If you live in or near Chicago come see Max and I at the Humanities Festival in early November. We will be speaking about our work, ideas and collaborations.
click for festival info
Woo ha!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Chicago Humanities Festival
If you live in or near Chicago come see Max and I at the Humanities Festival in early November. We will be speaking about our work, ideas and collaborations.
click for festival info
Woo ha!
Saturday, August 23, 2008
new line of designs is out now
I've been working with the folks at up with paper to design a new line of foldable awesomeness. They are called the finishing touch, though I've been calling them rotationals. They are flat until the user twists them together and then they spring up to become a bow like embellishment on a gift. click the picture to link to the website!
Also siggraph was totally rad. I only got in one fight with an origami enthusiast (who told me since I cut and glue that I'm cheating). More of an update as I recover.
Matt
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Mattshlian.com now with paypal
you can now order work directly off the site with paypal. no more shifty checks or well concealed money.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Siggraph2008
I have been asked to be an artist in residence at this years siggraph festival. I am beyond excited to be participating in the event. more news on the event soon- for now just type siggraph into your browsers and enter nerdfest USA.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
3D design at Washtenaw Community College puts it to bed
My students blew me away this past semester at at WCC. These are images from their final installation at the college. I am going to miss this class. I can't believe I get paid to do this.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
new work / kite flying
I gave a talk last week at Fort Wayne Indiana and after talking about paper folding and printmaking for an hour they asked me what I'm currently working on.
I'm making beats for the Olympics.
...more news on that as it unfolds-
But I do still fold paper and make drawings and prints,
some evidence:
this was made yesterday:
paper engineering 101 update:
As a final assignment in Paper Engineering I had asked students to design a kite from paper. I gave them some resources and had them research different kite designs. We defined a kite in out own way- it needed to get off the ground (fly) and not be a unicorn.
Our final class at u of m
Erin showing us how it's done
my overly-designed kite made from tyvek
the rain did not stop us
my kite in action
My other class is working with balloons. Hundreds of twist balloons. Our installation goes up this week and I'll be sure to upload some images very soon.
m
I'm making beats for the Olympics.
...more news on that as it unfolds-
But I do still fold paper and make drawings and prints,
some evidence:
this was made yesterday:
paper engineering 101 update:
As a final assignment in Paper Engineering I had asked students to design a kite from paper. I gave them some resources and had them research different kite designs. We defined a kite in out own way- it needed to get off the ground (fly) and not be a unicorn.
Our final class at u of m
Erin showing us how it's done
my overly-designed kite made from tyvek
the rain did not stop us
my kite in action
My other class is working with balloons. Hundreds of twist balloons. Our installation goes up this week and I'll be sure to upload some images very soon.
m
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Number one!
My ego just got a little bit bigger.
I was told yesterday that when you type "paper engineer" or "paper engineering" into google image search my work comes up number one. In fact I'm number one and two...then Robert Sabuda! Take that, Sabuda!!!
Heres a screen capture as proof:
Also a few new pictures of work can be found here.
I was told yesterday that when you type "paper engineer" or "paper engineering" into google image search my work comes up number one. In fact I'm number one and two...then Robert Sabuda! Take that, Sabuda!!!
Heres a screen capture as proof:
Also a few new pictures of work can be found here.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Friday, February 29, 2008
MICA and opening pictures
Just got back from a lecture / workshop at MICA. I had a blast seeing the school and meeting the folks in Baltimore. The student wok is amazing! What a great community for art making. They invited me back to work on an artist book with the students.
Poster
Print studio
the new building at MICA
A gallery in the sculpture studios- a reclaimed train station.
As promised, images from the 2 person show with Graem Whyte at the Ann Arbor Art center:
Mr handsome
gallery view
set of new work
front of gallery
graem in the window
front of the gallery
graems work
more of grames killer work
Poster
Print studio
the new building at MICA
A gallery in the sculpture studios- a reclaimed train station.
As promised, images from the 2 person show with Graem Whyte at the Ann Arbor Art center:
Mr handsome
gallery view
set of new work
front of gallery
graem in the window
front of the gallery
graems work
more of grames killer work
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
matt shlian update
I'm super busy setting up 2 shows opening this Friday! - First, A two person show at the Ann Arbor Art center and a group show at the Gallery project right around the corner.
Some pictures:
My work was included in a group show at the Society of Arts and Crafts in Boston. The show dealt with architecture and structure in contemporary craft.
click to enlarge a panoramic photo of the work:
Its time to get familiar with my favorite artist, MFA candidate and sole member of the University of Michigan's polar research team Thea Eck. Her big big show "It is Never Tomorrow" is coming up in March and it is going to blow minds. Show details are on the final image in the series.
theaeck.com
Some pictures:
My work was included in a group show at the Society of Arts and Crafts in Boston. The show dealt with architecture and structure in contemporary craft.
click to enlarge a panoramic photo of the work:
Its time to get familiar with my favorite artist, MFA candidate and sole member of the University of Michigan's polar research team Thea Eck. Her big big show "It is Never Tomorrow" is coming up in March and it is going to blow minds. Show details are on the final image in the series.
theaeck.com
Monday, January 28, 2008
Peter Callesen
dear everyone I know,
Please stop forwarding me Peter Callesen's paper cuts.
Yes, they are great. No, I won't make my work more like them.
Please stop forwarding me Peter Callesen's paper cuts.
Yes, they are great. No, I won't make my work more like them.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
the book is officially in limbo
we are so sorry. Now we will just have to wait for phaidon to come to us.
on the plus side the album is almost mastered.
new artist statement
New artist statement / teaching philosophy (if you like reading those sorts of things) now posted at http://www.mattshlian.com/statement.html
or just keep reading below...
matt
Statement
As a paper engineer my work is rooted in print media, book arts and commercial design. Beginning with an initial fold, a single action causes a transfer of energy to subsequent folds, which ultimately manifest in drawings and three dimensional forms. I use my engineering skills to create kinetic sculpture which have lead to collaborations with scientists at the University of Michigan. We work on the nanoscale, translating paper structures to micro origami. Our investigations extend to visualizing cellular division and solar cell development. Researchers see paper engineering as a metaphor for scientific principals; I see their inquiry as basis for artistic inspiration. In my studio I am a collaborator, explorer and inventor. I begin with a system of folding and at a particular moment the material takes over. Guided by wonder, my work is made because I cannot visualize its final realization; in this way I come to understanding through curiosity.
The root cause of Alzheimer’s disease is protein mis-folding. The modular arrangements in which protein strands are formed, break down and incorrectly fold. This causes a chain reaction of erroneous folding. My approach to understanding this is hands on; the microscopic folds can be mapped on a human scale out of paper and used as a basis for sculpture. Expanding and contracting in response to the viewer’s physical participation, new questions are raised; how can this form generate movement? How can size relate to the body? What happens when molecular forms become life-size and inhale the surrounding space?
My drawings begin by asking indirect questions which yield no concrete answers. As with my three dimensional work, my focus is on the process rather than final product. I am fascinated with computer technology and its ability to mistranslate information. Like a game of “telephone”, multiple software programs fracture and compound text and image as they travel through different formats on the computer. Bearing little resemblance to their origin, the new information is rendered on a pen plotter creating a chaotic world rooted in happenstance. No longer legible, I see the drawings as blueprints for invisible cities, answers to questions that may unfold over time.
Teaching Philosophy
MIT professor, Victor Weisskopf, wrote in an essay entitled Teaching Science that, "In science we must always begin by asking questions, not giving answers. In this way we contribute to the joy of insight. For science is the opposite of knowledge. Science is curiosity."
I teach my students that curiosity is the root of art making practice, and the investigations they undertake in their formative studies while learning basic principals of art and design can be pursued across media and disciplines. The key to making their ideas accessible and successful is through rigorous research, design, execution and critique. I show students how limitations are necessary in producing artwork and force them to work within boundaries. In three-dimensional design we begin our year exploring common materials and discovering inherent properties therein. How can they transform the material, creating a dialogue with it rather than imposing a form upon it? They reflect and respond in written form and through critique become active participants in their learning. Establishing an atmosphere where questions are encouraged and collaboration is paramount, I find remarkable results occur when different approaches are allowed to collide. My students become problem solvers as they work through projects, realizing that the process is just as important as the final product.
or just keep reading below...
matt
Statement
As a paper engineer my work is rooted in print media, book arts and commercial design. Beginning with an initial fold, a single action causes a transfer of energy to subsequent folds, which ultimately manifest in drawings and three dimensional forms. I use my engineering skills to create kinetic sculpture which have lead to collaborations with scientists at the University of Michigan. We work on the nanoscale, translating paper structures to micro origami. Our investigations extend to visualizing cellular division and solar cell development. Researchers see paper engineering as a metaphor for scientific principals; I see their inquiry as basis for artistic inspiration. In my studio I am a collaborator, explorer and inventor. I begin with a system of folding and at a particular moment the material takes over. Guided by wonder, my work is made because I cannot visualize its final realization; in this way I come to understanding through curiosity.
The root cause of Alzheimer’s disease is protein mis-folding. The modular arrangements in which protein strands are formed, break down and incorrectly fold. This causes a chain reaction of erroneous folding. My approach to understanding this is hands on; the microscopic folds can be mapped on a human scale out of paper and used as a basis for sculpture. Expanding and contracting in response to the viewer’s physical participation, new questions are raised; how can this form generate movement? How can size relate to the body? What happens when molecular forms become life-size and inhale the surrounding space?
My drawings begin by asking indirect questions which yield no concrete answers. As with my three dimensional work, my focus is on the process rather than final product. I am fascinated with computer technology and its ability to mistranslate information. Like a game of “telephone”, multiple software programs fracture and compound text and image as they travel through different formats on the computer. Bearing little resemblance to their origin, the new information is rendered on a pen plotter creating a chaotic world rooted in happenstance. No longer legible, I see the drawings as blueprints for invisible cities, answers to questions that may unfold over time.
Teaching Philosophy
MIT professor, Victor Weisskopf, wrote in an essay entitled Teaching Science that, "In science we must always begin by asking questions, not giving answers. In this way we contribute to the joy of insight. For science is the opposite of knowledge. Science is curiosity."
I teach my students that curiosity is the root of art making practice, and the investigations they undertake in their formative studies while learning basic principals of art and design can be pursued across media and disciplines. The key to making their ideas accessible and successful is through rigorous research, design, execution and critique. I show students how limitations are necessary in producing artwork and force them to work within boundaries. In three-dimensional design we begin our year exploring common materials and discovering inherent properties therein. How can they transform the material, creating a dialogue with it rather than imposing a form upon it? They reflect and respond in written form and through critique become active participants in their learning. Establishing an atmosphere where questions are encouraged and collaboration is paramount, I find remarkable results occur when different approaches are allowed to collide. My students become problem solvers as they work through projects, realizing that the process is just as important as the final product.
Monday, December 17, 2007
book on hold
We had some issues with the publisher and the book is being pushed back until January / February of next year...here are some sample pages:
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