Some castles are painted by Disney, some by a Brazilian street art gang
We've written about murals on city buildings before, but why stop there? Why don't up the scale and the"wow" factor and turn an ancient castle into a fairy tale canvas? With no limits set to creativity, the results might end up to be as provoking as some Banksy street art masterpieces...
Of course, you'll have to find the abandoned castle first, and such real estate might be in short supply. In this case, the owners themselves commisioned a group of artists to spice up their humble abode... and they came up with -
This is the Kelburn Castle in Scotland, close to a wonderfully-named Fairie village (Fairlie, actually) - see here - painted over by Brazillian street artists from Sao Paolo Nina and Nunca Os Gemeos (completed in June 2007):
This being a pretty romantic concept, "Painted Castles" end up in gothic romances and other inspiring fiction (see the book cover on the left, for example) - so the stately Kelburn castle (on the right) prepares to get the unusual art treatment:
The plans are made (not on the computer, it seems, but the good-old way):
And the final surreal product simply boggles the mind:
As you can see, Brazillian graffiti tradition is very vibrant, color-rich and transient / energetic. Taken out of its urban context, it illuminates the Scottish countryside with bold colors and shines through any rain-soaked misery the world can throw at it...
"Kelburn is thought to be the oldest castle in Scotland to have been continuously inhabited by the same family. The original Norman Keep, designed for defence rather than comfort, was probably built by 1200. The original Keep is now enclosed within a grander castle, completed in 1581." (source)
The street art coolness extends to the roof and chimneys:
You think this idea is unique and bright colors (some say "thankfully") are confined only to this particular castle in Scotland? Think again, or rather look at this castle in Sintra, Portugal -
Often considered the first expression of romanticism in castle architecture, this Palácio da Pena was built in 1839 on a steep hill (see how it almost floats in the clouds); Moorish, Gothic and Romantic influences can be traced in its highly fanciful shapes and colors:
Sometimes nature conspires to show us that some of the most spectacular things are still, well, natural. No painter's hand touched the castle in the next picture (Wawel Castle in Krakow, Poland), and yet the ancient walls are immersed in golden glory of a sunset, the color applied in a smooth, sublime way - but only for a few fleeting minutes...
"painted over by Brazillian street artists from Sao Paolo, Nina and Nunca Os Gemeos (completed in June 2007)"
Minor correction here...Nunca and Os Gemeos are 3 different people, Gemeos just always paint as a pair. Awesome story though..might have missed this otherwise
A much more "Authentic" experience would include having the street "Artists" SHOOT at any disapproving spectators! Looks great now, but the paint will probably wash off soon, in that rainy Scottish weather!
really stupid. hey - lets go graffitti up the pyramids, or the taj mahal, or other historical buildings, monuments. And I am saying this as an artist. I so agree with Zajac - it is a colorful piece of &&&&**^ Historical places should not be 'raped' by such things. Historical places should be preserved and treasured. Graffiti should be left for the bus terminals, abandoned buildings, or designated fences and other projects, where it doesn't ruin the landscape and cover up beauty.
The "Mystery experiment" appears to be an archer attempting to shoot a balloon held in the mouth of the volunteer. In the photo, he appears to have aimed a little high, and just missed
Octopus is a Greek word meaning 8 feet. As it is Greek, it shouldn't be written as Octopi. Only Latin words take 'i' for their plural. We should say octopuses, in the same way we should say platypuses, not platypi. :P
1) the first one seems to me a lot like the motion detector from Aliens- it's good to know such a device could actually work. Like the Aliens device tho', it'll will be interesting to see how useful it actually is.
2)they mentioned jetpacks, but failed to mention the best one yet; the Matin Jetpack.
The blue Mercedes 230G that hagns on the building was an attempt by the bulgarian Radomir Pepelov to lift the jeep on top of his block. He bet with another guy for 10 000$ that he can do it and possibly get in Guiness book of records. Here are somer more photos: http://www.chambersz.com/index.php/content/view/10852/136/ http://www.chambersz.com/index.php/content/view/10853/112/
Re: The cop car shots... both the shot of the cop car half in the house & the one with the two OPP cars crashed together are actually Canadian cops... first is Toronto police & the OPP cars are Ontario Provincial Police :)
The cop car shots ... both the shot of the cop car half in the house & the one with the two opp cars crashed together are actually Canadian cops...first is Toronto police & the OPP cars are Ontario Provincial Police.
'Imagining the Tenth Dimension', both the book and animation, are considered to be something he made up as he went along by serious physicists. Before buying the book check out the comments from people with a science background at Amazon.com. It looks pretty but it's not real science!
I second Eric's recommendation, and likewise Anon's word of caution. It is important to note that there are different *theories* of how higher dimensions are composed and related. Considering time as the 4th dimension is one theory, while spatial-symmetry relationships (right/left, normal/mirrored) form another approach. Rudy Rucker's book on the 4th dimension is a good intro to this.
|
SFSite
13 Comments:
I would love to see pics of the artists on scaffolding spray painting the Kelburn Castle.
on the one hand, it's not right that they're doing this to historic structures like that... but on the other hand...it's freakin awesome!
"painted over by Brazillian street artists from Sao Paolo, Nina and Nunca Os Gemeos (completed in June 2007)"
Minor correction here...Nunca and Os Gemeos are 3 different people, Gemeos just always paint as a pair. Awesome story though..might have missed this otherwise
Great artist with beautiful art castles.
from stately castle to garbage in a few easy steps
And the Brazilian town is "São Paulo", or, if you may, "Sao Paulo". Paolo is an Italian name, not Portuguese.
Take care!
Very nice castles turned to colourful piece of sh..t !
Stone monolith > Tremendous work of human creativity? I don't think so
A much more "Authentic" experience would include having the street "Artists" SHOOT at any disapproving spectators! Looks great now, but the paint will probably wash off soon, in that rainy Scottish weather!
OMG, that's tragic. Surely there was an abandoned strip mall or another already worthless bit of property they could have destroyed instead.
The paintings looks great but historic buildings shouldnt be used for such.
reminds me of a castle i visited in portugal.
really stupid. hey - lets go graffitti up the pyramids, or the taj mahal, or other historical buildings, monuments.
And I am saying this as an artist.
I so agree with Zajac - it is a colorful piece of &&&&**^
Historical places should not be 'raped' by such things. Historical places should be preserved and treasured.
Graffiti should be left for the bus terminals, abandoned buildings, or designated fences and other projects, where it doesn't ruin the landscape and cover up beauty.
Post a Comment
<< Home