Gizmodo: artist

Russian Artists Create Man-Sized, Melted, Working iPod

John Herrman — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 09:00:00 EDT

The 'WowPod' might not the be first oversized, semi-functioning iPod, but it's probably the strangest. Perhaps taking cues from Salvador Dali (The Persistence of Flash Memory? Anyone? Sorry?), Aristarkh Chernyshev and Alexei Shulgi have not just blown up and distorted an iPod — they've thrown in some functionality. Their site is low on details, but from the looks of it they may actually have the display connected to a iPod Classic's video output. The rest is up to speculation: are the controls mapped? Are the earbuds speakers? What does it mean? What is art? Who am I? and so on. [XLGallery via Make]

Klaatu Varata Studios Produces Steampunk Creations With Back Stories

Elaine Chow — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 20:15:00 EDT

For those of you who enjoy steampunk, story telling and handmade creations, I present to you Klaatu Varata Studios, the workshop of Arkansas artist Dillon Chandler. Check out his Solarian Ray Gun or the Geldar Light Infantry Robot, both of which come with the back story of the Kelevion Universe and the civil war which has torn it apart. If sci-fi musings aren't your style, take a look at his Steampunk Scorpion, made from motorcycle engine parts. Several of Chandler's works are available for sale on his Etsy page, and range from $10 for two toy-sized bombs to $2,200 for a nine-foot-tall metal bear. Some of my favorites are below: [Klaatu Varata via Tomopop]

Jackson Pollock's Hi-Fi Was Paint-Splattered Too, Played Loud

Kit Eaton — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:30:00 EDT

Over at The Audiophiliac they're running a story about a visit to the house where abstract painter Jackson Pollock used to live with wife Lee Krasner. Apparently the guy had a pretty cool hi-fi: a Bogun DB-20 tube amp, a Crown turntable and speakers built into a stairwell. Audiophiliac's Steve notes that the door holding the speakers "is covered with Pollock's trademark paint splatters, drips, and blobs," so it probably counts as a minor work of art all of its own. And of course "Pollock loved to play his hi-fi really loud, especially when Krasner was out of the house." I wonder if the volume helped with artistic inspiration? [The Audiophiliac]

Awesome DS Digital Sketchbook App Turns You Into Pocket Picasso (If You Don't Suck at Drawing)

matt buchanan — Sat, 24 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT

Nintendo might be the best videogame company on earth, but occasionally they waste some real opportunities. Like Mario Paint on the DS. It's pleading for it. But Wired's How-To Wiki shows us how to turn it into a sweet digital sketchbook in the meantime with Colors. All you need to install it is a DS-compatible flash cartridge and a microSD card. Colors is a fairly basic (no layers or undo yet) but still impressive paint app, and more features, like DS-to-DS collaborative painting, are coming. You can use a full-size Wacom stylus if the DS one cramps your style, and export via Wi-Fi or microSD. To see what you can really do, check out this amazing Rembrandt replica by Jason Dunn.

[Colors, Wired How To via Lifehacker]

Rumor Smashed: Meizu Didn't Rip Off Artist For Phone Renders

Jason Chen — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 16:00:13 EST

Despite making a Meizu phone that looks way too close to the iPhone to be a coincidence, the latest news about Meizu ripping off an artist to pimp their work is off-base. It's true that someone placed Deviant Art artist Lithium Picnic's photo onto a Meizu M8, but it turns out that the image was actually rendered by a fan on Meizu's forums. Not that it makes things any more legit, but Meizu themselves aren't to blame for this round of appropriating someone else's work and calling it their own. [Meizu]

Nail Artist Nails da Vinci (with Nails)

Mark Wilson — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 10:33:06 EDT

Where others use watercolors, one man uses metal. This artist (if you know his name, hit the comments) re-creates masterpieces using nothing but nails. The process appears to utilize a computer grid to map dots onto plyboard—we're betting a projector and pencil is used—after which the artist nails thousands of metallic dots onto his "canvas." He's the Monet of metal, in a sense, with yet another trick up his sleeve—toothpicks.
[knuttz via make]

Elvis on a Pinhead

Charlie White — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 10:51:26 EDT

How many Elvises can dance on the head of a pin? Just one, and only if you're micro-miniaturist Willard Wegan, a British artist who's been credited with creating the smallest works of art on earth.

To create these micro-sculptures, there's not a whole lot of shakin' going on, either—the guy goes to great lengths to get his body to be still enough to paint and sculpt these babies, meditating until his heartbeat and breathing are as slow as possible. Then between heartbeats, he does his magic. Be still my heart. – Charlie White

Gallery Page [Willard Wigan, via boingboing]