new baby in the house...
Disturbing architecture and in-comprehensible science
Why is it that some things just seem wrong, when science tells us they're actually quite right.
Take this picture, taken recently at the Gloucester Waterways Museum at Gloucester docks.
Are you, like I was, struck by the concrete boat in the middle?
Does it seem quite wrong to make a boat out of concrete? The wooden boat on the left feels comfortable...normal, the steel boat similarly so, but concrete...?
It's simple density of course, but still, the concrete seems wrong......
.......odd when you consider concrete has an average density of 2,500kg per cubic meter and steel has a density of around 8,000kg per cubic meter, so actually concrete has a greater propensity to float than steel.....and yet would you be comfortable boarding a cross channel ferry made of concrete...?
It's not only science that can baffle and fool in this way. Here's a picture of Moreton Corbet Castle in rural Shropshire. Note how the windows are odd sizes (left to right and top to bottom), off centre, with mullions, corbels, stonework and other details all out of alignment....
It is quite the most disturbing piece of architecture I've ever experienced, making one feel quite uncomfortable, and yet it's hard to leave it, the mind is somehow drawn to the total imbalance..and the more one looks, the more one finds to be "wrong" and the more harrowing the experience becomes.
Take a visit and try it, for want of a better word, it's very weird
It is a trick well worth exploring in art and sculpture, the ability to use both science and nature to create the intriguing effect of discomfort, because in both examples, the effect is lure the viewers attention and hold them in a studied trance.
Take this picture, taken recently at the Gloucester Waterways Museum at Gloucester docks.
Are you, like I was, struck by the concrete boat in the middle?
Does it seem quite wrong to make a boat out of concrete? The wooden boat on the left feels comfortable...normal, the steel boat similarly so, but concrete...?
It's simple density of course, but still, the concrete seems wrong......
.......odd when you consider concrete has an average density of 2,500kg per cubic meter and steel has a density of around 8,000kg per cubic meter, so actually concrete has a greater propensity to float than steel.....and yet would you be comfortable boarding a cross channel ferry made of concrete...?
It's not only science that can baffle and fool in this way. Here's a picture of Moreton Corbet Castle in rural Shropshire. Note how the windows are odd sizes (left to right and top to bottom), off centre, with mullions, corbels, stonework and other details all out of alignment....
It is quite the most disturbing piece of architecture I've ever experienced, making one feel quite uncomfortable, and yet it's hard to leave it, the mind is somehow drawn to the total imbalance..and the more one looks, the more one finds to be "wrong" and the more harrowing the experience becomes.
Take a visit and try it, for want of a better word, it's very weird
The last mushroom...
So, after a beer bottle opener in various guises followed by a corkscrew, one
would be forgiven for assuming I have a drink problem. Well, to prove
otherwise, here is the last of the "Useful Mushroom" range.
These salt and pepper pots are made in a similar fashion to the previous entries and the set finish off the range.....for now. It's been a lot of fun, and a huge challenge to machine and produce. The bases, as before are turned from solid stainless, bead blasted, electro-polished and engraved, and the tops are turned from solid red nylon. What with all that, plus adding the "spots" and infilling the lettering, they've taken a lot of effort to complete....worth it though, they look great on the table.
I have had other suggestions, appreciated of course (keep them coming) - these are filed for a future return but I have other more poignant works in mind that I really must start working on.
Soon to be on my web site as a limited edition (I only have 4 pairs) so if you want a set, grab one quick!
Selfish sculpture
This steel egg is a piece of work that I made entirely
for myself.
The egg is another one of mother natures astounding
shapes, seeming to convey solidity and softness in equal measures, with perfect simplicity and beauty. However, despite this, to almost everyone this piece is largely meaningless
– the turning of the solid stainless billet deserves some credit
perhaps, but other than that, it really has no significance at all.
However, my surname is Steel, and I am soon to be
blessed with my first child, and for that alone this is possibly the
most personally significant piece I've ever created.....it represents
my unborn son in his womb.
It will feature on the website in due course.
Scientists are clever artists
This piece of art on the cover of New Scientist magazine (March 30th - April 5th) made me smile.
Dry, witty and really
very, very clever....
The value of humour in art is
immeasurable.
The history of the multi-tool
...at first we found a need....which developed into a tool to trust....then we added "cool" design....and finally we succumbed to fashion.
solid....trustworthy....modern....materialistic?
A reflection of the alleged progress of society perhaps...
Look Up...miss nothing.
When young, I was always taught the benefit of looking up when walking through any built up areas.
The bland mundane shopfronts, almost identical in every town or city, often sit beneath some beautiful architecture of assorted eras. It is an almost foolproof way of finding reward from what can often be otherwise stale and dull surroundings.
However, on rare occasions, the reward of beauty can sometimes be replaced with a smile, especially when the surreal, such as this, pop up...
Makes me want to know the story behind it.
The bland mundane shopfronts, almost identical in every town or city, often sit beneath some beautiful architecture of assorted eras. It is an almost foolproof way of finding reward from what can often be otherwise stale and dull surroundings.
However, on rare occasions, the reward of beauty can sometimes be replaced with a smile, especially when the surreal, such as this, pop up...
Makes me want to know the story behind it.