Vibrant Digital Portraits by Artist Alexis Franklin Emphasize the Nuances of Emotions

All images © Alexis Franklin, shared with permission

Dallas-based artist Alexis Franklin considers her digital renderings a reinvention of the expected. “I’ve always seen the world through a filter that brings vibrance and excitement to things most people wouldn’t notice, and that’s something that I really want to have come across in my work,” she says of her expressive paintings. Through facial expressions, gestures, and color, each work highlights the nuances of the subjects’ experience, personality, and mood.

A church videographer by day, painting is Franklin’s side-project and one for which she’s received an influx of attention in recent days. She illustrated an affective portrait of Breonna Taylor, who was murdered by three Louisville police officers in March, for the cover of O, The Oprah Magazine. The two-decades-old publication has only ever featured Oprah Winfrey. This isn’t the 24-year-old’s first high-profile cover, though: she also created a powerful rendering of Anita Hill for Time a few years ago.

Franklin often shares time-lapses of her paintings-in-progress—which you can watch below and on YouTube and Instagram—that document every step of her process. “I tend to stay in the present with my work. I don’t really imagine where it’s headed,” she writes to Colossal. “I just let each project be what it is, and then I move to the next one with fresh eyes. And I’m very grateful that each project continuously seems to find me!” (via Kottke)

 

from Colossal https://ift.tt/2BVLzdt

Beyoncé swings from Lee Broom's Hanging Hoop Chair in Black is King visual album

British designer Lee Broom said it was a "complete surprise" to see his Hanging Hoop Chair feature in Beyoncé's visual album Black is King.

The American artist and her daughter Blue Ivy both swing in Broom's circular metal seat during the 85-minute-long film, which was released on Disney Plus on 31 July. Similar shots of Beyoncé also feature in Already music video.

Broom said the musician's team had contacted him to use the chair for a secret project, and that she had then bought it for her home, but he had no idea it would feature in the album.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by LEE BROOM (@leebroom) on Jul 31, 2020 at 10:06am PDT

 

"Beyoncé's people got in touch to discuss hiring the Hanging Hoop Chair for a secret project," he told Dezeen.

"We gladly obliged and were then contacted again by her team to say that Beyoncé absolutely loved the chair and would like to purchase it for her home, which she did," he added.

"It was a complete surprise that the Hanging Hoop Chair was going to feature in the film until the day it was released."

Hanging Hoop Chair also features in Beyoncé's Already music video

Hanging Hoop Chair, which Broom released in 2015, comprises a large brass-plated metal ring suspended from the ceiling with a second hoop inside featuring a cushioned seat covered in Kvardrat fabric.

Blue Ivy is in the seat during the Find Your Back Way song at the beginning of the album, while Beyoncé twirls in the chair in shots during the track Don't Jealous Me later on.

Its repeated presence forms part of a circular motif in the film, which is based on the music Beyoncé created for the 2019 film adaptation of The Lion King.

"The chair has always been one of my favourite designs given its playful and mobile quality so I am delighted to see it used so beautifully by someone whose artistry I admire greatly," said Broom.

Broom is a product designer who produces furniture, accessories and lighting under his eponymous brand, which he founded in 2007. He recently spoke to Dezeen's founder and editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs for VDF about his work and career, which involved studying at theatre and fashion school.

Broom released Hanging Hoop Chair during Milan design week in 2015 as part of a collection of 20 new products. The series was presented in a street of disused shops that were turned into a fake department store.

The post Beyoncé swings from Lee Broom's Hanging Hoop Chair in Black is King visual album appeared first on Dezeen.

from Dezeen https://ift.tt/3i2tiu9

AIA "strongly opposes" Trump administration's rollback of fair housing rule

The American Institute of Architects has criticised the federal government's termination of a provision introduced to help dismantle racial segregation in housing.

The organisation "strongly opposes" the dismantling the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH), which required communities receiving federal funding for housing to analyse barriers to housing and create a plan to rectify them, said AIA chief executive officer Robert Ivy.

"We need to do more to provide equitable opportunity to all Americans"

"Our federal government should confront the legacy of discriminatory housing policies as intended in the Fair Housing Act of 1968, not shrink away from the responsibility of ensuring our communities are equitable," Ivy added.

"At such a critical moment in time for addressing racial inequity, it's clear we need to do more, not less, to provide equitable opportunity to all Americans, especially for a basic human need such as shelter."

AFFH was introduced by the Obama administration in 2015 as a provision of the 1968 Fair Housing Act. It was nixed earlier this month by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) secretary Ben Carson, who described it as "unworkable and ultimately a waste of time".

Trump opposed Obama-era housing provision

"Washington has no business dictating what is best to meet your local community's unique needs," he added.

US president Donald Trump has been vocal about his opposition to AFFH – describing as a way to "force" low-income housing into suburbs, as reported by Politico – and celebrated its end in a series of tweets.

"I am happy to inform all of the people living their Suburban Lifestyle Dream that you will no longer be bothered or financially hurt by having low-income housing built in your neighborhood." Trump tweeted

"Your housing prices will go up based on the market, and crime will go down. I have rescinded the Obama-Biden AFFH Rule. Enjoy!"

AIA and Trump lock heads over a number of political issues

AFFH will be replaced by the Preserving Community and Neighbourhood Choice provision, under which the grantee is able to continue to receive funding if they go beyond statute to promote housing that is affordable, safe, decent, free of unlawful discrimination and accessible under civil rights laws.

The rollback is the final move to end AFFH, which hasn't been enforced since HUD eliminated the Assessment of Fair Housing Tool for Local Governments used to analyse segregation in 2018.

The AIA and the Trump administration have locked heads over a number of political issues, including the climate treaty withdrawal and his immigration policies.

Most recently, the architectural organisation condemned a government proposal to introduce an order that all federal buildings should be built in the "classical architectural style".

Photo by Marcus Lenk on Unsplash.

The post AIA "strongly opposes" Trump administration's rollback of fair housing rule appeared first on Dezeen.

from Dezeen https://ift.tt/3gqv0Fs

Masks, Toilet Paper, and Thermometers Transform into Miniature, Outdoor Adventures by Artist Tatsuya Tanaka

All images © Tatsuya Tanaka, shared with permission

In the time of COVID-19, disposable face masks, toilet paper, and other essentials are synonymous with safety, precaution, and staying indoors. But in Tatsuya Tanaka’s ongoing Miniature Calendar series, the everyday items are subverted to create the tiny sets of outdoor adventures. A folded mask serves as a small tent, toilet paper descends from a wall holder as a snowy ski hill, and a thermometer outfitted with wheels transforms into a speedy racecar. For more of the miniature scenes from the Japanese artist and photographer (previously), head to Instagram, where he publishes a new piece daily. (via Lustik)

 

from Colossal https://ift.tt/33kImzc

A Massive Flower Splays Across Six Surfaces in a New Mural by Artist Mona Caron

“⁣Limonium.” All images © Mona Caron, shared with permission

An enormous flower overtakes the San José’s cultural affairs building in a multi-plane mural by artist Mona Caron (previously). Titled “Limonium,” the delicate, pink-and-green leaves spread out across the structure’s facade, transcending a single side. Wrapped around six walls and across four planes, the flower appears to be growing continuously from multiple angles.

The San Francisco-based artist says determining the spatial logistics was straightforward. She added reference points to the wall and superimposed her botanical piece to a photo, which guided her through the process. In a video posted to Instagram, Caron walks around the pastel mural to capture its illusory qualities. “The main plant faces the entrance to the Convention Center on Market Street, but to its left, there is a semi-enclosed cove, which is the entrance to the garage, and there’s another plant in there, with a flower stem that calculatedly appears to be a part of whichever plant you’re looking at,” she shares with Colossal. “Similarly, I carefully drafted the rightmost flower stem (and) leaves to appear continuous when seen both from the street and from the upper terrace.”

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Mona Caron (@mona.caron) on Jul 22, 2020 at 4:48pm PDT

from Colossal https://ift.tt/3fpzZVA