Banksy at Occupy London: See the Street Artist's Monopoly Sculpture Before It Got Vandalized

By Keith Plocek
From http://blogs.laweekly.com/

Colin Young-Wolff

​Angelenos aren't strangers to the works of British street artist Banksy. His participation in MOCA's street art show was a (predictably secret) given, and the man plastered L.A. during the run-up to the Oscars, inspiring residents of Westwood Village to petition for his works to remain. And don't get us started on the career of Mr. Brainwash, Bansky's special present to our fair city. LA Weekly photographer Colin Young-Wolff just got back from a tour of Europe, and he sent over a photo from Occupy London that is reputed to be a Banksy sculpture and has since been tagged over.
A blogger at ArtLyst explains: "The downside of leaving this amazing work of art in the middle of the grounds of St Paul's unprotected is that other protesters have drawn graffiti all over the sculpture to highlight their own particular brand of causes. Banksy has never been concerned with creating lasting or permanent works of art."
True that. The piece was made to be vandalized. But at least Colin got a great pic before it happened.

Colin Young-Wolff

​ 

The World’s Largest Pumpkin Carving Is Also the Most Impressive

From: http://gizmodo.com/

When you carve your Jack-o'-lantern this Halloween, try and keep it simple. Because no matter how good you are at carving, shaving and hollowing, you won't be able to match this epically designed pumpkin carving. Demons, ghouls, zombies, guts—all artistically sculpted from this 1,818.5 pound pumpkin.

Yes. one thousand eight hundred eighteen and a half pounds of orangey orange goo, seeds and slime. That makes the pumpkin the world's largest pumpkin and the carving the world's largest pumpkin carving. The giganto pumpkin carving was made by Ray Villafane and the detail is delicious. It's also shit your pants scary too—the walking dead look like they're climbing out of hell. Villafane is carving more pumpkins like this at the New York Botanical Garden and they'll all be on showcase through Halloween. See more of the pictures at Inhabitat. [INHABITAT]

Small is beautiful: Amazing miniature origami sculptures that fit on the tip of your finger

By Mail Foreign Service

From: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

The Japanese have been making origami sculptures of dragons for thousands of years - but they're never normally this small.

These miniatures are so tiny they can fit on a fingertip and they take days to make using a toothpick and paper no bigger than an inch wide.

Artist Anja Markiewicz spends days working on some of her remarkable sculptures, taking a break every two hours to keep up her concentration levels.

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Artist Anja Markiewicz creates her mini-sculptures, such as this dragon, using a toothpick and inch-wide paper

The 24-year-old has created around 500 of the pieces and sells them for around £10 each on her website.

Anja had the idea five years ago after she made an origami ship with foil from a chocolate wrapper while bored at college.

She said: 'After I finished eating the chocolate, I started to fold the wrapper and ended up with a tiny ship.

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Anja's favourite sculpture is this yellow ball, which takes 10 hours to make

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This snowflake required the most paper to create - a mere 38mm square

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Anja stumbled on her art while playing with a chocolate wrapper while bored at college

'I cut the paper to make it smaller and was still able to fold a ship - my friend gave it a go but couldn't do it.

'On the way home I bought some very thin paper from a craft shop and spent hours making more sculptures.

'It was very pleasing to me. I created more figures, using a toothpick for the really intricate parts.

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A diamond rose and a tiny crane

'My favourite is the origami ball, because that took me the most effort.

'All in all, it was about ten hours, and I had to take breaks because it's tiring.

'I also like the rat, as it's quite a famous design in origami art but I have taken it down to a minuscule level.'

Anja, from Potsdam, near Berlin, Germany, added: 'Some pieces I can do in as little as five minutes and I love selling my work online.

'It gives me great satisfaction to know that people are buying my art and enjoying it.'

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Anja sells sculptures, including this beetle, for £10 a time

Watermelon skin carving

Watermelon skin carving from Vid Nikolic on Vimeo.

Nude Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber Statue: It Not Only Exists, But It's Coming Our Way Soon.

By Pete Freedman
From: http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/

​

Not sure whether this is creepy, amazing or both, but, alas, a "famed" sculptor named Daniel Edwards -- responsible for such past classics as a nude Paris Hilton playing with her dog and a nude Britney Spears giving birth on her hands and knees -- has gone and created a bronze statue of Grand Prairie's Own Selena Gomez and her boyfriend, Justin Bieber, with the two quite literally joined at the hip.

Oh, and the 19-year-old Gomez and 17-year-old Bieber are also pretty much nude in this depiction, their privates covered only by a maple leaf (because Biebs is from Canada) and a Lone Star (because ... well, duh).

(Update at 2:59 p.m. on 8/10/11: Read out interview about the statue with sculptor Daniel Edwards here.)

At this point, the above image is the only available view we have of the statue, which is called "Justin and Selena as One." But that's going to change in the near future: Martin Puentes, manager of two New Fine Arts locations in the Dallas area confirms to DC9 today that the statue is headed the way of the area adult store chain's West Northwest Highway location. Far as we can tell, it's the first planned display of the piece.

(Update at 4:14 p.m. on 8/9/11: We've not got some more images of the statue. Check them out after the jump -- and in .GIF form, no less!)

"[Edwards] contacted us about it," Puentes says. "We kept making sure he knew what we were -- that we're not an art gallery. But he said he wanted to put it in an adult store."

So there you go. Puentes isn't sure exactly when it's coming -- Edwards has yet to give him an arrival date -- but he's certain that the Edwards piece is indeed on its way. And he's looking forward to its arrival, too.

"His art looks pretty cool," Puentes says. "I mean, it's pretty out there. But I like it!"

The Hamburg Water Woman [5 PICS]

by Atul
from http://www.geekfill.com/

Work of art or a pervert's paradise? Risqué 26ft statue of Marilyn Monroe is unveiled in the Windy City

By Amy Oliver
From: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

That pose, that dress, the blonde hair, the luscious lips ... 


A 26-foot tall statue of Marilyn Monroe towering above tourists in the middle of Chicago was unveiled on Friday to much applause.


Bemused shoppers stopped and stared, a boy tried to crawl up her leg and the men from a wedding party could not resist taking a few photos from all angles.


Scroll down for videos

High and mighty: The curious gather around Seward Johnson's 26ft sculpture of Marilyn Monroe in Chicago

Desperate to keep her identity a secret until Friday, workers who put the statue in place on Thursday had to put a rather unsightly cloth bag over the poor girl's head, albeit it one in red, white and blue.

The statue, by artist Seward Johnson, replicates the actress's famous subway scene in 1955 film The Seven Year Itch and was unveiled on Chicago's Pioneer Court.

In the scene Monroe stands over a subway grate as a breeze from a train passing below blows her skirt over her panties.

It was shot in New York but as the Windy City, Chicago seems like the second best location for such an art work.

Cameras at the ready: While their wives and girlfriends were not there, the men from a wedding party took scores of photos from all different angles 

Now THAT'S a Kodak moment! Or at least an iPhone moment

Simply irresistible: A cheeky boy tries to scale her leg while some really enjoy the rear views

It will be on show through the Spring of 2012.

The stainless steel and aluminium sculpture, which weighs a whopping 34,000lbs, has raised more than a few eyebrows.

Not least because visitors to the plaza are at once confronted with Monroe's pert bottom in gleaming white panties and her perfect pins bedecked in white, open-toe kitten heels.

Covered up: A worker puts the finishing touches to the statue on Thursday

What did you do at work today darling? One man touches up the statue's under carriage with paint

Breathtaking views: A worker is seen spraying the statue's panties before the great unveiling on Friday

You missed a bit: Well, Monroe always did have men at her feet

Men have been spotted gawping while their wives get cross and attempt to shield their eyes and lots of people have stopped to take a quick snap of the giantess before she goes public tomorrow.


Not all are happy of course. Abraham Ritchie wrote on Art Chicago Blog the statue was a 'creepy schlock from a fifth-rate sculptor that blights a first-rate public art collection.'
But the Zeller Realty Group, which owns the plaza and now its statue, wants Marilyn to make people think.

...And the real thing: Monroe cools off via the subway in front of Tom Ewell in The Seven Year Itch

'(Paul Zeller) likes to bring in things that cause a conversation,' said a spokesman from the company. 'They might be controversial, but he likes art that makes people think.'

And if that fails at least her skirt will be a good place to shelter from the rain. 

Watch the statue midway through construction

Now watch Monroe in that subway scene

Star Wars Crayon Sculptures (PIC)

From: http://www.break.com/

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One man, 100,000 toothpicks, and 35 years: An incredible sculpture of San Francisco

flickr.com — The elaborate sculpture is comprised of multiple “tours” that move pingpong balls through neighborhoods, historical locations, and iconic symbols of San Francisco, all recreated with a little glue, some toothpicks, and an incredible amount of ingenuity.

CLICK HERE FOR SLIDESHOW: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tinkering_studio/sets/72157626359200567/show/

Scott Weaver's Rolling through the Bay from Learning Studio on Vimeo.

Scott Weaver's amazing piece, made with over 100,000 toothpicks over the course of 35 years, is a depiction of San Francisco, with multiple ball runs that allow you to go on "tours" of different parts of the city. It will be on display in the Tinkering Studio until the end of June!

tinkering.exploratorium.edu

Christ in Rio - That's one big statue

by Master Trigger

from: http://triggerpit.com/

Christ the Redeemer (Portuguese: Cristo Redentor) is a statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; considered the second largest Art Deco statue in the world. It is 39.6 metres (130 ft) tall, including its 9.5 metres (31 ft) pedestal, and 30 metres (98 ft) wide. It weighs 635 tonnes (625 long,700 short tons), and is located at the peak of the 700-metre (2,300 ft) Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park overlooking the city. A symbol of Christianity, the statue has become an icon of Rio and Brazil. It is made of reinforced concrete and soapstone, and was constructed between 1922 and 1931.


 

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Jesus Christ statue (the Redeemer) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, among clouds
Photo credit: Iko/braziltravelpictures

Corcovado from the airplane
As we were coming in to land at Santos Dumont airport in Rio de Janeiro, we flew by Corcovado which is dominated by the famous statue of Christ overlooking the city. I had a good view of it from my window although the sun angle was not at its best to take a photograph. I took it anyway, and with some of the fancy software available today I was able to make some adjustments and turn it into a semi-acceptable shot. It presents the popular landmark from an unusual perspective not often seen except in postcards. Photo Credit: Yvon from Ottawa

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Christ the Redeemer with Rio de Janeiro backdrop
Photo Credit: Kaushal Karkhanis

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Cristo Redentor among clouds
Photo Credit: braziltravelpictures

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Christ the Redeemer
Photo Credit: braziltravelphotos

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Cristo Redentor statue on top of Corcovado, a mountain towering over Rio de Janeiro.
In the background the Ipanema and Leblon beaches separate the lagoon from the Atlantic Ocean. Photo Credit: wikicommons/Klaus with K

Click here for the FULL GALLERY - 34 pics

Scratching the Surface: Portraits Carved in Walls

From: http://www.visualnews.com/


Using decaying plaster on old walls as a canvas, street artist Alexander Farto (aka Vihls) makes large detailed portraits by carving with hammers and chisels. His works give new life to decrepit buildings, while helping them retain a timely character at the same moment. Often his works leave chipped away plaster at their base, tipping off observers as to how the piece was created. Farto’s work has made an impact far and wide, with examples in many European cities and New York.
For more on Alexander Farto and his many works in many mediums (from graffiti to motion graphics) see his website alexandrefarto.com.

































Source: omgshots.com,