Red Bull

As a hardcore red bull addict, downing 2 cans a day is normal for me. So after stacking a wall full of cans I had this idea of doing something sculptural with them. I thought I would google red bull and see what I'd get, and to my astonishment I stumbled into this amazing Art of Can campaign that seems to have been going on for years.

The Red Bull Art of Can is a "nationwide hunt for creativity and is open to everyone". Exhibitions have been held since 1997 throughout the US, Europe and as far as New Zealand. The rules are simple. Buy a can of red bull, enjoy it, and instead of throwing it away do something creative with it. And it seems like artists are relishing the idea.

Red Bull have been having a fantastic marketing strategy. I guess it began with the slogan Red Bull gives you wings and it just spiralled aggressively. Besides sponsoring and owning numerous sports teams, it established the Red Bull Air Race and owns 2 F1 racing teams.

After disappointing seasons at the beginning, one of the teams, Red Bull Racing managed to climb up the constructors championship ladder. The team was leading this year's championship, but an incident between the two drivers while competing for the First and Second positions cost them dearly and at the moment the team is a point behind in second place.

From a simple beverage drink, this company managed to influence sports, engineering and the arts. I wonder what's next for them?







The pictures in this post are from the Red Bull Art of Can Exhibition that took place in London at 2005, more can be found at this flickr set.

Living Fabrics

New York-based Vienna-born photographer Bela Borsodi has breathed life into product photography. His unique method transforms products from what could be called lifeless objects into fun characters that can speak out to the viewer. He works with all sorts of products, and in some cases mixes his photography with animation and caricatures. I only chose the works that I found from this website, with the theme of shaping clothes into faces and animals. To me, this is really inspiring because now I see clothes as a new medium that can be experimented with. Instead of giving away old clothes now I see them as a source for sculptures, or better yet, toys for children. For more of his work check this out.

Here are some in the wilderness:

Recycling ideas

Here are some recycling ideas which like many others have caught my attention:

1- Cardboard boxes
Created by French architects 0-S as temporary installation at Hotel Saint-Côme in Montpellier in Southern France, its an extruded portico of boxes with playful holes that allow light in and views out.




2- Plastic bottles
Built by American artist Jasmine Zimmerman to raise awareness of the alarming problem of plastic waste, this open-roofed greenhouse will be exhibited in empty lots, rooftops, parks, and vacant buildings to help spread the word.

More Container Architecture

Loop de Loop from anarchitecture on Vimeo.

Loop-d-Loop is a design concept by NL Architects for yet another innovative way for shipping container re-use.

[It] could serve as information booth, as exhibition space, as a ‘ride’, as ‘view generator’, as cafe, as site canteen... After sometime Loop-‘d’-Loop can be taken apart, transported elsewhere and be reassembled in a new way: a continuous process of destruction and renewal. It’s appearance always reminiscent of the building site, blending in in a twisted fashion.

Containers

The widespread of recycled architecture have resulted in many interesting buildings. One of these buildings is the Freitag's office tower in Zurich. The beauty of this skyscraper is that unlike other container architecture that are modified and painted thus hiding their true nature, this skyscraper embraces the weariness and dirtiness of the container giving it more character and authenticity.