Tag: art

taipei manhole covers

ok! so we’re in taipei, and i’m going to try to document our time here like i did in thailand, with one short post for every day. just simple stuff, whatever has been making us look. and first up, we’ve been looking down at manhole covers!

manhole covers are a form of art in japan, where they have hundreds of different ones on all kinds of topics. some years ago they came to taipei too, with a few commemorative ones spread around the city. for me it’s always exciting when someone has taken the time to make a bit of boring infrastructure less boring and more special, and this is just a great example of that.

i feel like going around town hunting for these, adding them to a collection. the colored ones are great, but even the more simple covers are beautiful here. makes you want to roll some ink over them and stamp them on a t-shirt!

in germany pretty things

smile!

the world needs more of this.

Post author By ana
Post date November 5, 2011
2 Comments on smile!

links and ideas postcards postcrossing

to mr cheng

a cool project that tests the limits of postal workers’ patience, one strange object at a time.

check the interview with the artist on wired magazine for some more insight on the project. a small preview:

Wired.com: You have previously published books of letters, for example one where you sent letters with odd ideas to authorities, like asking a Swedish municipality if it could host a North American Indian tribe. Why are you so fascinated by letters?
Ericson: Sending things is a fun way to communicate, and I love the seriousness in letters. I mean, you would never receive a lawsuit by e-mail. There is something about letters, especially nowadays when they are getting more and more rare, and we’re communicating in other ways instead.

Post author By ana
Post date May 25, 2009
1 Comment on to mr cheng

in china

a visit to the shanghai museum

in a sort of new year resolution, we decided to make an effort to visit a “touristy” destination in shanghai every week or so, to get to know the city a bit better.

this week we went to the shanghai museum. you can learn about all sorts of art-related aspects of chinese culture in there, and there’s enough of it to keep you entertained for hours – a clear overdose of information to our jetlagged minds. anyway, here are some pictures:

all in all, this would have been better if we were less tired – or had a special interest in any sort of ancient art.
still, there are some lovely pieces in there, and the entrance is free, so if you fancy stuff like calligraphy, chinese paintings, currency, bronze works, sculpture, ceramics, chinese furniture, jade carving, etc. give it a go!

Post author By ana
Post date January 11, 2009
4 Comments on a visit to the shanghai museum