If we tollerate this, will our children then be next? The Teepees of Today. Protesters against Stuttgart 21

Evacuation of the Park "Schlossgarten" is done. DB starts to cut down hundreds of trees.

Marketed as a "wonderful, modern advancement" it would replace the present main train station in Stuttgart (Germany) with an underground station and redirect the traffic through long tunnels. What it has brought till now is endless conflict in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg and its capital city Stuttgart. The German Railroad system (Deutsche Bahn or DB) with the backing of various politicians and property developers is trying to push this disastrous project through despite a long-running opposition from concerned citizens.

The building of the 'stuttgart 21' has commenced . A train station which is predicted to have the largest construction site in europe has a new residential area growing. 
A project created by the urban resistance has since then been growing, with demonstrators setting up camp on location to prevent progress.


The new urban districts were captured by german photography studio frank bayh & steff rosenberger-ochs in a series entitled 'the development of new urban quarters in the heart of the city'. A small but powerful image of an urban archtectural expression.


The images showcase make-shift homes occupied by the protesters that have added to the city a colorful
and organic mixture of materials including tarps, umbrellas, sticks and blankets, all compiled into the metropolitan dwellings or todays teepee houses.
The personalized, custom made teepees showcase a different type of architectural expression springing from necessity into accidental and eclectic structures.


A glimpse of the future?.......... How much will we tollerate?......... What should we tollerate? Q & A unknown

The Pink Series of “fabulous” depictions of tyrants, dictators and popes” Portraits by Scott Scheidly

Have you seen Hitler dressed in pink and purple with loads of bling??.
Well, artist Scott Scheidly of Florida, USA, had developed portraits for four notorious or influential public figures of the 20th century  with an emphasis on their more feminine sides. Adolf Hitler, Kim Jong-Il, Joseph Stalin and Pope John Paul II have all been re-imagined in shades of pink and purple and outfitted with accessories such as dangling earrings, jeweled uniforms and details of leopard print scarves, heart pins, flowers and unicorns.
The Pink series is the artist's painted reinterpretation of these feared/revered patriarchs as he substitutes their hyper-masculine attire with objects, symbols and colors that are considered hyper-feminine.


However, the viewer may recall the horrible achievements of these men when gazing upon their likeliness and portrait that has marked history, Scheidly's painted series attempts to highlight the single dimensionality of a lone, patriarchic person in power that has subjected millions of people to their tyrannic rule without breaking their starkly masculine exterior and by introducing their undeniable humanity or duality in giving each of these male figures of power a pink layer of feminimity to contrast their typical tyrant, dictator and pope portrayal.


I could imagine having one of these portraits in my living room. What a clever approach.
From Hitler’s pink armband to Kim Jong Ill’s heart shaped glasses, Scheidly’s work casts some of history’s most notorious characters in a new light rife with suggestion and commentary on masculinity, power, and satire.
You can also find extra info about the “fabulous” depictions of tyrants, dictators and popes” at Spoke Art Gallery in San Francisco.

FROM SKATEBOARD TO FURNITURE.

Most males and a few females have a skateboard lying around the place.....maybe they kept it from their childhood or even bought one at older age but then decided it was not their scene. Well................ Deckstool has taken your old skateboard and made it into a more useful thing like benches minidecks, seat cushions and custom designs from skateboards and other recycled materials.

Broken skateboards are an unfortunate side effect of skateboarding and are usually destined for the landfill. Deckstool recycles this waste into unique, high quality furniture and other cool products.
All designs are inspired by skateboarding and they are engineered based upon how skateboards break during use. Deckstool creates stools, benches minidecks, seat cushions and custom designs from skateboards and other recycled materials. Solidly crafted using once shattered skateboards and held together by a skateboard truck, the deckstool is strong and stable! Finely finished edges frame beautifully scuffed graphics that tell the story of the decks' previous lives.
The scrapes, scars, and graffiti on the used decks create beautiful patterns over the original skateboard artwork. All of their products are built and finished in the USA.

Have you got any old skateboards lying around?

Graffiti is Art- A project by Shaka

Graffiti as a type of art, took a while to be accepted. In many cities graffiti covers many areas and some of the graffiti art is not exactly the best in ways that it destroys everything's it touches...from house walls, to subways, train stations etc. In order to Stop and control the unwanted graffiti and the illegal vandalism on some walls/areas, some cities took organized action and commissioned or held competitions in order to decorate with graffiti art areas and surfaces in a controlling themed artistic way. So thats the way that Graffiti managed to color the boring walls and sent out messages and beautiful pictures into our minds.
Some of these artists have nothing to envy from famous artists. One of these artists is Shaka

Shaka- original name Marchal Mithouard- is a french artist whose graffiti work has evolved into a 3d revolutionary art. Shaka integrates 3d creating figures and schemes which seem to come out of canvases and walls, creating a dialectical relation between artwork and space.

HOMELESS- A photo speaks a thousand words

Some of us have been more fortunate than others in this world...... but in this case, a photo speaks a thousand words. It could be us in their place, it could be our mother, our father, our sister , our friend. All we need to give to these people and generally people is a smile and not look down on them. That is what the World needs now.
There are many stories of homeless people that have died rich................ sometimes I wonder why then they chose to be homeless.....could it be that the just needed warmth in their heart and they found it amongst other homeless people. Being homeless does not necessary mean that you are a beggar.


Since a picture/photo speaks a thousand words, I found this interesting photography project by
Lee Jeffries . Jeffries has captured breathtaking photographs of homeless people in black and white . These shots show the raw depth and character of  his passion for photography.
Lee Jeffries live’s in Manchester, United Kingdom, where he got the chance to meet a homeless girl. He first took a picture without her consent. But then he went to her, sat with her and discussed her life story. From there his perception about the homeless completely changed and made it his subject of art and discussion. From that time onward his photography got orientated towards conviction and compassion to the world .
In this collection lee Jeffries focused only on  black and white  pictures of homeless people that he met in Europe and the United States. When discussed Jeffries quoted:  ”Situations arose, and I made an effort to learn to get to know each of the subjects before asking their permission to do their portrait.”
to see more of his black and white incredibly details photographs you can visit his Flickr account

Contributing causes....A few Facts from Wikipedia

Major reasons and causes for homelessness as documented by many reports and studies include:

• Unavailability of employment opportunities.
• Poverty, caused by many factors including unemployment and underemployment.
• Lack of accessible healthcare. People who have some kind of chronic and weakening disease but cannot get healthcare either because they don't have money to afford it or because the government will not give it to them are simply too weak to go and work every day.
• Abuse by government or by other people with power.
• War or armed conflict.
• Natural disasters
• Mental disorder, where mental health services are unavailable or difficult to access or as a result of deinstitutionalization. A United States Federal survey done in 2005 indicated that at least one-third of homeless men and women have serious psychiatric disorders or problems.
• Disability, especially where disability services are non-existent or poor performing.
• Social exclusion, including because of sexual orientation and gender identity
• Substance abuse
• Lack of affordable housing. By way of example, an article in the November 2007 issue of Atlantic Monthly reported on a study of the cost of obtaining the "right to build" (i.e. a building permit, red tape, bureaucracy, etc.) in different U.S. cities. The "right to build" cost does not include the cost of the land or the cost of constructing the house. The study was conducted by Harvard economists Edward Glaeser and Kristina Tobio. According to the chart accompanying the article, the cost of obtaining the "right to build" adds approximately $600,000 to the cost of each new house that is built in San Francisco.
• Domestic violence.
• Relationship breakdown, particularly in relation to young people and their parents.
• Prison release and re-entry into society.
• Disasters, including but not limited to earthquakes and hurricanes.
• Forced eviction – In many countries, people lose their homes by government order to make way for newer upscale high rise buildings, roadways, and other governmental needs. The compensation may be minimal, in which case the former occupants cannot find appropriate new housing and become homeless.
• Mortgage foreclosures where mortgage holders see the best solution to a loan default is to take and sell the house to pay off the debt. The popular press made an issue of this in 2008.
• Foreclosures on landlords often lead to eviction of their tenants. "The Sarasota, Florida, Herald Tribune noted that, by some estimates, more than 311,000 tenants nationwide have been evicted from homes this year after lenders took over the properties."

Archipelago a Floating Cinema in Thailand!!!

How refreshing and original is that....A floating cinema in Thailand. What a great summery experience that would be to be in the middle of the sea watching a film. Thailand......here is another reason to visit you.
Archipelago cinema by ole scheeren is a floating cinema which premiered at the inaugural edition of the 'film on the rocks yao noi' festival in thailand. Please read following in order to get a better idea of this project.
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following text provided by ole scheeren

archipelago cinema, an auditorium raft designed to float on the sea, premiered at
the rocks yao noi festival, curated by apichat- pong weerasethakul and tilda swinton.
the festival, which took place from 9th- 12th march 2012, is set to become an annual
meeting place for art and film.

the final night of the first edition of film on the rocks yao noi took place on archipelago cinema,
designed by german-born and beijing-based architect ole scheeren. guests were taken
by boat through the darkness of the sea to arrive on a glowing raft in the middle of the
quiet waters of nai pi lae lagoon on kudu island. surrounded by a dramatic landscape
of towering rocks emerging from the ocean, the audience experienced an atmospheric
convergence of nature and cinematic narratives - primordial notions of light, sound and
stories suspended in the darkness between sea and sky.
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Maybe we Greeks could implement something like that in a beautiful location on mainland Greece or on some island........ well not on the ones that are 2 windy :) But surely it would be a bonus point to an area and a good tourist attraction.