FLOATING FLOWER GARDEN BY TEAMLAB

Wow! Occasionally you stumble across an art installation that seems both astoundingly complicated and shockingly simple. The Floating Flower Garden, an immersive interactive piece created by Japanese art collective teamLab, is just one of those instances.

Remember the Rain Room? Well Floating Flower Garden draws on the same idea: thousands of flowers are suspended from the ceiling and when you walk into the space they move to dynamically accommodate you, basically allowing you to walk in a constantly fluctuating cocoon of flowers.

I am sure the result is something other-worldly, magical and delightful smelling! Too bad the installation is on view in Tokyo . . . . I think it would look spectacular in the Park Avenue Armory, don't you?

Learn more about the project here.


(Thanks to Colossal for the tip.)



p.s. Here's a similar (and also gorgeous!) DIY version, in case you have to try this yourself!

EXPAND//FOLD//COLLAPSE//SCULPTURES BY MARTA CHILINDRON

Big news, folks! I have spent the last several months working like crazy with my dear friend Susanna on an exhibition of work by Marta Chilindron and it opens TONIGHT! Her colorful, geometric, manipulable sculptures are seriously amazing and we are so excited to showcase them in the gorgeous Great Hall space at the Institute of Fine Arts.

If you are in New York City tonight the opening starts at 6pm, but the show runs until December 5th. If you can't make it in person, you can always check out the interactive e-catalogue we published (embedded above, also available here), co-written by Susanna and I and designed by yours truly. And check out the super cool preview video our webmaster and social media guru Jason Varone put together for us below. Hope to see you tonight!




Already in love with Marta's work? Me too! Find out more about her (and see more video demonstrations) on her artist's gallery page here.


(All images courtesy of Cecilia de Torres, Ltd. Top to bottom: Artist with Hexagon Spiral, 2013; Convertible Circle, 2009-2014; Ring, 2013) 

SWING BABY SWING

Growing up across the street from a park, I learned at an early age the wonders of the playground swing set. But how much cooler would those hours of swinging have been if I had had access to this art installation-cum-swing? Created by the Canadian design group Daily Tous Les Jours, this interactive sculptural piece entails a set of swings that burst forth with sound and light when put into action. The result is a streaking band of light across the night sky accompanied by a harmonic range of tones and notes, fostered by different swings going at different rates and different times. Magical, no? The project, called simply The Swings, was put together for an art festival in Green Mountain Falls, CO and was meant to activate public space through visitors' bodies and collaborative actions.

Read more about the piece here and the Green Box Arts Festival here.

HAPPY WEEKEND!

What are you up to this weekend? I am attending a Friendsgiving with all my favorite college friends on Saturday and then having a holiday spectacular day with my hubby on Sunday. What's a holiday spectacular, you say? It's basically an epic day of holiday shopping, sightseeing and snacks that we do every December. In my mind it's almost as exciting as Christmas itself! 

We also got our tree this week (above), so decorating it is on the top of our list this weekend (that and sending out Christmas cards, photos of those to come!). What are you up to? Anything festive?

If you are laying low and looking for some fun distractions, check out these fun things:

This video parody is too funny.

I want to put these on every holiday package I wrap this year.

Football players are stylin' and profilin' these days.

Slobbery stop motion.

Texting + exes + crazy song lyrics = awesomely awkward.

A beautiful (and interactive) graphic about the art world.

I just signed up for this class; so excited!

Clampersand. Love it!

How to recognize the work of famous painters; I don't necessarily agree with these tricks but they are funny!

Because English.

Pretty gift list; I'll take one of everything, please.

Keep the grammar police at bay; check out these helpful and clear tips.

What a nice print; perfect for a city girl.

Before you speak THINK!

These videos are making me drool.

Happy weekend, friends!

MAD THANKFUL

One of my favorite activities growing up as a kid was to play MadLibs. I loved how silly the fill-in-the-blanks game was, creating wild and wacky outcomes just through the random selection of nouns, adjectives and verbs. So I thought it would be fun to create my own version for you to play with friends and family this Thanksgiving. It's the perfect activity to do while you are waiting for pie to be served or trying to scarf down that second helping of stuffing.

So, care to join me in some silly sentence-based shenanigans? Download and print a pdf of the O.I. turkey-themed MadLibs here. I have designed it to print on a regular sheet of 8.5" x 11" paper; just fold the paper in half and fill out the right side (without looking at the text and spoiling the surprise) and when done, unfold to reveal the crazy sentences you have just come up with. Sound good?

Enjoy! And Happy ____________ Day!

WARBY PARKER ANNUAL REPORT

You know what's cool? Warby Parker glasses are cool (I own these). You what's even cooler? The fact that every year Warby Parker puts out a wonderfully designed interactive & illustrated annual report. Here's the report for 2012. I particularly like the Waldo-inspired glasses and the alternative site they built for dogs: Warby Barker!

Check out more coolness at their website here and their blog here.

ANNE HAMILTON AT THE ARMORY

Oh my goodness, I can't tell you how obsessed I am with Anne Hamilton. Seriously, obsessed! I had the distinct pleasure of meeting this wonderfully kind, beautifully inventive artist several years ago and was delighted by her poise and grace and friendliness, not to mention the creativity that seems to radiate from her. That said, I have never had the pleasure of experiencing one of her many fabulous large-scale installation pieces in person—despite having written about them for school many times—until now.

The Park Avenue Armory (written about before here, here and here) is hosting an ANNE HAMILTON: the event of a thread, a huge installation that involves swings and a billowing curtain and  boxes full of delightfully surprising noises and sounds. The exhibition got a great review from Roberta Smith of the NYTimes (a rare occurrence!) and is open until January 6. You know I'll be there!

Read more about the show here.

(all photos by Philip Greenberg for the NYTimes)

MTA MUSIC

Like most New Yorkers I have a love-hate relationship with the subway system. But this beautiful graphic, called 'Conductor', by Alexander Chen manages to make the movement of subway trains into lovely string music. As Chen describes, "Using the MTA's actual subway schedule, the piece begins in realtime by spawning trains which departed in the last minute, then continues accelerating through a 24 hour loop. The visuals are based on Massimo Vignelli's 1972 diagram."

Watch the interactive in your browser here and learn more about the design on Chen's blog here.

(Thanks to Elisabeth for the heads up!)

NYTIMES OLYMPICS INTERACTIVE

I don't know about you all, but I have major Olympics fever. I can't seem to tear myself away from the prime time competition and yesterday completely lived up to my every hope. Five american medals in some of the most exciting events: speed skating, downhill skiing, and snowboarding half pipe. Truly awesome.

Also awesome? The NYTimes coverage of the Olympics. There have been some great interactive features, including a video series that interviewed the world's best snowboarders on things like listening to music while boarding, their first trick, training, and being a veteran.

Check out the coolness here.

UPDATE: The NYTimes just added another interactive feature that describes the tricks snowboarders use on the half-pipe and how Shaun White managed to win his second consecutive gold medal. Check it out here.

FLIP BOOK FINESSE

I love this video. It is an incredible flip book featuring an awesome street performer. Trust me, you will love it!

Made by saggyarmpit, first seen here.

MILLENNIUM PARK

I just read about this awesome temporary pavilion, designed by Amsterdam architect Ben van Berkel, in Chicago's Millennium Park (as if it needed more cool architecture!). For all my Chicago readers: it opens today! Go check it out and report back! For people unlucky enough to live on the rainy east coast right now, read the article in the Chicago Tribune here.

Have a happy weekend!