Who would think that masking tape could be art? Well, art director and graphic designer Koji Iyama has made it just that. With his new installations across Japan, the latest arriving in the city of Sendai, Iyama has certainly been leaving his colorful mark.
His product of choice? Mt-masking tape. His setting of choice? Old warehouses with high ceilings create the perfect space for him to hang the rolls of tape. He covers the entire floor as well, and even proceeds to cover any objects in his way — bikes, tables, other installations. The result of his final design is pretty cool, and we can imagine very interactive for the people lucky enough to visit his presentations. What do you think of Iyama’s art ventures?
Unique art is our forte! Check out our colorful, and innovative DNA Portraits.Â
Photo credit: Spoon & Tamago
Unique art is our passion. So it’s no wonder why we’re so inspired by Japanese artist Motoi Yamamoto, and his breathtaking art installations made from one of the most sought-after minerals in the world — salt. His project, titled “Saltscapes”, features incredibly detailed works of art created with basic table salt. His large installations have been known to take up entire gallery, church, and even soy brewery floors.
His installations take up hundreds of hours of time, and he must be very meticulous with pouring to avoid too many mistakes. While he does follow a basic guideline for each piece, most of his works of art are actually improvised. He often leaves his mistakes and imperfections intact as he is working.
Yamamoto uses salt as the main material in his art, as a way to honor his sister who passed away from brain cancer in 1994. Salt is often used in Japanese culture as a way to cleanse one of grief. To him the material signifies life, death, and above all, rebirth. Once the artist disassembles one of his complex installations he releases the salt back into the ocean, often inviting his fans to help him with the process. It’s a way of bringing new life to his masterpieces.
Photo credit: Huffington Post
Video credit: The Avant/Garde Diaries
We’re always captivated by original art projects that set themselves apart from the rest — much like our DNA art. “Black Hole” is a project by Swiss photographer Fabien Oefner. The setup of his project is very simple, Oefner drips various shades of acrylic paint onto a metallic rod, which is attached to a drill. He switches on the drill, and photographs the moment when the paint starts to move away from the rod caused by the centripetal force. Because the paint moves so quickly, the photo needs to be captured within a millisecond of the drill being switched on. He makes use of a sensor that is connected to the drill and camera, which allows him to accurately freeze frame the motion of the paint.
Video credit: Vimeo
Photo credit: Design Boom
Have you ever seen such an amazing display of craftsmanship, art, and science? This stunning woodcut print called “The Moon” is currently being produced by Tugboat Printshop – a shop ran by a husband and wife team who specialize in woodblock prints. According to their site “The Moon” is the largest print they have ever made, measuring in a 36×32″. Once the woodcarving is complete, the image will be hand printed on paper and sent out to those who were lucky enough to get a pre-order in with the shop. You can keep track of the carving process on the shop’s flickr page. What do you think of this duo’s take on art + science? We love it!
Light painting is a photography technique that involves moving a hand-held light source while the camera shutter remains open, and Brian Matthew Hart is a master of it. We loved these unique portraits for their modern yet hieroglyphic feel. Via Colossal:
Hart created a number of mosaics using individual exposures, the largest hand (below), part of an unfinished diptych, is made from 324 photographs! …check out his website for plenty more.
Given we’re big fans of fingerprint art, we’re all over this series of hand prints. We love the details on the fingertips and the uniqueness of each piece. Hart modelled these light paintings after real-life subjects, however the portrait below is simply called “right hand“.
We’re always on the lookout for unique art and cool portraits, so when we found these Wine Cork Portraits by Scott Gundersen we got really excited. Via Colossal:
Starting with a large photograph that’s transferred to a drawing, Gundersen pins each cork to the canvas, creating a correlation between the hues of the wine-stained corks and the value of light or shadow in the portrait. His latest work, Trisha, took 3,621 corks to complete, but other works have required over 9,000.
If you’re not already blow away by this art’s immensity, check out the video below to catch a peak at how it all comes together. Meet: “Grace”:
Portraits come in all shapes and sizes, and New York artist Michael Mapes is a genius at capturing the essence of his subjects is a truly unique way. We love it when art meets science!
Via Colossal:
He creates elaborate specimen boxes by dissecting photographs and then compartmentalizing individual fragments within plastic bags, glass vials, magnifiers, in gelatin capsules and on insect pins. The boxes exist in an uncanny area between photography and sculpture, functioning both as portraits and as fascinating scientific canvases that make you question the the logic behind the organization of each piece.
Michael’s boxes feature thousands of individual specimens of dissected photographs and biographical DNA like hair, finger nails, scent, eye lashes, fingerprints, food, botanical elements, fabric swatches, makeup, dirt, handwriting samples and breath.
Learn more about Michael and his work in his interview with the Huffington Post.
Create your own unique portrait with DNA 11—turn your DNA, Fingerprint or Kiss into a work of art for your home.
Remember the great pop-up books of your childhood? Castles jumping off the page, witches flying their brooms, pirates sailing ships on surging seas? We came across these modern pop-ups for grown-ups on Colossal and had to share their monochrome magic.
Portland-based designer and art director Mengyu Chen is currently working on a new comic book and has mocked up some experimental pop-ups of her own design. The ideas and execution are really quite spectacular…
We love the simplicity of the paper airplane but were also blown away by these fireworks. Other pop-ups include a kaleidoscope and growing seedling.
Mengyu, aka Jenny, is an über talented artist who enjoys typography, letterpress, illustration, photography and crafts in many shades and colours. We especially connected with her TypePlay project, a collection of handdrawn and digital typography she created.
Despite the colorful pop-up books I grew up on, I can almost appreciate these more—they’re bare bones black and white, but still iconic symbols of childhood, cemented in reality.
Are you also a fan of B&W art? Our DNA Portraits, Fingerprint Portraits and Kiss Portraits all have crisp, modern black and white color schemes.
When art meets science, we’re all over it. Afterall, that pairing inspired our DNA Portraits and our other personalized art like Fingerprint and Kiss portraits.
Montreal-based architect Federico Carbajal creates anatomical architectures out of galvanized wire, stainless steel and acrylic through what he calls spatial sketching. Federico describes his work:
With the influence of the old masters and the early works of Alexander Calder, to current digital 3D media and architectural representation, these tridimensional hybrids bring together drawing, architecture and sculpture in order to create a coherent spatial entity.
Spatial sketching allows for the possibility of new representations of images in space, exploring the void and the dematerialization of volume. The physical and metaphysical presence of the human body emanate through a combination of transparent planes and spatial lines.
View more of Federico’s work on his portfolio site.
Via Colossal / Street Anatomy.
Still looking for some gifts to spark a reaction this Valentine’s Day? In addition to DNA 11 products, we’ve rounded up some great finds that are sure to impress.
Is your love eternal?  A SplitScreen DNA Portrait portrait makes a confident, affectionate statement of unity for couples, allowing you to showcase both of your DNA (or the whole  family’s, up to four people). With a plethora of colour combinations, your splitscreen DNA Portrait will suit any decor! Best of all, you can order a gift certificate for immediate digital delivery.
Already have a DNA Portrait? Immortalize her kiss into fine art with a custom Kiss Portrait. Your walls will be lit up with her fiery lips and she’ll be on fire knowing how much you cherish her smooches.
If your guy rocks out, get him this smokin’ Cigar Box Amp from Etsy. It’s a portable, battery-powered amp that’s perfect for lazy jams and soulful serenades.
Nothing says “I Love You” like a gift from the heart. So why not give an anatomically correct Plush Beating Heart? Your lover will know you’re serious and it will keep things pumping between you two.
Does you man live and breathe science? Take the guesswork out of his of lab work with this Lab Partners t-shirt from Threadless.
Want to give her the key to your heart? Wrap up this Heart Necklance from Swayorski. Hanging on a stainless steel chain, the red silicon heart holds a heart-shaped USB key embellished in 54 Indian Siam crystals. For the perfect romantic gift, save a special message or photo on the 4GB USB key.
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