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The Sleeping Muse
one of the largest collaborative art projects in the world, created by the people at
Expo 2020 Dubai!
The story behind the project
Invited by the Romanian Pavillion, Florin Cobuz and the Nod Design Lab team hosted at Dubai Expo 2020 an interactive workshop in which participants from over 118 countries experimented with making and crafting techniques and participated in building an installation of 27.040 wooden sticks, measuring almost 5000 meters in total.
The unique experiment involving a mix of design & crafting techniques – design, 3d modeling, working with modern tools and traditional manufacturing, programming with the help of a specially made software that allowed the team to work with many people at the same time – the “Sleeping Muse” Collaborative Artwork is outstanding piece inspired by one of the most famous works of Constantin Brâncuși!
The artwork received a lot of attention from media and UAE political figures, such as Reem Al Hashimi – minister of State for International Cooperation and the managing director for Expo 2020 Visitors; Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi – Minister of State for Foreign Trade and Minister in charge of Talent Attraction and Retention at Ministry Of Economy, UAE; Dr. Saeed Mubarak Kharbash Al Marri Chief Executive Officer – Arts & Literature at Dubai Culture & Arts Authority; Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan heads the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Social Development.
Time flew so fast:
Play Video
More pictures from the expo:
The source of inspiration:
Born on 19 February 1876 in Romania, Constantin Brâncuși moved to Paris in 1904, where he was introduced to Auguste Rodin to join his atelier as an apprentice. With the stubbornness and independence of youth, Brâncuși rejected Rodin’s emphasis on the accumulation of detail in favour of simplification. His goal was to capture the essence of his subjects and to render them with minimal means, reducing the ideas to fundamental forms and simplified details.
One of Brâncuși’s most acclaimed works, The Sleeping Muse was created in 1910. Using a mix of modern and ancient art elements, with precise and fine lines, that are combined with soft and angular elements, Brâncuși’s work transcends viewers into a tranquil and peaceful world. The ancient elements mimic the features of a Goddess. This way, the sculptor adds mystery and a divine dimension to his masterpiece. The “Sleeping Muse” is in the elemental egg form that life comes from, a form of wide meaning, having “unbounded significance beyond the particular.”
Other Nod Design Lab works
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About
Florin Cobuz
architect | designer | entrepreneur
Florin Cobuz graduated from the University of Architecture and Urbanism Ion Mincu of Bucharest. Passionate about architecture, creative industries and arts, he only practiced pure architecture for a while.
An entrepreneur at heart and skills, Florin has founded various businesses, all linked to his main interests. After Punkt studio, the design office he founded in the final university year, he founded The Plot in 2008, a printing studio for students and architects, that evolved in the printing and layout workshop for the Ion Mincu University of Architecture.
After gaining experience in design and prototyping, Florin started complementary projects focused on helping creatives and makers gain access to resources, equipment, and professional services, while building lasting communities.
In 2015, Florin co-founded Nod Makerspace, a 2000 sqm space that hosts a dynamic ecosystem gathering designers, artists, engineers, inventors, makers, small businesses in various other fields and offers access to equipment, tools and a access to o a vibrant community of entrepreneurs.Since 2018, the product design took a big part of his time. Together with other designers and entrepreneurs, Florin launched through crowdfunding a series of items acclaimed at the international level. With Adrian Enache, Florin has founded and launched Tika – The modular Design Set that won the Best Design Project award at Romanian Design Week. In 2021, Florin launches Nod Design Lab, the Nod Makerspace design division, where he works togheter with a crew of talented people.
Nod Design Lab
Ecosystem
Nod Makerspace
www.nodmakerspace.ro
Makershop
www.makershop.ro