XYZ have designed a multimedia sound and light installation on the façade of the Gran Museo del Mundo Maya in Merida, Mexico. The goal of the recently opened Gran Museo del Mundo Maya, with a collection of some 750,000 objects and 2,600 square metres of permanent and temporary gallery space, is to present Mayan civilization not as archaeological vestiges but as a living culture.

Source: Contemporist

Japanese artist Hiromi Hirasaka has created a series of matchsticks which feature facial expressions on their heads, igniting a bit of a humor to what is typically seen as the mundane. Aptly named ‘Kokeshi Matches’, the fire starters already have physical attributes similar to the japanese dolls which have long cylindrical bodies and spherical heads, offering a perfect canvas for fun faces– from pig snouts, to white-tipped pandas, to moustached monsieurs!

Source: Design Boom

We weren’t quite sure what was going on here until we saw a few different angles of Japanese design studio YOY’s latest ‘canvas,’ two-dimensional-looking hanging furniture pieces. Each piece is constructed out of wood and aluminum and then covered with screen-printed elastic fabric. The ‘canvas’ is then leaned against a wall and stretches when weight is applied to accommodate the user.

Source: Designboom

The Cultural Institute Inhotim is part botanical park, and part contemporary art installation. The brain child, and passion of a Brazilian mining magnate, Bernardo Paz, Inhotim is a dialogue between art and nature. The setting is an extensive and original botanical collection of rare tropical species covering 240 acres. The galleries host a vast collection of contemporary art from Brazilian and international artists from the 60′s on.

Source: Treehugger

Cobalt pigment applied to white clay has resulted in the most recognizable examples of ceramics through the ages. Today’s ceramicists continue the tradition of implementing this colour scheme into contemporary expressions of this aesthetic. At right, Work 0808 is a modern ceramic sculpture by Japanese artist Harumi Nakashima currently on show at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. New Blue and White is an exhibition featuring artists from all over the world, and runs through July 14, 2013.

Is it a radiator, or is it artwork? These cool modern radiators by Caleido are both! The elongated rectangular shape is easy to incorporate among your existing artwork, or let it steal the spotlight and feature it as an art piece all on its own. These cool radiators are by Karim Rashid, who stayed true to his signature funky style. These new radiators made their debut at Salone Internazionale del Mobile 2010.

Source: Trendir

Silo 468, the official project of WDC Helsinki, stands by the blustery sea, besieged by notoriously prevailing winds. The silo’s twinkling surface—punctured with 2,012 holes—is lit up from 1280 LED domes placed within the structure’s deep-red interior, which symbolizes the object’s former use as a container of energy. The architects have fitted 450 steel mirrors that move with the wind behind the holes, and when the sun shines the walls “glimmer and sparkle like the surface of water,” says LDC in its project statement. The constantly shifting light patterns read “as halos racing across the walls.”

The Miracle Pine is a tree that survived 2011 Japanese tsunami, and has now been rebuilt as statue in honor of the 19,000 victims of the disaster. The lone pine was the only one from approximately 70,000 plants along the coast to survive the catastrophe, however, its roots were found to be suffering irreversibly from exposure to seawater, triggering endeavors to save the tree, which has become a symbol of the city’s reconstruction. The plant stands as a symbol of hope in Japan, and is now completed as an immortalized statue.

Source: Architizer

No, there’s nothing wrong with your screen – this intricate wooden cabinet was actually carved to resemble an image error. The ‘Good Vibrations’ storage unit by designer Ferruccio Laviani combines traditional Oriental craftsmanship and design with the visual effects of a digital or analog glitch.

Glitch art plays on the psychological effects that come with looking at these images, whether they were created accidentally or intentionally, inviting us to take a deeper look at technological mistakes. Also referred to as ‘databending’, glitch art can be strangely compelling.

Belgium-based artist Nick Ervinck has created a variety of sculptures using computer-aided design. Somewhat disappointed by the lack of renewal in contemporary sculpture, the artist turned towards architecture and applied sciences, in order to find a new formal language generated by computer software, composing forms and designs that were unthinkable in all those years before.

Source: Contemporist

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