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    AnonyMouse Wedges Miniature Shops and Restaurants Built For Mice into Busy City Streets

    
    Art

    #humor
    #installation
    #mice
    #miniature
    #public art
    #stores
    #street art

    August 14, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    All images © AnonyMouse, shared with permission
    In cities across Sweden, France, and the Isle of Man lies a parallel universe fit only for a mouse. Miniature restaurants, record shops, and apothecaries squeeze into ground-level windows on the street next to their human-sized equivalents. The adorable universe is a project from a collective aptly named AnonyMouse, which started crafting the charming scenes in the spring of 2016.
    Suggesting that the mice have a symbiotic relationship with the pedestrians on the street, the team repurposes items people throw away, turning a champagne topper into a stool or a matchbox into a table. Twenty-five installments currently exist across Europe, which largely are inspired by Astrid Lindgren’s and Beatrix Potter’s whimsical tales and movies from Don Bluth and Disney. “We thought it would bring a bit of joy to pedestrians passing by, but it grew into something slightly bigger, and as such we’ve probably dedicated more time on each project than we originally envisioned. But that’s just part of the fun,” they say. The team crafts each scene with incredible detail, from recreating iconic record covers to plastering up posters advertising mouse- and rat-based happenings.
    As its name suggests, the group’s individual identities are unknown. “We like to think that part of the allure of our installations is that they could be done by anyone,” they say. “And since we do not have a specific agenda with them our identities are unimportant.” AnonyMouse won’t divulge plans for upcoming installations, but you can follow all of its adventures on Instagram.

    #humor
    #installation
    #mice
    #miniature
    #public art
    #stores
    #street art

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    Sprawling Floral Installations Spill Over Garbage Cans and Phone Booths on New York City Streets

    
    Art

    #flowers
    #installation
    #New York
    #public art
    #street art

    August 7, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    All images © Lewis Miller Design, shared with permisison
    Thanks to Lewis Miller Design, those passing through New York City have gotten some respite from the rank smells and soggy refuse of streetside garbage cans. For years, the florist (previously) has been planting guerilla installations of sunflowers, hydrangeas, and peonies in public areas, transforming trash receptacles, construction zones, and lampposts with sprawling assemblages. Check out some of the recent “Flower Flashes” below, and follow the designer on Instagram to see where the temporary bouquets pop up next.

    #flowers
    #installation
    #New York
    #public art
    #street art

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    A Massive Flower Splays Across Six Surfaces in a New Mural by Artist Mona Caron

    
    Art

    #flowers
    #murals
    #public art
    #street art

    August 3, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    “⁣Limonium.” All images © Mona Caron, shared with permission
    An enormous flower overtakes the San José’s cultural affairs building in a multi-plane mural by artist Mona Caron (previously). Titled “Limonium,” the delicate, pink-and-green leaves spread out across the structure’s facade, transcending a single side. Wrapped around six walls and across four planes, the flower appears to be growing continuously from multiple angles.
    The San Francisco-based artist says determining the spatial logistics was straightforward. She added reference points to the wall and superimposed her botanical piece to a photo, which guided her through the process. In a video posted to Instagram, Caron walks around the pastel mural to capture its illusory qualities. “The main plant faces the entrance to the Convention Center on Market Street, but to its left, there is a semi-enclosed cove, which is the entrance to the garage, and there’s another plant in there, with a flower stem that calculatedly appears to be a part of whichever plant you’re looking at,” she shares with Colossal. “Similarly, I carefully drafted the rightmost flower stem (and) leaves to appear continuous when seen both from the street and from the upper terrace.”

    #flowers
    #murals
    #public art
    #street art

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    Bright Elephants Squeeze Into Their Surroundings in Site-Specific Murals by Artist Falko One

    
    Art

    #elephants
    #murals
    #public art
    #street art

    July 22, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    “Everybody wants to be down with the dude on top the stairs” (2019), Cape Town, South Africa. All images © Falko One, shared with permission
    For decades, Falko One (previously) has been transforming blank staircases and piles of refuse around South Africa into homes for his technicolor elephants. Despite their striking hues, each mural is site-specific, allowing it to blend in with the facades and surrounding environments. The artist might position the trunk along a ventilation duct or the torso atop cinder blocks and crates, creating an optical illusion within his vivid murals. “My approach is just to add a bit of color to the space without breaking the scenery,” he tells Colossal. “I try not to make them too intrusive. I always respect that for that moment I am just a tourist to that specific community.”
    Generally, the artist finds viewers are drawn in by the colors before considering the ways the elephant bends and conforms to the structured space. “The value for me is listening to the debate about it. At that moment, there are no wrong or right answers. What better way to get people to discuss something without telling them to discuss it. It’s not a formal discussion on the street but playful, honest banter. I like that the most,” he notes.
    Often sharing his latest murals on Instagram, the artist’s motivation for painting the massive pachyderms is simple and about accessibility. “Everyone loves an elephant,” he says.

    “Evergreen” (2018), Cape Town, South Africa
    “Brick Ross” (2020), Cape Town, South Africa
    “Broke back boat” (2019), Praia, Cape Verde Islands
    “Heavy metal” (2019), Johannesburg, South Africa
    “Homestead” (2016), Nkandla, South Africa
    “Perioscope” (2019), Johannesburg, South Africa
    “Welcome home” (2016), Coffee Bay, South Africa
    “What have you done for me lately” (2019), Cape Town, South Africa
    “Wheel of fortune” (2019), Praia, Cape Verde Islands

    #elephants
    #murals
    #public art
    #street art

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    “Pensées du bouffon rouge” by Pboy in Paris, France

    French muralist Pascal Boyart, aka PBoy, has recently completed a new mural titled “Pensées du bouffon rouge” (Contemplation of the Red Jester) in Rue de Montmorency, Paris 3ème. This amazing 6mt wide acrylic painting depicts the famous “Stańczyk” Red Jester by Jan Matejko (1838-1893) plus some modern additions to reflect about the current problems that riddle the global economy. Stańczyk was the court jester when Poland was at the height of its political, economic and cultural power during the era of the Renaissance in the 16th century. He was a very popular figure, an eloquent man considered more than a mere entertainer, using satire to comment on the nation’s past, present, and future.

    Passionate about drawing since his youth, Pascal Boyart grew up in Paris near La Chapelle, the birthplace of European graffiti. During the last 15 years he covered the walls of Paris with his realistic figurative frescoes inspired by an evident fascination for monumental portraits. Pboy is notably the first mural painter to affix a Bitcoin QR code for donations, to support his future works with no intermediaries involved. The mural has been painted in two days on the facade of the Galerie W Landau, as part of the W-Art United Festival. Check out below for more images of the Red Jester.

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    A 3D Mural by Artist Leon Keer Wraps a French Housing Complex Like a Gift

     “Safe House” (2020). All images © Leon Keer, shared with permission Dutch artist Leon Keer is known for his large-scale anamorphic and Trompe-l’œil projects, transforming the sides of buildings and sidewalks into illusory public art. His latest mural, titled “Safe House,” turns the side of a housing complex in Morlaix, France, into a massive, […] More