Houston, We Have A Cat Problem

Oversized embroidery, a fashionable reptile, and lazy vases. [View this email in your browser] [Colossal: Art, Design, and Visual Culture] A Herd of Cats Fill Advertising Placements at a London Tube Stop for Two Weeks The Clapham Common Tube station in London is [currently covered in cats], and for the most part it’s just as straightforward as it may seem. A project known as the Citizens Advertising Takeover Service (or CATS), took over 68 advertisements in the station as a way to bring cute imagery into the daily vision of passersby, while momentarily ceasing the onslaught of continuous advertising faced during daily commutes, and life. CATS secured the money to finance the project through a Kickstarter campaign six months ago, and in the end raised £23,000. Floral Cross-Stitch Street Installations by Raquel Rodrigo Set designer and artist Raquel Rodrigo brings the [macro details of cross-stitch embroidery] to building facades around Madrid. Her colorful installations are prepared beforehand with enlarged cross-stitch techniques utilizing thick string wrapped on wire mesh before each is unrolled and affixed to a surface. The decorative pieces create a fun, pixelated texture that looks completely different close up versus at a distance. ADVERTISEMENT A Caiman Wearing a Crown of Butterflies Photographed by Mark Cowan While traveling through the Amazon to study reptile and amphibian diversity with the Herpetology Division at the University of Michigan, photographer Mark Cowan happened upon a strange sight: a caiman whose head was [nearly covered in butterflies]. The phenomenon itself isn’t particularly unusual, salt is critical to the survival of many creatures like butterflies and bees who sometimes drink tears from reptiles in regions where the mineral is scarce (we’ve seen the same thing happen with turtles). Misshapen Glass Vases by Studio E.O Appear to Melt Atop Angular Stone Platforms Indefinite Vases is a recent project by multidisciplinary design practice [Studio E.O] based in Stockholm. Working with handblown glass and cut stone, traditional vase forms are melted and cooled around sharp edges to create place-specific vessels. The North American Winners of the Polartec APEX Awards, the Future of Outerwear Design (Sponsored) While [Polartec] pushes the boundaries of fabric science, they rely on the inspiration of designers and developers to realize the beautiful shapes their fabrics can truly become. For nearly 20 years, the [Polartec APEX Awards] has recognized this collaboration by honoring the design teams who utilize Polartec fabrics to push boundaries and usher in the future of outerwear design. To announce the 2016 winners, Polartec enlisted the help of specially designed android mannequins and the photography of Chris Hornbecker. Together with a team of veteran character and special effect artists, fabricators, digital artists, and stylists, Hornbecker’s energetic and emotional photography transforms mortal models into futuristic figures. This year’s seven [North American Apex Award Winners]. Ominous Storms Photographed in Black and White by Mitch Dobrowner Photographer Mitch Dobrowner travels the U.S. and sets up his camera in front of apocalyptic storms that rise above rural fields in Oklahoma, Kansas, and North Dakota. Inspired by photographers like Minor White and Ansel Adams, he captures breathtaking landscapes that [remind us of nature’s raw power] by juxtaposing the endless flat plains of the southern and midwest states with dramatic weather formations. Lightning strikes and tornadoes feature heavily in Dobrowner’s black and white images that at times look like moments right out of the first few minutes of the Wizard of Oz. 150th Anniversary Edition of “Alice in Wonderland” Features Rare 1969 Salvador Dalí Illustrations While glancing at Salvador Dalí’s paintings one might get the sense that they’ve tripped down their mind’s own rabbit hole, all of a sudden dropped within a barren wasteland filed with abstract objects and creatures. The pairing then, of Dalí and Alice in Wonderland writer and mathematician Lewis Carroll, seem perfectly matched—two men whose minds travel far beyond the cutesy corners of an average fairytale. In the 1960s an editor at Random House [realized this genius partnership], commissioning Dalí to illustrate an exclusive edition of Alice in Wonderland, of which Dalí signed every copy. From the Colossal Shop: Cat Cards! We wouldn't necessarily want to play against a bunch of sneaky, clever cats in a game of rummy, but we're definitely ok with them [hanging out on the cards]. Designed by Jessica Hische, Cat Cards are available now in [The Colossal Shop][!] Copyright © 2016 Colossal, all rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences] or [unsubscribe from this list] [MailChimp Email Marketing]