French artist, Christian Boltanski, uses a huge crane and a giant pile of discarded clothes to explore the notion of mortality.

Located in New York City’s Park Avenue Armory, Christian Boltanski’s No Man’s Land art installation was created using 30 tons of used clothes, a metal crane, and 3,000 stacked cookie tins that block views from the outside.

Even after hearing the artist reveal the ideas behind this art project, ideas that include life, death and futility, you can’t help but compare it to that frustrating arcade game where you had to control the crane, using a joystick, without dropping the prize. Still, in Boltanski’s vision, his project is dead serious.

Every few minutes, the metal crane will drop down and randomly grab some clothes, from the 45 rectangular plots of clothes around the armory, and drop them in the big pile, in the center. This apparently symbolizes the arbitrariness of death and survival. Visitors get to see this weird art display with a background soundtrack of human heartbeats.

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A perfect example of how to turn a problem into an awesome solution, the Imperial Walker bunk bed was the perfect idea to deal with lack of space.

Jonathan posted some photos of this awesome bed that he built for his mother, on Gizmodo. She moved into a new house that didn’t have much of a yard, and needed something that would keep her grandsons entertained, without taking up too much room. Taking advantage of the 10-foot-high ceiling, and being a huge Star Wars fan, Jonathan decided he was going to build a bunk bed based on an Imperial Walker.

Going for a more realistic look, the DIY master designed the walker as if it were moving, and even added a complete Hoth LEGO display case, on the second level of the bed. He began working on the bed, at the end of September 2009, in his modest wood workshop, and managed to complete it in February 2010. Jonathan estimates he put between 300-400 hours into the Imperial Walker bunk bed.

We’ve seen other Star-Wars inspired beds before, and some pretty impressive Imperial Walkers, but Jonathan’s bunk bed definitely takes the cake.

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A giant reproduction of Vincent Van Gogh’s famous self-portrait, made out of polo shirts, is now on display in the lobby of the Marunouchi Building, near Tokyo Station.

The 10 by 10 meters mosaic was created using 2070 polo shirts, of 24 different colors. The unique creation is part of a campaign by Onward Kashiyama Co, a Tokyo-based apparel maker, to use painting colors into shirt designs. The van Gogh mosaic will remain on display, until May 16.

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Using copper, brass and gemstones, Daniel Proulx creates steampunk sculptures and jewelry, inspired by the fantasy imaginary worlds he’s so passionate about.

His career as a steampunk jewelry designer began when Catherine, his life partner, took a two hour lesson on how to make wire rings. He tried it himself, and then spent a lot of time perfecting his own technique. Before he knew it, Daniel quit his job and decided to make a living on his original creations.

He never knew what he created was steampunk, until one of his friends told him. The Montreal-based artist was always interested in steampunk, but didn’t know there was actually a name for it. He started studying the culture and creating intricate artworks that are now sold on his Etsy shop.

Some of his works are so good that the Museum of the History of Science decided to include them in one of its displays. You’re about to see some of Daniel Proulx’s awesome steampunk sculptures, if you’re interested in the jewelry he makes, head over to his website and check it out.

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Looking at her embroidered art, you’d probably think this woman has golden hands, when in fact, she has no hands at all.

Gao Baoying has learned to use her feet to do everything we usually do with our hands. I don’t know if she was born without hands, or if she lost them in some freak accident, but one thing is for sure, this woman is a true artist.

Gao, who lives in China’s Tianjin municipality, began practicing embroidery with her feet, when she was just a teenager. As time passed, her skills improved, and now she creates the most beautiful embroidery. As recognition of her skills, Gao Baoying was invited to showcase her work, at the Shanghai Expo.

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Weedrobes is a series of ephemeral sculptures, created by Nicole Dextras, to emphasize our dysfunctional relationship to both our bodies and the environment.

Nicole Dextras’ collection of eco-wearable dresses is made of live plants, including flowers, leaves and even thorns. We’ve seen live plant dresses before, during PETA protests, but Nicole Dextras’ creations are true environmental works of art that could actually be a part of a fancy fashion show.

Images courtesy of Nicole Dextras

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Pipe cleaners aren’t the most common art medium an artist can use, but that’s just what makes Don Porcella’s creations so special.

His art consists mostly of “humorous representations of a widely imaginative reality” made with lots and lots of pipe cleaners. Some categorize his crazy sculptures as creepy, while others find them amusing, but personally I think they’re a fluffy combination of both.

Don Porcella was born in 1963, in Modesto, California, but has lived and worked in Staten Island,NY. Check out more of his artworks here.

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While other little girls were watching cartoons, or playing with Barbie dolls, Cecilia Cassini was reading fashion magazines and learning how to sew. Now, at 10 years of age, she’s already an established fashion designer for kids.

Cecilia Cassini, from Encino, California, began her career as fashion designer, when she was just 5 years old. She cut up her sister’s Betsy Johnson dress, when no one was looking, and adjusted it to her own design. For her 6th birthday, she received a sewing machine and began taking sewing lessons. At 7 years old, she wrote a letter to her favorite fashion designer, Coco Channel, for school, and designed her own logo, at 8.

It’s safe to say Cecilia was very creative, from an early age, but she got her big break last year, when her mother mentioned to a store owner that her daughter made dresses. During a trunk show, the fifth-grader sold 50 pieces. Things started happening, from there, and now Miss Cassini has her own manager, no other than Pilar DeMann, the woman behind the Kardashians’ rise to power.

Cecilia Cassini  and her fashion creations are becoming more and more popular, with each passing day, and she’s even opened up a cool-looking website, where people can check out and order her works. Another super-kid that’s going places, fast.

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After reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy, over 20 times, Maddie Chambers decided to take her passion for the LOTR saga to the next level, and created a dollhouse replica of Bilbo Baggins’ Bag End.

This mother of twins took on the hobbit house project when her boys were just 1 year old. At first, she thought she’d just build a hill with a round door, like the one of Bag End, but being a perfectionist, Maddie kept thinking of things to add. First she decided to make a removable roof, then she started drawing up the project, and adding more rooms, until she put it in her mind to build a replica of the Bag End featured in the LOTR movies.

Between taking care of her two children, and keeping the house from falling apart, Maddie Chambers managed to create her hobbit house replica, in just one year. If you think that’s a long time, you must know the whole thing is hand made, from the house itself, to the dollhouse furniture, and even the tiny food. And she only worked two hours a night, and during nap times. But Maddie says she’s always been a crafty person and this was a labor of love.

For more details about the building process, and even more photos of the Bag End dollhouse, head over to the blog Maddie set up for her impressive project. All I can say to this true geek is CHAPEAU!

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Francois Robert creates iconic shapes, using dozens of real human bones. He spends entire days on his knees, but the results are truly exceptional.

Francois has always been fascinated by skeletons, but it wasn’t until a day, in the mid 1990s, that he came face to face with one. He was at a yard sale, in Michigan, checking out some desks, for his office. He stumbled across three, two of which were empty,m and the third, with a complete human skeleton, inside. He took them all to his studio.

In 2007, as the recession began to think its teeth into the economy, Mr. Robert had so much time on his hands that he decided to turn to the skeleton in his closet. Because its parts were wired together, for educational purposes, the artist decided he needed one that could be broken down into pieces. So he traded his skeleton, for a box filled with 206 real human bones.

Since then, Francois Robert has been spending most of his days, on his knees, arranging even the tiniest bones into the right position, for the perfect shot. His collection is called “Stop the Violence”, and it was inspired by the author’s fear of death. He says “”The bones are something left behind, a form of memory, I try to treat that person on my studio floor with respect.”

via DesignObserver

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Miguelin, is a 6.5 meters tall animated baby that Spain has created for its pavilion, at the Shanghai World Expo 2010.

And if you thing this toddler’s just a big old doll, you’re sadly mistaken. Miguelin breaths, blinks and dreams of the cities we leave to our future generations, while smiling to visitors that walk by. The baby’s “mother” is Spanish film director, Isabel Coixet, who picked this theme both because of “the passion China and Spain share for children”, and as a way of showing that our actions have consequences on our children.

Miguelin, who was constructed in the US, dreams of the future,and his dreams will be animated, for all visitors to see. I’m sure this big baby will become a star when the Shanghai Expo opens, on May 1st.

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Toysaurus is the creation of Japanese artist, Hiroshi Fuji, a man with a ton of patience. That’s the only way to explain how he built that thing, one toy at a time.

Apparently, Hiroshi Fuji spent years collecting old toys, before he began working on this ferocious masterpiece. Toysaurus is on display, in Tokyo’s Rappongi District.

via Tokyobling

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Creative artist, Peter Root, showcases his latest project, a city model created only out of stacked staples.

Named “Ephemicropolis“, Root’s staple model, depicts a fragile micro city that could collapse at the slightest wind blow or vibration. He used over 100,000 staples, for this project, and spent 40 hours stacking them. Some of the staple skyscrapers of Ephemicropolis are up to 12 cm tall, while some of the smaller buildings are represented by a single staple. The city covers a floor surface of 6m x 3m.

Ephemicropolis isn’t the first time Peter Root has chosen staples as his art medium, but it is his largest staple project, yet. Check out some of the artist’s other ingenious models, on his official website.

via DesignBoom

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Three year old Aelita Andre can’t even tie her own shoelaces yet, but her paintings have been featured in famous art galleries, around the world.

Young Aelita appeared in the media spotlight, last year, when she appeared in The Age magazine. At just two years of age this Australian artist had her paintings exhibited in a gallery, in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. Reactions weren’t as positive as you might imagine, as most of the media criticized the girl’s parents for exploiting and manipulating her.

But Aelita’s parents ignored malicious comments and encouraged their child to pursued her passion. According to her father, all they do is encourage her every gesture, whether it be dumping an entire can of paint on the canvas, or putting it on her clothes. Everything she does is original, and that’s why her art is so highly appreciated. As for the accusations of the parents making money off of Aelita’s artworks, they deny anything of the sort and claim all the money goes into a trust fund, for the artist to use when she’s all grown up.

And with 32 soled paintings, so far, for prices that go up to $26,000, Aelita has raised a small fortune, most of us only dream of, even when we’re all grown up.

Photos by Mick Tsikas/REUTERS via DayLife

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What do you do with a totaled 2005 BMW 645Cl convertible? That’s simple, turn it into a kick-ass robot sculpture.

At least that’s what this guy did, after he trashed his BMW, beyond repair. He turned to metal sculptor, Bruce Gray, who used the scrap parts one to create a work of art, dubbed “Robot Sculpture 1” (I dare you to find a worse name).

While the robot’s feet are immobile, it does feature a movable head, movable upper arm and and a forearm that raises, in case you ever want to make a toast,in its presence. Bruce Gray’s robot sculpture is also armed and dangerous, sporting a pivoting energy pulse gun, and a movable joystick/fire button controller.

via GizmoWatch

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