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Walking Men 99 is a public art installation featuring pedestrian traffic light walking men from around the world. The work can be found at Church Street, Park Place and Barclay Street, near the WTC construction site in Downtown Manhattan.
Digital Orca, Vancouver – Canada
Digital Orca by Douglas Coupland, next to the Vancouver Convention Centre.
On the trail of artists and architects in Germany
From Budapest I took a flight to Weeze in the West of Germany. It worked out much cheaper to do this than to fly directly to Amsterdam, which was my next stop. Flying to Weeze kept my remarkable run of visits to Germany intact, and it also gave me a chance to visit a building of an architect I admire.
Weeze was a cold-war era RAF base which has since been converted into a commercial airport, of the variety as favoured by low cost airlines. Good old Ryanair call Weeze “Dusseldorf”, even though it is 70 km’s away. I flew to Weeze for its proximity to the Netherlands. Before continuing onto Amsterdam though, I took a detour to nearby Essen.
My shuttle bus from the airport was supposed to take me to Essen, but due to roadworks on the freeway we were dropped off at Duisburg. Rather than going straight through on the local train I had a wander around town. Afterall when I am ever going to be in Duisburg again?
Duisburg is in the industrial Ruhr region so I wasn’t expecting much. Walking around the city I stumbled upon an artist I have seen before in my travels, Niki de Saint Phalle.
This lively installation – Lifesaver – is by de Saint Phalle and her husband Jean Tingeuly.
In my travels around Europe over the last 10 years I have come to notice several artists that reoccur in different cities. de Saint Phalle is one of those artists. She has an instantly recognizable style and I have seen her work in Zurich, Paris, Luxembourg and now Duisburg. Maybe I have seen her work elsewhere, before I was aware of who she was.
Tinguely also has a style of his own that can be spotted as a Tinguely a mile away. His specialty was mechanical sculpture, and he often collaborated with his wife. If you have been to Paris then you may recognize their work from the Stravinsky Fountain at the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
In Essen I had come to see a building by Austrian painter and architect, Friedensreich Hundertwasser. His work is prominent in his home city of Vienna, where there are three buildings which have been remodelled in his style.
Hundertwasserhaus Essen is tucked away in a suburban park and it is a Ronald McDonald House. The building is classic Hundertwasser, with a onion domed tower, bright colours and the structure blending into the surrounding environment.
I seem to have a thing for architects with an artistic background, such as Hundertwasser, as I am also drawn to the likes of Bruno Weber and Antoni Gaudi. If any of their works are near to where I am visiting, I will go on the architectural pilgrimage to see their work.
Travel Photo: Roggendorf Haus, Dusseldorf – Germany
Roggendorf Haus is an old warehouse in the Media Harbour development in Dusseldorf.
The giant plastic men are inspired from those rubber men that you throw on glass then gradually flip down to the ground.
Travel Photo: A New Successful Day, Wuppertal – Germany
Ein Neuer Erfolgreicher Tag (A new successful day) – Wuppertal Germany.
Rotterdam Santa Claus
The Netherlands is famous for being a liberal country, but this public art in Rotterdam could be the most offensive in Europe.
Santa Claus - Rotterdam
The statue is of a giant Santa Claus holding a butt plug. It was created by the American installation-artist Paul McCarthy and it represents a symbol of modern consumerism.
Public Art: China Express Mural
China Express Mural by drewfunk.com, corner Little Lonsdale and Swanston St Melbourne.
China Express Mural
Hand of Man – Crushing cars at the Big Day Out
The Big Day Out is Australia’s premier rock festival. I didn’t think I’d go to another Big Day Out but this year had Neil Young as the headline act.
It was an interesting mix of crowd – from the baby boomer Neil Young fans, the Generation X’ers (myself included) who’ve been attending the BDO since it started in the early 90′s, and the current Gen Y crowd.
As part of this years side show was The Hand Of Man, which has been to all the Australian Big Day Out shows for 2009.
The Hand of Man is a hydraulic mechanical hand that is controlled using an ergonomically accurate glove. The hand responds to the movements of the operators own hand movements and the mechanical hand is big enough to crush a small car.
[The Hand Of Man picking up and crushing a small car.]
[The Hand Of Man mimicking the hand movements of the operators hand.]
Watch the Hand Of Man pick up a car video.
(Language Alert: There is swearing in the background from the band Bullet For My Valentine.)
If you can’t see video watch Hand Of Man
Banksy in Melbourne part III – Banksy Woz Ere
Interesting evolution of a piece of street art by Banksy, the famous British graffiti artist. A Banksy in Melbourne has gone from getting a protective cover from the council to being destroyed by vandals.
[Little Diver - January 2008]
[Little Diver Covered - August 2008]
[Little Diver destroyed by vandals - December 2008]
Keith Haring in Melbourne
Keith Haring was an artist whose graffiti became famous in New York in the 1980′s. He took his distinctive style to cities around the world, making him possibly the worlds first celebrity street artist.
Haring visited Australia in 1984 and his mural at the Collingwood Technical School in Melbourne is one of the largest surviving Haring outdoor murals outside the United States.
[Keith Haring Mural - Melbourne]
The school has since closed down but the mural remains intact. It has been nominated for protection with Heritage Victoria.
[Never Forget Keith]
Location: 35 Johnston St, Collingwood, VIC, 3066, Australia
