Sarah Rosado uses dirt as a medium, perfectly molding piles into compelling shapes. Each design seems to play with the fact that the material it’s crafted from comes from the ground, either morphing into plants and animals as natural as the ground itself, or running the opposite way and becoming objects of pure human-made materialism. Her work is so whimsical and clean, the mulch laid is against a pure white in contrast so sharp it’s harmonic.
Sarah’s artistic creations started with pencil on paper, but quickly turned digital and now she works in photography as well as design. All of her work emphasizes keeping all types of interpretations open, so that each image can mean as much as possible.
Read what Sarah had to say about her work in the interview below!
Where do you get the dirt you use in your photographs?
I get the dirt for my photographs by scooping dirt from the ground in the parks.
For you, what is it about dirt that makes it the perfect medium to create from?
The challenge to me is tossing this pile of dirt on the table and bringing it to life by carefully shaping it into the selected object. It’s a great medium as the dirt sways anywhere you take it. Of course, it’s not easy, it takes practice and having the artistic skill to draw is helpful in maximizing the output of the image.
How much of the creation process happens after the photos have been taken, and how much of it happens before? (do you make the shapes perfectly out of dirt or edit the shape to perfection digitally later?)
The creation process is uniquely custom made. Everything is handmade using different tools to obtain the desired shape and accessorizing with items found around the house. After that’s done the photo is taken. There is no cropping, or digital enhancements before or after. It’s all real.
What’s your favorite (or a couple of favorites) photograph you’ve created? Who are your art idols?
My favorite photographs are the smoking revolver, little duckling and the tuxedo which I had lots of fun creating. It’s hard to choose a favorite among so many great artists.
With the Chinese characters for “freedom” (自由) on a stamp attached to his boxing glove, Belgian artist Phil Akashi punched a wall 27,000 times to create a likeness of Nelson Mandela. He made it in tribute to the international hero, utilizing his particular brand of “seal art,” where he only uses East Asian Seals as the medium.
“I am addicted to seals, I collect seals, I paint with seals, I love seals. Creating with East Asian seals as a medium is a wonderful opportunity to tribute and to sustain a very old tradition with passion, emotion and innovation. It is also an exciting way to advance their potential with a European sensitivity.”
He used a Chinese seal and cinnabar paste for Nelson Mandela’s significance in Taoist culture. He opted for black cinnabar paste to honor Mandela’s struggle against apartheid. The painting can be found in the Shanghai Graffiti Park, surrounded by the graffiti of local street artists.
“This artwork exemplifies Nelson Mandela’s 27 years of incarceration but also symbolize his lifelong brave stand for freedom and equality. Nelson Mandela is an extraordinary artist of peace. He sacrificed his own freedom to fight for the freedom of others and therefore represents a fantastic source of inspiration for the entire world.”
The jaw-dropping effects that photo-manipulation technology allows for kind of takes my breath away. Especially the works by Erik Johansson, a photographer and retoucher from Sweden who’s currently working in Berlin. He sees photography as an outlet that allows his ideas to be fully realized, trying to make each image look as realistic as possible.
“I don’t capture moments, I capture ideas,” he says. “I get inspired by things around me in my daily life and all kinds of things I see.”
The hands of a clock and it’s frame are made of the same material – and each hand it attached to a separate frame that moves with it as it circles the space of the clock over and over again.
Two squares rotating according to the increments we’ve given time result in clean shapes at the hours and varying degrees of chaos within them. Nazar Şigaher is a designer, interior designer and artist in Turkey. He’s pursuing a Masters in the History of Architecture at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, just north of Istanbul.
“The hour and minute hands of Frame have frames made of material identical to that of hour and minute hands. The clock constantly changes its form as the hour and minute hands keep moving and take a given form twice a day only. Such constant change of form created by moving hour and minute hands give this clock a peculiarity that identifies with the concept of time.”
Art that originates in science is one of the most interesting kinds. Everything has more meaning because the images come from somewhere that feels so real and substantiated. Magnified single-cell organisms and organic molecules are turned into abstract compositions, and it makes you realize how beautiful and miraculous this world is because living things look like art close up.
But bioart isn’t just photography – “it describes any intersection between Biology and Art. It can range from an aesthetic representation of the life sciences, to using biological forms as a medium to produce ‘live art.'”
That definition comes from a new project called DIYSect, a new documentary web series that introduces people to DIY Biology and Bioart. Bioartist Mary Tsang and filmmaker Ben Welmond are going to travel across North America and interview biologists and bioartists to create 6-10 minute webisodes for the world to learn from.
“Bioartists have the ability to translate complex scientific discourses in a way that is relatable to a non-expert. They can even reveal contradictions or ambiguities in how biotechnology is used in our society. It confronts the norm because it isn’t product-driven.”
For more on DIYSect, check out their website – and donate to their Kickstarter page to help launch the DIYSect dream!
