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Reverse Graffiti in South Africa

We’ve tossed around the idea of engaging in some form of reverse graffiti in Windsor for quite a while now. I assume there must be a few Windsor buildings dirty enough for a nice contrast-heavy design. Any suggestions? I think the Hiram Walker storage facilities near Russel Woods are covered with a black residue, but the premises are private and probably inaccessible. Apparently there are no laws prohibiting reverse graffiti in this part of South Africa. I wonder if we have any? I’d like to find out!

Via: The Center for Sustainable Practice in the Arts

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Cyberpac’s Dissolving Bags

While browsing on Environmental Graffiti blog, I stumbled across a new product developed by Cyberpac. The new product line is aimed at drastically reducing consumer waste while providing basic products that most of us use on a nearly daily basis. This particular product, ‘Harmless-Dissolve‘, is a “readily biodegradable, water soluble polymer which completely biodegrades in a composting environment, in a dishwasher or in a washing machine. It has no harmful residues and will biodegrade into naturally occurring substances […] In the end the bag becomes carbon dioxide, water and biomass.”

There are a few more images after the jump…

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Plasticiens Volants’ “O Estrangeiro”

Parade

In keeping with our ongoing research about creating a Windsor parade, I thought I’d share some photos of Plasticiens Volants‘ “O Estrangeiro” parade in Sao Paulo. This parade, presented by Lost Art, gloriously displayed public art in the form of inflatable plastic floats and gathered thousands of people into the city streets. Besides funding, there aren’t many reasons why we couldn’t pull something like this off (possibly on a smaller scale). There are a few more excellent photos of the parade after the jump.

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Eric Boucher Micro-Residency Iteration 3/5

Terry Marentette

In order to keep things moving with Eric Boucher’s Micro-Residency project, I invited Eric to interview my oldest (in terms of age) friend Terry Marentette yesterday afternoon. I met Terry two years ago in an Art History class at the School of Visual Arts and was immediately astonished by his immense knowledge of Windsor’s past. Eric’s interview sparked some great conversation about Windsor during the Depression, the Ambassador Bridge and its effects on Windsor, the history of Walkerville, the amount of people who leave Windsor after school, etc. Overall, Eric and I were both pleased with the amount of Windsor-related information Terry provided. I am excited to see the footage!

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Kanner Architects’ Malibu 5

Malibu 5

I don’t want this to come off as an advertisement for Kanner Architects, but since I have an interest in architecture, I thought I’d share one of their projects. This project, entitled “Malibu 5,” is a home made from sustainable and recycled materials. Because of its roof-mounted solar panels, it’s also energy efficient! The home also makes use of concrete flooring’s ability to draw in heat during the day and release it at night. What’s more, the home takes advantage of  coastal breezes and, with its large windows, natural light.

Malibu 5

Part of the appeal for me is this gorgeous view of the ocean.

Malibu 5

If I had a list of the most pleasant places I’ve ever seen, this would be near the top.

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Mariele Neudecker’s Over and Over, Again and Again

Mariele Neudecker

Out of Mariele Neudecker‘s impressive body of work, her piece “Over and Over, Again and Again” hit me the most. This particular work is made from salt, water, and fiberglass and functions as a window into a small landscape. All three tanks line up to create an additive image. Besides being an optical masterpiece, this work is small but expansive simultaneously. I find it tough not to appreciate this level of technical mastery. Wouldn’t it be interesting to create a mini Windsor-in-a-cube?

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Anne Percoco’s “Indra’s Cloud”

Anne Percoco's "Indra's Cloud"

Since we do have “access” to a fairly large river–one which separates us from Detroit, Michigan–a project such as Anne Percoco‘s “Indra’s Cloud” could work to highlight similar pollution issues in our area. Our river is not generally used for bathing, but the one pictured has been used for years and is now raising serious health concerns. Anne’s commentary on the issue came in the form of a raft consructed from used plastic bottles and bound with recycled labels, which were used as rope.

In her words, “I created a mobile public sculpture which brings to life a local myth and draws attention to the severely polluted condition of the Yamuna River.”

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Patrick Blanc’s Vertical Garden

Patrick Blanc's Vertical Garden

Projects such as this Vertical Garden seem to be easier and easier to find, which hopefully means that they are becoming realized more often and in more locations. This particular project is a vertical collection of plant life that Patrick Blanc recently completed on a corner of the Athenaeum Hotel in London, England.

According to the project summary located on the hotel’s website, “It’s a fairytale dream of a wall, erupting with trailing tendrils and flowers eight storeys high above Piccadilly’s red buses like a living tapestry. As well as hosting native plants and flowers, way down below beside our Garden Room there’s the world’s biggest collection of non-nettly-looking nettles – or Urticaccae… This humid microclimate is the perfect spot for the more exotic species.”

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Kevin Cyr’s Camper Bike

Kevin Cyr's Camper-Bike

While camping can be an amazing experience, it usually involves some degree of planning to be successful. Imagine if you could camp on a whim without using a vehicle to haul heavy camping gear to your destination. Kevin Cyr, a Boston-based artist, created a functional camper bike back in April of last year. Even if the camper is too heavy to pull long distances, its creation still suggests that we may benefit from rethinking location permanence and our true material needs for survival.

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Benedict Radcliffe’s “Lambo!”

Benedict Radcliffe's "Lambo!"

In the spirit of combining parades, cars, and clever sculpture, I bring you Benedict Radcliffe and Ben Wilson’s “Lambo!” functional sculpture. This project is basically a steel 3D contour drawing of a Lamborghini Countach that can be driven by two-person peddle power. I think “clever” isn’t quite strong enough to properly describe this work. Would anyone like a Lamborghini that doesn’t require any gasoline? In their words, “the work questions the combustion engine, celebrates bicycle efficiency and the striking design of the Lamborghini arguably one of the most iconic super cars of all time…”

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