Comments on: Demolition Art

Demolition Art

monju_bosatsu — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 14:30:14 -0800

Medianera is the spanish word for the wall that separates two buildings. When one of those buildings is knocked down, the remaining wall often carries impressions left behind by the now-demolished living space. Flickr pools: [1] [2].

By: jrb223

jrb223 — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 14:36:07 -0800

I find it interesting that the second flickr pool is titled "the Unconscious Art of Demolition." To my mind the decision to leave the walls like this must be an entirely conscious one. The demolition crew chose to leave those marks of the previous inhabitants instead of scrubbing the walls clean.

By: Arcaz Ino

Arcaz Ino — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 14:51:50 -0800

Spanish law requires public urinals for jetpack-users.

By: Titania

Titania — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 14:55:10 -0800

I've seen this before. Is this a second post? Maybe it was on BoingBoing.

By: arcticwoman

arcticwoman — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 14:56:25 -0800

Wow, that's really fascinating. I love the jetpack urinals.

By: TonyRobots

TonyRobots — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 15:00:24 -0800

Titania, I had the same feeling. Even the wording sounds very familiar. I need to search this...

By: xod

xod — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 15:01:22 -0800

Gordon Matta-Clark would approve.

By: jonson

jonson — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 15:05:56 -0800

Titania & TonyRobots, yes - this was on BoingBoing about a year ago, and was shortly thereafter posted here. I'm very very sure of it, but have no idea what search terms would reveal it...

By: monju_bosatsu

monju_bosatsu — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 15:09:18 -0800

It was posted to BoingBoing, although I originally saw it on Pruned. I don't think it was ever posted here; I searched pretty hard for it.

By: smackfu

smackfu — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 15:18:19 -0800

The ones on the first link seem much more "real". The second link looks like it was intentionally left like that, with the exposed fixtures. But alas, I can't read Spanish.

By: Busithoth

Busithoth — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 15:22:21 -0800

magnificent. hoorah for [old] europe.

By: ism

ism — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 15:37:41 -0800

reminds me of this film: the subconscious art of graffiti removal by matthew mccormick

By: frecklefaerie

frecklefaerie — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 15:38:56 -0800

This is so cool. Thanks, monju!

By: Aquaman

Aquaman — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 16:08:40 -0800

My favorite scene in the 1976 animated feature "Allegro Non Troppo" takes place on one of these! It features a lonely cat crawling about a demolished ruin, and is set to a piece by Jean Sibelius. Awesome, awesome movie - the poor man's Fantasia! If you like animation, do yourself a favor.

By: dhruva

dhruva — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 16:36:42 -0800

Awesome. [this is good]

By: elpapacito

elpapacito — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 16:38:12 -0800

aye allegro man non troppo is fantastic ! This post is good as well, it gives a nostalgic life look to otherwise dead concrete.

By: notmtwain

notmtwain — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 16:52:04 -0800

I love these photos. Another related genre is all the old building and road-side ads one still occasionally sees.

By: beguemot

beguemot — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 16:57:03 -0800

"Son los despojos abiertos de la habitación del hombre, el mapa vertical de sus diferencias, la obscena muestra de lo que las paredes ocultan (duchas, papel pintado, manchas de grasa en la cabecera de un lecho). "Las lluvias, la intemperie dulcifican los colores en una misma paleta pastel. Los azulejos resisten heróicamente, y sólo caen uno a uno. "En fuerte competencia con los edificios que vendrán, las medianeras duran poco tiempo." "They are the open spoils of man's habitation, the vertical map of his differences, the obscene sample of what walls hide (showers, painted paper, grease stains on top of a bed). Rain, exposure sweeten the colors into the same pastel palette. Wall tiles heroically resist, and only fall off one by one. In strong competition with the forthcoming buildings, medianeras does not last long". A real quick translation of the Spanish quote in Pruned (sorry if there are mistakes in the English, not my native language).

By: StrangerInAStrainedLand

StrangerInAStrainedLand — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 16:59:13 -0800

In the second link, any ideas on why the toilet on the left side of the second floor seems to be at around chest level?

By: notmtwain

notmtwain — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 17:23:06 -0800

Stranger, the second link is showing an art project. Your tax dollars at work...

By: vacapinta

vacapinta — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 17:27:03 -0800

Except its in Barcelona...so its certainly not my tax dollars.

By: StrangerInAStrainedLand

StrangerInAStrainedLand — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 17:34:53 -0800

Stranger, the second link is showing an art project. Your tax dollars at work... Ah, I was worried there for a sec that international customs of toilet placement varied in some way as yet completely unknown to me. Except its in Barcelona. I would not be surprised one iota if this has happened, and been funded by the City of SF, although I think the color scheme would be somewhat more flashy.

By: notmtwain

notmtwain — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 17:41:33 -0800

Artists are doing creative work with porta-potties here in the good old USA. "Found Sound" and Harper's had a great little article "Excretion"

By: madamjujujive

madamjujujive — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 18:40:41 -0800

Cool stuff, monju_bosatsu. The second link reminds me a bit of the defenstration building in SF.

By: smackfu

smackfu — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 18:50:08 -0800

Stranger, the second link is showing an art project. Your tax dollars at work... Well, that would have been useful to mention.

By: loquacious

loquacious — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 19:46:25 -0800

Repeat or not, this is awesome. I haven't seen this before.

By: bookish

bookish — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 19:59:55 -0800

Fantastic. I can't help wondering now what my apartment would look like as a medianera impression.

By: deborah

deborah — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 22:13:15 -0800

Awesome post, monju-bosatsu. The leftovers strike me as being kind of sad and ghost-like.

By: ob

ob — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 07:44:13 -0800

I've seen these things hundreds of times all over Spain, but seeing many in sequence really recontextualizes them into something quite poetic.