Photographer captures the extraordinary bus stops of the old Soviet empire

Bus stops are generally utilitarian pieces of public infrastructure, but in the former Soviet Union, they're works of art. There are pyramids, arches, domes and other elaborate shapes. The designs vary from region to region; painted bus stops rule in Belarus, while in Kyrgyzstan there are structures shaped like the country's high-crowned kalpak hats.

It took Canadian photographer Christopher Herwig twelve years to capture hundreds of bus stops during which he travelled to 14 countries and covered more than 30,000 kilometers by bus, bike, car and cab. These photos have now been assembled into a beautiful photobook, titled Soviet Bus Stops.

"From the shores of the Black Sea to the endless Kazakh steppe, these extraordinary bus stops show the range of public art from the Soviet era and give a rare glimpse into the creative minds of the time. The book represents the most comprehensive and diverse collection of Soviet bus stop design ever assembled from: Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Abkhazia, Georgia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Belarus."

[h/t: The Guardian]

Comments

When chocolate meets art

I heard it's National Chocolate Day, so I thought I'd share this video about Orlando's newest and sweetest attraction.

Italy's True Movie Poster King

What you see here is the hand-crafted magic of Renato Casaro, the late Italian designer who practically defined an era of cinematic cool. His work wasn't just advertising; it was art. Casaro's journey into becoming one of the most recognizable poster artists wasn't by chance; it was a pure obsession. As a kid, he was fascinated by billboards, trying to mimic the styles of Norman Rockwell and Angelo Cesselon. Think of a teen so determined that he was drawing right onto the walls of a local cinema just to snag a few free tickets. Casaro created posters for a lot of Spaghetti Westerns. His big break came with A Fistful of Dollars in 1964. The movie starred Clint Eastwood and was directed by Sergio Leone. The poster didn’t just promote the film; it helped make it a global hit. Naturally, Leone came calling again, commissioning posters for My Name Is Nobody (1973) and the epic crime saga, Once Upon a Time in America (1984). A Casaro poster is easy to spot because of his uniqu...

The Three-Step Secret

Have you ever encountered a painting that, up close, is pure chaos—a riot of color, a tantrum of brushstrokes? Yet, take a few steps back, and suddenly, the mess organizes itself. As if by cruel magic or divine intervention, the disarray snaps into clarity. That is the experience of viewing the art of Montana Engels . Her work is a testament to this phenomenon. Up close, Montana's canvases appear as nothing more than abstract, hand-painted stripes. Then you move away. Instantly, the mess resolves into a stunning, realistic portrait. The technique is extraordinary, turning proximity into confusion and distance into focus. Montana wasn’t always a phenomenon. Her creativity was just a hobby. Then came Belgium’s Got Talent . Suddenly, she was noticed. Now, she's everywhere. If you have a Facebook account, you might want to follow her .

finding cain

Search This Blog