We Are The Muzak Makers

And We Are The Dreamers Of Your Dreams!





A StellaVista re-branding for the troubled Muzak-Corporation. Unfortunately they went for the Sarah Palin-lookalike instead.

Happy Families of Movie Land

For weird, geeky fan-art you should check out Crazy Cult. There is lots of very funny, nerdy and imaginative stuff to be found.


I particularly like these family portraits of infamous not-so-happy-movie families by Kirk Demarais. Make sure to visit his website(s) and watch his great short-film Flip.

It´s More Fun To Cloud-Compute

Back in August of last year I posted about the computerised kinetic sculptures of Joe Gilbertson and the similar, very sophisticated advertising installation at the BMW museum.

IBM has borrowed the same idea for a presentation at this year´s CeBIT fair to explain the concept of "Cloud Computing" in a graphic way. The scale of the presentation is a bit smaller (yes, it´s got less balls) than the BMW version but the balls are magically changing colour!
However, the thing I like best about this is the female voice that talks in this very soothing, Westworld-voice with ambient sounds playing in the background.


found on Basic Thinking.

Androgyn

I found these photos which were obviously snapped from some fashion magazine. I like the timeless, androgynous look. The unwanted reflection of the flash-light just adds to the atmosphere.

Merging Todd Ford

Todd Ford´s paintings are a cross between photorealism and commercial art, which is both very much appreciated here at StellaVista Towers.

If you open his website you will be greeted by a slideshow which blends some of his paintings into one another for a brief moment. Since I was always fascinated by double- and super exposure, I could not help to grab screenshots of this one special moment when his paintings overlapped.






Of course, Todd´s work is great by itself and I could understand if he is not happy with the way I turned his art into "faux-art". Anyway, there is something about these "mash-ups" which I really like and since they appear on his site - even only for a fracture of a second by means of a widget - it gives way to lots of theories about art, it´s depiction and the possibilities of the receptor of toying around with it.



Todd also writes a blog which shows more of his art - at times on the easel but 100% un-merged.

Vogue On Vogue

"Here I am, vogueing pretty in some club deep in the city."

One year of international Vogue-covers superimposed into one image.

Watch while listening to Malcom Maclaren and Bootzilla Orchestra´s legendary Deep In Vogue, which rocked the world a long time before that Madonna woman stole the trend and claimed it as her idea.

Vogue France

Vogue UK

Vogue Russia

Vogue Korea

Vogue Japan

Vogue Italy

Vogue Germany

Vogue China

Vogue Brazil

Mechatronic Metal Balls

BMW has modernised and re-opened its vanity museum in Munich last month. I don´t usually care too much for real BMWs but I can´t ignore their attitude to spend lots of money on outlandish concept cars and flashy publicity stunts.

Two of their latest, viral image campaigns are particularly outlandish and flashy: The fabric covered and shapeshifting GINA concept is the most amazing car since FAB 1. The moment when GINA opens its bonnet for us is positively obscene! GINA is on display at the Museum and I wonder how "she" looks outside of a perfectly lit film studio (I also wonder if the fabric would make flapping noises on the Autobahn?).

Although, judging by the second featured attraction, I expect GINA to be presented in the best posible light and far out of touch, hidden from closer looks.


The so called "Kinetic Sculpture" baffles the visitor with a 6 minute choreography of 712 "flying" metal balls, constantly re-grouping and morphing to form abstract, flowing images and car-shapes (to remind us of where we are).

A similar work, on a much smaller and less sophitsicated scale was already done by artist Joe Gilbertson. His kinetic sculpture "Tryptich" is composed of 300 balls, suspended from an intricate, motorized machination that constantly moves the balls up and down. The soothing look of the effect is disturbed by the relatively loud noise of the complicated machine.

BMW probably threw tons of money at a horribly named company called "art+com" who took the idea to the next level. The over 700 balls are attached to thin wires which are invisibly connected to an undoubtedly complicated machinery that moves each ball individually and computer-aided on the vertical axis.

Sure, the effect is very nice and haunting, but the purpose of this "mechatronic installation" is diminished by the constant forming of BMW-resembling-models and the boring and painfully unfunny projection of buzz-words such as "innovation", "competence", bla bla bla.

But that´s what you get when you turn to a company that´s called art+com. What sort of name is that? Would you still go to a hairdresser with the word "art" or "avantgarde" on the name plate? Or would you expect having a great night-out in a club called "Old Daddy"? Thought so!

This is a video of the full 6:30 minute lasting cycle.

Hello Kitty Horror Punk

The Hello Kitty AK-47 is the must have urban self protective item for every fashionable pre-manga-girl. Shower them with love. Over and over again.

Below: This is artwork for japanese "horror punk band" Balzac. This little dammned Hello Kitty blob of a marketing icon is really everywhere.

From Kitty Hell

IndiviDUAL E.T.

I played around some more with Paint That Shit Gold. It was only then that I realized that the whole thing is actually a clever advertisment for hip-hop outfit "Atmosphere". Everytime you open up a new page on the site, you are treated to another song from their album. I think I know it pretty well by now.
Anyway, here are a some more throw-away pieces that will soon sink back to page 132 of a viral marketing campain. It´s only the moment.

IndiviDUAL E.T.


Her Face Morphs in Summertime


Bachelor Pa(i)d Muzak


Copyright Sklaven


The Greatest Show with the Best FX since Disco Tex and his Sex-o-Lettes

Click on pic to make big!

Eiffel Tower Remix

UPDATE March 30: It was declared that the design proposal was a fake!

Next year will be the 120th anniversary of the Tour Eiffel. To celebrate this event and to heighten its already massive tourist draw the Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel has asked several architects to come up with some flashy ideas.
This is the temporary re-design proposal by SERERO, a french group of architects and I hope it gets build (just to see purists foaming at the mouth)!
Their plan it so to extend and enlarge the top platform from 280 to 580 square meters.
The additional platform will be a high performance carbon Kevlar structure that will be attached to the existing structure without further modification.
After the celebration is over, the 3-piece structure will be dismantled and the tower will return to its former, iconic look.
I love this idea, and find the design very beautiful and daring. Of course it is a bit questionable to celebrate the greatness of 19th century architecture by attaching a new, state of the art platform to it which basically alters the perception and design of the tower. But I think its a great statement and people who wish to jump from the top platform might even find it a bit easier then.
Speaking of "I fell towers": The SERERO design reminds me of another iconic structure, the Parachute Jump Tower at Coney Island, New York. It was built in 1939 and offered daring passengers the chance to experience a controlled, seated parachute jump from a hight of ca. 80 m.
The parachute jump is closed and abandoned since 1968. It is listed as a landmark and there is constant but fruitless planning to re-open it with modern ride technology.

The Eiffel Tower renderings are taken from the SERERO website.
The Parachute Jump picture is taken from Wikipedia