Environmental Art


Or 'frost art', perhaps. We had a hard frost overnight and during today. Some pedestrian artist saw the blank canvas afforded by the grass in the quad of the University of Edinburgh's Old College, and couldn't resist.

The photographer in me was enthralled, the gardener less so. Frost-trampled grass can really suffer.

Below, the motif from a higher view point. The netting is there to prevent pigeons nesting on the balconies. Short of climbing on the ledge there was nothing I could do to avoid the netting coming out in the shot. I decided I didn't want University security called to rescue me, so settled for the grid effect. Still, it makes a nice contrast of regimentation and free-flowing expression.

Comments

  1. Hi from Tennessee, Linda. That is SO cool - I love to see anonymous, spontaneous creativity. How lucky that you were there to capture it. Thanks for sharing.

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  2. One can find art ANYwhere!!

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  3. Cool.

    My husband and his co-worker were trying to figure out how to form the yin and yang symbol in the snow in the farm field behind work. His co-worker got the symbol traced, but my husband ran out of time to boil jello to pour on for color. Perhaps next year. I'd like to see what that looks like. If they pull it off, I'll definitely take some pictures.

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  4. That is a very nice-looking courtyard. You have aptly described the last picture as "a nice contrast of regimentation and free-flowing expression".

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  5. Hi there young Linda! lol

    Isn't it great to be at the right place, at the right time, with your camera. This was temporary art at it's best, and thanks for sharing. Take care.

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  6. It somehow reminds me of crop circles!

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  7. I would like to have seen the person backing out of this design.

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  8. I like it WITh the grid ! Indeed, art everywhere..even on the streets of Brussels ;-)

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  9. The juxtaposition of the formal grid and the free flowing pattern in the frost work so well, I really like this one.

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  10. very ingenious. glad you shared it with us. the old buildings are fabulous and the symmetry in the picture is great.

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  11. Anonymous, spontaneous creativity just sums it up, Mary.

    Linda, I admire the person (or people) who looked at the expanse of frosty grass and thought, "I could do something with that."

    Vicky, I would never have thought of jelly on snow. How interesting (weird?) that your husband had a supply of jelly in his workplace...

    Hi Linda, it is indeed a nice courtyard. It used to be a car park until last year. Then it was decided to return it to its original state. Since the building is quite old there was an archaeological dig first of all - you can see some of it at http://occasionalscotland.blogspot.com/2010/09/dig-update.html, skeletons and all.

    Well, I can return the youthful compliment, Gary! Yes, always have a camera ready.

    Michelle, there is something very pleasing about the design. And so well executed. I'm sure I would have gone squint.

    Pat, I also thought of crop circles when I first saw it. Perhaps there was a flying saucer somewhere around.

    Larry, I looked for traces of that, and I could just see footsteps going towards the centre of the design. So whoever did it seems to have started in the curly bit in the middle and worked outwards.

    Marcheline, it does have a simple beauty, doesn't it.

    Anni and cuby poet, I tried very hard to get round the grid, but in the end I was pleased with how these photos turned out. (How I long to go back to Brussels!)

    Journeys to Scotland - the overall symmetry of the buildings is a great help to any photographer taking shots of this quad!

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  12. Yes, I was puzzling over how this was done. At first I could only imagine the artist going into the middle and somehow being winched up and away! Who knows, maybe it was done by aliens?

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  13. Super creative on both your parts. (Sorry that the grass had to suffer for this piece, but from what I've seen, you've got plenty of that your way.)
    I like the irregular shape of the netting...I think it does add something to the scene.
    I went to an exhibit last week which is right in line with this art... it really surprised me and then made me chuckle. I didn't know anything about it before I went, which is a good thing since had I known, I wouldn't of made the 20 mile drive. ... http://blogs.laweekly.com/stylecouncil/2012/01/everymans_infinite_art_at_chap.php

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  14. PS - the title was: EVERYMAN'S INFINITE ART

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  15. thanks to the artist , nice result !

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  16. I love spontaneous art! Your photo is cool, too! Thanks for sharing.

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  17. That, indeed, was very creative; and how fortuitous of you to be there to capture it for all of us!

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  18. Well, I must say that I find this very interesting indeed. When I first saw it, I was quite perplexed and to be honest, I am still in that state. I'm still not sure how in the world that design came to be, but however or whoever did it had to be creative. I did enjoy the final result though, your photo. I too, find the grid an asset, rather than a liability.

    You can certainly tell that I know absolutely zilch about photography.

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  19. It's an interesting pattern, and I love the buildings in the second shot, and the grid effect works quite well.

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  20. Hello from Canada.... wow, I absolutely LOVE the icy spiral on the grass, especially through the grid of the netting, well done!

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  21. Frost circles! Beautiful. My first thought was, 'bet it was a woman'. My second thought is that actually, everyone is attracted to spiral forms. I love this.

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  22. An excellent attack of the opportunist artist. It's better than we've done of late - been in there twice in the last few months and caught the gallery in the corner closed for exhibition changes.

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