Antoni Gaudi
May 15, 2007 6:25 PM   Subscribe

Three exceptionally beautiful videos featuring surreal genius architect Antoni Gaudi
posted by vronsky (31 comments total) 14 users marked this as a favorite
 
His stuff is so gaudy
posted by delmoi at 6:41 PM on May 15, 2007


At the museum in Barcelona, they sell twisted triangular plastic cups. I have three. They're not very good for drinking.
posted by wierdo at 6:49 PM on May 15, 2007


Gaudi's buildings appear in Michelangelo Antonioni's 'The Passenger'. (not very helpful screencapture @01:07, 01:09)

posted by acro at 7:08 PM on May 15, 2007


delmoi, you beat me. But it's low hanging fruit anyways.
posted by wires at 7:37 PM on May 15, 2007


If anyone can translate that Suntory commercial, I'd be interested in knowing what it says. The Gaudi-to-Japanese-whisky connection is not obvious to me.
posted by RogerB at 7:45 PM on May 15, 2007


Then there's a large casino bar dedicated to him in Las Vegas (technically in Henderson).
posted by Brian B. at 7:49 PM on May 15, 2007


Donna Summer w Quincy,Jacko,Stevie,Dionne,Lionel etc -the most impossible choir ever sing State of Independence by Jon and Vangelis.
posted by vronsky at 8:00 PM on May 15, 2007


Thank you for this post, vronsky - these clips pleasantly transport me back to my Barcelona trip, exactly one year ago... I was always intrigued by Gaudi, but nothing prepared me for the impact of seeing his works in person, a truly awesome experience. To turn a corner and come upon Sagrada Familia was breathtaking, to say the least. I loved Casa Batllo and La Pedrera and the Park. Unfortunately, Guell Palace, which was right near my hotel, was under renovation and not accessible.
posted by madamjujujive at 8:14 PM on May 15, 2007 [1 favorite]


ahhh. Lovely post vronsky.

The Suntory one in the first link was such a fun combo of East and West, strange primary color pig (?) puppets with a walking disco ball and robot, all mixed in with the other-worldly architecture. Delightful wtf factor.

The piece of opera in the second clip is a sublime accompaniment to Gaudi's creations, fluid and piercing at the same time. Anyone know the name of the music in that second clip?

Cute use of the i in Gaudi for the third clip.

A little bit about Gaudi and images of his incredible buildings.

Why did you include that unusual choir clip? Michael Jackson still looked human then. Intereating piece of music that.

mjjj, wow, so you were in beautiful Barcelona last year. How cool! It's one of my very favorite cities. Love the people there too. come to think of it, I'd love to know other MeFite fave cities.
posted by nickyskye at 8:38 PM on May 15, 2007


nickyskye, yes, isn't Barcelona superb?
This is not exactly what you were looking for in terms of fave cities, but you might enjoy this old-school thread on Where You Live in a Single Photograph - a fun old thread.
posted by madamjujujive at 8:50 PM on May 15, 2007 [1 favorite]


I wrote my honors history senior thesis on Gaudi and the Sagrada Familia, its amazing that the building is still under construction after everythign that happened to it. Gaudi designed it knowing that it would take 100years to complete, and dedicated the last 20 years of his life to the project, even then he only lived to see like 7% of it completed.

He left almost zero written plans or drawings, everything he did was in a 3-d plaster and wooden models in his workshop. Then the shop caught fire after his death, and what little was salvaged was mostly destroyed again in WWII. Architects spent literally the next 40 years trying to reconstruct the full models while construction limped along.

Today they have computer models of the whole thing, and even still construction is on pace to *hopefully* be completed in the 2020s.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:52 PM on May 15, 2007 [2 favorites]


Cool TD - thanks for the info.

Barcelona really is special. And so is Rome. But a day spent chasing around Gaudi architecture on a rented motorcycle is a day well spent. Bottle of wine, some cheese, a picnic basket. Espressos in the Barri Gotic.

"Why did you include that unusual choir clip" No mystery Nicky, the song came up on iTunes so I checked to see if it was on Youtubes. It's a great song.

Just like this one - Van Morrison, Cleaning Windows
posted by vronsky at 9:03 PM on May 15, 2007 [2 favorites]


I think it is the Flower Duet by Delibes.
posted by vronsky at 9:07 PM on May 15, 2007


yup
posted by vronsky at 9:09 PM on May 15, 2007


This thread got this far without somebody tossing the Gaudi Album in and running like crazy?
posted by ilsa at 9:33 PM on May 15, 2007


Unfortunately, Guell Palace, which was right near my hotel, was under renovation and not accessible

Ah, yes, but did you walk up and down that street three times (stopping at the internet cafe on the south side of the street to, yes, read MetaFilter [and, I believe, try to have a meetup]), frantically trying to figure out how you could be missing a fucking PALACE right under your nose ("oh, that is a grey building; maybe it's a palace? no, it's a police station...") before figuring out that it was behind the many-stories-high scaffolding and the only sign was two A4 (is that right?) pieces of paper saying "Palau Guell closed for renovations."

Grr, we were angry. But then, a few blocks up, we found La Boquería, and we were happy.
posted by librarina at 9:42 PM on May 15, 2007


ahhh, what a great thread. Conversational and personal. I like that.

mjjj, how nice of you to turn me onto that personal picture post and thread. Favorited and savored. It was particularly nice to get a feel of your sense of home place. I really love stone walls and it's so neat you included a couple as your sense of personal place. It sounds like you like where you've lived. My wifi is extremely slow tonight, will have to wait till tomorrow to see all the pics you posted. Looking forward to it.

TD, so cool you wrote a a paper on Gaudi. Fascinating story about the projected plans for the building and incredible that it continued after so many years with bits and pieces left from Gaudi's legacy. wow.

vronsky, but it is a mystery...thanks so much for the info about Flower Duet by Delibes. What an interesting story he had. I really love that piece of music. And man, that Van Morrison song sizzles. Tight. Damn he's good. Never heard that one, what a treat. Thanks.
posted by nickyskye at 10:15 PM on May 15, 2007


Thanks for the links. The Casa Batlló is the only piece of architecture to star as a central character in my dreams (self link from several years ago).
posted by Staggering Jack at 10:23 PM on May 15, 2007


come to think of it, I'd love to know other MeFite fave cities.

Chatfilter!

Well, if we can't do it over at AskMe, what about here?

Barcelona is indeed lovely, but personally, I've never been tempted to make anything other than Sydney my permanent home.
posted by UbuRoivas at 10:29 PM on May 15, 2007


no guru, no method, no teacher
posted by vronsky at 10:33 PM on May 15, 2007


Sagrada Familia reminded* me of the Crazy Horse memorial, but I prefer Barcelona to South Dakota. I prefer Barcelona to just about anywhere else I've visited. South Dakota does have the Lost Sock LTV which evens the score a tad. LTV? A one stop laundromat, tanning and video rental establishment.

*only in that they are never going to finish this and they aren't really trying, not in the this is genius I could spend all day looking at it way.
posted by lazymonster at 2:24 AM on May 16, 2007


Wow timely post - I'm taking the GalPal down to Barcelona for a long weekend the end of this month (I've visited but she never has).

Very nifty links, sure to ratchet up her already hyper excited state of anticipation regaridng the trip.
posted by Mutant at 3:52 AM on May 16, 2007


Gaudi's Sagrada Familia has often reminded me of the wonderful Watts Towers.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:24 AM on May 16, 2007


We have some lovely Gaudi work here in Palma de Mallorca.
Cathedral restoration, A building in Plaça Cort, and the Gran Hotel.
posted by adamvasco at 7:51 AM on May 16, 2007


The wife and I went to Barcelona in September last year. We took the subway from the airport into town, and when we got off the subway and surfaced, we were on Passeig de Gracia, smack in front of Casa Batlló, in the middle of the town's biggest festival, La Merce.

That was a hell of a welcome to Barcelona.

The trip was largely motivated by my interest in Gaudi's architecture, and even if we had seen nothing other than his buildings, it would have been worthwhile. When we first entered the Sagrada Familia, filled floor to ceiling with scaffolding and only a fairly narrow path around the building's perimeter open to the public, we were a bit let down. Then we waited in line and took the elevator up to the top of one of the bell towers and were completely blown away.
posted by adamrice at 7:59 AM on May 16, 2007


librarina, you made me laugh - that's exactly what we did, and there were four of us and it still took several passes to figure it out! But the nearby Boqueria is indeed a site to behold. Among other things, I discovered a new fruit there - well, new to me.

nickyskye, come visit sometime!

Mutant and any other Barcelona lovers, here's a nifty gallery of Barcelona windows and doors, and a link to some local Barcelona dining tips by our own hombre on the spot, mefite Zootoon. I have a few other Barcelona links, too, for anyone planning a visit.
posted by madamjujujive at 8:29 AM on May 16, 2007


ChatFilter...My fave cities:
Barcelona for the place, near the sea and an extraordinary sea coast, sunny, warm and fresh air combined with grand, elegant architecture, excellent walking streets like Las Ramblas and complex history, interesting, intelligent, good looking people and excellent food.
Rome for the beautiful men, layers of decay and joie de vivre simultaneously, old buildings in orange, umbre, incredible coffee and pasta, Trastevere and the Pantheon.
Naples for being sophisticated, old-fashioned Italy by the sea, rawly sensual, near Sorrento/Pompeii, warm and edgy in a port city kind of way.
Edinburgh for its witty locals, being several slices of cities in one, castle mystery/storybook British city the way London should be/Brigadoon around the edges.
Amsterdam, for delicate brick houses that tilt along the edges of beautiful canals, walking, West-East intertwined, Indonesian culture mixed in with the round blond folk, I fit in there.
Delhi for the people and surreal, entertaining and mesmerising cultural/historic complexity, used to be great for living but heard air pollution got the best of it. Ancient Old Delhi and comfortable New Delhi side by side.
New York for being a Western equivalent to Delhi except one can walk here, intense architectural contrasts, friendly and easy connection with very diverse and often intelligent and experienced people, unpretentious, honest, convenient, amazing food, financial opportunities and superb for living comfortably alone.
posted by nickyskye at 8:34 AM on May 16, 2007 [1 favorite]


Oh YAYYY, thanks for the lovely invitation mjjj. I will! :)

Drat my wifi connection. Can't see or play the juicy links yet. *sigh* Later, looking forward to the treats.
posted by nickyskye at 8:49 AM on May 16, 2007


omg mjjj, you have to make that windows etc in Barcelona an fpp. incredible.
posted by nickyskye at 12:41 PM on May 16, 2007


ilsa, that's a fantastic album! I went to Barcelona in 2000 to see Alan Parsons and the boys and sang "Inside Looking Out" all the way up the towers of La Sagrada Familia.

But I'm a fanboy
posted by OneOliveShort at 5:32 PM on May 16, 2007


Bob Marley en Barcelona, España
posted by vronsky at 8:23 PM on May 19, 2007


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