Olympics Throwback

From 1912 to 1952 art competitions were part of the olympics.  Of course it was only art that was inspired by sport, but this was something I found interesting.  Medals were awarded for works of architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture.

Rugby, drawing by Jean Jacoby that won his second gold medal for him.

Leo Villareal's Hive

When New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) started its Arts for Transit program in 1985, I'm sure no one had in mind its newest addition: Leo Villareal's Hive.  It is a permanent installation that lies underneath Bleecker Street.  Comprised of LED tubes, aluminum, and stainless steel, Hive is meant to be as durable as a mosaic, which is the traditional form of art displayed by MTA.

As seen in the video above, Hive creates a network of fluctuating lights and patterns (as well as obvious breaks in the patterns, which are probably the most memorable parts of the patterns...what makes them identifiable as such).  According to Villareal, the patterns take inspiration from John Conway, the inventor of the Game of Life.  If I didn't know better I would think this was Tokyo rather than NYC, and this seems to be a giant step towards a more contemporary direction for the Arts for Transit program.

Umbrella Sky

If you happen to find yourself on the streets of Agueda, Portugal this month, make sure to keep your eyes on the sky (or what's between your eyes and that sky).  Although you really couldn't possibly miss this installation of regularly utilitarian objects that have been transformed to a present a moment of sublime beauty:

Photos by Patricia Almeida

Megx's Lego Bridge

Street artist Megx recently transformed a bridge in Wuppertal, Germany into a lego bridge:

Check out his website for more art and installations

Brandalism Takes over UK in Time for Olympics

Taken from the Brandalism website:

The Brandalism project will be pushing the boundaries of appropriate acts of citizenship at a time of political, environmental and economic crises.

Brandalism is taking over billboards in and around the UK, reclaiming space "taken from us" as they put it.  Rather than trying to fulfill our existing needs, advertising tries to create new "needs" for us.  This creates a type of person who never feels that they have enough.  The brandalism project was a collaborative between 25 artists from 8 countries who just in time for the olympics set out to create the largest subvertising project in history: 33 billboards were reclaimed in 5 different UK cities

It is not the olympics themselves that offend the brandalism team, but the corporate involvement in the games.  You can see more from the brandalism project here.

Absolut Vodka Steals Design

Valentin Ruhry's untitled piece (Hello World) is made up completely of on and off switches.  Ruhry's piece gives outdated technology a breath of fresh air with his piece.  Shortly after making it's formal introduction to the world in the gallery of the Austrian Cultural Forum New York, the piece went viral. I'm sure Ruhry considered all of the press to be good news for him at first.  Until Pelonio heard about it. 

Pelonio is a well known design agency based in Madrid.  Apparently Pelonio saw Ruhry's piece as a lucrative business oppurtunity. Soon after becoming familiar with the work they hired artist Luis Alvarez to construct a very similar installation to be shown at Madrid Fashion Week (pictured below).

Inevitably, Ruhry is designating the installation which was an advertisement for Absolut Vodka a rip-off.  But did LITE-BRITE call Ruhry out for copyright infringement?  Regardless, there is not much Ruhry can do about it.  Art Fag City exchanged emails with Ruhry:

Over email, Ruhry told me his lawyer was not encouraging about how a lawsuit would fare in court. He had been told “it would be a very difficult case, due to the different rights situation in Austria/Spain.”

All that the artist received from his attempt to sue Pelonio was a bill, and after trying to contact Pelonio and Absolut he was ignored  However, he is trying to plead his case on social media sites by gaining public support.  All in all, this is not necessarily only bad news for Ruhry, considering that he gets more attention from the public.  The best way to show your support of the artist is probably to check out his other work!

The Billboard Art Project

The Billboard Art Project is a publicly funded non-profit organization that repurposes billboards usually used for advertising into a public art venue.  Here is a photo I found on Google+ giving you a visual example.

Past billboards have been located in Albany, NY, Detroit, MI, Salem, OR, Richmond, VA, San Bernadino, CA, New Orleans, LA, and more!  Upcoming billboards will be in Quincy, IL and Atlanta, GA (which will be used as a venue for almost an entire month).

Here is an interview with an artist that had work in Duluth, MN: