“This is disgusting and extremely arousing at the same time.”

“When Seattle-based artist Adrienne Antonson describes her artworks as being ‘resourceful, sustainable, meticulous and pretty,’ she certainly has a point. Indeed, this might well be the perfect description for the insects she creates, using only human hair and glue. Counting on the mixed reactions that anything made of human hair would cause, let alone insects, Flavorpill described Antonson’s art as ‘creepy, riveting and intricate.’ Antonson toys with her audience’s emotions, making them want to take a closer look while at the same time suppressing a feeling of disgust. With their often furry appearance, moths lend themselves exceptionally well to being recreated in hair. Something about their soft bodies and flighty nature makes us want to hold them and throw them away at the same time — something that might be said for insects in general.” w/ photos

“A graphic designer has come up with a novel way of using discarded pens instead of binning them: He sticks them to his car. Costas Schuler has spent more than five years covering his treasured car in over 10,000 pens from around the world. The designer, from Forestville, California, painstakingly glued the pens all over the inside and outside of his beloved 1981 300SD Mercedes Benz after collecting them from businesses, doctors’ surgeries, friends and family. The car has pens on its roof, dashboard and even the hub caps. He uses ball points, dry markers, dry erasers and any other discarded writing instrument. The father of four wanted to show people different purposes for discarded pens instead of billions of them being wasted each year going to landfill. His unusual hobby is the subject of a website with thousands of fans and has resulted in Costas receiving pens from around the world.” w/ photos

“At first glance these pictures look like nothing more than pixelated photographs but closer inspection reveals the images are actually created using thousands of wax crayons. Bored with paint and pencils, inventive artist, Christian Faur, turned to the childhood favourite for inspiration after seeing his young daughter using them. Christian, from Granville, USA, starts each piece by scanning a photograph and breaking the image down into coloured blocks. He then places thousands of crayons into a grid – like coloured pixels on a television screen – before packing the finished piece into a wooden frame. The result is a realistic image which only reveals it’s humble Crayola roots on close inspection.” w/ photos

“Mention Gustav Vigeland to a Norwegian artist and the eyes generally glaze over with fondness – he has a special place in many hearts in his home country and particularly in the city of Oslo. There in 1921 the sculptor was given a building by the city from which he would work and live for over twenty painstaking years. He left behind him a remarkable sculpture park which serves as a testament both to the artist himself and the political and cultural renaissance of Norway. Yet the park itself arose from a dispute.  The City of Oslo wanted to build a library. Unfortunately the position of the new library just happened to be on the site of Vigeland’s home. A lengthy dispute was eventually settled with the promise of a new home and workspace.  In return Vigeland committed himself to something quite extraordinary. All of his work from there on in would be donated to the city. He was, while meticulous, prolific – perhaps Oslo got more than it originally bargained for.” w/ photos

“Cooooooooooooooooool!!!”

“At first glance, they’re just iconic head shots of famous people you’ve seen many times before; only the tones of golden brown make them vaguely remarkable: Jesus, John Lennon, Bob Marley, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Jerry Garcia, Snoop Dog, Method Man, and more. A taste for rebellion, higher states of consciousness, and in most cases a trailblazing talent for music are about all that tie them together. Until closer inspection. Allow your eyes to move from the bigger picture and focus on the finer detail of the portraits, and the secret of their creation lights up in the mind: they’re all mosaics – made out of the roach papers of smoked joints.” w/ photos

“Russian artist Vladmir Aniskin makes amazing artwork… that’s only visible under a microscope.”

“Painted over the course of 3 long weeks in September of 2010, it is a big bold ceiling-to-floor literary explosion; a poem that has painted its way off the page. It exists within the lobby space of the eclectic and boundary-pushing new studio/gallery space, Solo(s) Project House in Newark. The piece pulsates with rhythm and movement as it claims ownership of every corner turn doorway and crevice within the space, making the installation a visceral, if not disorienting, experience.” w/ photos + video

“Visitors to the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC have been perplexed and astonished by the latest addition there. To celebrate an exhibition of the works of sixteenth century artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo – and certainly in homage to the bizarre nature of the Renaissance artist, Philip Haas has created Winter a 18-foot high fiberglass sculpture. I am not really sure I should say this, but the word Ent immediately sprang to mind – I know this is hardly how Tolkien imagined the giant shepherds of the trees yet I at once thought of them when I saw Haas’ work. He is an American artist, best known for his film installations at the Kimbell Art Museum. Known as Butchers, Dragons, Gods and Skeletons it was hailed as one of the best shows of 2009.  Ge gas also had retrospectives of his art films at the Tate in London, the Pompidou in Paris and the Lincoln in New York among others.” w/ photos