Plenty of street art is political or otherwise confrontational in nature — but some of it exists purely to put a smile on the faces of city dwellers going about their daily routines. This, at least, seems to be the goal of Steve Wheen, an artist who goes by the handle of The Pothole Gardener. Wheen’s project is exactly what it sounds like — an endless series of miniature gardens planted in potholes and other tiny patches of earth around East London. Along with adding a splash of green or a spray of flowers to the city’s streets and sidewalks, the Guerrilla Gardener decorates his miniature gardens with such delightful curiosities as itty-bitty chairs, telephone boxes, and even tennis courts. Click through to see some of our favorite Pothole Gardener creations, and then visit Wheen’s website for a whole lot more pictures and to learn about the project.
The photos below may look like a street artist’s paradise; they actually reminded us of Queens graffiti mecca 5 Pointz. In fact, they’re from an abandoned 1940s military encampment on the outskirts of suburban Taichung, Taiwan. After the local council resolved to demolish the buildings, an elderly resident named Huang Yunfu took a stand by covering the entire area with colorful paintings. See a few photos from the Rainbow Village after the jump, and then visit Poemas del río Wang for a whole lot more.
We’ve seen emotional journeys likened to roller coasters, but never to subway systems — until now. ESPO (aka Steve Powers) has just put up a new work in Brooklyn called Train to Always, which traces the connection from “so so” to “sort of” and “lonely” to “waiting.” Of course, there’s a stop for the hero shop it’s painted above, too. [via BLDGWLF]
Have you ever considered the artistic potential of packing tape? We hadn’t either, until we caught a glimpse of the gorgeous portraits Amsterdam-based street artist Max Zorn uses it to create. When illuminated, his intricate tape-on-glass works evoke the sepia-tone scenes of early photographs, while his subjects — couples embracing in cars, handsome men smoking, bar scenes straight out of film noir — are pure Old Hollywood (with a Girl with a Pearl Earring cover thrown in for good measure). Check out some of our favorite portraits after the jump, then visit Zorn’s website to see the rest and learn more about the project.
German artist Timm Schneider proves that you don’t need spray-paint and stencils to create interesting street art. Armed with styrofoam balls that have been fashioned into googly eyes, the artist transforms random objects and sidewalk architecture like trash cans, recycling bins, and metal poles into imaginative and expressive cartoon characters. Schneider’s creatures have been thrust into some pretty silly — and unfortunate — situations. Click through to see more of Schneider’s works. Read More »
This Black Friday, Doctor Popular, a self-described “game designer, illustrator, tailor, rapper, and super nerd,” created a diorama depicting the recent pepper spray incident at UC Davis in an unused news bin for Employment Guide on Market Street. “My hope was to install a piece to get people thinking about recent police violence while they were trying to do their holiday shopping,” he writes. “If I had more time I would have created many more dioramas based on scenes from New York and Oakland.” He adds, “I didn’t set out to create a Lego diorama, but it turns out that their “City sets” contained almost everything you need to create a protest scene. Seriously though, are the cities in Denmark filled with cops? There’s like a 2 to 1 ratio of police to civilians in these kits.” Is LEGO trying to tell us something? Either way, click through to see photos of Doctor Popular’s project, and let us know what you think in the comments! Read More »
There’s no denying that the Occupy movement has been inspiring people across the globe, and in many cases, that inspiration is being expressed artistically. Not that we find this the least bit surprising — art and activism have always gone hand in hand. In New York City, the Smithsonian and the New York Historical Society, aware that they have a phenomenon on their hands, have been gathering artifacts from the protest all along, with an eye towards future exhibitions. Even with the art-world spin-off Occupy Museums, meant to get “people to think about who museums serve, and calling the art world out on its elitism and its abuse of labor,” the artistic community has been very supportive of the movement. Here we have collected twenty artworks, from drawings to posters to sculptures to puppets from artists both well known (Banksy, Shepard Fairey) and anonymous. Some of these, like the propaganda posters and stamped dollars, are meant to further the Occupy movement’s cause directly, while others are just artistic visions or ways to capture the humanity of what’s going on in the world right now. Click through to check out twenty pieces of art about Occupy Wall Street, and let us know what you think in the comments.
November 17th is Guinness World Records Day — which means that aspiring history-makers the globe over have chosen today to tackle their various challenges. Among the new records that have already been set are largest tea bag, fastest time to burst three hot water bottles, and heaviest vehicle pulled by the hair. As impressive as all that is, what really catches our eye is the world’s largest 3D painting — a 9601-square-foot mural in London, painted by Joe Hill of 3D Joe and Max and sponsored by Reebok. [via Yahoo!; Image via Hungeree]
While we’ve previously given you a look inside some of your favorite social media companies, earlier today Laughing Squid tipped us off to an interesting development; Aakash Nihalani — a Brooklyn-based tape artist who we recently featured here — has been commissioned by Facebook to create geometric paper tape installations in its new office in New York City. The results are pretty awesome, if you’re into neon-colored eye candy; in fact, we’re hoping that the decorating team here at Flavorpill HQ see this and takes notice. Click through to get a better look.
With bookshops on every corner, a unique mix of architecture and coffee shops as far as the eye can see, Buenos Aires is like a sweet marriage of New York and Paris, with lots of Latin influence. For art fans who want to see an authentic piece of the city, don’t skip out on visiting La Boca. This little corner of Argentina is in flux: enterprising entrepreneurs set up kiosks every day, peddling kitschy souvenirs next to artists lofts, while the artists themselves keep studio doors open to attract patrons. The real enjoyment, though, comes from walking the winding streets of this neighborhood and looking for the tiny details, like a pint-sized painting at the foot of a building, a neon yellow fountain in a fenced yard, or a political declaration sprayed on a curb.
