These fantastic-looking images are the latest instalments from photographer Helga Steppan, which is on display this month at the Man&Eve gallery in London.

Her work is conceptually driven and often – as with See Through, the colours series – subject to pre-defined parameters that are documented through photography. Here, her possessions were arranged by colour and in accordance with classical compositional values.

In Belongings Apart, Steppan has invited her friends to lend her something they own which is transparent. These objects are presented as a large sculptural installation, shown together with photographs of the different locations where they previously belonged and a written piece by each owner.

It’s wonderful to see everyday products arranged as one single colour. Be long a part runs until the 29th of July. Click here for more details on the exhibit.

This is the new London 2012 “multimedia brand image”, which was unveiled this week by Lord Coe, chairman of London’s Olympic committee. The logo was designed by Wolff Olins – one of the top established brand consultancy in the world – and apparently it is based on the four ‘brand pillars’ of access, participation, stimulation and inspiration.

None of these four keywords spring to mind when this logo was presented to the public for the first time. The first impression was overwhelming negative including how terrible it looks…

The colours and shape are intended to be use in different forms of media, from print to online. It should cast a long-standing vision, as the event is five years away. People should be able to identify and access the Olympics with a distinctive and powerful symbol.

But aesthetically, does it work? Well, according to many newspapers and reports, many consider it as hideous. In fact, an online poll recently showed about 85% of the audience despised it, with many UK citizens’ spontaneously organising petitions to scrap it!

That’s the general public views, what about the opinions from branding agencies. What do they think of the new London 2012 Olympics logo?

“They can expect quite a polarised reaction because it’s quite radical,” says Ciarán Coyle, MD of brand licensing company The Beanstalk Group, “and from a creative point of view, it will develop the debate. The design is very simple and that’s what’s different to the previous Olympic logos, where the city’s name and year are next to each other. Here, the focus is on the notion of ‘2012′. What’s interesting from a licensing perspective is that they can take this logo and put it on lots of different media. It needs to be downloadable, be visible on a phone, a website and so on.”

William Higham, futurologist and founder of Next Big Thing, suggests that a key issue for Wolff Olins was making the logo appeal to a wide range of different audiences. “It was important to make it flexible and appealing to audiences across the board,” he says. “The multi-cultural youth demographic was very important. They need something that they can adapt themselves and so user-generated content is coming in there. People are into the idea of having something that works on that level, something that suggests a ‘participatory Games’. When the event is broadcast there will more people there filming it on their phones, blogging about it. I don’t think it’ll date because it’s not tied to a particular font, or style – we still have to see it in context and get used to it. I think it will still have a vibrancy; it’s very bold.”

It is certainly bold but is it a good ‘image’ to showcase the event and for the rest of the world that the capital of the United Kingdom is hosting this sporting contest?

Let’s weight out the positives and negatives regarding the new symbol:

Pros
It is original and brave.

Doesn’t contain the cliché images of the following: Big Ben, bulldogs, crowns and assorted other royal paraphernalia, the Union Jack, the Cross of St George, Pearly Kings and Queens, abstract figures doing vaguely athletic things.

It will work across a wide range of media, which will be vital in 2012 when coverage of the Games will break over a range of formats – e.g. mobile phones, computers.

Children will probably like it.

Cons
You can’t read it very easily.

It already seems outdated, in particular the graffiti-like styling.

It’s inelegant and brash – what does that say about London?

It looks a bit like something that children TV presenter Neil Buchanan might have put together on Art Attack! And, as a result, graphic design will receive another pasting in the popular press. “How much? My kid could have done better…”

If you stare at it long enough, some dirty-minded bloggers have been saying, it kind of looks like Lisa Simpson giving someone a blow job!

Artist Damien Hirst has unveiled a diamond-encrusted human skull worth £50 million in his new exhibition, Damien Hirst: Beyond Belief.

The 18th-Century skull is entirely covered in 8,601 jewels, with the teeth made separately to the cost of £14m. Hirst’s new artwork is said to be the most expensive piece of contemporary art.

The centrepiece of the 41-year-old’s creation is a pear-shaped pink diamond, set in the skull’s forehead. The skull, which was bought from a shop in Islington (North London), is thought to belong to a 35-year-old European who lived between 1720 and 1810.

The modern artist said his piece, entitled ‘For the Love of God’, is “uplifting, takes your breath away”.

“It works much better than I imagined. I was slightly worried that we’d end up with an Ali G ring,” he added.

“You just want it to be flawless, like a diamond is a flawless. We wanted to put them everywhere,” Hirst said of the skull.

“They go underneath, inside the nose. Anywhere you can put diamonds, we’ve put diamonds. I wouldn’t mind if it happened to my skull after my death,” he added.

The artist commented that an Aztec turquoise skull at the British Museum inspired him. And he hopes that this work will be eventually be displayed at the institution.

Other works of art created by Hirst are on display at the White Cube gallery in London include a painting of his son’s birth by Caesarean section and a tiger shark cut in half and suspended in two tanks of formaldehyde.

Art critic Charles Dupplin called the skull “another bold move” from Hirst. “This is a spectacular piece and undoubtedly the work with the highest intrinsic value in modern and contemporary art,” he added.

As for my view, I believe it’s a bit overwhelming and excessive. I am not a fan of modern art or Damien Hirst, so my opinion can vary to other people’s taste in art. But for those who want to experience his latest collection, click here to book your tickets.

German industrial designer Luigi Colani has created some unusual and amazing pieces of design work over the last six decades.

In a new exhibition at London’s Design Museum, Colani’s remarkable large-scale prototype designs include trucks, aircraft and cars. The designer is a great maverick of 20th century design and his ideas have set a trend in creating alternative futuristic concepts for transport and architecture.

His cars in particular are visually striking. The image you see here is a concept sportscar the German created back in 1970.

Please visit the official Design Museum website to book tickets and see Colani’s future vision up close and personal.

This was a homework piece for college; we had to paint a self portrait in a style of an artist from a list that was given to us. I chose to use Francis Bacon’s “Head VI” as a source of inspiration.

For this I coated a piece of thick card with gesso using newspaper to create a range of rough textures, then applied a watery brown wash and let it run dry. After that I went wild with the paint, keeping the brush dry to keep the piece looking raw and edgy.

I like this piece, and had I known this I’d have probably picked a more suitable canvas than a cut-out from an old file!

Image copyright to Max Edwin Wahyudi

Title: Song Hye Kyo
Name: Max Edwin Wahyudi
Country: Indonesia
Software: 3ds max, ZBrush

Rendered by artist Max Edwin Wahyudi, this is a stunning realistic render of a Korean actress called Sonh Hye Kyo. Be sure to click on the image to see it in its full glory! You can also check out his Work in Progress here

Its certainly one of the most realistic 3D renders I have ever seen in recent times but have you seen any other renders that are just as good or even better?

This was my sister’s entry in April 2006. Here’s what CheeB had to say:

Completed: April 2006

“This was for the first All-Female Thunderdome in ConceptArt.org. The first ten ladies who got the most votes had their tuition fee paid for the Montreal workshop which followed up. Unfortunately, I didn’t quite make it, but congrats to those who did!”

Media: Newspaper, brown paper, gold foil, oil pastels, black paint (background); acrylic paint (body, skin); Adobe Photoshop CS2 (raw flesh, hanging skin, blood)

To view more of her work, visit her website www.cheeb.co.uk!

These beautiful and stylish images are from photographer Steve Harries’ new book Reading Lines.

The book is a collection of photos of London skateboarders and the public spaces they explore, exploit and interact with.

“The subjects portrayed in these works are both the skateboarders and also some of London’s most iconic buildings,” explains Harries. “They are from the length and breadth of the community – young, old, amateur and professional, of varying backgrounds and professions. What unites them is an interest in public space and a desire to interact with the planes, surfaces and textures of London’s built environment.”

Each image are accompanied by text, not only by well-regarded members of the skateboarding community such as Paul Sunman, founder of Slam City Skates, but also by a selection of high profile young architects.

For more information on photographer Steven Harries, including a portfolio of his work, please visit the site here

These beautiful and stylish posters created by talented graphic designers are inspired by a new Michel Gondry movie The Science Of Sleep (he is also the director of Eternal Sunshine Of A Spotless Mind and countless music videos).

The film will be released in cinemas around the UK on February 16th, visit www.thescienceofsleep.co.uk for more information.

These posters are part of a website design competition set by Don’t Panic – distributors of flyers and posters and other promotional ephemera. The contest is a challenge for creative individuals to help promote The Science Of Sleep.

The top twenty designs will be exhibited at The Curzon Cinema in London’s Soho. All entrants will have the opportunity to watch the film at an exclusive pre-release viewing. 80,000 copies of the winning poster design will be printed and distributed in Don’t Panic packs across the country.

So what are you waiting for? Start creating and enter the competition here.

Picture credit: loveisick, Stephen Chan and lux4trip

Two of the best-known animated series by Matt Groening have been re-created as an anime. Not as a new Japanese cartoon adapted from the original American show, but in terms of visual styling.

It’s fascinating to see how people re-interpret cartoons in different artistic styles.

In these two examples (shown above), the artist focuses on a group shot featuring the cast of The Simpsons and Futurama. Each character looks completely different, but it’s still easy to tell who’s who (one of the most important element in good fan art).

More beautiful pictures from the artist can be seen here