Tatsuya Tanaka / Miniature Calendar
Tanaka photographs everyday objects and creates miniature people to populate his surreal landscapes/narratives. I particularly like his use of the natural shape of an apple, looking like people are bounding off the indentations at the top and bottom, and also the interior of an aeroplane, with tablet capsules as ‘windows’. I follow his account on Instagram daily and I am amazed by his constant, innovative creativity.
Source: http://miniature-calendar.com/
Jan Švankmajer / Dimensions of Dialogue
Dimensions of Dialogue, 1982
This complex stop-go animation uses objects to create something else and it has an otherworldly, surreal quality which I found quite disturbing, especially with the soundtrack which accompanies it. It is frenzied and even violent. Some of the faces remind me of the work of Renaissance artist Archiboldo, who also used fruit and vegetables to create other, more complex organic subjects.
Source: https://vimeo.com/17034946
Bruno Munari / Rose nell'insalata
Munari uses the cut stems of vegetables such as lettuce leaves and tomatoes as stamps to create colourful abstract illustrations. I like the patterns created and the fact that he is using stamps from one organic item to create another. I also like the greens and purples of his colour palette.
Rose nell'insalata, 1974
Source: https://www.corraini.com/en/catalogo/scheda_libro/168/rose-nellinsalata
Bruno Munari / Più e meno
Più e meno, 1970
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yesK00wFG5g
Munari combines aspects to create a new scene, with clear overlays, adding more elements to a simple scene. I like that there are lots of different combinations possible, each with different moods and atmospheres. It reminds me of a children’s game as he takes the cards and overlays out of a box at the beginning.
Source: https://www.corraini.com/en/catalogo/scheda_libro/337/Plus-and-Minus
Adam Hillman / Food Ombré
Hillman's work is incredibly aesthetically pleasing to look at - he describes himself as an 'Object Arranger'. The time and precision that goes into each piece is very impressive and the resulting images excellently show how ordinary, mundane objects can take on imaginative forms, just by their placement.
Open The Portal / Rick-mentions of Dialogue
Rick-mentions of Dialogue, 2019
I found this parody of Jan Svankmajer’s animation really funny. It was created by Open the Portal to promote the new season of Rick and Morty, while paying homage to one of the animation greats. It uses the same, cartoon-film like soundtrack of sound effects, combined with gross bodily realism, typical of parodic genres, with humour.
Source: https://vimeo.com/331586779
Domenic Bahmann / Stop Think Make
Bahmann's work uses real objects, sometimes combined with simple illustrations using black line work. I like how these everyday objects take on a new identity when combined with other items or drawings - it's really clever how I immediately know it's Pacman, just from a cut piece of carrot and 5 peas!
Emanuele Luzzati / La Gazza Ladra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNIyV2HcM-4
This animation uses simplistic Medieval-type figures and horses, with interesting colours and what seem like textured papers. It was made in the early 1960s and definitely seems of its time. I like the little magpie, which is cartoon-like and uses its tail feathers in a very gestural way.
Adam Hillman / Famous Artworks
Again, Hillman uses ordinary objects, such as paper clips, toothpicks or cereal to recreate instantly recognisable famous artworks. What is essentially a very simple idea, becomes very complex through how he arranges each object and I am in awe of how effective the resultant images are - I wish I had his patience! I think this is a very clever concept.
The Sketching Backpacker / Leaf Art
I love these illustrations from leaves. The drawings are really simple, using basic linework, combined with the leaves to represent clothes, hairstyles and even animals. I think it's really creative work and has lots of character.
Source: https://the-sketching-backpacker.tumblr.com/tagged/leaves
Harry Potter / The Tale of the Three Brothers
This reminds me of paper cut outs and shadow art. It is moody and atmospheric, with veiled apparitions. It is even more powerful because of its monochromatic nature and its sepia tones make it seem like a very old tale.