zürich cubed

Enjoying the summer this evening by the lake in the Wollishofen neighborhood.

jack & suzanne

These two LED panels/sculptures by British artist Julian Opie went up in Paradeplatz a few weeks ago. The male figure is "Jack walking" and the female is "Suzanne walking in leather skirt" Both are double sided and in constant movement, and both are fun to look at, epecially at night when the LED lights are brighter.

how now blue cow

The idea of the Cow Parade originated in Zurich in 1998. Hundreds of life size cows were decorated by local artists and then put on display in public spaces for several months. At the end of the exhibit, the cows were auctioned off to raise money for charity. Most of the cows were purchased by local businesses, and some of them can still be found at entrances to restaurants or stores. I found this blue cow resting in the front yard of an expensive looking house in the hilly Zuriberg neighborhood, so it seems this one was purchased by a wealthy art collector, rather than a business.

The Cow Parade caught on and soon brightly painted fiberglass cows were seen parading around other cities throughout the world: Chicago, New York, London, Sao Paulo, Mexico…Since then, Zurich has applied the same public art concept to other themes such as benches, and two summers ago the city was invaded by giant teddy bears. I’ve also seen codfish in Boston, and lions in Munich.

Has your city hosted a cow parade? Or did you have lions, tigers, or bears (oh my!) instead?

taking care of business and breaking the rules

Apparently this guy had some pressing business that he needed to attend to before boarding the plane, so he used part of the sculpture as his own makeshift office. Clearly, he didn't read (or simply chose to ignore) the sign below:

At least he wasn't climbing up the sculpture...

airport art

Apologies for missing a few days, but I was traveling and away from a computer for a while. But this gives me an excuse to show some pictures of the Zürich airport again. Pictured here is a boxy abstract sculpture that's fun to look at from many different angles. Terminal E, gate 53.

sheep piece

Whenever the weather is nice, little kids use this this lakeside sculpture by Henry Moore called "Sheep Piece," as their own giant jungle gym/slide.

art-mobile

Before walking into the Kunsthaus Zürich, look straight up and you'll see this huge mobile hanging outside the musuem's entrance at Heimplatz. No idea who the arist is--will have to look into that. There is a museum cafe with outdoor seating directly below the mobile, and it is somewhat disconcerting to sit underneath it as it sways over your head casting shadows on your table!

guardian angel III

This sculpture by Jacques Lipchitz stands near the entrance to the Kunsthaus Zurich. I walk past this piece almost every day and it turns out that what I always thought was an angel, is acually a cubist harp called "Le Chant des Voyelles," several versions of of which are scattered throughout the world. Oh well, I'll just keep pretending it's an angel that sings vowels and protects the museum.