Category: Kunst

Huge red Murex shells

Two huge red Murex shells, shrouded in red light, hang mirror-inverted opposite each other and carry on a poetic conversation. “Gastromancer” is the name of this impressive art object with a deep meaning and was created by the well-known artist Monira Al Qadiri.

We had the honour of contributing to the realisation of this artistic vision. On behalf of the agency SMA (STOP MAKING ART), we first CNC milled these two art objects from PU 50kg/m³ and then covered them with 2-3 mm GRP laminate. This choice of material ensures a low overall weight and at the same time high stability of the sculpture. Finally, the sculpture was to be displayed hanging without the need for special reinforcements at the suspension points. A loudspeaker was installed invisibly in the hollow “auditory canal” of the shell by means of a magnetic plate.
For the suspension, connection points were attached and the surface was roughly sanded for a subsequent surface coating. The final red sand coating of the two shells was applied by the client SMA.

  • Art exhibition: Mutant Passages in Bregenz

    We are thrilled about the constructive cooperation with SMA and look forward to realising further works of art.

The snails turned out super nice, the artist was very happy with the result and the sound thing worked out too.” (Client)

Pictures of the art objects in exhibition:
Kunst am Bau

Art in architecture – SCATER Figures

The double sculpture “Skater” was created by the artist Birgid Helmy from Wiesbaden. With her design, the artist convinced the jury and won the competition Art on the Building at the Karmeliter Realschule Plus.

We at ACCENTFORM supported the artist with our services in the realisation of her idea. The 3D data provided by the artist served as the basis for the milling work. She obtained this data by scanning her self-created 3D model. We milled the two life-size figures from SikaBlock M440. To make the sculptures weatherproof, they were encased in GRP. In this project, the later attachment on high steel poles had to be taken into account. To counteract the possible wind load, we reinforced the statically relevant parts of the sculptures with CFRP. The figures were then painted according to the artist’s exact colour specifications. The artist painted the details on the faces of the two young skaters herself.

The artwork now shines four metres high in front of the renovated façade of the Karmeliter Realschule Plus in Worms and appeals to pupils and passers-by alike.

Pictures from production:

Artwork “Mother” for Fred Wilson

We were commissioned by renowned American artist Fred Wilson to collaborate on a special work of art, “Mother”. This artwork celebrates the beauty of “Mother Earth”. It is a multi-level sculpture of twelve globes tilted at various angles and surrounded by Fred Wilson’s signature black “drops”. The imposing sculpture extends over several floors as a permanent installation in Terminal C of La Guardia Airport in New York.

This exciting project presented us with a variety of challenges. As a basis for the later earth balls, we first produced 12 hollow spheres from 6-8 mm thick GRP layer. The size of the spheres varied from 0.46 m up to a gigantic diameter of 3.36 m. The spheres had to meet various requirements due to their subsequent placement in the airport terminal: They were to have a non-combustible surface in accordance with ASTM 84 Class A. Furthermore, they were weighted down with additional weights so that they would not sway too much in the event of an earthquake. For the installation of the sphere, a suspension from the ceiling was provided. For this purpose, a very stable internal steel suspension device had to be constructed. The largest sphere had to be divided into four equal sections to make it transportable.

After all the spheres were surface treated and sanded smooth, they were given a coat of black paint, which the artist Fred Wilson intended to be the base color. The next challenge was to turn all the spheres into globes. The contours of a world map were applied to the black surface with the help of a CNC machine: For some only the continents, for others also individual 195 countries of the globe.

The large “drops” that are part of the installation are made of 100 percent aluminum. They were milled at our partner Industrie Mechanik Böger Maschinenbau GmbH and further processed by us to give them a high-gloss black surface.

When the work on the globes had progressed, Fred Wilson personally got a picture of the process on site and worked out the further “tactics” together with our team. During further stays of several weeks, Fred Wilson had added a strong structure to many of the continents on the globes by his own hand. The globes were then all painted differently by hand according to very precise color specifications. The handwork was done by Fred Wilson on site with the help of some creative helpers. This cooperation was a good opportunity to bring the likeable artist also a little piece of Germany and its culture closer 😉

In the end, the globes were given a coat of varnish. The final hurdle was packing and shipping the elements to America and setting up the installation in Terminal C of La Guradia Airport in New York. Our staff was on site in October 2022 to provide technical support and bring the work to a successful conclusion.

The eye-catcher “Mother” at the airport of Delta Airlines will continue to attract the attention of passengers for many years to come. It was a great pleasure for us to get to know Fred Wilson personally and to accompany him on his major art project.

 

Video about Fred Wilson´s artwork “Mother”:

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Making of Video:

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Bericht in The New York Times

Anthropomorphic figures

Digitaler Entwurf einer Figur von Cathrin Hoffmann

Consumed, anthropomorphic figures in shades of Bordeaux and blue dominate the imposing paintings and sculptures of Berlin artist Cathrin Hoffmann. “I create creatures that are close enough to humans that you can identify with them and far enough away that you can engage with them. If I see something that puts me off at first, I look closer…” says the artist.

On behalf of the artist, we were allowed to produce some of these impressive, humanoid sculptures according to her digital designs. The first four figures in sizes up to 236 cm were milled out of styrofoam. In the next order, we milled three more smaller figures from a very durable and hard PU material. All these unique pieces were then reworked by Cathrin Hoffmann by hand and partly coated with epoxy resin before being given a monochrome paint finish. These anthropomorphic figures – created through metamorphosis from the idea to the digital to the analogue world – have been presented to the public in renowned galleries worldwide, e.g.:

We are looking forward to the constructive cooperation and to the further artworks of the likeable artist.
The company ACCENTFORM has already made 7 sculptures for me from a wide variety of materials. Before I discovered ACCENTFORM, numerous other companies assured me that my sculptures were too special and not feasible. However, ACCENTFORM has mastered every sculpture with flying colours. The friendly personal contact and the speed of production are remarkable and a unique selling point for me. One notices that the company, in addition to the professional production of industrial series products, also likes to put love and detail into the tricky task of making art objects. (Cathrin Hoffmann’s feedback)
Pictures from the production:

Styrofoam artwork – Katharina Grosse

The internationally renowned artist Katharina Grosse has temporarily transformed the Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart – Berlin as well as parts of the outdoor area into an unmanageably large, colorful work of art. The boundaries between painting and sculpture are unconventionally dissolved in Katharina Grosse’s space-transcending and color-intensive artworks. Thus, in this exhibition entitled “It Wasn’t Us,” huge, rock-like elements, the floor inside and outside the museum, and parts of the façade also merge into a gigantic, three-dimensional painting in vibrant colors.

ACCENTFORM was commissioned to manufacture and assemble the oversized sculptural elements and was thus allowed to contribute to this extraordinary installation. This project presented us with a number of challenges, which we mastered in good cooperation with the client.

A Styrofoam model of the artwork, handmade by the artist in a scale of 1:50, was scanned externally and converted into 3D data. These served us as a template for 3D milling. A total of five Styrofoam objects were involved. First, a test model on a scale of 1:10 was milled using our 5- axis milling machine based on the 3D data. This model then served the artist in her studio as a
visual object for color matching and further adjustments, which were then milled by us on a scale of 1:5.

The 1:5 model was also revised again by the artist and after its approval we were able to mill the five rock-like objects in their original size. Due to the gigantic dimensions of up to 21 m in length and 7 m in height, these first had to be sensibly segmented. The milling time of 1,400 hours and the Styrofoam consumption of 1,050 m³ alone give an indication of the magnitude of this gigantic project.

After the parts were provisionally assembled, Katharina Grosse and her assistants worked on the surface with hot wire on site in our halls according to their ideas.

Skulptur vor dem Bemalen, Foto: Philip Radowitz

Sculpture before painting, photo: Philip Radowitz

Art exhibition “It Wasn´t Us”

The finished segments were delivered individually to Berlin and assembled on site in the historic hall of the Hamburg train station. The assembly by our team took nine days. The artist then made further adjustments to the surface and painted over the white “icebergs” with bright colors using a spray technique and integrated them into her space-blasting installation.

We were personally able to get an impression of this extraordinary work of art at the exhibition opening and are proud to have contributed to it within the scope of our possibilities.

As this work by Katharina Grosse is also a time-limited installation, the styrofoam elements will be 100% recycled after the end of the exhibition.

Bilder aus der Fertigung:

Bilder aus der Kunstausstellung:

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Movement Sculptures

Please touch!

This is the name of the participatory art action initiated by the Paderborn artist Manfred Webel. He sees a sculpture first and foremost as a social object that interacts with the viewer not just by looking at it but by touching it. Unlike a visit to a museum, his rolling works of art may and should be touched and moved. Thus, Manfred Webel makes art not only visible, but tangible for ALL on his tour through all of North Rhine-Westphalia.

We at ACCENTFORM were allowed to contribute to this wonderful action by producing a total of nine objects by Manfred Webel in different sizes. The movement sculptures with their own names “Quattroporte, Monami, Bubble and Chair” were first CNC milled from Styrofoam and then coated with fiberglass reinforced plastic using a laminating process. Some of the sculptureser Some of the sculptures received a monochrome red paint finish, while others were further finished by the artist himself.

The constructive cooperation with the sympathetic artist was a great pleasure for us!

“I really enjoy working with Accentform, not only because they have a deep technical understanding and work in a very solution-oriented way, but also because they have a heart for new issues and innovations to be developed for them. I also like the old school of concluding contracts with a handshake and the absolute binding nature of verbally exchanged agreements”.
Manfred Webel

Pictures from the production:

Video-Links:

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Floating faucet

Faszinierende Illusion – ein Blickfang für die Besucher

The principal of the “floating faucet” is based on an optical illusion. In a transparent tube, water is pumped into the faucet. The water flows and then, falls back down on the outside of the clear tube. Because the transparent tube with the water intake cannot be reflected in the “waterfall”, the impression is created that the water comes out of nowhere.

The floating faucet is an eye catcher for waterworks and gas- and water installation companies. The coated item costs 6800€ plus value-added tax (VAT).

For the building material dealer, MeckRohr, we designed by means of CAD, an oversized fibreglass outlet valve, made of hard foam and covered with 2 mm thick fibreglass laminate. Subsequently, the outlet valve was finished with an acrylic varnish.

Den schwebenden Wasserhahn können wir in folgenden Ausführungen anbieten:

 

Wasserhahn “MODERN” für einen Messestand, im Auftrag von Firma Scarso:

Wasserhahn “ANTIKE” für den Baustoffhändler MeckRohr:

 

 

 

Gigantic bear

Gigantic Bear for the Cruise Liner „Quantum of the Seas”

When in autumn 2014 the biggest cruise liner that has ever been built in Germany departs on it’s grand tour it will take along a huge sculpture, produced by ACCENTFORM: Visible from far and wide a 10.5m high pink polarbear with a stylish facet appearance is enthroned on the starboardside of the white ocean liner „Quantum of the Seas“.
Already when the ship undocked from the hall of Meyer Shipyard the bear appeared as a real eye-catcher and became the publics favourite detail on the giant.

The fibreglass figure, handcrafted in a complex laminate method, was designed by the artist Lawrence Argent and gives a first impression of the precious 2,980 pieces art collection on board the newly constructed ship. This artwork is themed “What makes life worth living”.

The bear, with the title „From Afar“, has a facetted surfaced containing 1,340 triangled subareas and is supposed to encourage people not just to regard him but to touch him as well.

“The special thing about cruises is, that they haul people out of the normality of their everyday life to provide them new experience. This bear is supposed to attract all those who think they don’t know what art means and give them an accessible overall picture.”, the artist says

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ACCENTFORM had to keep client, purpose and destination point of the figure a secret until the headline-grabbing undocking of the Ship, because the costumer Royal Caribbean International didn’t want to reveal the artwork aboard before the ship left the roofed construction dock. That way RCI pulled off a surprise coup with the publicly promoted undocking, because on each visualizations and press material the bear wasn’t to be found.
Even though the 10.5 m high bear integrates harmonically into the image of the resounding luxury liner, yet on land the figure appears much more enormous. So in June 2014, the residents of Nienstädt were astonished when the giant pink fibreglass bear hovered in slow-motion through the industrial area of their little town. After being loaded by crane onto a heavy goods vehicle the figure was transported along the especially barred national highway to the harbor of Rusbend, wherefrom the bear was shipped on a barge to Meyer Dockyards, to be installed on the newly built cruise liner.

Several month ACCENTFORM was working on the completion of the pink giant. The figure became 10.5 m high, about 6 m wide and consists of weather-resistant glass fibre reinforced laminate multilayer which was produced from a especially manufactured rigid foam mould.

To stabilize the approximately 3 t heavy GRP-cover the local weldings shop “STAMA” created a nearly 5 t heavy multi-section steel frame in accordance with the specifications of Accentform’s engineers.

The characteristic colour for the noble seasalt-and weather-proof finish was generated with the collaboration of Rupf & Co. AG, based on a semiglossy PU lacquer that was after all airbrushed onto the bear.

70-700As a light and resilient high-performance material the used GRP is superior to any other materials: Light weight and high flexibility keep the bear safely in shape and position against all kinds of temperature changes, high wind force and motion of the sea. It is also andvantagous in logistic: In spite of the enormous dimension and the associated road barriers, the transport to the yard could be handled with conventional truck-mounted cranes and a low-loading truck.

Among the latest environmental technologies and improved power efficiency the “Quantum of the Seas” will mainly score with exciting entertainment novelties:

  • The “North Star”, a lookout gondola in 90 m height, based on the London Eye, will be absolutely unique.
  • The “Two70°” is a huge area at the rear end of the ship, which will be used as a lounge with bar and dancefloor during the day and turned into a show-stage in the evening. The name stands for “270 degrees” and refers to the panorama view through the extensively glazed façade which acts as a projection screen for the shows at night.
    The “Seaplex”, a multifunction room where passengers can pass time driving bumper cars or playing basketball.
  • The simulator “RipCord by iFly” who can give the passengers the feeling of a real drop.

This innovative engineering marvel will leave New York heading with 22 knots via Bermuda to the Carribean Islands – aboard 4,100 passengers and a huge pink bear, which was built by ACCENTFORM.

 

 

Gigantic Giraffe

Giraffe GiGi on board!

After the great success of „Felicia Bear“ on the “Quantum of the Seas”, the new cruise liner of Royal Caribbean International, the “Anthem of the Seas”, also got a huge figure manufactured by ACCENTFORM.

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The Giraffe was designed by the French Artist Jean-François Fourtou after the shipping company’s visions. ACCENTFORM worked alongside with the constructers of Martin/Martin again to make this idea become reality.

“Gigi”, how the yard workers called the giraffe, is about 9 m high and nearly 3500 kg heavy. The filigree figure obtains the necessary stability from the combination of a weatherproof carbonfibre-cladding and a steel-skeleton made from special marine-suited stainless steel.

The major challenge of this project was the extremely short processing time. There were only eight weeks remaining to perform prodigies!
The initial step at ACCENTFORM was to mill a specific production mould from Styrofoam by the use of CNC-technology. In the meantime the welding shop STAMA was busy producing the steel skeleton, exclusively made from seawater-resistant premium steel.

The production moulds were used for a carbonfibre-laminate which was done by hand. Many pieces of different sizes were build this way and finally assembled around the steel frame construction. Some wooden stiffener plates discharge the wind loads from the cladding onto the steel. This construction mainly consists of steel tubes with a diameter of 140 mm and a wall-thickness of 12 mm and has a weight of 2000 kg.
The skeleton is an essential accessory because of the characteristic frequency of the ship. It prevents the figure from swaying.

For the perfect finishing touch a 10m high scaffolding had to be build, where the refining, filling and paintwork could take place. The colours for the paintwork where again produced by Rupf & Co, as they have stood the test of time on the bear figure.
A special Airbrush-Artist with long-term experience in colouration of large-sized animals was specifically taken on for the paintwork.

After all the production steps were done and the giraffe was finally coloured as Jean-François Fourtou imagined, she was laid down on a flat truck and transported to Bremerhaven. Therefor an accompanied transport and some road blockages were necessary.

The lifting at the harbour and the assembling on the ship went very well with all the help from the workers of the Meyer Werft. So in the end ACCENTFORM produced Gigi at a record time and made it possible that the ship arrives at his baptism in Southampton with his figurehead.

The giraffe already has her own facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/gigigirafferoyalcaribbeananthemoftheseas.

Pictures and Video:

CBC Cologne Broadcasting Center GmbH
Dirk Schwarz

www.cbc.de

Artwork Wind Finger

ACCENTFORM was commissioned by the artist group “Schaum” to create an artistic piece called “Wind finger”, to be used as a landmark for a small residence in Norrliden in Kalmar.

The artwork is a four-meter high (13 feet) hand replica with the index finger raised to the sky. On the tip of the index finger, a windmill was installed.  When this windmill turns it produces an LED light symbolizing wind power.

First, the hand was scanned and converted, using reverse engineering, to a CAD file.

Then, the sculpture was shaped from five large-sized Styrofoam blocks by means of our CNC machining center and glued together into one piece.  After a fine sanding this hand became real art.

Next, the “Wind finger” was coated with Fiberglass laminate, then, primed and sanded.  Subsequently, we finished the sculpture with an anti-graffiti protective coating in RAL 9003.

ACCENTFORM has executed this project starting with the manufacturing, and culminated with the  installation in Sweden.

 

 

For the professional collaboration, we would like to thank the artist group “Schaum” (Alexandra Lotz, Tim Kellner and Marc Wiesel).