In the months and weeks prior to the exhibition “Prepare for Pictopia” (2009), a selected group of international artists were commissioned by Pictoplasma and the Haus der Kulturen der Welt to create new site-specific artwork. These works played on the main topics of the exhibition: the remix of a common visual vocabulary, the animistic physical presence of character design and the approach to interact with characters in ritualistic play. One of the most ambitious tasks was to transform the venue’s vast, empty lobby, so Pictoplasma invited Miami based artist duo FriendsWithYou to join in and create an unforgettable experience.
The areal with over 800 square meters was re-designed as a full-grown interactive installation referencing a suburban landscape, including private hide-aways, cheerful picket fences and FriendsWithYou’s legendary bouncing castle “Fun House”.
Not only was the installation the first to greet visitors of the exhibition, thus having to introduce and transport the exhibition’s core topics. Most importantly it had to be carefully conceived and produced in such a way to stand up to the enormous – and sometimes uncontrollable – willingness, of the more than 30.000 visitors to engage in wild, limitless and untamed play.
As the central installation for the exhibition “Prepare for Pictopia” at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (2009), Pictoplasma produced a series of five unique, interactive bumper cars referencing iconic characters by international artists Motomichi Nakamura (US/JP), Boris Hoppek (DE), Nathan Jurevicius (AUS), Tado (UK) and Doma (ARG).
Every hour lights gradually faded as the sun set in the exhibition hall, while the central marked place arena came to life in an illuminated fire-work of sounds, lights and colours. The dodgems awoke and invited visitors to hop in the character cars for a truly psychedelic ritual.
Accompanied by the special, 6 channel soundtrack composed by Künstler Treu, a synchronised light-show in blue, red and white revealed the previously hidden multilayered inhabitants of the graphical arena designed by Steve Alexander from the art-collective Rinzen.
The Bumper cars have since made a reappearance at the Internationaal Beeldfestival in Rotterdam, where visitors were able to literally bump away each others visual fatigue.
French designer Florent Feys aka Doudouboy has worked extensively for the luxury industry – his luscious, oneiric and crystalline illustration style is the perfect match to brand high-class products such as haute couture or radiant perfumes.
In 2009, Pictoplasma commissioned Doudouboy to collaborate on a large-scale, walkable installation, playing on the topic of perfect and sterile consumer aesthetics incorporating minimal, yet engaging characters. The aim was to create a maximal notion of desire while keeping the viewer at unreachable distance.
The installation “Brilhante” employs the optical illusion of an infinity room by arranging mirrors to seal and extend a closed space. This endless void is the perfect stage for an over-sized, gently revolving koala bear statue covered in exclusive fur.
A soundtrack sets an uncanny mood, as the visitor is tempted to touch, hug and cuddle the precious creature, only to see his own image endlessly reflected in the life-less eyes and infinite space of the installation.
To welcome visitors of the “Prepare for Pictopia” festival at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, celebrating the best in contemporary character design and art from the 19th of March to the 3rd of May 2009, Pictoplasma and Wiyumi designed a series of character clan flags representing selected original art-work included in the central exhibition.
The flags referenced reduced and abstract versions of characters by Motomichi Nakamura, Boris Hoppek, Tim Biskup, Tado, FriendsWithYou, Akinori Oishi and Doma.
Additionally a series of wearable lucha-libre masks depicting the same reduced characters were on offer, allowing visitors to “Get into Character” themselves.
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In 2008 the TodaysArt Festival, Den Haag, invited Pictoplasma to come up with an open, collective urban game. We accepted the kind invitation and set up a real-life, Mario-Kart-like race, straight through the passage in front of the Ministry of Environment (tellingly named VROM).
Two huge trucks brought in hay to mark the track and the “Character Collision Army” recruitment office was erected, where festival visitors were drafted, drilled and prepared for a truly character-driven combat.
The result was a gasoline infused thrill with roaring go-karts, a high speed radio edit by Jason Forrest blasting from the ministry’s propaganda speakers, drill-instructor Jared Gradinger shouting out rude commands and the opportunity for clue-less passer-byes to support their favorite character clan, designed by Motomichi Nakamura, Fons Schiedon and Rinzen.
In retrospect we are all puzzled that no one was seriously hurt…
In cooperation with TodaysArt (2007), Den Haag, Pictoplasma produced a truly interactive installation of taming and repulsion by building on the concept of the mechanical bull. The Character Ride enables visitors to enter an intriguing world of a seemingly harmless archetypical being and witness the simplest of icons coming to life. A central character sculpture designed by Akinori Oishi (JP) smiles at you and turns around to follow your movements. Hop on and give it a ride! Powered by a monstrous machine, you will definitely fail to tame the beast.
So be aware: Cute can hurt…
After its premiere at TodaysArt, “The Character Ride” made a reappearance at the Pictoplasma Festival Berlin (2007), where Geisha-gone-singer Hanayo attempted the impossible: She agreed to perform her live-act while in full gallop.
Since then “The Character Ride” had the honour of shaking off “It-Girls” Julia Allison and Meghan Ashaat at the DLD Conference in the Haus der Kunst, Munich; nearly knocking out it’s own creator Akinori Oishi at the opening of “Prepare for Pictopia” in Berlin; as well as disgracing numerous courageous attendees of the Internationaal Beeldfestival, Rotterdam (2009) or the Fashion Net Night (2011) in Düsseldorf.
No other living creature features as heavily in contemporary character design and art as the humble hare. Bunnies are definitely the most depicted creatures of all times, a fact that was also reflected by the endless stream of rabbits daily submitted to Pictoplasma’s archives by international artists. But what exactly makes bunnies so irresistible?
There’s no such thing as too much bunnies! And just to prove it, in 2006 Pictoplasma intentionally asked internationally established and upcoming character designers, illustrators and artists around the globe to send in their versions of rabbits, bunnies, hares and everything in between.
The result is a full-scale bunny overdose, with far more than 1.500 individual rabbits from 500+ international contributers. By condensing the endless variations of the rabbit motif into one ultimate system – a perfect bunny mandala – the true nature of the beast emerges: the eternal essence of rabbit.
“The Bunny Mandala Shrine” was installed at the sous-station of Projet Diligence in Nice (France), during the onedotzero Festival in London (UK), at Bios Athens (Greece) and the South Eastern Centre for Contemporary Arts (SECCA) in North Carolina (USA).
In a unique cooperation of the creative avantgarde from character and costume design, in 2006 Pictoplasma transformed the most captivating, screwball and outstanding characters of our time into fantastic costumes. Padded, hydraulic or helium-filled, the creatures have literally come to life at last. Based on the designs of illustrators from Buenos Aires, Miami, Barcelona, Toronto, Osaka or Paris, the new inhabitants of the virtual PictoOrphanage allowed real-life donors to sponsor them – and thereby enable the production and birth of corporeal characters from the realm of the digital image.
Dancers and performers under the direction of choreograph Jared Gradinger (Constanza Macras / Dorky Park, Berlin) explored these new life forms and their individual character. Freed from the binds of storytelling and advertising, the characters developed their individual will, which they have proudly demonstrated in countless guerrilla style interventions during their ongoing tour. Meanwhile, the orphans have made memorable appearances in all corners of the globe, from France, Germany, New York, The Netherlands, Sweden, all the way to China, turning the urban streets into a main stage for their adventures.
MORE ON THE PICTOORPHANAGE > HERE
Pictoplasma’s “Colour Me!” makes an all-time dream come true: A selected group of approximately three international character designers and artists meet for the first time and create a unique colouring and activity room: while locked in the venue for several days, thousands of untouched black and white illustrations, scribbles and characters begin to cover a white room from floor to ceiling, wall to wall.
Upon completion, visitors are invited to enter the space and lovingly colour in the characters in special Cyan, Magenta and Yellow pens, turning the space into an ever evolving colouring and activity room in true CMYK.
Starting in 2005, until today numerous walls of established project spaces, upcoming galleries and high-art museums from Europe to Asia have been covered with thousands of black outline illustrations, only to find themselves coloured in to the point of total occlusion by a huge stampede of happy visitors.
Amongst others, “Colour Me!” has been set up in Düsseldorf, Halle, Hong Kong, New York and Peterborough. Participating artists include Jon Burgerman, Sune Ehlers, Boris Hoppek, Shoboshobo, Neasden Control Centre, Ian Stevenson and Dennis Tyfus.
