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

The Adorable Sculptures of Yen Yen Lo

These images are from a series of wall sculptures created by Yen Yen Lo . Here you can see her intricately textured ceramic pieces, looking downright adorable. Yen Yen Lo's eye for the unique and whimsical is delightful. Apparently they are not intended for kids under 16. Fifteen-year-olds cannot be trusted with fragile stuff. Get them a Funko Pop instead.

This art installation aims to raise awareness on domestic violence

What you see here is an art installation featuring 440 pairs of high heels. The shoes were recently hanged by Turkish artist and graphic designer Vahit Tuna on a facade of a building in downtown Istanbul to highlight domestic abuse. Each pair represents one of the 440 women killed in Turkey last year by their partner or husband. How sad that is.

Eric van Straaten's 3D-Printed Statuettes

I can't remember when I first became entranced with Eric van Straaten 's 3D-printed sculptures. I think I stumbled onto his work through tumblr when I was searching for new artists to follow. Eric's attention to detail is pretty amazing, and the image of the eroticized child-woman is familiar throughout his work. Most of his hyper surreal pieces are 3D-printed in sandstone material, which are created by laying down a thin layer of gypsum powder and using a binding agent and color inks to print a pattern onto it. Once the entire model is printed, it is withdrawn from the print bed and the excess powder is removed. The model is then sealed and ready for display. "I think that the girls I create in my work are visualizations of my own feelings, fantasies and thoughts," the Dutch artist explains. "The girls actually look like someone I (used to) know and the different ‘portraits’ tell something about what I think of myself in regards to her or women ...

finding cain

Search This Blog