Bouncy Stonehenge

Who doesn't love a bouncy castle?

This art piece has stuck in my mind since I saw a video of it online. Artist Jeremy Deller has fused "bouncy technology" with perhaps the world's original castle: Stonehenge. It's an inflatable version of Stonehenge that you can jump around on! Aside from looking like a lot of fun, it seems like something Spinal Tap would have in the parking lot of their reunion tour. On another note, I think it goes a long way towards demystifying the original structure itself in that it allows visitors to play within the architectural space. Having never visited Stonehenge, I don't know much about what it's like to be in the presence of these stones. I imagine a lot of tourists visiting the original Stonehenge have been conditioned to expect some kind of druid-like transcendence to wash over them as they stand in sight of the giant monoliths... Well, there's a fine line between druid-like transcendence and pretension. Just in case you wondered, the title of the piece is "Sacrilege." This piece reminds us that the coolest thing about Stonehenge is that no one really knows what this monument was used for and that it's a wonderful mystery to consider how the giant stones were actually put together. I don't mean to downplay the solemnity of what is perhaps the UK's most important architectural monument, but let's not forget that "the ancients" probably liked to have fun too. Check out the videos below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOSKkLJdjfA

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17777997

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr7blOccbO4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=beYLiDRvdvQ

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2012/apr/20/jeremy-deller-inflatable-stonehenge-glasgow

Tetsunori Kawana: Bamboo magic in Denver

Sculptor Tetsunori Kawana has just completed an installation at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Ed Montovani was there to act as a special artist assistant (and Free Agent Dilettante correspondent) during the installation. The sculpture is made entirely of bamboo for an exhibit entitled "Kizuna: West Meets East."

Pictured above is Ed Montovani. You can almost hear him saying, "Yeah, I made this. Yeah, it kicks ass."

From what Montovani tells me about Kawana's method, the bamboo is split length-wise, allowing it to bend into the incredible shapes he creates... with help from his assistants, of course.

This is the work of an artist who has clearly mastered his medium. He seems to effortlessly transform stiff bamboo into flowing forms evoking cascading water or whirlwinds. He transforms his medium into something else - certainly something larger than the sum of it's parts, and if art isn't about transformation then I don't know what it's about. Bamboo normally grows straight out of the ground, bristle-like, perpendicular. Here Kawana manipulates and distorts bamboo so that it caresses and dances on the land. I think this artwork talks about natural processes like flow and growth using (appropriately) natural materials. His ephemeral work makes me think he could be a kindred spirits with Andy Goldsworthy. 

This sculpture just went on display and will be up until November 4th. If you're in Denver, go check it out. 

You can see some info and a video about Tetsunori Kawana's work at the Mint Museum in North Carolina here. 

Kawana's website "Kawana World" is here.

Now enjoy some photos below that Ed Montovani, Free Agent Dilettante correspondent, Denver resident, new car owner, and all-around cool guy, took during the installation process. (all photos on this post are courtesy of Ed Montovani)

Tristan Shone, aka "Author and Punisher," is a metal mad scientist.

Tristan Shone creates some incredible machines. With these machines, he makes some incredible sounds as the industrial-drone/doom-metal band Author and Punisher. All of the instruments on which he plays his music are unique and completely invented by him. This makes an Author and Punisher show something to behold because, not only are you enjoying some body-crushing dark metal, you're trying to figure out just what those machines actually do. Although traditional guitars, drums, and keyboards are no less expressive than the machines Tristan Shone makes we are unused to seeing this kind of musical apparatus and are unsure of how they're used. This unfamiliarity with the equipment renders the performance more bodily, evoking some kind of cyborg struggle played out through metal.
You can listen to the music and watch some of Author and Punisher's musical struggle through the sound and video links below. (this music works best when loud):

The cyborg aspect of Author and Punisher's performance has been accentuated by the debut of some voice-modulating masks that Tristan made to be worn by him and others accompanying him. I have not heard any music made by Author and Punisher using these masks, but the man behind the machines, Tristan Shone, describes them like this: "This is the beginning of a series of voice modulating masks that for the most part will not involve any computer effects. Some actuation will be computer controlled, but I really feel there is enough effect in the voice as it is and I would like to be able to perform acoustically with these masks worn by many musicians."
These masks are pretty awesome and will surely be worn in some distopic future hell-scape...

Author and Punisher, Tristan Shone, is finishing up a west coast tour at the moment in support of his new album "Ursus Americanus" which can be purchased here.

Tristan Shone's work has been featured in many places, including Wired Magazine and Make magazine. See the stories below:


http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/11/st_obsessed_machines/

http://blog.makezine.com/2011/08/24/build-tristan-shones-headgear-midi-controller/

Here are a couple other good videos of Author and Punisher performing:










(Apologies for the lack of photo credits. I got most of the images from the A+P website and Tristan Shone's facebook. If you are the photographer of any of these images and want credit, please let me know.)