Luminaris

It is not very often that something so simple and yet so delightful crosses our path.  Yet I hope you agree that Luminaris is just that - I haven't sat back and said wow for quite a while, but this short film gave me that opportunity!

Have you ever wanted to escape the rat race? Certainly the protagonist of this silent movie feels that way, if only he could his destiny. Yet in a world controlled and timed by light that isn’t so easy. However, where there is a will, there is a way! There is no day that this short film will brighten up your day (and yes, the pun was intended!).

Luminaris is directed by Pablo Zaramella, an independent director and animator based in Argentina. He has won no end of prizes for his films and commercial and the delightful Luminaris is no exception. The movie won the Audience Award and Fipresci Award at Annecy 2011.

Kate MacDowell Produces Art for New Album from Erasure

We featured the art of Kate MacDowell back in January on Kuriositas.  Great news from the artist – if you have been browsing music stores, online or in real life, you may have come across the new album from synthpop duo Erasure.  You may have thougtht I've seen that artist's work before. Yes, MacDowell’s work is featured on the front of both the album (Tomorrow's World) and the single (When I Start to Break it all Down, below).  Great news for Kate – and a very cool introduction to her art for a whole new audience.

Harry Potter and the Mystifying Maze of York

OK, JK Rowling has not decided to write another instalment in the Harry Potter saga, but no doubt the sight of this will put a smile on her face.  A farmer in the English county of Yorkshire has created what, simply put, is the largest spot the difference competition on the planet.

Tom Pearcy (pictured above) is a great fan of Harry Potter.  He also loves mazes.  So, it only seemed logical for the farmer to take sharp implements to his crop of maize and do something a little different with it. Situated a short distance from the historic city of York the maze offers visitors something a little different to say the least.

Each of the heads has a diameter of over fifty meters, so Daniel Radcliffe can be firm in the knowledge of exactly where the largest images of him ever created are. There were over a million maize plants in the fields and the process, needless to say, was painstaking.


Above, Louisa Maher from Minster FM pops down to the new Harry Potter themed York Maze for 2011. Altogether there are over 10 kilometers of pathways within the maze and it opened to the public last weekend.  It is by far the largest maize maze in Europe and one of the biggest in the world.

For details of how to visit, please visit the York Maze website. Top two pictures courtesy of Tom Pearcy.

Doctor Who - A Visual History - 1963 - 2010

By now you are probably enjoying the latest adventures of Doctor Who, starring Matt Smith, which started last Saturday on BBC1 in the UK and BBC America. There has recently been an internet hit, Doctor Who in five minutes (or something like that!), with two American fans talking their way through the new series.

That’s all well and good – but how about the whole show, the entire series?  That’s more of a challenge. As a fan you may know a lot about the show, but you may have those with little legs scurrying about (i.e. children) who keep bugging you about the history of the show.  Considering it started in 1963 that is some ask from the little blighters!

Well, why not plonk them down in front of this, instead?  This remarkable fan made film has a clip from every single story aired since 1963 (except the first episode of the new series, which is fair enough, it only aired a day or so ago).

OK, it is over half an hour long but it really does give an extremely good impression of the show’s history – and it includes each and every one of the Doctor’s regenerations too. It is well put together but don't expect it to be seamless - it is fan-made after all!

Not only that there is a look at the various spin-offs from the main TV series and it is all done with great affection.  If you like your history visual then this labor of love is for you.  Just a word of warning, however.  Make yourself a cup of coffee first!

The Light of Life

I would be a liar if I said that I completely understood what is going on in this wonderful, mesmerising animation, so suffice it to say that it struck me as something appropriate for this time of year.

As 2010 comes to its inevitable point of termination the thoughts of many turn to what might happen in 2011.  A new year is often a time when people decide to start things again, stop things again and generally contemplate what they can do to alter their existence during the next 365 days.

This lovely short directed by Daihei Shibata is contemplative and relaxing. Plus it has the added bonus of having a Debussy soundtrack - in this case Clair de Lune which you will no doubt recognise.  It is just a super piece of animation - make of it what you will and take from it what you will.

The ArcelorMittal Orbit Tower

People will love it or loathe it but London will soon have a new and truly twenty first century tower to coincide with its hosting of the Olympic Games in 2012.

Image Credit

The Orbit as it is called at the moment is going to be the biggest piece of artwork in Britain ever. However it is already gathering new nicknames, such as the Collossus of Stratford (where it will be built) or the Hubble Bubble. Inaugurated on 31 March 2010 it has been designed by the architect Anish Kapoor.

For something that looks as if it should not be able to stand upright for very long, Kapoor has called in one of the most talented structural engineers in the world, Cecil Balmon. The tower will, when built stand almost one hundred and twenty meters in height. It will take one thousand four hundred tonnes of steel to build the colossal structure. Building will start very soon and is due to be completed by November 2011. Then, London will have a new and permanent feature on its landscape to rival the Statue of Liberty or the Eiffel Tower.

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The whole thing will cost almost twenty million pounds but the hit on the pocket of the British taxpayer is thought to be minimal. The bulk of the steel is to be donated by Lakshmi Mittal, the steel magnate and co-owner of the ArcelorMittal company – the largest steel company on the planet. In fact they will be funding the project to the tune of sixteen million pounds and the rest will be paid by the London Development Agency.

The architect, Kapoor has tried to reinvigorate the idea of what a tower should be. The twists and turns of the Orbit are intended to give a sensation of instability and give the impression of something continually in motion. By avoiding the traditional pyramidal shape of a tower he hopes to create a flowing and fluid form that continually changes as people walk around it.

Image Credit

On the top of the tower there will be something that is destined to become the number one tourist attraction in London – the must go to place that people will talk about for years after their departure from the city. A viewing platform. Twenty two meters higher than the Statue of Liberty this will give visitors a new view of London that they will never forget.

In a nutshell, if you think fine art meets the London Eye you are on the right track. Take a look at the YouTube video released to coincide with the inauguration of Orbit.