Bruce Munro’s Creates Massive Outdoor Installations With Millions Of Compact Discs

British artist Bruce Munro is perhaps best known for his creation of large-scale installations that offer a great amount of experiential weight to viewers. Choosing materials which reflect, and shine light, a metaphor for the artist’s interests in literature, music and science. Often made of humble materials, Munro has often come back to the use of compact discs, a decision that the artist explains, “Initially I used discarded materials to save on costs. Soon material choices also became the subject matter of the installations,” he says of Light. “For me, there has to be a reason—however idiosyncratic—for everything I do and these days I am drawn more and more to the idea of creating an experience that is gentle on the landscape.”

Various projects of Munro’s use repurposed and recycled compact discs in massive quantities, covering hills, estate lawns and fields. In works such as CDSea, enormous fields of the collected discs have a natural element, in this case a meandering path carved through them. The path, which echoes landscape architecture and fung shui design, allows viewers to experience not only vistas of the shimmering surfaces, but also the now-highlighted beauty of the existing grass itself. Speaking of the installation and its process, Munro says “You never know how something will work out, but now I could not be happier. I’m so grateful to everyone who turned out to help. We had a magical weekend and CDSea looks amazing, like a giant painting on the grass“ (via hi-fructose, designboom, inhabitant)

Bruce Munro’s Creates Massive Outdoor Installations With Millions Of Compact Discs appeared first on Beautiful/Decay Artist & Design.

http://www.modernism.ro/2014/03/10/bruce-munros-creates-massive-outdoor-installations-with-millions-of-compact-discs/

Caleb Charland’s Photographs Of Electricity Made Out Of Fruit

Caleb Charland newest photography project features mesmerizing light displays using mostly fruit, a nail, copper wire, and the long exposure technique. These organic batteries produce enough of a current for Charland to capture the light’s illumination in these long exposure photographs.

“My current body of work, Back to Light, expands upon a classic grade school science project, the potato battery. By inserting a galvanized nail into one side of a potato and a copper wire in the other side a small electrical current is generated. The utter simplicity of this electrical phenomenon is endlessly fascinating for me. Many people have had the experience of drawing power from fruit in the classroom, and it never ceases to bring a smile to the face or a thought to the mind. This work speaks to a common curiosity we all have for how the world works as well as a global concern for the future of earth’s energy sources…my hope is that these photographs function as micro utopias by suggesting and illustrating the endless possibilities of alternative and sustainable energy production. The cycle that begins with the light of our closest star implanting organic materials with nutrients and energy, is re-routed in these images, Back to Light, illuminating earth once again.” (via this isn’t happiness)

Caleb Charland’s Photographs Of Electricity Made Out Of Fruit appeared first on Beautiful/Decay Artist & Design.

http://www.modernism.ro/2014/02/03/caleb-charlands-photographs-of-electricity-made-out-of-fruit/

Finland’s Lighting Design Collective Transforms A Silo Into A Modern Lighthouse

Helsinki, Finland is already known for its beautiful landscapes, sonorous Baltic coastlines and for its focus on civic design (the city having been named the World Design Capital of 2012). To celebrate this honor, Helsinki tapped Madrid-based design firm Lighting Design Collective (LDC) to create a permanent urban art light piece.

Named for the repurposed oil silo, Silo 468 is a project for the cities residents to enjoy from the inside and out. The silo’s walls feature more than 2,000 perforated holes which echo ideas of a traditional lighthouse, displaying an incredible light show for Helsinki’s Kruunuvuorenranta district. While the coastline is illuminated by the modern lighthouse, the inside of Silo 468 offers a different, more intimate experience. Painted a deep, captivating red, there is an additional light show for citizens to enjoy.

The Director of LDC, Tapio Rosenius, fully explained the project. “At night 1250 white LED’s flicker and sway on the surface of the silo controlled by a bespoke software mimicking swarms of birds in flight – a reference to silo´s seaside location. The prevailing winds, well-known to those living in Helsinki, are used to trigger different light patterns in real time.

‘The enduring fascination of the complex movement of light and the amazing location by the sea will make this a captivating experience for the visitors and the residents of Helsinki.” (via designmilk and u1u11. Photos by Hannu Iso-oja, Tuomas Uusheimo, and Tapio Rosenius.)

Finland’s Lighting Design Collective Transforms A Silo Into A Modern Lighthouse appeared first onBeautiful/Decay.

http://www.modernism.ro/2014/01/17/finlands-lighting-design-collective-transforms-a-silo-into-a-modern-lighthouse/

Through Hollow Lands, Geometric Light Installation of 200 Fluorescent Tubes

“Through Hollow Lands” is a room-sized light installation made up of 200 fluorescent tubes suspended in a geometric arrangement of horizontal and vertical lines. Created by art duo LILIENTHAL|ZAMORA (Etta Lilienthal and Ben Zamora), the installation debuted at the “Moment Magnitude” exhibition at the Frye Art Museum in Seattle back in December 2012.

photos by Malcolm Smith and LILIENTHAL|ZAMORA

via Colossal

http://www.modernism.ro/2013/07/18/through-hollow-lands-geometric-light-installation-of-200-fluorescent-tubes/