Visualising The Future Forms of Life

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Plato Art Space: Ilhan Koman and Candas Sisman's 'Flux'

"Famous Turkish sculptor İlhan Koman’s boat Hulda arrives in İstanbul, its final destination, after its long journey which began in Stockholm. Hulda was both Koman’s home and studio during his residence in Stockholm.

The exhibition consists of the photographs and videos from Hulda’s journey, 10 original sculptures such as Whirlpool and Dervish by İlhan Koman and a video -dedicated to İlhan Koman- by young artist Candaş Şişman. The photographs and videos are from the cities Hulda visited during its journey -Stockholm, Amsterdam, Bordeaux, Lisbon, Barcelona, Naples, Malta, Thessalonica and İstanbul. The exhibition in Plato Art Space is also the final leg of the activities of Hulda Festival (www.huldafestival.org).

The exhibition is also undertaking the mission of building a bridge between young generation artists and Koman by presenting Candaş Şişman’s work. Şişman’s video Flux is influenced by Koman’s sculptures (Pi, Moebius, Whirlpool and Ogre) and is dedicated to İlhan Koman’s inspiring art. The video has a sound design which is also inspired by the materials of Koman’s sculptures and is produced by Candaş Şişman.

The exhibition is curated by Yıldırım Arıcı and accompanied by a reader (published by Plato College of Higher Education) and it is featuring texts by Çetin Kanra, Aykut Köksal, Abidin Dino, Ferit Edgü, Burcu Beşlioğlu and a poem by Oktay Rıfat. "

(Plato Art Space, İstanbul contemporary art)

Fig.1 "Flux", Candaş Şişman, Hulda Festival 21 September 2010 - 23 November 2010 İstanbul, Turkey.

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Type that behaves: the prospect of autonomous type creatures

"From sketch to final creation for his Biotypography project, Oded [Ezer] wanted to create live, almost cinematic situations where these typo creatures 'act' and 'behave.' He says the most difficult part of the project was the issue of balance - where to draw the line between the insect and the letters.

Biotypography - typo art project depicting manipulated Hebrew and Latin 'Typo creatures.'

'When I saw an ant on the floor of my studio, I started to imagine what would happen if this was a creature half ant and half letter. Wouldn't it be wonderful if nature had invented letters? And then maybe different letter-ants could gather, create words and communicate with us!?'

'I could manufacture a medium wherein typography could develop and evolve into something completely different.'"

(WebUrbanist)

Theo Jansen: Strandbeests

"Dutch artist Theo Jansen has been working for 16 years to create sculptures that move on their own in eerily lifelike ways. Each generation of his "Strandbeests" is subject to the forces of evolution, with successful forms moving forward into new designs. Jansen's vision and long-term commitment to his wooden menagerie is as fascinating to observe as the beasts themselves.

His newest creatures walk without assistance on the beaches of Holland, powered by wind, captured by gossamer wings that flap and pump air into old lemonade bottles that in turn power the creatures' many plastic spindly legs. The walking sculptures look alive as they move, each leg articulating in such a way that the body is steady and level. They even incorporate primitive logic gates that are used to reverse the machine's direction if it senses dangerous water or loose sand where it might get stuck."
(Wired News)