Brian Dettmer

I recently visited this year’s installment of the US Artists show, which took place at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. Basically a way for galleries, local and national, to showcase their best and most interesting works that were up for sale. Ranging from colonial to contemporary there was quite a range on display including some amazing paper cut sculptures by Brian Dettmer. Using materials like books, maps and other printed ephemera, Brian carefully constructs astounding worlds and visions with incredible depth and composition. The pieces I had a chance to see appeared to be carved out of single books, like dioramas constructed out of nothing but hundreds of sheets of paper. Amazing stuff to see up on screen, but even more fascinating in person.

Visit Brian Dettmer’s portfolio here.

Scott London – Burning Man 2011

Take a look at this great set (100 in all) that photographer Scott London took during this year’s mother of all freak-fests, Burning Man. I’ve never been myself and honestly, I still haven’t worked up the courage to spend that much time out there in the desert without all the modern amenities I’ve grown accustomed to, but it’s amazing to see such a large group of people creating huge structures, machines and other artwork in the vastness of that terrain.Maybe next year…maybe…

See Scott London’s Burning Man photos here.

Radford Wallis – Real Estate dividers

One of the greatest aspects of being a designer is that you get to learn about, and work with talented people, from all kinds of industries and professions. I have done marketing and design for real estate projects (among many other fields) for about 6 years now, so I considered myself relatively “seasoned”. So it’s refreshing when I see interesting and exciting work in a field that is rife with so many cliches. Of course it also helps to have a client willing to fork over some serious cash to make those concepts a reality.

London based design firm Radford Wallis has made some really impressive sculptural pieces to demarcate sections  of a large commercial space. I love the idea of blowing up mundane objects used in offices everywhere, and utilizing them to visualize the space, these giant pop art like pieces are a perfect solution, said in a clean, visually striking way.

See more images from the project at Radford Wallis’ website, here.

Todd McLellan – Disassembly

These photographs by Todd McLellan of disassembled machines and clocks and other devices are absolutely remarkable. Not only for the patience and painstaking effort it must have taken to break down and lay all the hundreds of pieces out but also for their beautiful composition.

You can see more of “Disassembly” here.

Chad Wys

Creating in a multitude of mediums, Chad Wys‘ work touches on everything from graffiti and vandal-style pieces to controlled color theory portraits, which I found most interesting.

Visit Chad Wys’ portfolio here.

Google Art Project

Late last week Google formally launched their “Art Project” website, an ambitious endeavour to catalog and provide hi-rez (and we mean HI-REZ) imagery of the collections in art museums around the world. This aspect of the mission is not unique, as there are a handful of other organizations attempting the same thing, but what does seperate The Google Art Project from others are the nice touches that only Google can provide. Instant search features by artist, or gallery or region or time period, along with the “Street View” style ability to wander virtually through some of the greatest museums and collections that some people may never get to experience otherwise makes this is a very bold and promising experience.

While nothing will ever match the awe and power felt by seeing an amazing artwork in person, this at least allows the visitor a chance to witness masterpieces in a way never before possible.

Visit the Google Art Project here and start exploring!

weekly stimuli – vol. 37

Here’s the 37th edition of Weekly Stimuli a weekly installment of visual genius and creativity grabbed from my inspiration archives.

Enjoy the images after the jump.

Dave Pickett – Nook table

Product designer Dave Pickett‘s newest project, the Nook table is exquisite. Part angular centerpiece and part book shelf, it straddles the fine line between artful and useful. I love the idea of having a really striking, almost carved looking table that also acts as a showcase for a selection of your favorite reading materials. While this is still in the concept/prototype stage, I really hope it goes into production soon, I’m liking what I see.

Visit Dave Pickett’s website here, for more great product designs.

Lori Nix – The City

The images above are not post-disaster documentary photographs from forgotten or abandoned urban areas, but are instead, tiny dioramas and intricate miniature sets created and then photographed by Lori Nix. Her series, entitled The City, is her most elaborate and pain staking effort to date. Hollowed out churches, destroyed hair salons, overgrown botanical gardens and vacuum showrooms run amuck are just a few of the fantastic scenes she has created.

Visit Lori Nix’s The City series here.

weekly stimuli – vol. 36

Here’s the 36th volume of Weekly Stimuli – a batch of images from my inspiration archives.

Enjoy the visuals after the jump!