Matthew Reinhart's Blog, page 20

Word of the Day: Peccadillo

Peccadillo \peck-uh-DIL-oh\ noun

1. A slight offense; a petty fault.

Origin: Peccadillo comes from Spanish pecadillo, "little sin," diminutive of pecado, "sin," from Latin peccatum, from peccare, "to make a mistake, to err, to sin."  It is related to impeccable, "without flaw or fault".

Whats Popped Up: Dragons & Monsters

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The final book in the Encyclopedia Mythologica series has arrived in bookstores! Building upon the investigation of Fairies and Magical Creatures and delving deep into the tales of Gods & Heroes, we finally come face to face with some of the most memorable Dragons & Monsters from around the world.

To celebrate the release of the book, the studio created a 12ft long Chinese dragon that is on display in the front window of one of our favorite local bookstores, Books of Wonder. The vibrant red Chinese Lung twists and turns in the air above pop-ups of Medusa, a Medieval Wyvern, the Yeti and a curling Eastern dragon that was the inspiration for the window installation

Stop by Books of Wonder to see the display, day or night until Saturday, May 7th when Matthew will be sharing the new work and autographing in-store copies, so mark your calendars now if you are in the Manhattan area.

~Kyle

Word of the Day: Canorous

Canorous \kuh-NOR-us; KAN-or-uhs\ adjective

1. Richly melodious; pleasant sounding; musica.

Origin:
Canorous comes from the Latin canor, "melody", from canere, "to sing".  It is related to chant, from French chanter "to sing", ultimately from the Latin word canere.

 

Vintage Movable Review: Transient Rainbow Card

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One of my all-time favorite artists is Cai Gou-Qiang. Maybe it's his inventive use of explosives as an artform or the massive installations that I was confronted with at his Guggenheim show a few years back. Had I not been so overwhelmed by the artwork I would have noticed this pop-up card in the gift shop where it was distributed by Gallery 91.

This movable card showcases a 15-second fleeting moment that occurred over the East River in New York on June 29, 2002. Transient Rainbow employed 1,000 multicolored peony fireworks to suspend a vivid rainbow against the dark New York skyline. With the reflection from the water, you get the impression of the always inspiring, double rainbow or circular rainbow. You can see more images and even a video from the event on his website by scolling down through his 2002 projects.

The pop-up card itself is a four panel hinged reflective foil base that flattened out to represent the shimmering water under the rainbow that swings on a v-fold to complete the familiar arch. It was conceived by Cai Gou-Qiang and created by Japansese paper engineer Takaaki Kihara, a disciple of Masahiro Chatani and a well-known figure in field of origamic architecture. The design aesthetics are similar to his other works where the pop-up elements are cut and constructed from a single sheet of paper leaving a symmetrical pattern in the base page.

This interesting artifact does not qualify as a vintage movable, but it is a rarity and I felt it needed a closer review, much like the rest of Cai Gou-Qiang's work.

~Kyle

Artist Watch: Jérôme Corgier

I came across Atelier Pariri from two sources within a few days of one another.  One was through the Daily Heller, which is a blog and daily email from Steven Heller (a very experienced Art Direct, and very respected in the field).  The second was from a friend of mine who discovered Atelier Pariri from the New York Times.

Jérôme Corgier, who is a part of Atelier Pariri, creates paper type illustrations.  And they are really beautiful.  I love the photography of the final product and the fact that the piece actually exists in reality.  Check out his work below and more here!

Word of the Day: Paladin

Paladin \PAL-uh-din\ noun

1. A knight-errant; a distinguished champion of a medieval king or prince; as, the paladins of Charlemagne.

2. A champion of a cause.

Origin: Paladin derives from Late Latin palatinus, "and officer or the palace," from Latin  palatium, "royal residence, palace," from Palatium, one of the seven hills of Rome on which Augustus had his residence.

History Lesson: The Red Baron

On April 21st, 1908 the German war pilot known as the Red Baron was shot down and fatally wounded near the French city of Amiens.  Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richtofen earned the nickname "Red Baron" because he shot down over 80 opponents over the course of his career and usually flew in a plane that was painted red.  The German propaganda machine capitalized on Richtofen's victories to energize the war effort and spread (sometimes) exaggerated stories of his exploits.  He is considered the ace of all aces of World War I and is perhaps the best known pilot of all time.

He was so respected, even by his enemies, that when he was shot down the allied forces organized a full military funeral for him and buried his body in a cemetery at the village of Bertangles.  In 1925 his brother Bolko came and took his remains back to Germany.  Through numerous books, movies, and pop-culture references he remains a well-known historical figure to this day.

Word of the Day: Pin Money

Pin money \pin money\ noun

1.  An allowance of money given by a husband to his wife for private and personal expenditures.
2.  Money for incidental expenses.
3.  A trivial sum.

Origin: Pin money originally referred to money given by husbands to their wives for the specific purpose of buying pins.

Artist Watch: Elsa Mora

I discovered Elsa Mora already almost a year ago and i got enchanted by the variety of the art she creates: jewelry, drawings, paper cuts, flowers compositions, porcelain, dolls, paintings, miniature books. And what's even more interesting is her life but I want you to go and take a look to her website and check it out personally.



 ~Gio

Weekly Beast: Chan's Megastick

Phobaeticus chani or Chan's megastick is a species of of stick insect.  These are some of the largest in the world!  They hail from the State of Sabah in Borneo and only six specimens have been found.  Scientists have found one specimen that measured 22 inches (with the front legs fully extended)!  They assume that Chan's megasticks live in the canopy of the rainforest making it very hard to find and study.