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.
As the central installation of the “Prepare for Pictopia” exhibition at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (2009), Pictoplasma produced a series of 5 unique, interactive bumper cars referencing iconic characters by international artists Motomichi Nakamura, Boris Hoppek, Nathan Jurevicius, Tado and Doma.
Every hour lights gradually faded as the sun set in the main exhibition hall, while the central marked place came to life in an illuminated fire-work of sounds, lights and colors and the awakened dodgems invited visitors to hop in for a truly psychedelic ritual.
Accompanied by the special, 6 channel soundtrack composed by Achim Treu, a synchronized light-show revealed the previously hidden multilayered inhabitants of the graphical arena designed by Steve Alexander from the art-collective Rinzen.
More bumper car action > here
In cooperation with TodaysArt, Pictoplasma produced an installation of taming and repulsion, enabling visitors to enter an intriguing world of a seemingly harmless archetypical being.
The Character Ride invites you to 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 mechanism similar to a rodeo machine, you will definitely fail to tame the beast.
So be aware: Cute can hurt…
After its premiere at the festival TodaysArt in Den Haag, “The Character Ride” was shown at the Pictoplasma Animation Festival 2007 in Berlin.
At the opening on November 22nd, the Geisha-gone-singer Hanayo attempted the impossible: She agreed to perform her live karaoke act while in full gallop.
At the opening on November 22nd, the Geisha-gone-singer Hanayo attempted the impossible: She agreed to perform her live karaoke act while in full gallop.
See Hanayo tame the beast > here
In 2008 we’ve been invited to Den Haag by the TodaysArt Festival with our “Character Collision Army” recruitment office, where festival visitors were drafted, drilled and prepared for a truly character-driven combat.
Pictoplasma accepted the kind invitation and set up a real-life, Mario-kart-like race, straight through the ministry of environment (tellingly named VROM)!
No clue how the organizers of the festival managed to get clearance for this, but 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 and inappropriate commands and the opportunity for clue-less passer-byes to support their favorite character clan, designed by Motomichi Nakamura, Fons Schiedon and Rinzen.
See a little demonstration of the mess > here
In a unique cooperation between the creative Avantgardes from both character and costume design, Pictoplasma has transformed the most captivating, screwball and outstanding characters of our time into fantastic costumes.
Padded, hydraulic or helium-filled, the lovely creatures have literally come to life at last and inhabit the PictoOrphanage. Dancers and performers under the direction of choreograph Jared Gradinger (Constanza Macras / Dorky Park, Berlin) have explored these new life forms and their individual character. Freed from the binds of storytelling and advertising, these characters have developed their individual will, which they proudly present in a 60-minutes performance.
Padded, hydraulic or helium-filled, the lovely creatures have literally come to life at last and inhabit the PictoOrphanage. Dancers and performers under the direction of choreograph Jared Gradinger (Constanza Macras / Dorky Park, Berlin) have explored these new life forms and their individual character. Freed from the binds of storytelling and advertising, these characters have developed their individual will, which they proudly present in a 60-minutes performance.
Something wonderful is happening.
All round the world, characters are beginning to feel hope. They are replacing the desperation of graphical flatness and the dark prospect of a life locked between cold-blooded market value and unchallenging mascot appeal with something more positive. They are opening their hearts and minds, and the potential inside them is beginning to blossom. It’s a new species of characters.
All round the world, characters are beginning to feel hope. They are replacing the desperation of graphical flatness and the dark prospect of a life locked between cold-blooded market value and unchallenging mascot appeal with something more positive. They are opening their hearts and minds, and the potential inside them is beginning to blossom. It’s a new species of characters.
Visit the PictoOrphanage > here
See their first steps into the real world > here
The design exhibition “Characters at War - 100+ violated copyrights and the very best in contemporary character design and art” enables visitors to meet the elite of international character design literally eye-to-eye. From Super Mario to Emily the Strange: Hundreds of all time favorites and shiny newcomers from the flat-faced world of comics, graffiti and merchandising are pushing through to the third dimension! The loveliest, cutest, and strangest characters stand tall as life-size cardboard stand-up soldiers arranged in a gigantic walkthrough battlefield installation! A classical war painting comes to life in a cut-throat competition of consumer icons and brutally violated copyrights!
And behind the foot soldiers of this enormous anthropomorphic army are none other than the heroes of the international design scene: Büro Destruct (CH), Buffmonster (USA), Francois Chalet (CH), D*Face (UK), David Choe (USA), Devilrobots (JP), eBoy (GER), Framegraphics (JP), Genevieve Gauckler (FR), James Marshall (USA), Nicholas Di Genova (CA), Niko Stumpo (IT), Phunk Studio (SI), and many, many more…
Characters at War has been installed in the Zentralbüro, Berlin and the Forum-NRW, Düsseldorf (GER), at the Space4 Gallery in Peterborough (UK), at the Secca in Winston-Salem (USA) and the California State Univeristy Long Beach Art Museum in Los Angeles (USA).
Characters at War has been installed in the Zentralbüro, Berlin and the Forum-NRW, Düsseldorf (GER), at the Space4 Gallery in Peterborough (UK), at the Secca in Winston-Salem (USA) and the California State Univeristy Long Beach Art Museum in Los Angeles (USA).
Too much bunnies? There’s no such thing! And just to prove it Pictoplasma 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 in Nice (France), London (UK), Athens (Greece) and North Carolina (USA).
The Bunny Mandala Shrine was installed in Nice (France), London (UK), Athens (Greece) and North Carolina (USA).
No other living creature features as heavily in contemporary character design and art as the humble hare. Artists, designers and illustrators worldwide express their love for the buckle toothed, cotton tailed and carrot-loving hoppers. Bunnies are definitely the most depicted creatures of all times. But what exactly makes bunnies so irresistible to artists, designers and illustrators worldwide? Depending on the viewers’ cultural context rabbits can symbolise anything from insanity, alertness, defenselessness, all the way to promiscuity, magic powers and utter innocence.
Have a closer look > here
Pictoplasma’s Colour me! installation makes an all-time dream come true: a selected group of international character designers and artists meet for the first time and create a unique colouring and activity room: thousands of untouched black and white illustrations, scribbles and character madness cover a white room from floor to ceiling, wall to wall. Upon completion, visitors are invited to lovingly colour in the characters, turning the space into an evolving colouring and activity room. With a limited set of permanent markers in pink, blue and yellow, this happening is truly CMYK!.
Meanwhile numerous walls of established project spaces and museums from Europe to Asia have been covered with thousands of black outline illustrations. The Colour Me Experience has been set up in Düsseldorf, Halle (Germany), Hong Kong and Peterborough (UK).
Participating artists included Jon Burgerman, Sune Ehlers, Boris Hoppek, Shoboshobo, Neasden Control Centre, Ian Stevenson and Dennis Tyfus.
Participating artists included Jon Burgerman, Sune Ehlers, Boris Hoppek, Shoboshobo, Neasden Control Centre, Ian Stevenson and Dennis Tyfus.