Pride of Soldiers, A Scabetti Sculpture in A Highly Secure Military Location.

'Pride of Soldiers', this unique three meter diameter sculptural light commissioned for the Land Forces Command Head Quarters in Utrecht, has rarely been seen before due to its highly secure location.


above: The Kromhout Barracks houses the Royal Dutch Land Forces Command Head Quarters.

The newly erected Kromhout Barracks (which are really beautifully designed) stand on the outskirts of Utrecht and were designed by leading Dutch practice Meyer en Van Schooten Architects.

Dominic and Frances Bromley's unique commission, Pride of Soldiers, will only ever be seen by strict invitation. These photographs (by Frances Bromley, Jannes Linders and Stefan Van Weelden) are now the only access many will have to this remarkable work of art, as it is sited in one of the most secure places in the Netherlands; the Royal Dutch Land Forces Command Head Quarters.


above: Pride of Soldiers in the Kromhout Barracks, Netherlands by Dominic and Frances Bromley.

Installed in the Netherland's new Kromhout Barracks outside of Utrecht, this beautiful bone china sculpted light serves as a monument to the Armed Forces. The unique piece, comprised of many stylized soldiers hanging vertically to form a sphere, was crafted by Dominic and Frances Bromley of Scabetti.



The ceramic forms are slip cast fine bone china, cast by hand in the Potteries of Stoke-on-Trent:






The piece stands an impressive three meters in diameter hovering over a large table within the barrack's conference room.




Progressing around the room there's an extra dimension that reveals itself; each soldier stands in perfect formation and comes together to create the Lion of the Armed Forces emblem, with the central light at its heart.




Designing a piece so dramatic and specific to the location was a brave move for the accomplished duo and combined their unique technical and artistic approach. Pride of Soldiers must surely stand as the Bromley's most significant work to date.



View this and more installations by Scabetti on their website.
To purchase a sculpture or discuss a commission, contact the studio directly.

Books Carved Into Intricate Japonesque Landscapes by Artist Guy Laramee.

Another novel idea. Artist Guy Laramee is a composer, an author, a painter, a film director, an anthropologist and yes, a book-carver. The Canadian multidisciplinary artist has a series of old leather bound books out of which he carves beautiful mountainous and eroded landscapes. Below are many of his pieces.



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Artist's Statement:
"The erosion of cultures – and of “culture” as a whole - is the theme that runs through the last 25 years of my artistic practice. Cultures arise, become obsolete, and are replaced by new ones. With the vanishing of cultures, some people are displaced and destroyed. We are currently told that the paper book is bound to die. The library, as a place, is finished. One might say: so what? Do we really believe that “new technologies” will change anything concerning our existential dilemma, our human condition? And even if we could change the content of all the books on earth, would this change anything in relation to the domination of analytical knowledge over intuitive knowledge? What is it in ourselves that insists on grabbing, on casting the flow of experience into concepts ?

When I was younger, I was very upset with the ideologies of progress. I wanted to destroy them by showing that we are still primitives. I had the profound intuition that as a species, we had not evolved that much. Now I see that our belief in progress stems from our fascination with the content of consciousness. Despite appearances, our current obsession for changing the forms in which we access culture is but a manifestation of this fascination.

My work, in 3D as well as in painting, originates from the very idea that ultimate knowledge could very well be an erosion instead of an accumulation. The title of one of my pieces is “ All Ideas Look Alike”. Contemporary art seems to have forgotten that there is an exterior to the intellect. I want to examine thinking, not only “What” we think, but “That” we think.

So I carve landscapes out of books and I paint Romantic landscapes. Mountains of disused knowledge return to what they really are: mountains. They erode a bit more and they become hills. Then they flatten and become fields where apparently nothing is happening. Piles of obsolete encyclopedias return to that which does not need to say anything, that which simply IS. Fogs and clouds erase everything we know, everything we think we are.

After 30 years of practice, the only thing I still wish my art to do is this: To project us into this thick Cloud of Unknowing."

thanks to Colossal for bringing this to my attention
images courtesy of the artist
additional images courtesy of Kastor Magazine and Artnet

Portraits of Black Icons Made With Thousands Of Colorful Thumbtacks.

Andre Woolery's work depicts his journey as an artist and reflects his personal cultural experience as a young black man. His current work, comprised of thousands of colored thumbtacks (not unlike Eric Daigh's pushpin portraits) combined with paint, is primarily portraits of black icons by design.


above: Artist Andre Woolery with some of his thumbtack portraits

Initially inspired by Fruit Loops, because of their bright colors, Andre considered using the children's cereal as a medium. He then found a package of multicolored thumbtacks and began searching for them in all the colors he would need (apparently trying to find "orange" was like searching for the holy grail according to Andre).

Thanks to Mike Jacobs of Jam Paper, he ended up a wide array of colors (including orange) that made the following portraits of Jay-Z, Kanye West, Jimi Hendrix, President Obama and All About The Benjamins possible.




Challenged to find a way of keeping the tacks in place on the canvas, he bought ALL of the hardware store's expanding foam to spray the back of the canvas. The rest of the piece was tack-by-tack trial and error. Every 'pixel' was a lesson in spacing, light, and color to create the vision of Mr. Sean Carter (aka Jay-Z).


Jay-Z "The Tackover," April 2010
7,633 thumbtacks in total
Price for the original: $ 7,633.00, 20% of proceeds from original piece go to Harlem School of Arts.




Kanye West "Tacks on Tacks on Tacks," September 2011,
Over 8,000 thumbtacks
Price for the original: $ 12,000.00, 20% of proceeds from original piece go to Harlem School of Arts.




President Obama "Wet Paint," November 2011,
Over 10,000 thumbtacks.
Price for the original: $ 15,000.00





"It's All About the Benjamins," (featuring Benjamin Banneker) November 2011
23,850 thumbtacks in total
Price for the original: $ 25,000.00, 20% of proceeds from original piece go to Harlem Children's Zone.




Jimi Hendrix "Electric Feel"
Over 2,000 thumbtacks
Price for the original: $ 4,250.00, 20% of proceeds from original piece go to Harlem School of Arts.




Artist Andre Woolery:


All the artwork in this post (and more) is available for sale as originals or digital prints, some pieces whose partial proceeds go to the Harlem School of the Arts and the Harlem Children's Zone, making them that much more attractive.

Andre's thumbtack portraits only represent some of his artistic work. Check out his website to see more.

His etsy store

Shop for Andre's work here