New OK Go Music Video Features Over 1,000 Musical Instruments Hit By A Moving Vehicle

Like the rest of the internet I’ve long been a fan of OK Go’s zany music videos using stop motion animation, Rube Goldberg machines, and staggering amounts of camera tricky and choreography. This latest video for their track Needing/Getting is no exception. Via YouTube:

OK Go set up over 1000 instruments over two miles of desert outside Los Angeles. A Chevy Sonic was outfitted with retractable pneumatic arms designed to play the instruments, and the band recorded this version of Needing/Getting, singing as they played the instrument array with the car. The video took 4 months of preparation and 4 days of shooting and recording. There are no ringers or stand-ins; Damian took stunt driving lessons. Each piano had the lowest octaves tuned to the same note so that they’d play the right note no matter where they were struck.

(via Colossal)

Luminous Field by LuftWerk Installed at Chicago’s Cloud Gate

Cloud Gate, or affectionately The Bean, by Anish Kapoor is probably my favorite public art installation in Chicago. No matter how many times you visit the experience is always different depending on the time of day, the weather, who you’re with, and what’s happening in the general vicinity of the giant mirrored surface. The Bean is in a perpetual state of visual flux.

For the next 10 days Chicago creative ensemble LuftWerk, the creative vision of Petra Bachmaier and Sean Gallero, have capitalized on the sculpture’s reflective properties by turning it into a canvas for a choreographed light show titled Luminous Field. The duo are using an array of ten projectors to create the experience, setting everything to music composed by Owen Clayton Condon of Third Coast Percussion. This is the first site-specific work involving Cloud Gate since its construction in 2004. Luminous Field opens tonight at 6pm and runs through February 20th.  (via Colossal)

The Miniature LEGO Realism of Bruce Lowell

Happy Friday!  Check out the fantastic LEGO sculptures by Bruce Lowell, who models his miniature creations off actual household objects and foods. From a killer KitchenAid Tilt-Head Stand Mixer to simple paint roller everything you see is tiny LEGO bricks. (via Colossal)

Felted Anatomy

Designer and illustrator Dan Beckemeyer created this wonderful exploration of anatomy by first illustrating a skeletal structure, then stitching a cardiovascular system, and finally adding hand-felted muscle mass. (via Colossal) 

Riusuke Fukahori Paints Three-Dimensional Goldfish Embedded in Layers of Resin

First: watch the video. Japanese artist Riusuke Fukahori paints three-dimensional goldfish using a complex process of poured resin. The fish are painted meticulously, layer by layer, the sandwiched slices revealing slightly more about each creature, similar to the function of a 3D printer. (via Colossal)

Transformer vs. Care Bear

Great image by Keith Carter.

8th grade fruit textures

The 8^th grade students created a still life drawing that incorporates a new texture.  Each piece of fruit is given a different texture.  Value was also used to make the objects look real.

6th grade ribbon letters

 The 6^th grade class studied the artist Ed Ruscha.  This artist creates drawings of words that look like ribbon.  Students built their own letters using paper and glue, and then tried to draw it using color and value.

7th grade pipe letters

The 7^th grade students created pipe letters.  These drawings use straight lines and value to make the pipes look realistic. 

8th grade masks

The 8^th grade students studied mask making from Africa, Indonesia, and Alaska.  Students then created their own mask by embossing aluminum sheets.

7th grade scratch board

The 7th grade class learned about texture and that lead into this scratch board project.  The idea was to choose an animal and recreate it on scratch board (with an emphasis on realistic texture).  The backgrounds were just geometric designs.  Here are two examples:

New Projects

I know, I know.  You're thinking, "Mr. Rab, you haven't updated the site in a long time."  True, true, but i was checking the blog's stats and I find that no one really visits the site.  So I question whether I should really spend time posting to no one, when I can be spending more time teaching and working on stuff in the classroom.  So, if you visit the blog please shoot me a comment.

Now on to the projects.

First up, a 6th grade food sculptures done with toilet paper.  The paper is made wet and sculpted to look like food.  Claes Oldenburg, Wayne Thiebaud, and other artists were discussed.  Here are some examples: