FORCE OF NATURE

Artist, Lorenzo Quinn’s is no stranger to attention, his life-sized installations have always been grabbers. His newest works, a series of sculptures entitled, Force of Nature are no exception..these gravity-defying statues seem to be in a state of perpetual motion.

At the base of the sculptures are these words from the artist… “We humans think of ourselves as supreme beings, above all others and in absolute control of our destiny and our surroundings. We live with a false sense of security, only to be awakened by Mother Nature’s fury, almost as if she needs to remind us of her presence and our responsibility towards her child (the Earth). After having seen the ravaged coast of Thailand and the hurricane that affected the Southern States, I decided to create a sculpture dedicated to Mother Nature. This would be reminiscent of the early statues made as peace offerings to the gods in the hope of quenching their anger. In essence, people are not very different today from the people who lived thousands of years ago. We still devote ourselves to symbols in order to escape our destiny.”

image credit: mymodernmet

HOOVER BUILDINGS

Dutch Artist Frank Halmans’ created the ‘Hoover Buildings’. The machines suck up dirt into the interior of a dollhouse.  Creating functioning vacuum cleaners in the shape of buildings in an attempt to show how ‘dirt and debris’ clutter our personal space.

All images © Frank Halmans

via Ignant

SPOTLIGHT ON KARA WALKER In honor of Black History Month, these last few days of February we’ll be spotlighting notable African-Americans in the art world. First up is Artist, Kara Walker - known best for her explosive black silhouettes resembling paper cut-outs whose imagery boldly explores race, culture, gender and identity issues. Born in 1969, Walker attended the Rhode Island School of Design and has gone on to showcase her work in some of the finest museums around: MOMA, SFMOMA, Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, just to name a few. In 2007, Walker was listed among Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People. In the article, fellow artist Barbara Kruger summed up Walker’s work amazingly with this quote. “Walker’s vigilance has produced a compelling reckoning with the twisted trajectories of race in America. Her installations and films forcefully pluralize our notion of a singular “history.” They create a profusion of back stories and revisions that slash and burn through the pieties of patriotism and the glosses of “color blindness.” Restarting the engines of seemingly archaic methods, from the graphic affect of silhouette portraits to the machine-age ethos of film, she produces a cast of characters and caricatures with appetites for destruction and reproduction, for power and sex.” I just don’t think there’s much to say after that… Come follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/hahamag) as we tweet fun facts all day about Walker to accompany our bio of this art powerhouse on our site. *photo courtesy of Time magazine.
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SPOTLIGHT ON KARA WALKER

In honor of Black History Month, these last few days of February we’ll be spotlighting notable African-Americans in the art world.

First up is Artist, Kara Walker - known best for her explosive black silhouettes resembling paper cut-outs whose imagery boldly explores race, culture, gender and identity issues.

Born in 1969, Walker attended the Rhode Island School of Design and has gone on to showcase her work in some of the finest museums around: MOMA, SFMOMA, Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, just to name a few.

In 2007, Walker was listed among Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People. In the article, fellow artist Barbara Kruger summed up Walker’s work amazingly with this quote. “Walker’s vigilance has produced a compelling reckoning with the twisted trajectories of race in America. Her installations and films forcefully pluralize our notion of a singular “history.” They create a profusion of back stories and revisions that slash and burn through the pieties of patriotism and the glosses of “color blindness.” Restarting the engines of seemingly archaic methods, from the graphic affect of silhouette portraits to the machine-age ethos of film, she produces a cast of characters and caricatures with appetites for destruction and reproduction, for power and sex.”

I just don’t think there’s much to say after that…

Come follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/hahamag) as we tweet fun facts all day about Walker to accompany our bio of this art powerhouse on our site.

*photo courtesy of Time magazine.

Source: hahamag.com

HAHA Magazine asked Philly’s Dutch Umbrella Share Program if they would turn over some of their classic white umbrellas to four local artists and have them think of the umbrellas as a blank canvas. The results of which have been chronicled through The Dutch Umbrella Episodes.

Meet our 3rd artist in the Dutch Umbrella Episodes. This time we’re following Artist, Kat Karnaky who arrived to the Philadelphia Art Scene by way of Texas. She describes her style as conversational and quirky. Our host, Lily Delphia drops in to see what Kat has planned for her…

To find out more go to hahamag.com/​ or to know more about Dutch Umbrella finditinphilly.com/​

Produced by VMAD Studios: vmadstudios.com

Episode 1: vimeo.com/​15620687
Episode 2: vimeo.com/​15868633