Anish Kapoor

Amazing work by Turner prize artist Anish Kapoor, made during his transitional period in the 80’s, found via But Does It Float.

KK

KESSELSKRAMER (yes this is their website), the agency with slightly different communication campaigns for companies such as Diesel, also has a publishing arm. Kesselskramer Publishing features publications that represent the ‘interests’ of creative thinkers behind the company – and I love each and every one of them. The books can be purchased in bookshops worldwide or at KK Outlet, a mix of shop, gallery and agency in London.

Strangers in my Photoalbum – People that accidentally join and participate in your photographs by appearing in the background

Anonymous – Are faces more important than bodies?

Bad Food Gone Worse– In an attempt to entice hungry customers …, chefs have taken it upon themselves to make photographs of their dishes.

Models – A collection of 132 German police uniforms and how they should be worn

Dada Archive

If you are, like me, a big fan of the Dada movement, you will love this archive of work by and about Dadaists – publications, information, links and more. As well as browsing through the visuals it is worth reading some manuscripts (although most of it is in German or French) or just enjoying the delightful word creations. The archive is curated by Timothy Shipe from The University of Iowa and can be found here.

Quirky cubes

Weird, home-made style furniture by architects/designers Uglycute from Sweden. My personal favourite, the psychedelic colour cube.

Reindeer Chair, purple

Clay bowl, made by dancers during a performance

(Not sure)

Bank, pink

Humans Manifesto

Via Humans by Mike Mills

Red Book

The Red Book, also known as the Liber Novus ( Latin for A New Book) is a mysterious book. Written between 1914 and 1930 by  Carl Jung it is almost 100 years old but has only been shown publicly since 2009. The Red Book contains the story of a man who enters midlife, loses his soul and finds it again. Or how Miranda July puts it

think of it less like a book and more like your diary during the part of your life when you were going through such darkness you thought it would never end. Remember that?! You wrote in your diary a lot during that time because on some level you knew that each demon, each nightmare you survived was transforming you in a way that would always matter. The book is about how Jung recovers his soul, recovers meaning in his life through enabling the rebirth of the image of God in his soul.

So why has it only been available to scholars recently? Apparently the book was written when Jung fell out with fellow analytic psychologist Sigmund Freud, which some say was partly caused by a psychological breakdown. Some of the very few who had a chance to read it said it to be fascinating yet worrying and the work of a psychotic. Jung produced the book using a technique called Active Imagination, with figures appearing that, for Jung, brought home to me the crucial insight that there are things in the psyche which I do not produce, but which produce themselves and have their own life. So potentially it is dangerous and freighting, but to me it sounds fascinating.

Until 2001 Jung’s heirs refused to permit publication and only after persuasion by different scholars was it finally published in 2009.

No Gap

Swedish artist Michael Johansson likes to stack objects together so neatly that not one little gap is left. The results are amazing and very graphical. I wish I would be that sufficient in storing my items.

Through out my different explorations of the potentials of my collection of found and acquired things, one has been to free objects from their function. By forcing these objects into contexts in which their functional qualities are put into opposition with their field of application, the objects are stripped of their meaning for existence. In a series of work I have assembled objects connected to a certain place, for example a kitchen or a living room, into a cubic geometrical unit. The collected items, originally gathered from hundreds of different homes, are precisely stacked into the empty spaces of other larger items, a process that repeats itself until all the objects are carefully packed into one single tight sculptural form. This transformation addresses questions about history, life and space. The sculptures hold stories of compressed worlds from a time gone by, and the function has been forced to give in for the notions of color and shape.

Michael Johansson

Kieler Woche

From 19 – 27 June 2010 the largest sailing event takes place in Kiel, Germany, the Kiel Week. What is more interesting to me are the posters that are designed every year by a different designer, strictly appointed by invitation only. Dating back to 1948 here is a link to all of them, and below some of my favourite ones (which I have to admit are the older ones).

Hans Hemmert

Balloon Sculptures by Hans Hemmert, a German artist living and working in Berlin.

Being inside an egg-shaped balloon, normally not for more than 15 minutes, Hemmert does, what he calls, “little performances” like holding a child or climbing a ladder. He also created one the size of his apartment and sat inside. I love them!

If you want to see how it’s done, a little dancing performance and hear the artist talk, have a look at this video. (German with French subtitles)

Yum Yum

Just in time for the upcoming World Cup I stumbled across Walkers latest marketing campaign. German Bratwurst flavored crisps! If you prefer other countries you can choose anything from Australian BBQ Kangaroo, English Roast Beef & Yorkshire Pudding to Italian Spaghetti Bolognese. They even let you vote for your favourite one, now that’s real customer satisfaction.