[ By Steve in Gadgets & Geek Art, History & Factoids, Various Uncategorized. ]
Bernard Pras has anamorphosis and he wants to give it to you… well, show it to you at least. Anamorphosis is the art of stacking objects on a piece of canvas or a photograph, and Pras is a master at creating sum-thing special from a whole lotta parts.
(images via: Bernard Pras Official Site and If It’s Hip It’s Here)
Bernard Pras (b. 1952) is a French artist whose bold re-imaginings of our artistic heritage force us to re-examine the way we look at visual art – which is itself a prism through which the artist channels a unique way of translating thoughts, emotions and ways of interpreting the world around us. Pras adds an extra dimension to familiar paintings, photos and images, often choosing materials that enhance certain aspects of his source material and allow the viewer to re-evaluate their original impressions of said source.
(image via: GuiseppeArcimbolo.org)
Pras is not the first assemblage artist – for that, you have to go back about 450 years to Milan, Italy, and a talented painter named Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1527-93). Arcimboldo, unusual for his time, painted portraits that seemed normal from a distance but upon approaching, revealed themselves to be skilfully composed congeries of objects. The most famous examples of his technique are four generic portraits from 1573 named for each of the four seasons and assembled from plants and other items corresponding to the time of the year.
(image via: Wikipedia)
Arcimboldo was exposed to a new generation of admirers in the mid-1970s when his painting Water was used as the cover art for the album Masque, the third studio album by the rock group Kansas.
(image via: If It’s Hip It’s Here)
Just how much did Arcimboldo influence Pras? Only he can say, but it’s certain that Pras thought enough of Arcimboldo to produce a composition based on one of his iconic works. Above you’ll see Arcimboldo’s “Summer” on the left and Pras’ homage to its right.
(images via: CubeMe and Smart Canucks)
While Pras’ technique is most often described as anamorphosis, it can embody aspects of Assemblage Art and Collage. Pras also allows his sense of humor to shine out from his creations… was his use of toilet paper rolls in the above portrait of the French ruler Louis IV inspired by Royale brand bathroom tissue? Was a Cashmere bathroom tissue ad inspired by Pras’ take on the Sun King? Mon dieu!
(images via: CubeMe and VVdM)
Modern pop culture has proven to be a fertile field for Pras as he has gone to the well time and again in recent years, revisiting cultural icons such as Bruce Lee and the Catwoman from the Batman comics and films. Pras also takes advantage of his medium, often producing multiple takes on a single subject’s image source. Check out the four variations on Catwoman above – clockwise from upper left: Catwoman in Red, Catwoman, Catwoman-Africa, and Catwoman-Caddy.
(images via: ArtNet and Variety)
Even Che Guevara, thought to be an untouchable symbol of the 1960s counter-culture, undergoes the Pras treatment. Note the artist’s use of toy guns and a red toy sheriff’s star in the Che collage, which evoke the violence of the communist revolutionary’s death as well as the innocence of the times in which many of his admirers lived.
(images via: If It’s Hip It’s Here and Andreas.com)
An older masterpiece like the Hiroshige woodblock print “The Breaking Wave Off Kanagawa”, usually referred to as The Great Wave, loses little if any of its immense visual impact when remade by Pras. That’s Pras’ version above top, Hiroshige’s original just below it.
(images via: RiverDaughter, VVdM and Free Canuckistan!)
It doesn’t get much more iconic than the 19th century poster child for fear and anxiety, Edvard Munch’s “The Scream”. Pras’ choice of multicolored electrical wiring, transistor circuit boards and a .45 caliber revolver aimed up at a Halloween ghoul mask add an extra undercurrent of frisson to Munch’s original angst-laden imagery.
(images via: If It’s Hip It’s Here and Global Gallery)
Mao and Marilyn – cultural opposites made equal in the eyes of Bernard Pras. The source photos Pras bases his anamorphosic reproductions on also couldn’t be more different: the official Red Chinese photo portrait of Mao Zedong and Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Diptych, his 1962 tribute to Marilyn Monroe.
(images via: VVdM and Creative Deconstruction)
The work titled “Geisha” shows Pras at his most playful, employing Japanesque objects such as fans and seashells to enhance the atmosphere of his chosen subject: a classic Japanese geisha girl. One of the most startling features of the piece is the use of a vinyl phonograph record to act as a portion of the girl’s hair – the multiple parallel grooves of the deep black vinyl ape the textured lacquer hairdo.
(images via: VVdM and If It’s Hip It’s Here)
Everything’s relative, one must admit, even esteemed physicist Albert Einstein’s much publicized 1951 photo showing the scientist pranking pursuing paparazzi (yes, they were a scourge in the Fifties as well). Pras version, though still easily recognizable, appears to trade Einstein’s humorous intent for a darker, more ominous quality that reflects today’s more distressing geopolitical reality.
(image via: If It’s Hip It’s Here)
Some might say Bernard Pras’ works masterfully combine The Good, The Bad & The Ugly while others are sure he could sell them For A Few Dollars More and happily retire with A Fistful Of Dollars. Enough Sergio Leone references then, and on to Pras’ take on everyone’s favorite Man With No Name, Clint Eastwood.
(image via: If It’s Hip It’s Here)
The top image performs a split-screen move on Pras’ composition and the original photo of Eastwood from his poncho-wearing, gunslinging days. If “Blondie” could talk, what would he say to Bernard Pras? Maybe something like, “You see, in this world there’s two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who create. You create.”
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[ WebUrbanist - By Steve in Gadgets & Geek Art, History & Factoids, Various Uncategorized. ]
[ By Steph in Gadgets & Geek Art, Urban & Street Art. ]
Jumbles of beheaded bodies, limbs entwined, torsos twisting, hands reaching out – in compositions that are both glaringly Asian-influenced and psychedelic – call to mind some orgiastic body painting experiment, until you focus on the strange perspective and profusion of hands in various sizes.
This is no ordinary example of beautifully crafted body painting, and as stunningly realistic as the images appear, they’re actually computer-generated. Contemporary Korean artist Kim Joon uses 3D animation software to assemble the perfect body for each piece, building the form and grafting on skin texture before moving on to the intricate designs.
One piece, entitled ‘Neverland’, pays respects to Michael Jackson, but deeper behind this lies an homage to what Kim admits is his idea of the perfect male body: ebony-skinned and powerful. But the real star of each digital work is the body decoration, which Kim identifies as tattoos. To Kim – who says his single biggest influence is Jimi Hendrix – tattoos are sensual markings that simultaneously represent desire and repression, beauty and scars.
“I would like people to be able to think about their own tattoos and re-examine their lives through seeing my work. Tattoo or tattooing symbolizes the multi-layered composites of desire and will, emotion and action, pain and pleasure of self and other (tattooist) which can be translated as a complex system of complicit activities,” Kim told Art Radar Asia.
“This is much like the way in which our lives are conducted in the larger social matrix. I want people to be able to feel the tension between human (in)ability to control desires and situations. That we have less control than we think in defying forces in capital driven society.”
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[ WebUrbanist - By Steph in Gadgets & Geek Art, Urban & Street Art. ]
[ By Delana in Architecture & Design, Guerilla Marketing & Ads, Subvertising & Counter-Ads. ]
They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but there are times when the packaging matters just as much as what’s inside. When you’re shopping for anything from a bottle of juice to a new pair of shoes, the package is what catches your eye long before you consider the merits of the actual product. That’s why designers spend so much time and energy designing the perfect container for every product imaginable. Some are perfectly sensible and some are so far out that you can’t help but wonder what they were thinking. These packaging designs are some of the most eye-catching and wonderfully inventive from recent years.
Fast Food Fun
Eating at a fast food restaurant is always fun for kids, but what about grown-ups? This Burger King concept from designer Bernadette Coughlin would let adults have fun creating their own Burger King from their various food packages, and switching his appearance by changing out the pieces.
Just as fun is this suite of interactive, modular takeout packages for the Food City chain. The boxes are totally waterproof and free of glue, and the customer transforms them from box to eating tray. Add-on containers hold sides and sauces, making for a customizable experience without any excess waste.
Healthy Foods Can Be Fun, Too
On the other end of the spectrum is this brilliant brand of healthy snacks called VitaMeal. They’re aimed at reducing childhood obesity by putting appropriate serving sizes of healthy foods into places where kids congregate, like schools and recreation centers. Each product has a “personality,” making them easy for kids to get excited about. The vending machines themselves are modular in nature so they fit into the available space, and they’re designed to work with special “credit” cards that bear the likeness of one of the snack characters. Parents put credits onto the card and decide which snacks their little ones can and can’t buy.
Making healthy foods more appealing is often just a matter of the way they’re presented. Above, fruit juice is packaged in boxes that look and feel like real fruit skin, making them interesting to the touch as well as delicious to the taste buds. Just below that, a new concept for packaging healthy foods puts carrots, celery and blueberries into packages usually reserved for very unhealthy products. Carrots are packed like cigarettes, celery comes in a French fry container, and blueberries are in a blister pack like chocolates…all in the hopes that consumers will want more fresh, healthy foods if they come in unusual packages.
The Packaging Is the Product
(images via: Treehugger 1, 2)
As beautiful as some packaging is, sometimes it’s simply excessive. With some products coming wrapped in two or three layers of plastic, paper and cardboard, it’s enough to drive any environmentally-minded person crazy. So when a company integrates their packaging into their product design, it’s a win on every level. At the top, Hangerpak is a box to ship tee shirts that transforms into a hanger once in the customer’s hands. Below that, Lite 2 Go is a modular hanging light kit that’s packaged inside its own shade, greatly cutting down on the amount of waste generated by each individual product.
One of the worst parts of bringing any new product home from the store is having to deal with all of the wasted packaging – this is especially true of carefully-packed items like televisions. They usually come with layers upon layers of styrofoam, cardboard, plastic and plenty of little paper leaflets. But this packaging design from Tom Ballhatchet is different: it’s actually functional. The box formerly used to hold a television transforms into a stand for that television; the cavity that once cradled the TV and kept it safe turns into shelves for your DVD player and other accessories.
Smells Like Creativity
(images via: The Dieline 1, 2)
Women’s perfume is often packaged in lovely curved bottles, but men’s cologne is usually stuck in plain square or rectangle containers. These two concepts take men’s fragrance to a whole new level of packaging design. At top is Scent Stories, a concept from Polish design studio Ah&Oh. The bottles are all based on classic literature, featuring quotes from Poe, Orwell, de Sade and Laclos stories, along with tops that resemble characters from memorable pieces by each author. Below that is Levelus, a tongue-in-cheek package for a manly fragrance; the level is functional and can actually be used to straighten picture frames in the bathroom while you get ready for a big date.
It’s All About the Shoes
It’s often said that you can’t improve on the design of the mousetrap – and the same goes for the humble shoebox. But that doesn’t stop some designers from trying to cut down on shoe packaging waste or simply make the box more interesting. At top is Milli, a concept from student designer Jenny Kim. Milli stands for both millimeters – the unit of measurement used for bullets – and milliseconds – the unit of measurement that often decides the winner of a race. Her bullet shoebox represents the speed and power needed by runners. Bottom left is a brand new packaging design from Puma that incorporates a less-wasteful box with an exterior bag, eliminating both the laminated cardboard box (which is often hard to recycle) and the single-use exterior plastic bag. Bottom right: Newton shoes are packaged in 100% recycled cardboard (rather like cardboard egg carton material) and instead of being stuffed with paper, the shoes are stuffed with a pair of socks and a reusable shoe bag.
Drink it Up
Beverages – from sodas to sports drinks to alcoholic beverages – already come in a wide variety of packages. But often, when we go into a store not sure of what we want, a unique package can be the deciding factor for our purchase. Above, beverages packaged in these incredible bottles would be sure to catch any shopper’s eye.
Not all packaging innovations are for the sake of aesthetics only. These unique packages were designed with a desire to make lives easier. Above, a resealable soda can would prevent bugs and dirt from contaminating an open soda while allowing advertisers a brand new spot to reach their audience. The rectangular soda bottles would be the first major change to the shape of plastic beverage bottles, but it could save untold amounts of money. Packaging beverages this way would allow them to stack more closely and save room, thus drastically reducing transport costs.
Although most of us don’t want to admit it, a product’s packaging has a huge impact on what we purchase. Would you rather have a package on your shelf with a boring plain label or one that has clearly been designed to please the eyes and be useful? Above: flavored vodka comes in astonishingly cool flasks, the design of which won a bronze award at the 2009 German Art Director’s Club Competition. Lower, the 360 Paper Bottle could dramatically cut down on plastic bottle waste and still give the consumer a fun drinking experience. The “Milk” package is a two-liter carton which was designed as an experiment in unique packaging and communication. Bottom, a visual representation of what’s inside: a spoonful of sugar.
Playful Packages
(images via: TheDieline 1, 2)
It can be almost painful to throw away the coolest packaging – when you select a product based on how it’s packaged and bring it into your home because you like the way it looks, tossing the package into the trash is a little heart-wrenching. These products allow you to keep the wrapping around. Top, a set of dice help you decide what to be for Halloween while the canister they come in is an endlessly entertaining toy. Below that, a package containing rolls of film also works as a pinhole camera. It comes complete with instructions to help you construct your own photographic masterpiece.
You’ve Got the Music in You
(images via: PackagingoftheWorld 1, 2)
Music, being creative and highly subjective, lends itself well to creative and innovative packaging. Here, Peter Gabriel and the band Marrow both went with unusual packaging ideas for their music.
Science vs. Witchcraft did something a little different with their CDs and packaged them in old floppy diskettes, complete with retro labels and paper sleeves. As an added bonus, users can play a text-based game when they insert the diskette into a computer.
You wouldn’t use just any earbuds to listen to all of that creatively-packaged music, right? Audiovox designed these packages knowing that many people choose their earbuds as a fashion accessory rather than an electronics accessory. They put them in these personality-rich packages to help consumers decide which personality fits their lifestyle and their needs the best.
Power Up: Health Products
Any parent knows that getting kids to take vitamins can be a rather difficult task. These Omega-3 supplements come in kid-friendly packaging that might once and for all end the battle over taking or not taking vitamins. Below, creative first aid packaging whispers, rather than shouts, what’s inside – leaving the product to speak for itself.
Beautifully Creative Packaging
There’s really no question that we’re simply drawn toward creative, attractive packaging. Even if the product is exactly the same as the one next to it, we simply want the one that looks more interesting. Whether it’s Mr. Clean packaged in dumbbell-shaped bottles or L’Oreal skin cream nestled in a golden sphere, many of us will buy a brand other than our usual when a different product offers a more attractive outer wrapping. Even though the packaging often just ends up in the trash, that first impression in the store makes all of the difference. Most of us decide in a split second, right when we see a product for the first time, whether we’re going to buy it. Since we can’t test out every product in the store, we rely on the packaging to tell us part of the story and draw us in.
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[ WebUrbanist - By Delana in Architecture & Design, Guerilla Marketing & Ads, Subvertising & Counter-Ads. ]
