Beauty Beneath the Surface
beauty of nature & natural systems
This mural depicts an urban activist carrying away a section of brick wall so as to reveal the natural beauty beyond. When posting this image on Instagram in January 2020, the artist wrote, "Sometimes beauty is hidden under the surface. In order to find it, you might have to break some rules."
According to the artist's website, as "the son of ‘Exit Through the Gift Shop’ star Mr. Brainwash, Hijack, grew up in a world surrounded and inspired by renowned street artists such as Invader, Banksy, and Shepard Fairey. He was able to observe first hand the creative processes of some of the world’s most prolific and successful street artists."
Hijack
From the artist's Instagram (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B7_yY5lJ1ri/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@hijackart</a>).
2020-01-31
Luis Osorio, BAS
Hijack (https://www.hijackart.com/)
Digital photograph
Still Image
UAM-ECO_0014
Los Angeles, California
Earth Day 2021
Nature in the urban landscape
<p>Spanish artist Isaac Cordel's <em>Cement Eclipses</em> installations have appeared in urban settings around the world since the mid-2000s. As explained by art historian Peter Bengsten (2018), Cordel strategically places "small sculptures of human beings – often balding, briefcase-carrying, white men in suits – that are either painted in drab colours or are left in the grey tones of the raw material they are made from" so that passersby will happen upon them. As in this example, these miniature figures are sometimes juxtaposed alongside natural elements in the otherwise built setting, typically in poignant ways that highlight the contrast and conflict between industrialized living and non-human nature. Bengstrom (2018) explains, “Given the attire of the sculptures, which brings to mind that of archetypical bureaucrats, businessmen or politicians, Cordal’s installations can be interpreted as critical comments on the unsustainable, growth-based capitalist society which currently dominates the world economy. The artist’s work can be seen as a call for people to re-assess their anthropocentric values…” (p. 128).</p>
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Isaac Cordal
Sourced from the artist's April 22, 2021 (Earth Day) <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CN9zoukhnLI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Instagram</a> post.
Posted on Instagram 2021-04-22
BAS
Created and posted on Instagram by Isaac Cordal (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CN9zoukhnLI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@isaaccordal</a>).
Learn more about the artist, his work, and press coverage of the Cement Eclipses series at <a href="http://cementeclipses.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cementeclipses.com</a>.<br /><br />See also: <span>Bengtsen, Peter.</span><span> "</span><a href="https://portal.research.lu.se/portal/en/publications/street-art-and-the-nature-of-the-city(10e4b4db-987a-4b42-afe0-b460393346e3).html" class="link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Street Art and the Nature of the City."</a><span> </span><em>Bild och Natur. Tio Konstvetenskapliga Betraktelser.</em><span> Edited by Peter Bengtsen, Max Liljefors, and Moa Petersén, Lund Studies in Arts and Cultural Sciences, 2018, 125-138.</span>
Digital photograph
Still Image
UAM-ECO_0007
[location unknown]
Nature Reclaims its Rights
nature fights back
The artist has painted a bright mural on a wall in front of a tree that creates an illusion that the tree's roots are a large hand clawing up the pavement. The artist described the work on Instagram as follows,
La nature reprendra ses droits, et du bitume la couleur jaillera...une graine d espoir✨
Nature reclaims its rights, and color will emerge from the bitumen...a seed of hope✨"
Brusk
From artist's <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CN8ABLOliib/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Instagram account</a>: Skebru Da Mental VapOrz (@bruskdmv)
2021-04-21
BAS
info@brusk.fr
Digital photograph
Still Image
UAM-ECO_0001
Côté Grand'Côte - Pentes de la Croix Rousse Shopping District, Lyon, France