Unusual Life

Well folks, Jana has done it again and in honor of Elvis’ 75th birthday may I share with you “The Elvis Aaron Presley Cake”!

See more of Jana’s Fun Cakes here.

OK, I want my own trilobite vehicle. Who doesn’t? This is The Electrobite Olenoides, A Trilobite Vehicle which Jon Sarriugarte and Kyrsten Mate of Form & Reform created from an electric wheelchair to get around at Burning Man 2009. Watch the Boing Boing Video below to check it out, and here’s a Flickr Set of the build process. Giddyup!

We’ve posted previously about the incredible performance art pieces by France’s Royal de Luxe street theatre company, and now they’ve outdone themselves once again with a stunning land and sea performance earlier this week. This is part of celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of the falling of the Berlin wall. Check out the photos below, and the beautiful set of 35 photos just posted on The Big Picture. Please read the beautiful story associated with those pictures. Also check out the videos below and many more through the video links. Art and spectacle at it’s best. Pure magic!

The Heidelberg Project is an outdoor community art environment located in Detroit. The elements of the canvas contain recycled materials and found objects, most of which were salvaged from the streets and each work of art is carefully devised to tell a story about current issues plaguing society. As a whole, the Heidelberg Project is symbolic of how many communities in Detroit have become discarded.

The HP is the brainchild of native Detroit artist, Tyree Guyton. It began in 1986 and was originally designed as a creative response to ongoing blight and decay in the neighborhood in which he grew up.

The Heidelberg Project, as it came to be known, developed into a block long environment consisting of free standing found-object constructions and abandoned buildings and trees adorned with found objects. Much of the area and works are are simplistically painted upon with multi-colored polka dots being the signature icon.

The Heidelberg Project

We’ve featured the Walker Rock Garden in Seattle here before on Unusual Life. Here’s a jodavideo taken recently when we revisited there.

Read more about the Walker Rock Garden here.

Cakeland is a sculptural installation resembling a collection of perfect delicious cakes– wall mounted, hanging and standing– a walk-through cake environment complete with its own lighting. It is a sweet refuge, an endless kaleidoscopic landscape of cake, a respite from the grinding realities of the outside world.

The sculptures have all of the appeal of the best cake you have ever tasted, but can never be eaten. Whereas the nature of edible cake is fleeting, lasting only as long as the brief celebration it was made for, these cakes last as long as the artist or society have the wherewithal to preserve them, in order that they remain a place of pilgrimage, a seemingly idyllic oasis.

Cakeland was created by Oakland artist Scott Hove.

At first glance, these images look like painted landscapes covered in snow. However, if you look a little more closely you will see that the landscape is made of bacon and other cold cuts. These aren’t paintings but true photos! Also everything you can see in the photograph is made of real food! Pictures were photographed by Carl Warner, a photographer who works in London, and who made specialty of these food landscapes or how I like to call them - ‘foodscapes’. In recent years he has been commissioned by many advertising agencies throughout Europe to produce his distinctive images for clients in the food industry. Each scene is photographed in layers from foreground to background.

It’s the New Year! Sure, the big December blockbuster holidays are over. But, the rest of the year has no shortage of neat and unique holidays to brighten up those cold winter days. While you are stuck indoors and have a little time on your hands, explore some of the years less-heralded days at Holiday Insights.

And don’t miss your opportunity to download the original Rangerville 2009 calendar, full of art cars, folk art, installation art, sculptures, bizarre and unusual holidays and wackyness for the whole year.

If you missed the opening, don’t worry, you can drop by anytime to the Official Bad Art Museum of Art at Cafe Racer because it’s now open from 7am until 2am, 7 days a week. Stop by for lunch or dinner or a cold one after work and view the stupendous art.
• Video by Marlow •

From Emily Duffy, about her visit to the De Young Museum in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco:

Last weekend I went back to the De Young with some of the local crafty ArtCar wimmin. I got some photos of those amazing gun/bullet sculptures by Al Farrow (along with some other stuff) though still not able to get sneak shots of the Yves Saint Laurent exhibit.

View entire Flickr photo set HERE.

Hats off to Kelly Lyles for the tip.

Peace on Earth. Please!

YES WE CARVE
Pumpkins for Obama. A collection of Americans (and beyond) showing Obama support in a fun, positive, October appropriate way. Download, carve & share YOUR Barack O’Lantern at www.YesWeCarve.com

…And on a possibly related note, Marlow and I are officially opening our Official Bad Art Museum of Art ( or O.B.A.M.A. ) on Saturday, November 15th. Have Fun, Be There! Details here. -JoDavid

Nit Wit Ridge is a house built entirely of junk located between San Francisco and LA near the Pacific Ocean. It is considered a fine example of folk art and is a California State Historic Landmark. It was built by one man (Arthur Harold Beal) over the course of 51 years.

Art began his creation in 1928 by digging out a hillside in Cambria. He used rocks, abalone shells, wood, beer cans, tile, car parts and other assorted junk to create his “Hearst Castle”.

Nit Wit Ridge is in Cambria (881 Hillcrest Drive), about 20 minutes north of Cayucos. Tours are available from the owners (Michael and Stacey O’Malley) by calling 805-927-2690. To get there, take highway 1 north to Cambria. Turn right at Main Street and continue through East Village into West Village. Turn right on Cornwall Street and then right again on Hillcrest Drive.

Via Weird Universe

Artist Jennifer Marsh covered this 50-year-old former Citgo station with a giant blanket. Jennifer was sick of paying high gas prices and bothered by the abandoned gas station that was an eyesore on the drive to her studio each day, so she decided to do something about it. With the help of professional and amateur artists from 15 countries and more than 2,500 grade-school students in 29 states, Marsh covered the 50-year-old former Citgo station — pumps, light stands, signs and all — with more than 3,000 fiber panels that are crocheted, knitted, quilted or stitched together.

The panels cover 5,000 square feet and come in every color, hue and texture. There are panels in burlap, leather, even silk. There are panels of solid color and others with patterns, prints or scenes.

The project cost about $29,000, much of it her own money. There were also grants and contributions from individuals and businesses.

Want to cover your own gas station? Jennifer offers helpful hints and ideas to create your own jumbo art work.

A pointalized portrait of each victim of The Green River Killer was made and then photocopied by artist Gary Hansen. The portraits were then cut out by hand and placed to make a portrait of Gary Ridgeway. There are almost 12,000 victim portraits.

Jon Ronson’s fascinating film about his experiences and discoveries documenting the thousands of boxes of Stanley Kubrick’s estate. This is a 50 minute documentary, so click on the full screen button under the video and enjoy it when you find the time.