According to The Skeptical Environmentalist, concrete is used more than any other construction material in the world. I imagine this is because it’s fairly cheap, and resources for making concrete are practically unlimited. The down side to this is that concrete contributes to global emissions (3%, again in reference to The Skeptical Environmentalist). However I find concrete can be aesthetically pleasing. Great examples include the Roman Coliseum and Ronchamp. So I’m glad it remains a material of considerable value in material science, art, and design applications.

Of the material science applications, some of my favorites include: LitraCon, Chronos Chromos Concrete, ‘Clean Air’ Concrete, and Soft Concrete.

LitraCon combines concrete with optical glass fibers, creating a harmony between material strength and translucency.

Chronos Chromos Concrete uses nickel chromium wires to send current beneath the concrete. The electric current causes the temperature to rise enabling numbers, patterns, text, and color to be displayed via thermochromic ink. Unfortunately their website, chromastone.com, is no longer available. Their video can still be found on youtube.

‘Clean Air’ Concrete contains titanium dioxide and absorbs sunlight to convert nitrogen oxides in the air into harmless nitrate.

Soft concrete contains polymers that increase the concrete’s elasticity and is used to produce the Drop tiles designed by Jenny Oldsjö and Ragnar Hultgren.

While art and design applications include:

Kathy Dalwood’s black concrete figurines



Fragrance by Alexa Lixfeld

Concrete rings by 22 design studio

and Recycled Concrete Sink by Gore Design

Kiki Smith is a sculptor, printmaker, photographer, and installation artist. Her subjects range from anatomy, art history, mythology, science and feminism. She’s known for her provocative sculptures of the body and its anatomical parts. Typically they express vulnerability through potentially humiliating yet natural functions, such as urination and menstruation. She works in a variety of mediums including wax, ceramic, plaster, paper, glass, and bronze, to name a few.

A few weeks ago Smith gave a lecture at the University of Pennsylvania Humanities Forum on Origins. To Smith, Origins is about not having control of how she stays inspired. Being an artist is about sitting, waiting, and listening. Smith presented slides of her work at random, as she explained the origins of her ideas. She talked about how she accumulates “convoluted configurations” of her resources, and often “cannibalizes” her subjects. “Cannibalized” was her way of describing rehashing, or investigating of work.

Kiki Smith chose not to discuss certain slides, claiming they were “secret.” However, her other slides were presented with small anecdotes. For her sculpture of fallen Jesus (Untitled 1995),

the figure is half man/half woman, as her male neighbor had to go home before she finished. Another slide she showed was that of a terra cotta rib cage. The piece is actually glued together, breaking after her return from Germany.

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With a mass adoration for her work, prints are consistently sold out.
I recently received her Mizuame (seahorse) print (above), as well as a Gelaskin of Odaijini.

Her work is often featured in lowbrow art publications, and she participates in a number of shows. In a past show at Subtext she painted a Kokeshi doll:

And artist Mike Leavitt sculpted an Audrey Kawasaki action figure, for his Art Army exhibition at CoproNason:

For more info, check out her livejournal and myspace.

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