What started as an art form practiced by prisoners and tramps has become a really cool way for crafty folks to show off their modeling skills by building awesome structures, and sculptural works of art, out of a million or so little pieces of wood and lots of glue.

Hit the link to peruse a gallery featuring eight matchstick art masterpieces, full of fine detail and fantastic constructs, just don’t light up anywhere near these highly flammable works of art or you can kiss them goodbye!

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Confucius has never looked so creepy! Sculpted by Zhang Huan in waaaay more than life sized scale (32 feet tall!), this is one version of the Chinese philosopher that you’ll want to steer clear of when it’s feeding time.

It’s so startlingly realistic that I have to wonder if Zhang hired a giant figure model for reference while sculpting. I kinda want to climb on top of giant Confucius’ head and pretend I’m Remy from the Pixar movie Ratatouille.

Link  –via Geekosystem

This incredibly cool sculpture is brought to you by the twisted mind of Ron English, an artist known for warping iconic figures into ironic statements (see Fat Tony and Dead Mickey), and who previously brought us an Obama-Lincoln mashup that was all the rage a few years back.

This time, Ron has brought us Obama hulking out, as he prepares for the upcoming election by saying “You vote for me or OBAMA SMASH!”

Link  –via AnimalNY

Edgar Allan Poe Foundation of Boston and the Boston Art Commission plan to erect a statue honoring Edgar Allan Poe, and they’ve narrowed down the design submissions to three finalists.

The finalists were selected from a pool of 265 artists from 42 states and 13 countries who submitted their qualifications for consideration. Working with the Edgar Allan Poe Foundation of Boston, the Boston Art Commission will oversee the installation of the public artwork in Edgar Allan Poe Square, the city-owned plaza located at the southeast corner of Boylston Street and Charles Street South between Park Square and Boston Common.

The artists are Jennifer Bonner and her teammate architect Christian Stayner, both of Los Angeles; Ann Hirsch of Cambridge and her teammate Boston architect Robert Olson; and Stefanie Rocknak of Oneonta, New York. Their design proposals were first presented by the artists on Monday, Jan. 9, 2012, at the Campus Center of Emerson College (150 Boylston St., four doors east of Poe Square). The proposed concepts will be presented once again at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square by project manager Jean Mineo on Thursday, January 19, 2012, the 203rd birthday of the Boston-born Poe.

The design shown is by sculptor Stefanie Rocknak. See them all and read the artist’s statements at the project site. Or, if you’re in Boston, see them at the library today! Link -Thanks, J.W. Ocker!

Believe it or not, this is a completely edible cake. A 6′ 4″ tall Storm Trooper cake was constructed by Amanda Oakleaf Cakes for the Arisia Sci-Fi Convention in Boston. The project took ten people two weeks of work, but how they did it is no secret. By popular demand, the bakery posted a photo gallery that depicts the process of building the cake, which was later consumed by around 600 fans. Link -via Boing Boing

This time-lapse GIF shows a portrait piece being created by artist Tom Deininger, who specializes in making amazing sculptural works of art out of found junk and garbage.

The use of found objects gives each piece a unique color scheme, and the elements that make up each piece are recognizable, as if the pieces may be lurking around in your trash bin somewhere, waiting to be released. His use of objects as texture also brings the subjects to life with their own power and personality, and they’re all eco-friendly to boot!

Tom has been featured on Neatorama before (link), and in the time since he has created a ton of new artworks, which are now featured on his website. Take a look, and see if you find Tom’s trashy artworks a-peeling. *wink*

Link  –via Beautiful Decay

These awesome sculptures are obviously inspired by toys, yet their style and subject matter would be lost on children. From a Kim Jong-Il potato head to a Virgin Mary shaped jet, Stephen Ives celebrates childhood in a decidedly adult manner.

Some look like toy mods, others are sculptures which are styled after plastic toys, and all have a unique style that is playful with serious undertones.

The only thing I don’t like about these sculptures is the fact that they haven’t been made into vinyl toy versions, because I want them all for my collection!

Link  –via Super Punch

This amazing LEGO sculpture of a Hyperion Battlecruiser from the video game Starcraft 2 was made by Sven Jungo, who used over 15000 LEGO bricks to build the highly detailed starship and must throw his back out every time he tries to move this thing!

And where does he display this behemoth in his house? I hope Sven doesn’t let any bratty little kids around this thing, because they might try to take it apart when no one’s looking.

You can see more pics of this incredible LEGO masterpiece at the link below, including artwork from the game as a point of reference. LEGO builders-Sven has already set the bar high for 2012!

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These incredibly detailed sculptures were made by UK artist David Mach, who uses thousands of matchsticks pressed into a clay mold to form the likeness of Chaplin, Marilyn and Ben Kingsley, among others.

Mach uses Japanese matchsticks because their heads come in all sorts of different colors, and color is definitely an important part of his works (note the crazy color combos of the Marilyn busts at the link).

Mach feels that a fun way to finish a show is to set one of these beauties ablaze and let it burn away, so he sets aside a few from every show to torch. Now that’s what I call hot headed!

Link –via DesignTAXI

These vibrant, rainbow colored artworks are by Jen Stark, and they’re made entirely of paper! Some of them look like a portal to another dimension, while others are like a rainbow colored coating for an otherwise drab world.

You can see works from her latest show here, and here’s a link to a previous Neatorama post on Jen’s awesome paper artworks. I feel a flashback coming on!

Link –via Super Punch

If you’re looking for something to do with that ridiculously expensive Louis Vuitton handbag you have lying around well look no further, because artist Billie Achilleos has some grand ideas about how to give those old bags new life.

This self-described “versatile artist and maker of things” has repurposed Vuitton items by cutting them up and making them into sculptures of animals. We first featured Billie here on Neatorama back in April, and she’s been hard at work since, so be sure to check out the link for her updated portfolio, which is full of repurposed creatures of fashion.

Link –via Super Punch

Sascha Mehlhase built a model of the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider out of LEGO bricks! It contains around 9,500 bricks and took 33 hours to assemble, in addition to 48 total hours of work just designing it. Read more about and see more pictures at his site. Link -via reddit

Boy, The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man sure is cute when he’s not stomping around terrorizing a city with his sugary goodness! For those of you with snow, you’re lucky because you can make your own geeky snowman, unlike we Southern Californians whose only knowledge of snow comes from the movies and tv shows. We’ll just have to settle for sculpting our mashed potatoes into something cool…

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Banksy has literally defaced a statue in his latest work, replacing the face of a replica statue with pixels as a political statement:

Banksy titled the statue “Cardinal Sin”, and designed it as a comment on recent crimes perpetrated by the Catholic church—a response to the child abuse scandal that was covered-up.

In a statement, Banksy said: “I’m never sure who deserves to be put on a pedestal or crushed under one.”

It’s a statement, no doubt, but is it worthy of sitting alongside the works of Van Dyck and Rubens?

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These sculptures are so beautifully crafted, and so finely detailed, that rendering them on aluminum roasting pans and trays is almost a shame, since these flimsy, throwaway objects can so easily be destroyed.

Created by Idan Friedman, these are classical styled portraits with a modern twist, recyclable works of art that hopefully won’t end up in a recycling bin.

Link –via Booooooom

Fiona (2010) by Jessica Harrison

These classically-styled statues of classy ladies with a grisly twist are the products of Jessica Harrison’s twisted imagination. She performs minor surgery on ceramic statues, removing an arm or skullcap or sometimes the entire head, then she modifies the statues to tell a dark, murderous tale.

If Hummel ever started making statues like these, I’m sure a Brony-esque trend would follow.

Link –via SuperPunch

What could possibly make the Predator alien more badass than he’s already proven himself to be? Make a full-sized likeness of him out of metal!

Standing 8 feet 2 inches tall and weighing over 11 hundred pounds, Steampunk Predator is custom made from various parts, automotive and otherwise, and recycled metal. Check out more from Kreatworks at their Etsy store link below, including a really cool Robocop and an awesome Alien.

Link –via BuzzFeed

German designer Elena Belmann turned the QR code rage into art with this clever three-dimensional sculpture made of blocks of wood. Link - via Get Addicted To

These fabulously detailed paper artworks by Peter Callesen create form with negative space, style from their almost generic non-style, and the frame is often used as a sort of mini stage for the scene. It’s amazing what people are doing with paper these days!

Link –via DesignTAXI

This 33 foot tall LEGO Christmas tree was unveiled last week in London’s St. Pancras International Station. It’s made out of 600,000 bricks, features ornaments made out of LEGOs and took over two months to build. Hopefully the children who visit the station won’t be tempted to take the towering plastic tree apart!

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These custom action figures are sculpted from scratch by Dayton Allen, and include characters from, among other sources, The Old Republic and The Force Unleashed video games. They’re way too awesome to be considered mere toys. Check out more of Dayton’s masterfully sculpted Star Wars character figures at the links below.

Link –via Super Punch –Dayton Allen

Villa Palagonia in Bagheria, Italy is famous for a flock of “monsters” on top of its garden walls.

The house was built in 1715, and immediately hailed as an architectural achievement, and one of the finest works of Sicilian Baroque on the island. But the Villa didn’t acquire the strange touch which made it world-famous until 1749, when the deranged Prince of Palagonia ordered a set of gargoyles to line its garden walls. Legions of dragons, soldiers, hunchbacks and freaks of nature look down on visitors from atop stony perches. According to legend, the most freakish faces are meant to caricature the many lovers of the prince’s promiscuous wife.

Get a closer look at these eccentric works and get a tour of the villa at For 91 Days. Link -Thanks, Juergen!

Steampunk as a fashion trend might be fading away, but steampunk inspired inventions and designs will never die. Matt Armstrong brings his version of steampunk inspired design to these LEGO brick sculptures, and the resulting inventions/artworks are quite handsome looking indeed. With classic designs, simplistic retro flair, and the look of full functionality, this is how you put the bricks to good use!

Link –via DesignTAXI

These cool metal sculptures, of celebrities like John Lennon and Andy Warhol, have such soft edges and fine detail that I was surprised to find out they’re made out of chicken wire. Kenyan artist Ivan Lovatt uses skills he learned from working in construction to create these metal masterpieces, and like a good builder he’s built sculptures which are durable enough to weather any storm!

Hit the link to see more of Ivan’s creations, including his amazing renditions of wildlife in wire.

Link –via BuzzFeed

I’m sure you’ve seen variations on this theme before, the internal anatomy of various cartoon characters and toys, many of which were done by the artist behind this cool LEGO man anatomy sculpt, Jason Freeny.

But what makes this article really cool is that it shows Jason’s entire process, so all you artists and DIYers get ready to take note!

Link –via Geekologie

These amazing metal sculptures, constructed out of old car and truck parts, are impressive in scale and design. Created by Tom Samui, these creations belong in a steampunk animal menagerie, or used as the coolest junkyard advertising ever.

These sculptures seem like a logistical nightmare, I mean how does he move this massive piece, with a crane? A gallery would have to be built around this piece, cause it ain’t coming in through the front door!

Link –via JazJaz

T Zero made this arm sculpture from the movie Terminator 2: Judgement Day out of spare parts. Then he gives you the process so you can make your own. However, you should be aware that it’s only two inches tall! Still, having on of these on your desk would be pretty cool. Link -via Everlasting Blort

Hakan Martensson knows his away around the sweet stuff, and his chocolate sculptures of fantastic beasts and pop culture icons are so detailed it would be a shame to eat such a beautiful work of art! Be sure to check out Hakan’s website for more fabulous sculpts by the master chocolatier.

Link –image source –via Ology

This spider sculpture by Louise Bourgeois looks big enough to swallow Spider Man whole, and probably should gobble up the webslinger for being such an attention monger!

Christie’s auction house decided to unveil their newest acquisition by hiring Craig Henningsen, star of Spider Man the Musical, to commemorate the occasion with some web-headed antics. The piece is the second largest spider sculpture in the world, and is expected to sell for over 4 million dollars.

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This funky Frankenstein sculpture looks good enough to eat! Created as part of the It’s Alive Project, this is one of 80 busts created by different artists striving to show the monster in a different light. Look out for the FrankenBieber, and the hilarious FrankenSpock!

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These great sculptures by Calvin Ma casts an oddly frumpish light on spandex clad superfolks. They look emo, bored with life and overweight. These are what action figures must look like in the Bizarro world, with catchphrases like “why bother?” and “i’ll get to it later”. And, looking at his website, all of Calvin’s sculpts look like action figures, even the bronzes!

Link –via ComicsAlliance

Portuguese born street artist Vhils has an original vision of what urban development really means, and he travels the globe exposing what’s beneath the surface of city walls .

Using various tools to dig, drill, scrape and otherwise remove sections of masonry, he reveals the images hidden behind the smooth walls, and the results are nothing less than spectacular. He should call his style of art urban erosion sculpture!

“This excavation, often a process of violent removal, stands in sharp contrast to the delicate portraits discovered hidden underneath.”

Can you dig it?

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Sculptors often express themselves in strange and mysterious ways, but most sculptors don’t have their works on display in a public park.

Frogner Park in Oslo, Norway has chosen an odd assortment of statues to fill their park, 23 works that center around nude forms in weird poses doing who knows what to each other (nothing pornographic, I assure you) and often looking quite happy doing whatever it is they’re doing.

BuzzFeed has a gallery showing off these enormous oddities, take a gander and i’m sure you’ll be asking yourself the same thing I did- “Wait, what’s going on here?”

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Link Via BuzzFeed

Stop that exit sign man! Japanese artist Yuki Matsueda created some nifty 3D art sculptures, including this one above - easily my favorite in the series.

Link - via The Inspiration Grid and Buzzfeed

Figure 1A

Sam Shuster
Emeritus Professor,
University of Newcastle Upon Tyne
Newcastle Upon Tyne, U.K.

Whether you enjoy classical sculpture or just pass it by when visiting stately homes and gardens, you must have noticed that there are many broken-off pieces. You may have further noticed that, if you exclude the commonplace loss of limbs and fingers, the penis fronts the list of lost sculptural properties (see example in Figure 1A and close-up in Figure1B). We all know the penile organ often goes astray socially, but why does its stone version go missing?

As a clinical researcher, I’ve spent a life wondering, a habit too strong to be undone by retirement; and this particular item of sculptural pathology has long idled listlessly on my list of wonderments. Then last year, during a touristic gawp at classical Rome, the enormity of the city’s sculpture population and that population’s inescapable depenilation gave me no option (I felt) but to study the problem. This is the curious story of how that happened.

Penises In, or Not In, The Vatican
My first, simplistic explanation of the missing penises was their deliberate removal, presumably because of distaste for the public showing of a private organ. That would explain the great frequency of their loss from both classical and later pieces on display in public places throughout Europe, where their removal could be executed in silence.

But what about Vatican City? There, surely, sculptures are less likely to be struck by vandalism in the gardens, or for concealment of sexual embarrassment in the great Vatican halls. After all, they were commissioned for their naked appearance, and the many paintings close by are just as revealing. Of course the oldest sculptures would have been exposed before reaching the safety of the Vatican, but the more contemporary pieces were always in safe hands. So my first experimental question about sculptural penis loss (SPL) was whether it was less in Vatican City than elsewhere.

I first explored the Vatican gardens, and while my wife oohed and ahhed at the many beauties to be seen, I oohed and ahhed at their sculptural absence: the shocking answer to my question was that the sculptures of the Vatican Gardens were just as afflicted by SPL as everywhere else.

Figure 1B

Surely, then, the key finding would be the state of sculpture inside the Vatican buildings, where there could be no SPL because anatomy would be protected from social or sexual vandals. Sadly for that hypothesis there was indeed, and obviously, SPL—just as much as outside one  finds (or doesn’t find) in the gardens, and in other parts of the Rome and other European sites.

To be sure of this, I needed quantitative confirmation. So I walked down one side of one of the enormous Vatican halls that extend seemingly unto infinity, each side of which is lined with sculptures, paintings and tapestries, and did an SPL count on a consecutive series of 50 sculptures of males with genital exposure—whether the subjects be adults, children, angels, or putti. To my amazement, almost 80% had lost their sexual termini.

This was serious, particularly as, as a practicing atheist, I had no desire or reason for doing battle with the Vatican.

An Alternative to the Penis
I sought independent confirmation from a  different source— what clinical researchers and would-be scientists call controls, in the belief that when coupled with a suitable dressing from the list of statistical salads, “controls” are an essential component of experimental truth.

There was a pretty obvious confirmatory (“control”) source available. If one protruding piece of terminal anatomy was missing, its loss would only be specific if another protruding piece was not missing. And the protuberance that was the natural “control” of the extremity I’d been examining was equally obvious on the other end of the sculpture, the nose. So I went back down the same track and did a recount of the same sculptures, but this time looking for missing noses. As you will by now have guessed, far fewer noses were lost than penises: just over 20%.

Now I was beginning to get somewhere. If two protuberances were equally available for removal, but only one was selected, there has to have been something special about it.

Failed research, of which I have much well-concealed experience, has left its message: when you think you’ve arrived at your happy ending it’s time to double-check, just as you know that happy music when a film still has 30 minutes left only means trouble. So I walked back past the sculptures yet again, this time trying to keep my mind and eye open to all and any new options—but not with the scientific neutrality some think is essential, because that just sees all things as equals, which means nothing stands out for the picking; far better to look with bias, almost to pretend there’s something worthwhile, which you then go on to reject
when you find it insupportable.

Figure 2A

A Subtlety Noticed
Ambling past the same sculptures again, this time with my selectively open mind, I did find    something different: I noticed some of the noses I’d been counting as intact had a slightly different color. A closer look showed a faint line where the color changed.

The explanation was soon obvious: they’d been repaired. For each missing nose, a new nose had been made and fixed (see Figures 2A and 2B).

As these nasal repairs could have made all the difference to my extremity count, I had to go back yet again to examine the noses of the same group of sculptures more closely. But this time I could see that my odd behaviour had been noticed, and that I was being watched by the Vatican staff, who appeared curious about what I might be up to. I wasn’t stopped, but I could see this would have to be my last go! So staring as blandly as I could, now that I was being watched by    the attendants, I  did a final recount of my small sample group of sculptures, and to my delight—never believe a scientist who claims to be unconcerned about what is found—the number of broken noses, if you include those missing and those repaired and replaced, was over 70%, similar to the number of broken-off penises.

Figure 2B

Projecting Extremities
So my assumed penile pathology was spurious. The findings simply show that projecting extremities are more easily broken off than other bodily hunks. Amazing how the obvious becomes obvious only after you recognise it.

Of course projections are likely to be struck accidentally, but a more interesting possibility (and therefore the one to follow even if it is wrong) is that the molecular stress induced in the stone sculpted by hammer and chisel will always be more extreme on relatively narrow, projecting extremities, which will therefore snap more easily than other, less stressed, parts of the sculpted stone. So maybe it isn’t just coincidence that the Satyr’s non-protuberant genital spiral has remained intact but his nose hasn’t.

Author’s Personal Comment
Satisfying though it was to find an explanation of the penile pathology of classical sculpture, sadly its tameness is much less interesting than the discarded theoretical possibilities, and has taken some of the excitement out of sculpture-viewing.

Author’s Addendum
Since this paper was written, it has been reported that in Italian president Silvio Berlusconi’s office in the Chigi Palace, a second-century sculpture of Mars has been given an adjustable plastic penis to stand with the new plastic hand of Venus.

Editor’s Note
Readers may wish to supplement the observations and analysis in the article with the mostly (but not entirely) related data and commentary gathered and performed three decades earlier by another doctor from the United Kingdom, who also conducted independent research in Italy. See Chris McManus’s “Scrotal Asymmetry in Man and in Ancient Sculpture,” Nature, vol. 259, February 5, 1976, p. 426.

A snippet of McManus’s study “Scrotal Asymmetry in Man and Ancient Sculpture.”

There Dr. McManus writes:

“I observed the scrotal asymmetry of 107 sculptures, either of antique origin or Renaissance copies, in a number of Italian museums and galleries. Table 1 shows that although the ancient artists were correct in tending to place the right testicle higher, they were wrong in so far as they also tended to make the lower testicle the larger: we may postulate that they were also using the common-sense view that the heavier ought to be lower. Although Winckelmann’s observations of antique sculpture were correct, his observations of nature are clearly in error.”

In 2002 Dr. McManus was honored for this work, with an  Ig Nobel Prize in the field of medicine.

_____________________

The article above is republished with permission from the January-February 2011 issue of the Annals of Improbable Research. You can download or purchase back issues of the magazine, or subscribe to receive future issues. Or get a subscription for someone as a gift!

Visit their website for more research that makes people LAUGH and then THINK.

I ain’t afraid of no hyper-realistic sculptures of Egon Spengler. Are you? This incredible work of fan art was created by artist Carol Lyon, who has documented the process in one of his FaceBook photo galleries.

Link Via BuzzFeed

Gavin Worth sure knows how to bend a line, and design, and construct beautiful works of art. It’s amazing how he uses a thin strand of wire to portray the human form so elegantly, and yet faithfully retains the integrity of the original sketch.

Head over to his website at the link below to see more works of all kind by Gavin, or hit the Colossal link for a small gallery of wire works.

Link –via Colossal

Doesn’t Marge look lovely? Japanese artist y_yamaden carved her likeness in a banana. Link -via Laughing Squid

At first glance, these sponge sculptures by Etienne Gros might make you blush, screaming things like “Not Safe For Work!” or “Kids, Look Away!” But they’re sponges, people, not naked bodies, so don’t start posting angry comments just yet. And if you don’t think the naked body is a work of art, how about these naked sponges?

Link –via DesignTAXI

Though they're not real plant roots but these metal "root sculptures" by Kim Sun Hyuk are still pretty awesome: Link - via Collosal

Geez, Superman’s hair looks perfect even as a fetus! Tongue in cheek and encased in clear resin to complete that medical specimen look, this has to be the first time that superfolks have undergone a prenatal makeover! Take a look at more of these cool sculptures by Alexandre Nicolas at the ComicsAlliance link below.

Link -via ComicsAlliance

This maquette of the Hatbox Ghost, a mysterious figure that appeared briefly in Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion before seemingly disappearing off the face of the earth, was made by Kevin and Jody Kidney in celebration of Walt Disney World’s 40th Anniversary.

He features real hair fibers and a base made out of weathered barn wood, with a wavy glass bell jar on top so the sculpt looks a bit strange when viewed through the glass. Let’s hope this sculpture doesn’t mysteriously vanish like the original animatronic figure!

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This might look like a crime scene photo, or something out of Dahmer’s personal collection, but believe it or not these amazing body part sculptures are made entirely out of bread. Created by Thai baker/sculptor Kittiwat Unarrom, these gruesome looking pieces blur the line between art and food, and it takes a lot of nerve to bite into a loaf of bread that looks like a corpse! Follow the link to DesignTaxi to see a short vid and many more examples of these morbid food sculptures.

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All gussied up and nowhere to go, these morbid curiosities are the product of Dutch artist Cedric Laquieze, who uses the skeletons of cats and dogs and covers them with fake flowers to create a startlingly beautiful effect. Now your deceased pet can serve as the centerpiece for your next family get together!

Link -via DesignTAXI

Pattern Paper Stilletos by Jennifer Collier

Jennifer Collier of Unit Twelve uses found and recycled papers–patterns, maps, newspapers–to create everyday objects like shoes and cameras. Rather than choosing an item to sculpt then scrounging up the paper for it, Collier works the other way around: “I tend to find items then investigate a way in which they can be reused and transformed.” The results are interesting and a bit whimsical. You can check out more of her work on Laughing Squid, or see it at the Origin Contemporary Craft Fair Sep 22-28. Link

Holy calf indeed. These giant sculptures are made by Finnish artist Miina Äkkijyrkkä out of automobile parts. Äkkijyrkkä, who is also a dairy cow advocate, has stated that she “looks at the world from a cow’s point of view.” I wonder if she’s ever thought about converting these sculptures into steerable vehicles.

Link -via Laughing Squid

(Image credit: Juha Metso)

The only limit to what a skilled craftster can create with needle felting is the imagination. There are artists who will surprise you with their subjects, like this heart-ripping declaration of love from artist Hine Mizushima. Check out a variety of weird sculptures at Oddee. Link

Mozart Guerra is a Brazillian-born, Paris-stationed artist with previous experience as a set designer. Using nylon rope and styrofoam, he builds surrealistic sculptures of candy-striped skulls, smoking monkeys, and geisha. Much more beautiful than my sisal rope basket.

Link -via Beautiful Decay

Naldz Graphics has a great collection of paper craft sculptures and this piece by Karie O’Donnell is simply stunning. Be sure to check out the rest of the gallery for more delightful works from a variety of artists.

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