Skip to main content

Abandoned coal mine turned into 55-acre land art


It's uplifting to see eyesores and environmental burdens transformed into services of a wholly different kind. 

   The above image shows us the work of well known landscape artist Charles Jencks, which has turned the ruins of an abandoned open cast coal mine in Scotland into a magnificent cosmology-themed park. Jencks' previous work includes the Garden of Cosmic Speculation in Dumfries, and the Beijing Olympic Park's Black Hole Terrace.

   Dubbed "The Crawick Multiverse," the 55-acre landmark in Upper Nithsdale looks like a modern-day Stonehenge that is expected to attract a diverse range of visitors, including art and design enthusiasts. Materials found on the site, from tonnes of earth to some 2,000 large boulders, were used to create the majestic land art.





   The £1m project is operated by a charitable trust and paid for by the Duke of Buccleuch, who owns the largest private landholding in the United Kingdom. The construction of the cosmic landscape began in 2012. It was officially unveiled last month at a launch ceremony featuring a cast of 30 artists performing music and poetry.

[h/t: Contemporist]

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Hand-Painted Movie Posters by Tony Stella

In the 70s and 80s movie theaters in Manila were usually standalone buildings with nice seats and red curtains. To sell tickets, cinemas needed to advertise their offerings. But they did not have the original posters, or the means to print alternatives. So they made their own, commissioning local artists to hand-paint them. I really miss those hand-painted posters and billboards, which conveyed an artistry that was a form of visual hyperbole. But hand-made objects always have a way of returning. In this digital age, people will always look for things made by hand. I recently stumbled across the work of Tony Stella, whose genuinely cool movie posters have caught the eye of film enthusiasts and art lovers worldwide. He likes to work in watercolor and ink wash but sometimes he will make an oil painting, depending on the film. Tony's very active on social media, and his Tumblr blog contains a massive collection of illustrated movie posters that are often better than the original. ...

Joie de vivre

Emily Powell has made a name for herself with her series of simple, colorful and exuberant paintings. Her passion pours out directly onto the canvas, inspiring the viewer to do something fun.  Emily has exhibited with the Royal Society of Art and collaborated with MoMA and British Museum. Whether it's a coastal landscape, a cute animal, or an explosion of florals, her paintings will surely light up your day.

The Art of Taglietti

Emanuele Taglietti is an Italian designer, illustrator and painter known for his erotic and sometimes outrageous comic book covers during the the '70s and '80s. Inspired by the art of Frank Frazetta and Averardo Ciriello, he painted hundreds of covers for books such as Zora the Vampire , Sukia , Mafia , and 44 Magnum . Taglietti also restored old paintings and occasionally collaborated as an illustrator for magazine publishers such as Mondadori and Rizzoli.  Just this year, Sex and Horror: The Art of Emanuele Taglietti , a book by Mark Alfrey was published celebrating Taglietti's work. The "highly visual biography displays dozens of his amazing full-color paintings, explores his fascinating life and career, and takes a look behind the scenes at his exacting technique." Check it out on Amazon .