John T Unger Artist's Portfolio

Announcing Emoodicons— the new mood ring that tells the world how you feel!

Emoodicons are one of the most exciting ideas I've had in years and I just launched a new blog where you can get your own. Check out the animated short: Marcie's Grand Adventure which shows how Emoodicons work, enter the Make a Face Contest or the Emoodicon Design Contest for a chance to win one of the rings, or read the story of how Emoodicon.com got started. I've been working with some great people to make this a reality and I'm really excited about how it turned out.

What's an Emoodicon, you ask? Well, you know when you’re online and you can just type a couple keys and tell the whole world how you feel? Happy? Angry? Shy? ROFL? In lurve? Don’t you wish real life was that easy? No big discussion. No beating around the bush. No batting your eyes or getting passive aggressive. Just, “This is ME, are you LISTENING?!

Emoodicon Rings make that happen.

They're like a secret decoder ring for your mood. They’re smilies for the real world. They tell everyone just what’s on your mind. “If you don’t know, I’m not going to tell you,” is a phrase you’ll never utter again. If your boyfriend or girlfriend or best friend or evil arch nemesis has eyes, they’ll know. (If they don’t have eyes, no ring will help you. Sorry.) Emoodicon jewelry comes with your choice of 25 mood icons: pick Kitteh or Bleep the Robot. We'll be adding more designs soon so you can mix and match, swap and share, spice it up. Emoodicons are totally customizable. They’re cool, they’re fun, and they won’t break or turn your finger green. Isn’t that a nice change?

The Vista Project: Open Source Public Art Sculpture

The Vista Project, Open Source Public Art Sculpture, 2005 Steel. 36" H x 24" W x 8" D Open Public Art Project (for details, email me)
Vistas is a series of identical sculptures designed for installation in a site-specific context in multiple locations. The iconic steel window sculptures are intended to frame unconventionally beautiful scenery—views specific to the character of a place but unlikely to show up on a postcard. Examples of such sites might include a panorama of historically significant buildings, parks or gardens, a naturally occurring landmark or even an interesting shadow visible once a day. Vista windows call attention to unexpected beauty in the same way that a landscape photographer chooses where to stand and shoot. The windows are finished in brightly colored powder coat enamels to increase visibility and give them a friendly and inviting appearance. Powder coat enamels are environmentally friendly and are among the most durable finishes available for outdoor work. For safety, no glass is used. The photos below are of a prototype version that I tested out one day in Chicago. It gets the idea across a bit, I think, but I feel the piece would ultimately be more successful as a group project where sites were nominated by people who wanted to mark their favorite places. The day that I was doing the photo shoot, I'd been gone from Chicago long enough that some of the places I would have marked had changed and others had slipped my recollection… So I was wandering about trying to find examples of the kind of neglected beauty I had in mind, rather than calling attention to spots I knew were there. More information on the project is available on the studio blog: Vista Project Details/Design Specs.
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Tags: art, culture, design, metal, outdoor, pop culture, public art, sculpture

Fire Wood Cradle Made From A Recycled Radiator

Antique Radiator Firewood Cradle, 1999. Cast iron, recycled steel. 23.5" x 22" x 8.5" Custom order only

I love the visual pun of making a cradle for holding fire wood from sections of an old radiator. This piece was originally made as a Christmas present, but I'd be into the idea of making more of them. No two will be exactly alike since the design and pattern of the radiator sections is likely to vary pretty widely.

 

Tags: art, deck, design, fire, fireplaces, flame, folkart, funky, home, patio, recycled

Steel Grates in Style

Various Grates, Grilles, etc. 2000-6. Steel. Dimensions variable.
The first picture below is a commission I did for Café Jumping Bean based on a logo created by Guillermo Delgado. The rest are created from various recycled elements… If you'd like to talk about a custom project for doors or windows, drop me a line.
Security Grate, Café Jumping Bean, 1999: steel, 14" H x 11" W x 1" D Commission	Window Grille, 2005: steel, 20.75" H x 20" W x .25" D Available
Abstract Grate, 2006: steel, 12" H x 14" W x 2" D Available	Abstract Grate, 2006: steel, 12" H x 14" W x 2" D Available
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Tags: art, modernist, design, modern design, fence, fun, funky, garden, gate, iron work, metal, steel, yard

Modern Security Grates in Steel + Copper

Keeping out of the Jones', 2004 steel, copper. dimensions variable Commission
Elise Jones wanted burglar bars for her ground floor windows, but she didn't want to feel like she was in prison when she looked through them. These steel and copper grilles will definitely keep people out—but they do seem to attract admiring stares. When I returned to the site to finish installation, I met an architect who requested that I tender his apologize to the Jones family…he had been standing there looking at the grates for ten or fifteen minutes before he realized that he was also inadvertently staring into someone's window.
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Tags: art, modernist, design, modern design, fence, fun, funky, garden, gate, iron work, metal, steel, yard

City Gates, 4022 N. Sheridan Road Chicago

City Gates, 2002 Steel. 96" H x 96" W x 2" D Commission
City Gates, commissioned by Bob Racky for his offices at 4022 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago, features two pairs of gates based on maps of the Chicago area. The south gates show Riverside, IL and feature urban planning by Frederic Law Olmstead in the lower left corner. It's not on every project that an ironworker gets to “quote” the designer of Central Park! The north gates are based on Des Plaines, IL and contain the only obvious clue to the design source...a railroad running through the upper right corner.
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Tags: art, design, fence, modern, gate, iron work, metal, steel