Vienna-based art collective Monochrom has released the short film Earthmoving, a prequel to their forthcoming Sierra Zulu feature film (previous post). Earthmoving was filmed on location at the UN headquarters in Vienna, Austria.

Another day at the United Nations Offices in Vienna. The Austrian Foreign Affairs Ministry invited members of the European Protocol Service, the UN Strategic Command Center for Central Europe, the United States Air Forces and a regional politician from Lower Austria to talk about the future of Soviet Unter-WHAT?!

a.Muse Gallery in San Francisco presents “Primo”, featuring the stunning artwork of cousins David D’Andrade and Hugh D’Andrade from January 7th – February 18th. Hugh is an occasional guest blogger here on Laughing Squid. More info about the show can be found here at a.Muse Gallery’s website.

Thursday night was the opening party for Roboexotica, an annual celebration of cocktail themed robots in Vienna, Austria. There are robots of all shapes and sizes and a range of technical sophistication. Many of the bots actually mix and serve drinks for you.  I snapped a few photos of the crowd and some of my favorite robots.

As part of my artist residency this year in Vienna, Monochrom‘s Franky Albinger and I collaborated on a machine called the PURAGATRON. If you are unsatisfied with another robot’s cocktail creation, you can banish it from purgatory by placing it into the PURGATRON and sending your drink to hell or heaven (adds spicy sauce or sugar syrup).

The exhibition continues though the weekend at Ragnarhof in Vienna. Here is a video of Roboexotica co-organizer Johannes Grenzfurthner demonstrating the impressive Melmacc robot.

Here’s my illustration of “Frank and Louie”, the world’s oldest two-faced “Janus” cat. My portrait is a follow-up to a drawing I did last year of Chase No Face. Frank and Louie hold the world record for the longest living Janus cat.

photo via Reuters

3D print-on-demand website Shapeways is now offering official reproductions of kinetic artist Theo Jansen’s Strandbeests. Remarkably, they arrive into being fully functional with no assembly required. I first read about the collaboration last month on Boing Boing. The idea that these complex creatures are “born” from a block of powdered plastic was so fascinating that I put my order in for a “Animaris Geneticus Parvus #7” immediately. It took about ten days to complete the order and when the featherweight box arrived I was ready with my camera. I posted some photos to Flickr and shared them with my friends on Twitter. Shapeways CEO Peter Weijmarshausen saw my tweet and was kind enough to clarify how the project came about and process of making these fantastic objects:

Jansen approached us to ask whether we could help in the manufacturing and sales of his Strandbeest. We worked with him and his team as we do with all customers. They can upload the models themselves and the Shapeways upload tools automatically give feedback whether or not it can be printed. The ultimate test is always the 3D print itself which we made before announcing it to everyone. In this case it was a little more elaborate since it was quite a complex model.

Our White Strong and Flexible material is indeed powder based and using a laser it is selectively sintered (Selective Laser Sintering = SLS). It is the most versatile of our materials and it allows for the most freedom in design. I am excited about the whole market accelerating and the fact that this new way of production becomes more and more accessible to a general audience. In the end Shapeways wants to enable anyone to make whatever they want.

More information about the 3D printed Strandbeests can be found at the Shapeways blog.

photo by Josh Ellingson

Bonnie Burton captured this unique moment at last weekend’s RoboGames event in San Mateo, California. You can see lots more of Bonnie’s photos in her Robogames Flickr set.

Chase No Face is a cat that was involved in an accident five years ago, leaving her face disfigured.

Here’s the scoop from Reddit:

My name is Chase. I am 2 years and 3 months old. When I was 3-6 weeks old, in June 2005, I was hit by a car and left in the road. A young man heard my cries after a few days and came to my rescue…I ended up having a back leg amputated and over the summer my nose and, eyelids, and skin from my face sloughed off from the trauma of the accident. The wonderful doctors sent me and Melissa to the University of Tenn Vet Hospital for 2 rounds of plastic surgery. Unfortunately neither attempt was successful. I would have to live looking different than my other kitty friends. I adjusted fast and even though I don’t have eyelids I can still sleep just fine but I prefer to go to a dark room or under the bed…I need a bit of special attention to keep my eyes in good shape. I get artificial tears applied to them 3-4 times daily, as well as antibiotic drops and steroid drops as needed. I have GREAT vision and love to catch flies and crickets! My face looks pink but it is just tissue and the fur will never grow back. I am NOT IN ANY PAIN! I am a very loving and friendly cat.

According to Chase’s blog, she’s healed and not in any pain. The internet has been a glow with links and posts about Chase. Here’s a list of where you can learn more:

Chase No Facebook
Daily Tails of Chase, The Official Chase No Face Blog
Video of Chase in a Basket

Our friends at Hi-Fructose Magazine are having a book signing at SFMOMA on Thursday, November 4th. Many of the artists featured in Hi-Fructose will be in attendance, including founders Attaboy & Annie Owens, Camille Rose Garcia, Audrey Kawasaki, Mars-1, Ferris Plock, and Amy Sol. Local musical sensation, Toshio Hirano will also be performing. The event coincides with the launch of Hi-Fructose Volume 2 Special Edition, a box set featuring art prints, stickers and more. You can see my pictures of Hi-Fructose Vol. 2 here on Flickr.

In this inspiring video, a very talented street puppeteer Sky Soleil performs the Queen/Bowie classic “Under Pressure” with, not one, but two Kermit The Frog Puppets. I sketched it over coffee this morning:

UPDATE: Shira Lazar did an interview with Sky Soleil, the guy who created the video.

Can we have a hamster on a piano next? Or is that too many hamsters?

Well, Veronica, there are never too many hamsters. Here’s one for you, in rainbow pencil.

Here’s the original video:

This dalmatian loves to ride his bicycle. And here’s another in my collection of quick meme drawings:

These orphaned animals are encouraged to play together at a zoo in Fukuchiyama, Japan. So, of course I had to draw it.

via Boing Boing

Amadeus the chihuahua loves to play pool. Below is my drawing of him working the table at Robin’s Billiards in Monroe, WA.

via Gawker.TV

This baby hamster was too cute not to draw today.

via Cute Overload

In a ceremony at Star Wars Celebration V, this year’s annual Star Wars super-convention, film star R2-D2 married StarWars.com editor Bonnie Burton. The proceedings were handled by Darth Maul with Lord Vader and Elvis Trooper in attendance. Bonnie Burton-D2 insists that the marriage is “open source” and that she will continue to flirt with “adorkable” humans both near and far-far away.

Video of the occasion can be found here.

There are many more photos in Bonnie’s “I Married R2D2″ Flickr set.

Further coverage of Celebration V can be found at io9.com.

UPDATE: Bonnie tells the story of why she married R2-D2.

photos via Bonnie Burton

Sly Lebulleur makes beautiful, gigantic soap bubbles. Set to music and filmed in slo-mo against a stark forest, Sly’s creations become eerily proto-lifelike. You can see more of his nebulous creations on YouTube and his Flickr stream.

via Vancouver’s favorite art/design blog, Booooooom

San Francisco illustrator/animator/story-artist, Pascal Campion creates amazing artwork everyday and shares it on his blog, website, and email list. Pascal was recently profiled in this short documentary from Anthony Vu of Onyx Cinema. You can find Pascal at Comic Con International ’10 in San Diego next week at booth G03.

San Francisco burlesque stars, Suzanne “Kitten on the Keys” Ramsey and Roky Roulette appeared with the cast of Cabaret New Burlesque at the Cannes Film Festival this week to promote “Tournée” (On Tour). The performers are the central characters in this film about a touring burlesque troupe. The film is directed and headlined by actor Mathieu Amalric who is best known for his role as the villain in the James Bond film “Quantum of Solace”. Congratulations to these amazing performers and best of luck to them at Cannes.

Here’s a review from The Toronto Star and a mention in The New York Times.

photo by Flickr user Jaxonista

Real-life superheroes may be this year’s Hollywood darling, but Michigan has had their very own masked vigilante, Captain Jackson for years. The Captain has been patrolling the streets of Downtown Jackson since 1999, spreading his message of civic duty while keeping an eye out for crooks and super-villains. He keeps a website with a schedule of community appearances, safety tips, and even a roster of his allied costume heroes, The Crimefighter Corps. Always ahead of the curve, Captain Jackson has been maintaining a blog since May 2000 called The Captain’s Corner with brilliant entries such as, CALLING ALL GOOD DEED DOERS!, BEING AWARE, and HOW TO BE A CRIMEFIGHTER. In addition, the blog features ground chuck-centric recipes in a section called “Cooking with the Captain”.

Captain Jackson’s career ran into a snag in 2004 when he was charged with “impaired driving”. The local newspaper subsequently ran an article about the incident and published the Captains real life identity. The toll that the  media coverage took on our hero is best outlined in the blog entry, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.  After a two-year hiatus, it seemed that he was back in active-duty at community events and online. In the past year though, there seems to be little to report on this masked man, but we may not have seen the last of Michigan’s own, Captain Jackson.

photo by Josh Ellingson

Jimmy’s Old Car Picnic has been a tradition in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park since 1988. In addition to being San Francisco’s biggest and best annual vintage car gathering, the event also raises thousands of dollars annually for children with developmental disabilities. This year, the San Francisco Parks & Rec department has denied their permit, thus putting the future of the Picnic in jeopardy. There is an online petition to help keep this unique event going and a City Hall meeting planned on Feb. 18th to discuss the situation. You can find out more at the Jimmy’s Old Car Picnic blog.

Acclaimed book designer David Pearson seems to be a perfect fit at Penguin Books. By continuing their tradition of minimalism and abstraction, Pearson shows that a pocket paperback can still be an elegant object.  I stumbled across some of his amazing work on a rainy day at The Booksmith. Each cover of the “Great Ideas” series has it’s own unique design, specific to the theme of the book. The imagery is largely typographic, and stripped down to just two colors letterpressed into fine heavyweight paper. I was tempted to pick up Emerson, Kierkegaard, and Proust just on looks alone. David has worked on a number of other series including “Editions Zulma” and “Great Journeys”

Penguin Books, Editions Zulma

Penguin Books, Great Journeys

Besides creating award-winning work for Penguin, Pearson has his own firm with other huge clients like Ridley Scott Associates. You can see more of his work at David Pearson Design and on Flickr.

While killing time before an early morning flight, I snapped a few photos of show. The exhibit space stretches along a corridor with a moving walkway. It’s mesmerizing to stare at these things while people seem to float by in the background.

There are more photos in my Flickr set.

The objects are on loan from Joe Welch’s San Bruno American Antique Museum.

Here is the orginal press release.

photos by Josh Ellingson

Statistically speaking, you are probably already aware of the “Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School” phenomenon. The caberet informed, rock ‘n roll figure drawing event is now in over fifty cities worldwide and gaining momentum frenetically. It’s so popular that the Los Angeles chapter has recently decided to take the show on the road. Dr. Sketchy’s Roadshow is currently traversing California, spreading glitter and pencil shavings from Sacramento to Alhambra.

The sketch-curious of San Francisco can get their Anti-Art School fix monthly at 111 Minna Gallery. Host Alice Stribling taps into the Bay Area’s wealth of unique performers and original characters for models unlike anyone you’ll find at the local art college. The friendly staff at 111 Minna keep the bar open and if you’re lucky, the model might perform a strip-tease at intermission. It’s easy to see how this thing catches on. The next Dr. Sketchy’s SF features punker/burlesque icon, Eva Von Slut. Here’s the info:

Tuesday, Nov. 24th 2009
7pm – 10pm
111 Minna Gallery,San Francisco CA
21+
$10 General admission
$7 students/teachers with ID
FREE for barflies, so bring your non-sketchy friends!

http://drsketchyssf.blogspot.com/

Visit founder Molly Crabapple’s home base at http://www.drsketchy.com to find out more. Here’s my Dr. Sketchy’s Twitter list for those inclined to follow a chapter near you: http://twitter.com/ellingson/drsketchys/

Big thanks to Alice Stribling for providing photos for this post. There are lots more photos and sketches at the Dr. Sketchy’s SF Flickr Group Pool.

Artist Jeremy Mayer creates striking representations of human anatomy using only typewriter parts. Mayer doesn’t weld or glue any of the components, preferring rather that the pieces hold together naturally. The resulting biomechanical artwork transcends “steampunk” aesthetic and clicks neatly into place among surrealists like H.R. Giger and Zdzislaw Beksinski. You can follow Jeremy Mayer on Twitter (@jeremymayer) or view a live webcam feed from his Palo Alto studio here.

Alexis Amann & Jonathan Burstein “Don’t Give Up The Ship”

San Francisco Arts Commission’s Community Arts & Education Program (CAE) worked with local businesses in San Francisco to turn storefronts along Market St. between 5th and 8th Streets into temporary art installations. Last night’s “Art in Storefronts – Central Market” reception was teeming with an unlikely mix of art enthusiasts, street musicians, pan-handlers, and giddy teenaged girls (Teen-sensation “Boys Like Girls” was playing next door at the Warfield). Here are some of my photos:

Liz Maher “No One Seems to Care That I Want Roots”

Bayly & Miller “Find Yourself in Natural History”

Phillip Hua “Consider It”

Drone Dungeon Collective

More photos are available in my Flickr set.

The Central Market exhibition runs until January 31st, 2010. The Bayview hosts “Art in Storefronts” starting October 30th and The Mission District jumps on starting November 20th. More information on all of these events can be found at the SF Arts Commission website.

photo by Josh Ellingson