Hasta La Ideas

Spraying a wall with water creates graffiti with tiny points of light instead of paint in this installation by French artist Antonin Forneau (+ movie).

Water Light Graffiti is made of thousands of LED lights that light up when they come into contact with water.

Participants can use paintbrushes, sponges, fingers or spray cans to sketch out words and pictures.

The project was unveiled in Poitiers, France, between 22 and 24 July this year while Forneau was in residence at the DigitalArti Artlab.

Other projects involving water we’ve featured recently include a sprinkler that paints rainbows and a series of fountains with added furniture.

Photographs are by Quentin Chevrier at DigitalArti Artlab.

Here’s some more information about the project:

Water Light Graffiti is a surface made of thousands of LEDs illuminated by the contact of water. You can use a paintbrush, a water atomizer, your fingers or anything damp to sketch a brightness message or just to draw.

Water Light Graffiti is a wall for ephemeral messages in the urban space without deterioration. A wall to communicate and share magically in the city. For a few weeks, Antonin Fourneau has been working in residence at Digitalarti Artlab on the Water Light Graffiti project.

After several tries, prototypes and material improvements, Water Light Graffiti was finally ready to take place for a few days in a public space, which happened to be Poitiers. From July 22nd to 24th, Poitiers inhabitants could discover and try Water Light Graffiti with the artist, the Digitalarti Artlab team and Painthouse, a graffiti collective, invited for demonstrations.

Water Light Graffiti is a project by Antonin Fourneau.
Engineer: Jordan McRae
Design Structure: Guillaume Stagnaro
Graffiti performance: Collectif Painthouse
Assistant team: Clement Ducerf and all the ArtLab volunteers
ArtLab Manager: Jason Cook
Filming: Sarah Taurinya & Quentin Chevrier
Photographs: Quentin Chevrier
Music: Jankenpopp
Editing and titles: Formidable Studio and Maïa Bompoutou
Support: Ville de Poitiers and Centre Culturel Saint Exupéry

The post Water Light Graffiti by Antonin Forneau
for DigitalArti Artlab appeared first on Dezeen.

Ethereal neon and abstract forms in new work by Evan Gruzis

Opening tomorrow at Duve Berlin, an exhibition of new work by Evan Gruzis explores the interstices of waking and dreaming life. “Alpha Wave” derives its aesthetic from the afterimage effect—the “burning” of an image on ones vision after the original image has disappeared. Gruzis—a young artist whose resume already boasts work in the Whitney Museum Collection and a solo show at Deitch—presents a series of hauntingly minimal works on paper and through video.

While his past work bears the mark of nostalgia for Hollywood of the 1980s—a byproduct of his time spent in LA—this collection marks significant growth. Gruzis ditches pop elements in favor of a more streamlined look, going beyond gloss and neon to convey the “alpha wave” narrative throughout the work. While he made a name for himself based on his masterful employment of india ink, the artist has turned mainly to watercolor in this collection. Gruzis uses a liberal amount of water in the creation of his gradients, which are painted on “arches aquarelle” paper. Stretching the paint, he slowly builds layers to create his transitions. The photorealistic effect looks to be the product of a neon light show or early digital design. In addition to watercolor, Gruzis employs graphite and acrylic into most of the works that are included in Alpha Wave.

One of the standout works, “Movie”, is a purple canvas of watercolor, gouache, india ink and spray paint. Highlighted with pinpoints of star-like specks, the somber, glowing piece conveys a unique effect that serves as testament to Gruzis’ curious experimentation.

The exhibition also includes “TV”, an abstract video work of projected LED lights. Interpretive and hypnotic, the installation carries Gruzis’ dream-like sensibility. Gruzis first made his way onto our radar last year in his collaboration with Rafael de Cardenas called Exotic Beta, though this exhibition certainly sets him apart in his own right.

“Alpha Wave” will be on view at Duve Berlin through 20 April 2012.

Duve Berlin

9 March – 20 April 2012

Invalidenstr. 90

Berlin, DE 10115

Cologne 2012: these oversized lamps by French studio Numéro 111 for design brand Ligne Roset are illuminated by strips of LEDs around the back of the shade. 

Their large hood-like shades diffuse the bright white light into a soft, wide beam.

The floor-standing Peye and table-top Olive are on show at imm cologne, which continues until 22 January. See all our stories about Cologne 2012 here.

Ligne Roset will also present their new collection at Maison & Objet in Paris from 20 to 24 January.

Here are some more details from Ligne Roset:

Two highly original lights (table lamp and floor lamp) which work on the principle of an oversized shade and illumination via strips of LED’s.

The Peye floor lamp is a reflection on the illuminated object as a generator of atmosphere and space. The system of LED’s gives off, almost mysteriously, an all-enveloping light that highlights the curves of the shade.

Oversized in inspiration, the Peye floor lamp, with its surprising dimensions, occupies a truly singular position in the domestic landscape. Its shade, which rests on a solid wood stem, is in composite material, with white interior and anthracite exterior. The LED’s are arranged all around the opening, in the rear of the shade.

The Olive table lamp has been devised as an illuminated chest, the design of which liberates itself from the formal constrains relating to the use of the bulb. The indirect light source reveals the generous shade of this singularly proportioned light, from which a soft, diffuse atmosphere is given off.

Numéro 111 is a trio of 2 designers and an architect from St Etienne, who have already made their mark with several projects in the fields of furniture design and interior design. They demand a global, dialogue-based approach, one which is not limited to a single hierarchy or discipline. Sensitive to both forms
and materials, Numéro 111 provokes and offers, through its creations, reflections on usage arising from the three team members’ cross-disciplinary standpoint on our daily lives.

Eight inspired updates to classic door hardware

Italian designer Diego Amadei’s highly-unusual door handle, Kobu, follows the maxim “bend it to your needs.” The lever’s flexible stem attaches to a more standard stiff brass core, allowing users to modify the stem into virtually any shape—from loops to stash mail to abstract squiggles—while still serving its main function. Available in a variety of finishes, the hardware welcomes visitors with a whimsical design statement before they’ve even crossed the threshold. Inspired by Kobu’s inventive approach to such a tone-setting accessory for the home, we set out to find other handles that stand out not only for their functionality, but also for highly imaginative and ergonomic designs. Below is the refined work of six other designers who have opened new doors with their unconventional ideas.

An addition to Umbra’s sleek and smart product designs, the Orb Door Handle updates the classic lever by inviting users to “push down on an orbit.” The truly ingenious element is the handle’s integrated LED light ring, usable as anything from a nightlight to a bathroom vacancy indicator.

Rethinking the concept of a handle as an integrated element of the door, industrial designer Karim Rashid partnered with door manufacturer Albed for the Ring Door. In place of the classic door handle, a raised area, or “volcano,” houses the door’s opening mechanism. Reaching inside and pulling the metal ring hidden within opens the door.

A play on today’s ubiquitous form of communication,Gionata Gatto’s
SMnS series—meaning “Short Message non Superfluous”—is an ode to handmade messages and a reminder about non-technological methods of interaction. Inspired by the wishful message-in-a-bottle tradition, Gatto’s SMnS Clip is an oversized fastener that opens doors and holds notes. The less obvious SMnS Cone has a hollow metal handle with a widened end optimized for sliding in slips of paper.

Purveyor of modern doorknobs, ModKnobs creatively reuses hockey pucks to make The Puck Pivot. Inset with premium Baldwin locks, the minimalist knobs come in nine vibrant colors with pivots either at- or off-center.

Designboom’s recent collaboration with Italian handle manufacturer Colombo Design for the international Hands on Door Handles Competition produced several worthy designs. Among them is Amos Marchant’s Door Handle with Wedge, which integrates a solid wood doorstop into its sleek stainless steel handle. The aesthetic of the two contrasting materials becomes functional when the stop is removed for use.

Another noteworthy product from the competition is Shmitz Thomas’ Possibilità. Based on the notion that “life is always a state of improvisation,” the hardware design leaves a slot for users to assert their own identities by inserting the handle of their choice. Adaptable to a range of objects (try sticks, pencils, sausages…), Possibilità is flexible in appearance and functionality depending on your age, mood or taste.

See Mini’s LED-lit concept car’s dual-hinged doors and drawer trunk in our video

Making a good thing better is hard enough, but making a small thing smaller may be even trickier.
Mini invited us to see how they did both when yesterday in Milan they unveiled their new concept car Rocketman, a forward-thinking ride with features that suggest not just a future of more compact cars, but one that boldly uses materials, lighting and other features.

Lit entirely with LEDs, the all-glass roof (also embedded with LEDs) makes for a glittering look, accented by the carbon-fiber body, which also lends fuel-efficiency. Its diminutive size, measuring just over three meters and seating three, is geared for urban markets and, perhaps most impressively saves space with a sliding drawer-style trunk, that can be left open for toting snowboards or other bulky items. Hinged doors make squeezing into tight parking spaces easy and allow passengers to get in the reat seat without too much trouble.

We caught up with BMW design head Adrian van Hooydonk at dinner and learned all about the Rocketman’s spirit animal, his predictions for car design’s future and more.

Is there a danger of being too cute with Mini?

The lines are more crisp and taut on this concept, because we feel that a Mini should always be like a friend, let’s say. But if it becomes too cute, than maybe people will see it like a toy, a teddy bear. Of course we like to appeal to young customers, but Mini traditionally is a car that appealed to people of all ages, cross-gender and all around the world.

The elements in this car, we believe are elements that could do that: keep Mini exciting, interesting fun, endearing, but also something to be reckoned with, also serious. Almost like a British bulldog—a small dog, but people take it seriously.

What are the challenges of designing small?

On a big car, it’s easy to make things move, do a door opening or a trunk. On a small car, it’s much, much harder. But exactly what Mini stands for, right from the very beginning, is being clever in a small space. And this car is full of ideas for a small space. The way the trunk opens, the original Mini had that too. In a tight parking spot, if a car is parked behind your Mini, you can still open this trunk and put your stuff in. Or the side doors, they have a double hinge that allows you to open the door, even when there’s another car parked right next to you.

How much less room does the door need?

I would say one-third, if you have to put a number to it. The Mini has quite a long door, because it’s a four-seater but a two-door car. If you open it with one hinge, you hit the other door and then you have to sort of squeeze in. With the Rocketman, we solved both issues. You can crawl in the back because the door’s quite long, but you don’t have to squeeze in through a narrow opening because of the double hinge.

That’s actually why we called the car Rocketman. On the one hand, Rocketman sounds like a brave little guy—and Mini is that, a brave little guy. But this car to us is so full of ideas, that we thought it’s rocket science by Mini. That’s why we call it Rocketman.

How did you treat the interiors for this car?

Of course we are dealing with a small car, but as a designer you can do a lot to give the feeling or the sensation of more space. We did this in the Rocketman in the sense that there is no dashboard like we know it today.

The dashboard takes up a lot of space. In the old Mini there was only a steering wheel and one big dial, and that’s what we’ve done in this Rocketman as well. But the steering wheel and the big round center dial have grown together into a structure. And then the rest of the dashboard is gone, you don’t need it.

Continue reading…

The lighting is another feature which I believe can do a lot to create a very nice atmosphere, even in a small space. We’ve played with that a lot in the car, and we believe that the light or the light color in the future is going to play a bigger role in the whole color and material set up of the car. Right now the light is treated very separately from the materials that we use in the car, and in this concept we made it an integral part. We thought about it from the beginning, it could light up in red or blue or some other colors.

You could customize to your mood, which is something that Mini offers today. There’s just one or two LEDs in the Mini interiors today so you can change the color seamlessly from orange to blue. But in this car now, there’s big surfaces of light. And the roof of course is transparent which is another element that increases your sensation of spaciousness.

What other examples of industrial design inspired the car?

We’re constantly not just looking at other fields of design, like industrial design, furniture design or fashion design, we also have a part of our team—actually a large part of our team located in California—called Design Works. And this design consultancy, we do industrial design for other companies as well. We are actually in touch with other industries, like aircraft industry, or boating. We design airplane interiors or boats exteriors and interiors.

And you always learn, so as a designer you become more creative the more you work on different types of products, or design problems. LED light is something that is coming anyway, also in furniture, also in housing. It is simply very small, it uses less energy.

It led to a whole creative outburst, because now we can position these lights in places where in the past a lightbulb would have to go in and there wouldn’t be the space. Without LED we couldn’t have done this roof or the illumination of the door panels, or the tail lamps where the air can pass through. It wouldn’t be possible.

What about the headlights?

In the headlamps, the way we use LED is we would like to make the light in a way that is soft and homogenous. We don’t like to see the dots actually, because we think it’s a little bit too bright, a little bit too cold. And we want to have the light be somewhat soft and warm.

What are the features you think are most likely to go to market?

When you’ve just presented a concept car that’s meant to go very far in the future, then that’s probably the toughest question to ask. But, the lighting ideas for sure. I would say things like the hinges, or the way the trunk works. This would be possible to put in production.

Also a lot of the surface features, the design the ideas, the form ideas we’ve put in the car, both in the interior and the exterior. I can see a lot of potential in using those because that is not necessarily technically difficult. That’s just a matter of seeing how it was received—judging by tonight that was good but let’s see if the broader audience in Geneva sees the car.

And this was also deliberate. If people see this car as part of what could be Mini, then we have just broadened our palette. We’ve just given ourselves more room to play. Because Mini has such a strong history, such a strong heritage in one car. Of course everything gravitates towards this one original car. Does it look like that car or does it not? I think this concept car will help us widen the palette a little bit, which I think is necessary to develop the brand into the future.

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