Jaunted - Tag: Public Art

Crosby Beach: The British Beach That's Always Full of Men

amandak — 2009-04-14T16:56:38-05:00

We don't usually go to Britain for the beaches, but we've just discovered we want to try out Crosby Beach on the coast north of Liverpool. It's got a bit of everything: art, controversy, and even sex.

So what's so special about Crosby Beach? It's home to a major art installation called Another Place, a set of sculptures by artist Antony Gormley. There basically are 100 cast iron people who are standing along a two-mile stretch of beach, all staring out to sea.

The controversy came when the exhibition should've been moved to New York a couple of years back. A group of advocates pressed the local council to allow the statues to stay, and despite concerns about them being a danger to watersports participants and being pornographic because the statues have real male body parts, they stayed.

More and more tourists are starting to turn up at Crosby Beach to check out the hundred iron men. Just make sure you get your timing right--at high tide nearly all the statues are submerged under water.

Related Stories:
· British Holidaymakers Ignorant of Home Gems [Telegraph]
· The British Seaside: Ocean Paradise, or Dirty Old Whore Who Smells of Fish? [Jaunted]
· Britain Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: Mr Po]

New York: Yes We Can Edition

BS — 2008-12-01T11:15:23-05:00

New York's economy could use a boost from another giant waterfall-style public art exhibit. And while this one might not quite bring in the billions, it's still pretty awesome.

Now on display at the World Financial Center, Canstruction is a competition from the Society for Design Administration, which invited architectural firms to create massive, Legoland-like exhibits, all made entirely from canned goods.

The 40 pieces, from a can Mona Lisa to the AlasCAN Bridge to Nowhere, are on exhibit through December 8. And don't worry about waste; after the show, all the cans get donated to the hungry.

Related Stories:
· Canstruction [Official Site]
· Canstruction Exhibit in New York City [Serious Eats]
· Design Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Canstruction]

Paul Richard's Declared Art

Dan Gould — 2008-11-13T13:01:08-05:00

Street art turns cities into ever-changing museums that anyone can enjoy free of charge, but perhaps no one takes the literal idea of museum more seriously than Paul Richard. The Boston- and New York-based artist has been declaring various urban scenes and street fixtures artwork since at least 1997.

Richard creates little plaques, the same kind you would find describing an artwork in a reputable museum, and attaches them to things on city streets. So far, Richard has designated tree stumps, fire hydrants, lamp posts and patches of "grass, sticks, bugs & stuff" as art. And we can report that his work still heavily adorns the streets of Greenpoint, Brookyn, as seen here. Take a wander around, and don't be surprised if you find his "art" everywhere.

Related Stories:
· Paul Richard [Official Site]
· 1000 Manhattan Avenue [Brooklyn Rail]
· Greenpoint Street Art Going for 145K [Gothamist]
· Street Art coverage [Jaunted]

New York: Financial Meltdown Travel: NYC's Ode To The Economy

Dan Gould — 2008-10-31T12:35:04-05:00

Ahhh, the economy. Up and down, bull and bear, such an adventure! Yeah right.

To commemorate Black Friday, one of the US economy's darkest days, a duo of artists created a giant ice sculpture in downtown Manhattan. It's a 1500 pound rendition of the word "Economy", and will sit outside until it melts down to a puddle of water. Get it?

It's a very obvious commentary maybe, but at least it can inject some fun into an otherwise dire situation. As the sculpture went up yesterday, it's probably already gone--but you could still go see the spot where this iced up economy once stood.

Related Stories:
· Using Ice Sculptures as Social Commentary [Trend Hunter]
· History of Black Friday [Answers.com]
· Recession Restaurants coverage [Jaunted]

Europe's Feeling Blu

pbb — 2008-10-28T16:47:32-05:00

If you don't know about street artist and animator Blu, you should get familiar. The Italian's work is highly stylized and complex, featuring massive scale pieces which are often made up of many small details, like hundreds of humanoid figures or bananas making up a larger creature.

He also creates creepy animations that move across rooms and down streets, taking on a myriad of forms while moving through space. This one, shot in Buenos Aires, has racked up more than 3 million YouTube views.

--Dan Gould

Related Stories:
· Blu [Official Site]
· Blu Photo Group [Flickr]
· Street Art coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Blu]

Melbourne: Aerosol Arabic in Melbourne

pbb — 2008-10-27T14:59:55-05:00

Melbourne is big on covering the walls of its laneways with street art. We like that. But apparently lots of Melbournites think that the latest decorations of Spark Lane off Flinders Street are taking things too far.

As part of the Melbourne International Arts Festival, a British graffiti artist with the less-than-original name of Mohammed Ali--aka Aerosol Arabic--has been flown in to cover Spark Lane with a mix of street art and Islamic calligraphy.

We’re more than happy to wander Melbourne’s sidestreets to check out this kind of art, but apparently there’s a group called Graffiti Hurts Australia who think otherwise--and are sure the festival will only lead to more vandalism.

Check out Spark Lane when you’re next in Melbourne and see what you think--we're pretty sure that this graffiti is totally not hurting Australia.

--AmandaK

Related Stories:
· Imported Street Artist Cops a Spray [Herald Sun]
· Free Stuff in Melbourne: Street Art is All Around [Jaunted]
· Melbourne Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Aerosol Arabic]

New Delhi: Street Art Travel: C215 First to Bomb India?

Dan Gould — 2008-10-23T13:00:49-05:00

C215 is a talented street artist from Paris. His code name references his real name--and possibly the number of a jail cell he spent time in. He primarily creates evocative portraits of people he encounters on the streets in remote and downtrodden neighborhoods.

He recently took a trip to the Karol Bagh District of New Delhi to create a series of street portraits. C215 may be the first street/stencil artist ever to paint on the streets of India. It was a challenging endeavor, he says, as he was occasionally threatened and usually drew large crowds who wanted to watch the action.

Related Stories:
· C215: India [Flickr]
· C215 [Flickr]
· Street Art coverage [Jaunted]