Trainspotting

Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family.
Choose a fucking big television, Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players, and electrical tin openers.
Choose good health, low cholesterol and dental insurance.
Choose fixed-interest mortgage repayments.
Choose a starter home.
Choose your friends.
Choose leisure wear and matching luggage.
Choose a three piece suite on hire purchase in a range of fucking fabrics.
Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on a Sunday morning.
Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth.
Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pissing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked-up brats you have spawned to replace yourself.
Choose your future.
Choose life . . . But why would I want to do a thing like that?

I chose not to choose life: I chose something else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got heroin?

Merda d'Artista

While we're on the subject of Piero Manzoni; that guy is just brilliant. His work is very controversial for it's time and also really ironic. I could re-write his biography here, but the Wikipedia-page has everything hyperlinked and ready to go, so here's a copy-paste.

Piero Manzoni (July 13, 1933 - February 6, 1963) was an Italian artist best known for his ironic conceptual art. Influenced by the work of Yves Klein, his own work anticipated, and directly influenced, the work of a generation of younger Italian artists brought together by the critic Germano Celant in the first Arte Povera exhibition held in Genoa, 1967 ^[1]. Manzoni is most famous for a series of artworks that call into question the nature of the art object, directly prefiguring Conceptual Art ^[2][3]. His work eschews normal artist's materials, instead using everything from rabbit fur to human excrement in order to "tap mythological sources and to realize authentic and universal values" ^[2].

His work is widely seen as a critique of the mass production and consumerism that was changing Italian society (the 'Economic Miracle') after World War II ^[4].

Contents [hide] 1 Biography 1.1 Achromes 2 Gallery Azimuth 2.1 Artist's Breath 2.2 Artist's Shit 3 Other works 4 See also 5 References 5.1 Notes 5.2 External links

[edit]Biography

Manzoni was born in Soncino, province of Cremona. His full name was Count Meroni Manzoni di Chiosca e Poggiolo.^[5]

Self taught as an artist, Manzoni first exhibited at the Castello Sforzesco, Soncino, August 1956, aged 23. His early work was broadly gestural, and showed the influence of milanese proponents of Nuclear Art, such as Enrico Baj.^[6]

[edit]Achromes

Achrome, 1961-62.

His work changed irrevocably after visiting Yves Klein's exhibition 'Epoca Blu' at the Galleria Apollinaire, January 1957.^[7] This exhibition consisted of 11 identical blue monochromes. By the end of the year he had ceased producing work influenced by the prevailing trends in Art Informel, to works that responded directly to Klein's monochromes.^[8] Called Achromes, they invariably looked white but were actually colourless. In these paintings Manzoni experimented with various pigments and materials. Initially favouring canvases coated in gesso (1957 - 1958), he also worked with kaolin, another form of white clay often used in the production of porcelain.^[9] The kaolin works are generally made from clay covered canvases folded horizontally, or sometimes cut-out squares of canvas coated in the clay and adhered onto the canvas. As well as Yves Klein, these works showed the influence of Fontana and Burri and the American artist Robert Rauschenberg, who had painted neutral white canvases in 1951.^[10] Later he would create Achromes from white cotton wool, fiberglass, rabbit skin and bread rolls. He also experimented with phosphorescent paint and cobalt chloride so that the colours would change over time.

[edit]Gallery Azimuth

He founded the Gallery Azimuth, Milan, in 1959 with the artist Enrico Castellani, and preceded to put on a series of revolutionary exhibitions of multiples. The first, 12 Linee (12 Lines) took place in December 1959, quickly followed by Corpi d'Aria (Bodies of Air) in May 1960.^[11] This was an edition of 45 balloons on tripods that could be blown up by the buyer, or the artist himself, depending on the price paid. In July 1960 he exhibitedConsumption of Art by the Art-Devouring Public, in which he hard-boiled eggs, printed his thumprint onto them, and then handed them out to the audience to eat. This was the last exhibition by Manzoni at Azimuth, after which the gallery was forced to close when the lease ran out.

Artist's Breath, 1960.

[edit]Artist's Breath

Contemporaneously with the Bodies of Air, Manzoni produced the Artist's Breaths (Fiato d'Artista), a series of red, white or blue balloons, inflated and attached to a wooden base inscribed "Piero Manzoni- Artist's Breath". The works continued Manzoni's obsession with the limits of physicality, whilst parodying the Art World's obsession with permanence, and also provided a poignant Memento Mori.

[edit]Artist's Shit

In May 1961 Manzoni created 90 small cans, sealed with the text Artist's Shit (Merda d'Artista). Each 30-gram can was priced by weight based on the current value of gold (around $1.12 a gram in 1960).^[12] The contents of the cans remain a much-disputed enigma, since opening them would destroy the value of the artwork. Various theories about the contents have been proposed, including speculation that it is plaster.^[13] In the following years, the cans have spread to various art collections all over the world and netted large prices, far outstripping inflation. The most recent can to be auctioned, #19, sold on 26 February 2007 in the USA for $80,000.^[14]. It was described as:

"It is a joke, a parody of the art market, and a critique of consumerism and the waste it generates."

—Stephen Bury ^[15]

Other works from this period include limited edition thumbprints, and the Declarations of Authenticity, 1961-61, a printed multiple that could be bought, proving the owner's status as either part or whole work of art, depending on the price paid. He also designated a number of people, including Umberto Eco, as authentic works of art gratis. Various other experimental pieces included trying to create a mechanical animal as a moving sculpture and using solar energy as a power source. In 1960 he created a sphere that was held aloft on a jet of air.

Piero Manzoni died of myocardial infarction in his studio in Milan in 1963.

[edit]Other works

• Magic Bases (Magisk Sockkel, 1961), a series of wooden plinths that could be stood on to acquire status of 'Living Sculpture'.

• Lines of Exceptional Length (1960-61). Lines drawn on paper, the longest of which was 7.2 km, intended to be left in every major city in the world, which would equal the length of the equator when joined.

• Base of the World (Socle du Monde, 1961). A large metal plinth, inscribed 'The Base Of The World, Homage To Galileo' placed upside down in a field in Herning, Denmark. It announces that the whole world is a work of art, rendering the artist obsolete.

• Piero Manzoni; The Life And Works (1963), published posthumously by Jes Petersen. An artist's book consisting of 100 sheets of transparent plastic bound to a white metal sheet. The only text is the title page. The rest of the book is totally blank.

[edit]See also

• Conceptual Art
• Linee
• Artist's Shit
• Corpo d'aria
• Arte Povera

Medialab Enschede

HYLOZOIC SOIL
Datum:	26 september 2009 tot en met 08 november 2009
Kunstenaar(s):	Philip Beesley, Waterloo Architecture
Locatie:	Tetem 2
Opening expositie: zaterdag 26 september om 14.00 uur met het muzikale intermezzo Van Wagner tot Weill van Astrid Krause (alt/mezzosopraan), Daniël Hermán Mostert (bariton) en Sofia Vasheruk (piano). Medialab Enschede presenteert de indrukwekkende installatie Hylozoic Soil van de Canadese kunstenaar en architect Philip Beesley. Het is voor de eerste keer dat Beesley in Nederland exposeert na eerdere succesvolle presentaties in Londen, Madrid en in verschillende Canadese en Noord-Amerikaanse steden. Beesley maakt innovatieve ruimtelijke installaties op het raakvlak van kunst en architectuur. Van fiberglas plaatjes wordt een reusachtige tentachtige structuur opgezet waarin middels een ingenieus belichtingssysteem het publiek de ruimte op een steeds andere wijze beleeft. Hylozoic Soil is een meeslepende interactieve installatie gemaakt van honderden duizenden op maat gemaakte componenten van transparate acrylstaafjes, microprocessoren en een gecompliceerd sensorennetwerk. Het is een zogenaamde 'immersive sculpture environment', een ruimtevullende sculptuur die letterlijk pulseert, beweegt en de bezoekers met zachte tentakels probeert aan te raken. Hylozoic Soil is geïnspireerd door de natuurlijke bewegingen van koraalriffen die door Beesley in dit levend en adembenemend systeem zijn verwerkt. Philip Beesley omschrijft het zelf als een betoverende omgeving die zich houdt aan de natuurlijke wetten van het duizendjarig ontstaansproces van de koraalriffen en de organische cyclus van het openen, klemmen, filteren en verteren. Hylozoic Soil biedt daarnaast een kijk op een futuristische architectonische ruimte als deze kon bewegen, ademen en denken. De verbinding tussen kunst, architectuur en technologische ontwikkelingen komt terug in de futuristische visie van Philip Beesley over architectonische bouwwerken en toepassingen. De installatie speelt in op het voorstellingsvermogen dat gebouwen in de toekomst met de omgeving mee zullen bewegen en voelen. Met behulp van innovatieve oplossingen en materialen zou het mogelijk kunnen worden om gebouwen te laten reageren op de aanwezigheid, gemoedstoestand en wensen van mensen. De installatie doet eveneens denken aan een groot kunstmatig bos waarbij alle onderdelen op een intieme manier op het publiek reageren. Hylozoic Soil is gemaakt in samenwerking met Robert Gorbet, hoogleraar Electrical & Computer Engineering aan de Universiteit van Waterloo in Toronto, Canada. Met dank aan NSERC, SSHRC, Canada Council for the Arts en Ontario Arts Council. Philip Beesley is hoogleraar architectuur aan de Universiteit van Waterloo, gespecialiseerd in digitale mediakunst en experimentele architectuur. Beesley is cum laude afgestudeerd in beeldende kunsten aan de Queens University, architectuur aan de Universiteit van Toronto en technologie aan de Humber College. Zijn werk is onderscheiden door ondermeer: de Prix de Rome in Architecture (Canada), VIDA 2009 en FEIDAD2008 Awards en twee Dora Mavor Moore Awards. Het werk van Philip Beesley richt zich de laatste jaren steeds meer op beeldbouwkunst en landschapsinstallaties gecombineerd met stage design en architectuur. De expositie Hylozoic Soil is onderdeel van het festival GrensWerk, een nieuw grensverleggend festival dat zich beweegt op het snijvlak van kunstdisciplines. Het festival is geïnspireerd door vier operaproducties van Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen die uitgevoerd worden vanaf eind 2009 tot 2013 in Enschede. GrensWerk vindt plaats van 25 september tot 11 oktober 2009 waaraan twaalf culturele instellingen deelnemen door het creëren van een groot Gesamtkunstwerk. Tijdens het festival gaan beeldende kunst, muziektheater en muziek, tentoonstellingen en voorstellingen een bijzondere relatie met elkaar aan waarbij de samenwerking en cross-over tussen de kunsten steeds weer centraal staat. In Medialab Enschede worden, te midden van de kunstzinnige en kunstmatige binnenarchitectuur van Beesley, een klassiek openingsconcert en een drietal performances van geluidskunstenaars ten gehore gebracht. Astrid Krause (alt/mezzosopraan), Daniël Hermán Mostert (bariton) en Sofia Vasheruk (piano) verzorgen een muzikaal intermezzo met zang en piano tijdens de opening van de expositieHylozoic Soil. In dit muzikale intermezzo Van Wagner tot Weill worden twee liederen en een duet van respectievelijk Johannes Brahms, Richard Wagner en Kurt Weill ten gehore gebracht (Feldeinsamkeit, Im Treibhaus en Youkali). Aansluitend op de thematiek van het festival GrensWerk gaat het hierbij om drie Duitse componisten, waarvan Wagner en Weill hun sporen in onder meer de opera en het muziektheater hebben nagelaten. De keuze voor deze stukken is daarnaast ingegeven door associaties die de installatie Hylozoic Soil bij de muzikanten opriep. In Feldeinsamkeit ligt de ik-persoon in het gras waarbij hij naar de blauwe hemel en de voorbijtrekkende witte wolken staart. Im Treibhaus staat een grote, tropische plant eenzaam in een voor hem omgevingsvreemde kas waarin de ik- persoon zich met deze plant vergelijkt. In het duet Youkali tenslotte wordt er door zangeres en zanger gedroomd van een klein eilandje (Youkali) waar alles perfect is, waar hoop en liefde wonen en alle goede wensen uitkomen. Geluidskunstenaars Der Wexel, David Scheidler en Iris Tenkink zijn door Medialab Enschede uitgenodigd om in de weekenden van 27 september en 4 en 11 oktober, met een speciaal hiervoor gemaakt geluidskunstwerk te reageren op Hylozoic Soil. Hierdoor ontstaat een spannend dialoog tussen kunstenaars vanuit verschillende disciplines en een Gesamtkunstwerk dat wekelijks van identiteit en functie verwisselt tijdens zijn tijdelijke bestaan in Medialab Enschede. Tijdens het GrensWerk festival (25 september t/m 11 oktober) is de expositie dagelijks van 13.00-18.00 uur geopend voor publiek. Vanaf 16 oktober 2009 is Medialab Enschede tijdens reguliere tijden geopend van vrijdag t/m zondag van 13:00 – 18:00 uur. Op 13 oktober 2009 vindt te midden van de meeslepende installatie van Philip Beesley een interactieve en inspirerende bijeenkomst van Smart Creation plaats. In samenwerking met Medialab Enschede is gekozen voor het overkoepelend thema van smart materials en ondernemerschap. Philip Beesley en diverse (internationale) gasten geven hun visie op onderwerpen als architectuur, kunst en mode. Gedetailleerde informatie over Hylozoic Soil is te vinden in het volgende bestand (taal: Engels): Detailed description Hylozoic Soil.pdf www.philipbeesleyarchitect.com www.grenswerk.nl www.mondriaanfoundation.nl Credits: Curator / Samenstelling: Ella Buzo en Wilja Jurg Organisatie en Productie: Medialab Enschede Deze activiteit is mede mogelijk gemaakt door de Mondriaan Stichting

Source As soon as I've found the time, I'm going to visit this installation. I love the idea of 'Gesamtkunstwerk', art is not something one person makes for him- or herself only, artists should work together to create something for people. A painter stuck in the attic is not capable of creating something socially relevant, art should be a dialog and the artists responsible for the work of art should start the discussion. Art should question others and best of all: itself. The best example being Piero Manzoni putting a large plinth upside down on the ground and declaring the whole world a work of art.

RFID scanners

I'm finalizing the images for the RFID scanner, at the moment the image looks like this:

I was having some trouble filling up the space since the resolution is so high and the avatar can't be enlarged without the quality declining. I was also having doubts about the background, I ended up using one of Photoshop's textures and fading it to 60%. Maybe the template will change again but my personal goal is to finish all the images by the end of the day. This is not what I usually do with Photoshop... and I think it shows.

Me.

I was born the 11th of November, the date WWI ended, in the year 1989, the year and month the Berlin Wall was torn down. My name means 'peace'. The 11th of November is indepence day in Poland, Remembrance Day in the UK and the Commonwealth, Veterans Day in the US of A and Armistice Day in New Zealand. I like this coincidence.

I like text-based layouts, midnightly philosophical discussions and proper spelling and grammar. I like my literature, poetry and art both modern and classical. I like history, especially the history of arts. I like observing people, sitting in the train while thinking and travelling to new places. I like all forms of music, I like seeing people that are dedicated to their work. I like reading, thinking and writing in that particular order. I like Tim Burton, Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen Fry and Trent Reznor. I like the way people are beautiful in every way they are different from one another.

I dislike RSS feeds, non-systematical algebra solutions and factory farming. I also dislike thinking about things I dislike.

Rusty Machine

March 2009, Old goldmine, New Zealand

We are Unsuitable for Framing

March 2009, Wellington Museum, New Zealand

Et in Arcadia Ego

I took and editted these pictures for my A-levels in Art, they symbolize Et in Arcadia Ego.

Infographics

World Builder

Preface

The artist is the creator of beautiful things.
To reveal art and conceal the artist is art's aim.
The critic is he who can translate into another manner or a new material his impression of beautiful things.
The highest as the lowest form of criticism is a mode of autobiography.
Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault.
Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope. They are the elect to whom beautiful things mean only beauty.
There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.
The nineteenth century dislike of realism is the rage of Caliban seeing his own face in a glass.
The nineteenth century dislike of romanticism is the rage of Caliban not seeing his own face in a glass.
The moral life of man forms part of the subject-matter of the artist, but the morality of art consists in the perfect use of an imperfect medium.
No artist desires to prove anything. Even things that are true can be proved. No artist has ethical sympathies. An ethical sympathy in an artist is an unpardonable mannerism of style.
No artist is ever morbid. The artist can express everything. Thought and language are to the artist instruments of an art. Vice and virtue are to the artist materials for an art.
From the point of view of form, the type of all the arts is the art of the musician.
From the point of view of feeling, the actor's craft is the type.
All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril.
Those who read the symbol do so at their peril.
It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors.
Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.
When critics disagree, the artist is in accord with himself.

We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it.
The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely.
All art is quite useless

Oscar Wilde - The Picture of Dorian Gray