Zoetrope Cake

What happens when you combine Tim Burton's films with a zoetrope (a very early form of animation) and chocolate cake? This! Alexandre Dubosc created this animated piece in celebration of Burton's work. You can see more about how he made it on his website.

Matter In Hand - Exhibition

Many of you follow 'The Rhumboogie', the great art and craft blog created by ex-Keg's student Adam Pritchett. Adam is just finishing his second year at Coventry Uni, and is going to be curating his own exhibition over the summer. He is bringing together the work of up and coming artist and designer/makers, including other fellow 'Keggers', in the Office Gallery in Earlson, Coventry.
I hope you will all go along to support Adam and be inspired by the work on show. You can follow his progress organising the event on matterinhand.tumblr.com.

Wings of Desire

Next week, for 4 nights, Victoria Square in Birmingham will become the venue for a spectacular performance. Dancers, circus performers and interactive projections onto the newly restored architecture of the Town Hall will come together to tell a love story between heaven and earth. 'Wings of Desire' is based on the film by Wim Wenders. The show starts at 9.30 pm each night from Wednesday 16th to Saturday 19th May and is free.

Great British Fashion Stamps

A new set of stamps from the Royal Mail are launched next week to celebrate the best of British post-war fashion. Designers featured include Alexander McQueen, Zandra Rhodes, Paul Smith and these examples from Vivienne Westwood and 'Granny Takes A Trip'. See more on The Guardian website.

Maurice Sendak

 The creator of 'Where the Wild Things Are' has died at the age of 83. You will find lots of tributes to him on news websites and many more, including The Guardian and The Telegraph. One of my favourite quotes from Maurice Sendak is this one about a little boy who wrote to him;

“Once a little boy sent me a charming card with a little drawing on it. I loved it. I answer all my children’s letters — sometimes very hastily — but this one I lingered over. I sent him a card and I drew a picture of a Wild Thing on it. I wrote, “Dear Jim: I loved your card.” Then I got a letter back from his mother and she said, “Jim loved your card so much he ate it.” That to me was one of the highest compliments I’ve ever received. He didn’t care that it was an original Maurice Sendak drawing or anything. He saw it, he loved it, he ate it.”

The Boat Project

A 30ft yacht called 'Collective Spirit' was launched today at Emsworth in Hampshire. In July it will sail along the south coast, as part of the Olympic celebrations, arriving in Weymouth, Dorset in time for the Games in August.

What is special about the craft is that it has been built as part of 'The Boat Project', the idea of two artists Gary Winters and Gregg Whelan. They have collected wooden articles, donated by members of the public, to include in the hull. People could give anything they liked, as long as there was a story behind it.  Items used in the boat's construction include a fragment of the Tudor ship the Mary Rose and a piece of a Jimi Hendrix guitar. Read more on the BBC website.

The Postcard Machine

'Melvin the Traveling Mini Machine' is a short film from Dutch design studio HEYHEYHEY. The two siutcases contain a portable contraption for writing and stamping a postcard. The machine, designed by Rube Goldberg is reminiscent of Heath Robinson's wonderful illustrations.

More from EVOL

Here is recent work from German street artist EVOL (see January post). He spray paints stencils onto cardboard packaging to create a highly realistic three dimensional recreations of urban architecture.

From www.thisiscolossal.com.

Being Elmo

Kevin Clash started making puppets when he was 10 years old. His dream was to work as a puppeteer on 'Sesame Street'. This film is about the realisation of that dream and the character Kevin created - Elmo. The film opens in the UK on 27th April. Unfortunately the nearest screening is at The Picture House in Stratford-upon-Avon on 1st May, but hopefully the film should be out on DVD soon.

Penguin English Library

This lovely little animation has been made to publicise the new Penguin English Library series. It incorporates illustrative motifs from many of the book cover designs. The film was made by Woof Wan-Bau.
The Penguin English Library opens its doors from Penguin English Library on Vimeo.

Giant Puppets in Liverpool

'Sea Odyssey' is a piece of spectacular street theatre by marionette experts Royal De Luxe. They brought the production, which tells the story of a little girl whose father was lost on the Titanic, to Liverpool this weekend. The giant puppets, operated by teams of performers, made their way through the streets of the city watch by thousands of people. At one stage a deep sea diver emerged from the Albert Docks. See more images on the Telegraph website.

Book Sculptures

Using old books to create cut paper collages has become a very popular craft of late. Alexander Korzer-Robinson's sculptures are particularly lovely examples. The Bristol-based artist takes great care in the selection of his books - often encyclopedias or children's picture books- and each piece is created entirely from images from one book. See more examples of his work on his website.

Trashcam Project

A group of binmen from Hamburg are currently taking part in a photography project. They have converted large 'dumpster' bins into pinhole cameras, by drilling a small hole in one side of the bin and hanging a large piece of photo paper inside opposite the hole. It takes about an hour to project the image onto the paper. They then develop the photo in their specially made lab. Presumably they have to seal down the lid whilst the photo is being developed to prevent people opening the bin and depositing rubbish. See more examples of their work here.

Scene360

“Our goal is to combine various art forms into one site, showcasing an eclectic group of talented individuals, thus making use of the uniqueness on the Internet and providing a resourceful guide for all readers.”-Scene360 Team

Click logo to access site

Mirror Sculptures

Robert Mulholland's latest installation is called Vestige. It consists of six mirrored figures set in the Scottish landscape. They are made from mirrored acrylic (Perspex) rather than glass, but have the same effect. Each figure reflects it's environment and becomes part of it. See more examples of Robert's work and find out more about him on his website.

Caine's Arcade

A sweet little film by Nirvan Mullick which shows what you can do with some imagination and a load of cardboard boxes.

Caine's Arcade from Nirvan Mullick on Vimeo.

Bauhaus at the Barbican

The Bauhaus was a radical art school that was based in Germany between 1919 and 1933. It was started by architect Walter Gropius and had other artistic directors - Hannes Meyer and Mies van der Rohe. The school encouraged the development of all types of art and design, from architecture to textiles, furniture to typography, graphics to products and of course painting and sculpture. It's designs look fresh and contemporary after all this time. Modern designers are still inspired by it's work and ethics. The idea of 'form follows function' was certainly embodied in the work of the Bauhaus. The school was eventually closed by the Nazi regime, as free thinking artistic types did not fit in with Hitler's plans.
The Barbican in London will be staging a major exhibition from 3rd May to 12th August entitled 'Bauhaus: Art as Life'. There will be endless sources of inspiration there, no matter what your chosen discipline. It costs £7 for students if you book on line, £8 on the door. Don't miss it!

'Rear Window' Timelapse

Alfred Hitchcock's classic 1954 film 'Rear Window' starred James Stewart as photojournalist L. B. Jeffries who breaks his leg on an assignment. Whilst recovering, he begins to watch the people he can see in the neighbouring apartment buildings. He becomes fascinated by the small details of their lives, until one day he becomes convinced that one of them has committed a murder.

The vast majority of the film was shot from one viewpoint, that of the rear window of Jeffries' flat. This has enabled Jeff Desom to create this timelapse film, using only footage from the original, in the order that Hitchcock shot it.

Rear Window Timelapse from Jeff Desom on Vimeo.

Textiles from West Africa at BM&AG

'Style Africa' is a new exhibition at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery which explores the vibrant textiles of West Africa. It focuses on textiles produced from the early 20th century up to 2011 and follows the changing traditions of woven, embroidered, printed and dyed fabrics. As well as lengths of the patterned textiles, there are many dresses on display too. The exhibition is free to enter and goes on until 2nd September.

'48SHEET' - A billboard project in Brum

EC-Arts is a Birmingham based organisation which provides opportunities for artists to transform spaces in the city by producing public art which responds to the built environment. The group's latest project is called 48SHEET, this refers to the size of large scale advertising hoardings. Between 2nd and 29th April artists from the city and further afield will be transforming 100 of these billboards around Birmingham.
I came across a team working on a billboard on the corner of Pershore Street and Upper Dean Street. A fallen tree was being created using salvaged wood. You can visit their project space based in the Mailbox, find out more by visiting EC-Arts website or the 48SHEET blog.