Concrete Columns Light up to Create a Rainbow Hallway

If you happen to visit the Netherlands Architecture Institute, make sure to head to the colonnade under the institute to be immersed in a rainbow of light. Artist Peter Struycken has turned the over 550-feet long series of columns into a row of canvases where you'll never know which color combination you're going to witness next.

The columns are uniformly illuminated by a simple but ingenious system of only red, green and blue lamps. Using a computer system, both primary and as well as blended color combinations occur every ten minutes. Lucky for us, a handful of photographers have captured a few of these stunning displays, the ones that they've personally witnessed with their very own eyes.

Above photo by Ronald Bellekom

Photo by Peter Struycken

Photo by Quistnix

Photo by Pieter Musterd

Photo by Sjoerd van Oosten

Photo by Susana Serrato

Photo by Elvin

Photo by Peter Struycken

Photo by Jacqueline ter Haar

Mysterious Spirits Already in Trees

Sculptor Keith Jennings carves wise faces into trees, revealing each wooden tower's inner spirit. Jennings first embarked on hisTree Spirits project back in 1982 when he decided to creatively manipulate a tree in his backyard with a few hand tools. Starting out as a way to kill time on a budget, the artist wound up honing his craft. Jennings was later commissioned to apply his wood sculpting skills on a series of trees throughout St. Simons Island, located right off the coast of the state of Georgia.

Jennings took two to four days to sculpt each serene face throughout the forest, allowing them to intriguingly blend into their surroundings. (Of course, once they're spotted, it's hard not to notice their faces.) Each sculptural portrait emerges from its wooden post like a haunting sage, ready to impart some knowledge. The artist says that each face he carves into the wood is created entirely according to the tree. He insists, "I don’t have that much to do with it. The wood speaks to you, ya know?”

Jennings' Tree Spirits project is on display throughout St. Simons Island (along private and public property) and the artist has conveniently tracked each one on Google Maps.

Amazing Anamorphic Sculptures in Cylindrical Reflections

Johannesburg-born, London-based sculptor Jonty Hurwitz constructs incredibly complex anamorphic structures whose true forms can only be seen through precise perspectives. Some of his creations feature an abstract figure circling a metallic cylinder whose purpose is simply to reveal a recognizable shape within its reflection. In the piece titled Rejuvenation, the chrome cylinder in the center visually transforms what appears to be a misshapen mold of copper is into a grasping human hand.

Hurwitz's body of work also includes anamorphic content that is devoid of a reflective plane. In these pieces, the artist breaks down figures and spatially divides them in particular compositions. They are often accompanied by a circular peephole from which a viewer is meant to view the distorted pieces as its true, composed form. In either case, perspective is the key to unlocking the warped sculptures that Hurwitz constructs with scientific precision. Using 3D scanning and the power of p, the artist finds a way to assemble his meticulous pieces. He says, "Finding that line between art and science is the underlying motivator in my art life."

If you're in London, Hurwitz is scheduled to have a piece on display at the Kinetica Art Fair, which is running from February 28th to March 3rd. In the meantime, check out the video, below, to see a 360° view of his piece titled Co-Founder (previously The Thinker) at Tower 42. 

Elephant on the Back Creativity

The work of French artist Fabien Mérelle involves creative combinations of dreams, experiences, and his early childhood imagination. He blurs the line between reality and fiction and his bio states: "Following the unrolling of a dream, playing with the free association of shapes and ideas, he seems to say that everything is transforming, metamorphing, opening itself to the most diverse interpretations."

Mérelle's complex works are small and he pays close attention to detail, two qualities that can be seen in this particular work, entitled Pentateuque. The piece is a whimsical sculpture that depicts a man, balancing the weight of an elephant on his back. It is made out of resin, paint, hair and fabric, and stands only 30 x 27 x 12 inches. The three dimensional form is a replica of the artist's original Pentateuch 2010 ink drawing, both of which visually interpret the phrase "carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders." Pentateuque was recently exhibited at the 2013 Art Stage Singapore international art fair, which took place at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore earlier this month. 

The Motherland Calls, also called Mother Motherland, Mother Motherland Is Calling, simply The Motherland, or The Mamayev Monument, is a statue in Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd, Russia, commemorating the Battle of Stalingrad. It was designed by sculptor Yevgeny Vuchetich and structural engineer Nikolai Nikitin. Declared the largest statue in the world in 1967, it is the last non-religious statue to be declared the largest; every record holder since has been a Buddhism-related sculpture. Compared with the later higher statues, The Motherland Calls is significantly more complex from an engineering point of view, due to its characteristic posture with a sword raised high in the right hand and the left hand extended in a calling gesture. The technology behind the statue is based on a combination of prestressed concrete with wire ropes structure, a solution which can be found also in another work of Nikitin's, the super-tall Ostankino Tower in Moscow.

Construction and dedication

The Making of Motherland Calls — When the memorial was dedicated in 1967 it was the tallest sculpture in the world, measuring 87 metres (279 feet) from the tip of its sword to the top of the plinth. The figure itself measures 52 metres (170 feet), and the sword 33 metres (108 feet). Two hundred steps, symbolizing the 200 days of the Battle of Stalingrad, lead from the bottom of the hill to the monument. The lead sculptor was Yevgeny Vuchetich, and the significant structural engineering challenges of the 7,900 tonnes (7,800 long tons; 8,700 short tons) of concrete sculpture were handled by Nikolai Nikitin. The statue appears on both the current flag and coat of arms of Volgograd Oblast.

The duplication of the wording in the title "Mother Motherland" does not exist in the original. The Russian word for "Motherland", is derived from "birth" and can be literally translated as "birth place". The title The Motherland that gave Birth to me is Calling would be an alternate translation, but The Motherland Calls is probably better idiomatic English.

The model who posed for the statue, Valentina Izotova, a native of the city, is still recognized for her resemblance to the statue. She was recruited by Lev Maistrenko, an artist who was working on the memorial complex in the early 1960s.

According to some sources the statue was partially inspired by the Winged Victory of Samothrace,[citation needed] with somewhat more extended drapery. Marshal of the Soviet Union Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov is buried in the area of the monument, as is famous Soviet sniper Vasily Zaytsev, who killed 225 Axis soldiers in the battle of Stalingrad.

The statue is currently leaning due to groundwater level changes causing movement of the foundations; the leaning is rapidly getting worse. The statue is not fixed to its foundations and is held in place only by its weight. It has moved by 20 centimetres and is not expected to be able to move much farther without collapsing. While local authorities deny that the statue is in danger, conservation and restoration works started in 2010.