ecologically inspired art - animal wall

animal wall - a site-specific ecological artwork by Gitta Gschwendtner

"Animal Wall" is part of a 50 metre long wall, running along the south-western edge of ‘Strata’, a new residential development in Century Wharf, Cardiff Bay.


Through consultation with an ecologist, four different sized animal homes have been developed, which have been integrated into a custom-made woodcrete cladding to provide an architecturally stunning and environmentally sensitive wall for Century Wharf. The animal wall also transcends the barrier between the private and the public, with the wildlife roaming freely between the two areas. via safle



Artist Gitta Gschwendtner said: “Following the decline of the natural habitat in Cardiff Bay over recent years, I was very interested in exploring ways to introduce nesting places in my artwork for Century Wharf. I have loved the opportunity to match the number of flats created in the housing development with the number of bird and bat boxes in my design for the Animal Wall.” Century Wharf’s architect, Jonathan Vining of WYG Planning & Design, said: “It has been a real pleasure collaborating with Gitta on this project and her site-specific design not only helps to enhance Century Wharf’s already strong sense of place, but also provides a modern echo of William Burges’s animal wall at Bute Park just up the river.”

www.gittagschwendtner.com

www.safle.com

Agnes Denes Auction

Cynthia Panucci the Director and Founder of New York based Art and Science Collaborations Inc. contacted me to help support and raise awareness for her organization. November 2008's successful post Ecologically inspired Art Part 1 - Agnes Denes was the catalyst for our discussion, please read below for the exciting details.

Press Release

The celebrated conceptual and ecological art pioneer, Agnes Denes, is on our Advisory Board and is a long-time friend.

Because ours, like many small arts organizations, is having a hard time in these financially challenging times, Agnes has generously donated a framed, archival, signed print of her famous "Tree Mountain" project to ASCI for a PRIVATE SALE.

This print is a digital rendering of the original design drawing for one of Agnes' boldest ecological earthworks to date... "Tree Mountain - A Living Time Capsule - 11,000 Trees, 11,000 People, 400 Years," 1992-1996, 420 x 270 x 28 meters, in Ylöjärvi, Finland. Eleven thousand trees were planted in a complex mathematical pattern by eleven thousand people from around the world, to be maintained for 400 years. One of the largest environmental reclamation sites in the world, Tree Mountain, was officially announced by the Finnish government at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro on Earth Environment Day, June 5, 1992, as Finland's contribution to help alleviate the world's ecological stress. And in 1996, it was declared a national monument to serve future generations with a meaningful legacy by the President of Finland, dignitaries, and participants from around the world.

Agnes' print appears to be a simple oval in design... UNTIL you discover the beautiful complexity of her intriguing use of interlocking mathematical data sets!

PRIVATE SALE: May 2-8, 2009

In 2007, Agnes' print [above] became the inspiration for ASCI's "Pattern-Finding" exhibition held at the New York Hall of Science.

Agnes actually was first to coin the term "pattern-finding," which I believe will eventually become a new, highly developed, interdisciplinary art-sci genre.

ASCI's mission is to raise public awareness about artists and scientists using science and/or technology to explore new forms of creative expression, and to increase communication and collaborations between these fields. Our organization was instrumental in helping to revitalize the art-sci-tech field in the USA during the early 1990's and is now global in scope. ASCI's membership is open, inviting all those who are interested in the lively intersections of the art, science, and technology fields.

We hope you enjoy learning about "Tree Mountain," stop to visit the site the next time you're in Finland, and that you will explore ASCI's extensive website of art-science exhibitions, symposia, featured members, and members news archives.

Sincerely,
Cynthia Pannucci

Founder/Director
Art & Science Collaborations, Inc.(ASCI)
21-years serving the art-sci-tech field
pannucci@asci.org

For more information please visit
www.asci.org
Click here for Print & Private Sale details

Ecologically Inspired Art - Part 3 - Lucien den Arend

The artistic development of Lucien den Arend, a Dutch sculptor and artist who takes the landscape into remarkable consideration in his environmental projects, began with painting from nature or even perhaps with the shelters he made himself of flexible willow rods as a child.

Unlike town and open space planners, den Arend does not seek to create interesting or beneficial effects with the natural elements he uses; rather his main concern is with evoking the unexpected, and thus he gives hills, shrub plantings, reservoirs and canals the form of curves, semicircles, squares, lines and grids an exercise in practical geometry.
Extract from Topos European Landscape Magazine

Homage to El Lissitzky
Lelystad Flevo Polder the Netherlands






Pieter Janszoon Saenredam Project
Barendrecht Holland




Island x-ing
Continuation of the Walburg project into the Volgerlanden






Farel
Farel School Netherlands






The Iron Pollard
Hardinxveld Giessendam Holland






den Arend's Gothic 2
Penttilä Open Air Museum Finland

For more information please visit www.denarend.com and the Penttilä Open Air Museum at www.paom.ws

Elements of Perception

Exploring the work of contemporary Japanese artist Noriyuki Haraguchi.

I have long been a fan of Noriyuki Haraguchi and the Japanese minimalist approach to architecture and design.
Haraguchi creates sophisticated transitions between functional objects, pure use of materials and abstract requirements of space and surfaces. The following photos represent my favorite works, while giving my readers insight into Harguchi's diverse portfolio.

All visuals courtesy of Noriyuki Haraguchi Catalogue Raisonne 1963-2001

Urban art with Slinkachu

Slinkachu is a UK based street artist and photographer whose goal is to encourage city dwellers to be more aware of their surroundings. "The scenes I set up, more evident through the photography, and the titles I give these scenes aim to reflect the loneliness and melancholy of living in a big city, almost being lost and overwhelmed. But underneath this, there is always some humour. I want people to be able to emphasize with the tiny people in my works."

Wrong turn

Kew Gardens

Manhole Swimming

Ravenscourt Park, London

His photos are humorous but also possess humbling overtones of how seemingly insignificant actions can affect us on a larger scale.

Majestic

Undisclosed London location

Local Amenities For Children

Finsbury Leisure Centre, East London

Urban camping

Manchester UK

30 Minutes

Postman's Park London

Slinkachu's ongoing street art project is regularly updated and can be visited at his blog. For more photos and information please visit www.slinkachu.com

Font + Foliage

I am fond of any installation that engages the public through the introduction of vegetation into a hard and static environment. For The design competition "Finding Refuge – Huguenots in Berlin", msk7 developed the blümerant installation for Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin. The Gendarmenmarkt is a square in Berlin, and the site of the Konzerthaus and the French and German Cathedrals. This project takes as its subject-matter the influence of the French language on the Berlin vernacular.

Msk7 group is a project-oriented team that creates temporary events in public spaces.
Project + photos courtesy of msk7

concept courtesy of msk7-

"Just as the Huguenots were integrated into the city, parts of their vocabulary have also become embedded in the language here, sometimes becoming inextricably entwined with it. The letters of the words coined lie in columns and rows in 4m x 4m squares, structuring the Gendarmenmarkt. The ensuing “crossword puzzle” made up of special vegetation mats creates conceptual links between French and German, whilst in situ it establishes spatial connections between the French Cathedral and its German pendant."

The portion of this project that stood out for me was the sponsorship provided by the progressive Berlin Senate Culture Department, Grants and Project Support Division, who keep work like this funded. This project, and the government endorsement provided, has me thinking the west coast of BC is ready for an environmentally themed public installation.....Stay tuned. For more information please visit the msk7 website.