Melvin The Machine by HeyHeyHey

Melvin the Magical Mixed Media Machine (or just Melvin the Machine,) design studio HeyHeyHey’s latest project, is a brilliant rendition of a Rube Goldberg machine. Melvin The Machine is an art installation, orginally showing for 10 days in MU artspace during the 2010 Dutch Design Week, that takes pictures and makes video’s of his (its treated like a person) audience that are instantly uploaded to his blog, Facebook and Twitter accounts all while creating merchandise promoting himself. The entire cycle lasts 4 minuets at the end of which, Melvin the Machine picks a song to get the party started.

HeyHeyHey created the machine to produce what they call a “super moment” in which the experience counted rather than the end result. You can see more pictures of Melvin over on HeyHeyHey’s Flickr page.

— Via Form Fifty Five

“In The Attic” works by Lee Borthwick

The “In The Attic” series works by artist Lee Borthwick are created out of found materials from the 5th floor attic in Arts Council England’s new offices. The pieces include materials like MDF, dead wood, drift wood, willow & styrene mirror off-cuts.

The materials are cut down and reassembles into architectural reliefs. The series is currently out on loan but will be available to purchase in the coming months.

— Via Booooooom

Watercolors by Serena Mitnik-Miller

Love these watercolors by San Francisco based artist Serena Mitnik-Miller. Her warm & vibrant color use mixed with fluid feeling patterns & repetition create visually stunning pieces.

Woodcuts by Bryan Nash Gill

New Hartford, Connecticut based artist Bryan Nash Gill’s Woodcuts series of prints are stunning. These large pieces are printed actual size directly from found pieces of wood and slices of stumps. Gill’s work gives new life to an otherwise dead tree, allowing it to continue on in another form, telling its story through the rings and growth lines of its previous life.

100Copies – Limited Edition T-Shirts & Posters by Thomas Yang

100Copies is a new initiative by Singapore based designer Thomas Yang. The series of T-Shirts and posters are a mash-up of Yang’s two loves, bikes and art. Each edition will only be produced in a limited quantity of 100 items, hand numbered and signed by the artist.

You can get your limited edition bike art on Yang’s website, 100Copies.

Paintings by Geoffrey Johnson

These beautiful paintings by North Carolina based artist Geoffrey Johnson feel perfect for this time of year. His monochromatic palette and blurry brush work fit perfectly with the changing season, the cold weather, rain and somewhat melancholy feeling of fall. More of Geoffrey’s work can be seen on the Hubert Gallery website.

— Via The Fox Is Black

Birds in Watercolor by Abby Diamond

Birds in Watercolor is a beautiful on-going series by Pennsylvania based student and Illustrator Abby Diamond. These vibrant and exciting paintings seem to come alive with movement through Abby’s use of color, shape, drips, and washes. Her work is definitely worth checking out.

— Via bumbumbum

At The Lake series by Amy Bennett

Amy Bennett’s style is certainly her own. Her “At The Lake” series of paintings all started life as a painstakingly detailed miniature scale model of an imaginary lake front. From that model, Amy set out to tell a story of the people and the lake through brilliantly painted scenes. The works all have a glassy tilt-shift quality to them that makes them seem to be part of an elaborate dream.

As Amy describes, “Similar to a memory, [the works] are fictional constructions of significant moments. I am interested in storytelling over time through repeated depictions of the same house or car or person, seasonal changes, and shifting vantage points.”

— Via bumbumbum

A Bunch of Crock Poster Series by Safwat Saleem

The “A Bunch of Crock” Poster Series by Safwat Saleem may be a little rude but what it lacks in politeness it makes up for in honesty. The posters were created as part of a Kickstarter funded show in Pheonix, AZ in which Safwat comments on the political landscape in America today. Watch the video Safwat used on Kickstarter below for some context on this project and his ideas behind it.

In his words, “It was a response to the current public discourse and the political landscape in the US. Being a Pakistani immigrant living in Arizona, the last election cycle and the general anti-immigrant rhetoric prevalent at that time was particularly alarming. Going through various campaign ads, I almost felt like the jokes were already written and all I had to do was find a nice bow to put on them.”

Also part of the show was a video that yelled obscene “public service” announcements at the audience, an audio installation titled “Box of Bullshit” and a game called “Fling Some Shit Game” that encouraged the visitor to throw shit at a target on the wall.

I realize that some of the content might be unsettling & rude but I think the works over all are a brilliant reaction to the turmoil in our current political scene. You can learn more about the show, see the public service video, hear the audio from “Box of Bullshit” and purchase prints for only $40 on the A Bunch of Crock website.

— Via FPO

Paints of Destruction by Ben Grasso

Brooklyn, NY based artist Ben Grasso’s paintings of destruction and deconstructed buildings are beautiful and calm despite their violent content. The paintings look as if they document the instant after a violent event showing houses and buildings exploding from the inside sending boards flying.

— Via Booooooom