 10 days later. No big deal. So without further ado, please tell us whether or not the card buildings of Mr. Bryan Berg are works of art. More photos (and video, too!) are included below.
Above: Ice Invaders (Fred; $7.99) There has been a pervading trend at the last few major gift fairs (in both New York and Hong Kong) and that, my friends, is silicone ice cube trays. The material lends itself enviably to the product, as it can be easily molded into anything you can dream up. So with a burgeoning fad in mind (and in the spirit of summer’s imminent arrival), we’ve compiled a list of 21 of the hippest ice cube trays available. While the good folks at Fred have the market cornered pretty well, there’s always room for new ideas. If you have one, please leave a comment below. Who knows? We might just end up making it (with some profit and credit going your way of course). *There’s also a bonus World Cup-inspired tray at the end, so make sure you scroll the whole way!
Robots are easily one of the more ubiquitous figures in the gift industry. And why not? They’re instantly recognizable, making their alteration into things like walking salt + pepper shakers, walking pencil sharpeners, and key covers a pretty obvious and bankable decision. These robots here don’t season food or change lead, and they aren’t mass produced. They’re “art blocks,” meant to stand guard on mantles and bookshelves. The artist, John W. Golden, first prints out the designs and then wraps the paper around small wooden blocks. Set of 8 for $48.00 at Supermarket HQ. Click through for a few more photos. Things That Might Be Art is a new weekly feature here on The Jailbreak. We will present you, our readers, with a product, idea or creation that skirts the line between art, design, photography or something else entirely. Then you will tell us what you think via a handy poll. Sound good? Great, let’s get started.
The corporate logo lolli-pops of Italian-born, New York City-based photographer Massimo Gammacurta hit the web just about one year ago this week. They were meant as an “art” experiment, but because of the blogosphere’s response, Gammacurta decided to bank on his concept and has now compiled them for a book (released by BIS publishers). The actually-edible works depict logos like Chanel, MTV, Lacoste, McDonalds, Nike and others (more shown below). The question here, as always, is if we collectively consider these lolli-pops as art? Please vote below! [Via Creative Review] Read the rest of this entry »
Live in Los Angeles? Like Jarritos? Call yourself an artist? If you answered yes to at least two of those questions (the Jarritos one is a toss, because let’s be honest, who doesn’t like Jarritos?), then this contest might be perfect for you. Here’s the schpeel:
While no monetary compensation is awarded to the winner, you do get to be judged by a bevy of influential members of the L.A. art community and then have your piece published in an Art/Trade publication. The judges include Roger Gastman, Steven Malbon (founder of Frank 151), Amir Fallah (creative director of Beautiful Decay), graffiti artist Retna and Chris Grosso of Guerrilaone.com. A couple of fine print notes: all mediums are welcome and finished artwork must be submitted to ad@jarritosflavorcity.com by June 25, 2010. Click here for more info.
The May 2010 issue of Interview Magazine contains an in-depth article about street-turned-gallery artist KAWS. The interview was conducted by Spidey himself, Tobey Maguire, who is a frequent collector (and friend) of the Williamsburg, Brooklyn-based artist’s work. Most interesting to us were the bits where KAWS revealed himself, when talking about his extensive and expensive toy creations, to be someone who does not differentiate product from art or art from product. Here’s the best quote:
KAWS = Product Artist? Very fascinating insight into arguably one of the 10 most influential American artists working today. Click through to read a portion of their conversation. Otherwise head over to Interview to read it in it’s entirety. Please Note: This post will be sticky’d to the front of the page until Friday.
This time last week we wondered who had the messiest fridge. Now we’re back with another test of disorderly superiority, office style. Simply tweet @thejailbreak or post on our Facebook page a photo of your cluttered or disorganized cubicle. Top three entries by Friday, May 28th at 5:00 p.m. win a set of App Magnets. You must be following us on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook to participate.
They just don’t make lunchboxes like they used to — and it’s a shame because the vintage ones (and their accompanying thermoses, too) are brilliant reminders of popular culture during the era from which they came. Look into the vault (read: Google) and find a lunchbox, presumably from the 1950s, showing James Arness, gun drawn and atop a horse, from Gunsmoke. The 1960s are represented by The Munsters, The Beatles and Planet of the Apes; the 70s have The Dukes of Hazard and Welcome Back, Kotter; the 80s Pac-Man and Return of the Jedi; the 90s Dumb and Dumber; and the 2000s Wall-E and Kill Bill. And those were just some of the ones I was able to find cataloged in various places online.
Buckyballs. Are. Everywhere. It’s inexplicable really, but somehow Zoomdoggle, the company behind Buckyballs, has managed to convince the entire gift industry (and some design stores, too) that selling a package of 216 “Powerful Rare Earth Magnets” for 30 bucks a pop is a shrewd business move. And maybe rightly so, because customers have agreed! However bizarre and unexpected the product’s success has been, these things are damned addictive: once you get started it’s literally impossible to put them down.
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