Kyle Chayka

10 Architecture Firms You Need to Know

By Kyle Chayka on Oct 18, 2012 11:30am

Forget Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, and Norman Foster. Sure, they’re still doing important work, but the old guard of “starchitecture” – a group of designers of iconic buildings that have become flamboyant signatures for cities across the globe – is no longer at the forefront of design. The new wave of architecture, championed by emerging firms worldwide, is characterized by a more deconstructivist attitude, a willingness to try anything, and an aversion to getting set in any one style. Here are a few names worth following, and what they’ve recently accomplished. … Read More

Art

The 10 Most Surreal Moments of Surrealism

By Kyle Chayka on Oct 5, 2012 3:00pm

It must have been fun to be a Surrealist. The movement, which arose in the 1920s and was given its raison d’etre by Andre Breton’s Surrealist Manifesto, embraced the subconscious in all its weirdness, allowing the mind to flow where it will and finding joy in random, strange juxtapositions and aesthetic combinations. Comte de Lautreamont once wrote that Surrealism is “as beautiful as the chance encounter of an umbrella and a sewing machine on an operating table,” a fittingly off-the-wall metaphor for one of art history’s wackiest movements. Here, we’ve pulled together the 10 most surreal moments of Surrealism, a collection of bizarre gallery installations, weird paintings, and crazy parties that might inspire some new adventures in subconscious exploration. … Read More

Art

The Greatest Food Still Lifes in Art History

By Kyle Chayka on Sep 21, 2012 1:30pm

There are a few classic subjects that pop up repeatedly over the course of art history. There are the religious archetypes of the Madonna and Child and the Pieta; the portrait, in which an artist tries to faithfully capture a human likeness; and the still-life, a depiction of a group of physical objects. Right. So, how about we get to the delicious? Food holds a special place in visual culture and still lifes of food are an ongoing obsession with artists — not to mention, a personal favorite of our own. We scoped out the best food still lifes from the last few centuries, and delivered them fresh to you. Enjoy! … Read More

Art

A Beginner’s Guide to Glitch Art

By Kyle Chayka on Sep 14, 2012 1:30pm

Usually when a piece of technology breaks, certain symptoms emerge: the screen messes up, there are weird lines or patterns that mess with your use of the tool, or it just simply fails to function at all in the way that you want it to. These errors are frustrating, of course, but they can also be aesthetically interesting. “Glitch art” makes use of bugs in technology, exploiting what otherwise might look like flaws and turning them into powerful works of art.

What is a glitch, exactly? It could be a mistake in a source code that gives rise to an unforeseen artifact, the term given to the effect rather than the root of a glitch. It could also mean a way of tweaking a piece of technology, using it in a way that wasn’t originally intended. In celebration of the rise of glitch art and the glitch philosophy, here are 10 artists who have created artwork with glitches, taking advantage of the fallibility of machines and turning it to their advantage. … Read More

Art

10 Ear-Dazzling Works of Sound Art

By Kyle Chayka on Sep 7, 2012 3:00pm

While art is usually thought of as a purely visual experience, it doesn’t have to be. There are plenty of pieces out there that focus on the ears above everything else. Sound art actually has a rich recent history, from Harry Bertoia’s early music-making sculptures in the ’50s all the way to a conceptual project to ring all of the bells in England at once during the London Olympics. Here are ten eardrum- and mind-blowing examples. … Read More

Art

Preview the Best of New York’s PULSE 2012 Art Fair

By Kyle Chayka on May 4, 2012 2:00pm

After a notable absence from this year’s Armory Week festivities, PULSE 2012 is once again taking place in midtown Manhattan, occupying an airy, well-appointed space that has more in common with a spa lobby than a frenetic art fair. The friendly nature of the location is also reflected in the fair’s overall aesthetic, an approachable combination of media, formats, artists, and galleries from all over the world. At this year’s press preview, the fair presented a mash-up of brightly-colored abstraction (see Anne Lindberg’s mesmerizing installation at Carrie Secrist Gallery), new-media-inflected sculpture (Alan Rath’s excellent “Creature II”), sloppy drawing (Tad Lauritzen Wright’s giant wall at David Lusk Gallery), and even video games, with the Babycastles-curated retrospective of game designer and philosopher Bennett Foddy.

If I had to pick out one highlight, it would probably be video and conceptual artist Eve Sussman’s project for the New York City nonprofit Creative Capital. Using rolls of panoramic film, Sussman documented Brooklyn’s JMZ line at night, exploring the subway’s elevated platforms and lit windows. The film was then set into 3D stereoscopic viewers, which collapse to fit into plastic pouches. The project is at once visual and intellectual, a portable journey for the brain and the eye. See what catches yours in our slideshow of PULSE photos, and if you’re in New York and looking for a more affordable (not to mention more convenient) alternative to Frieze, check it out in person now through Sunday at Metropolitan Pavilion. … Read More

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