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Architecture
05/22/13 1:00pm

Parco dei Monstri: Italy’s Renaissance Park of Monsters

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Bomarzo Parco dei Monstri Rome Untapped Cities E Ryan 11

In the northern section of the Lazio region, lies the village of Bomarzo and its wondrous Parco dei Monstri.  Accessible chiefly by car, the park is 60 miles north of Rome.

Parco dei Monstri was built between 1572-74 by Pier Francesco Orsini, known as Vicino Orsini. Orsini called the park his “boschetto” or little wood.  It was most likely created by Pirro Ligorio, a prominent architect and garden designer who also designed the Villa D’Este in Tivoli, near Rome.  Very little is known, however, about the sculptors themselves.  The figures are carved from tufo, the volcanic rock that blankets this section of Lazio.  A soft stone, tufo is easy to sculpt and rough-hewn in appearance. The scale is, well, monstrous and the figures loom in mute poses of victory, agony or imperious reverie.  Now mossy and softened with age, many still bear traces of their original paint.  Dragons snarl, Neptune reclines and nymphs beckon in this garden of unearthly sites.  (more…)

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Architecture
05/22/13 12:00pm

The Getty Museum Showcases LA’s Mid-Century Architectural Innovation

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Dorothy Chandler Pavilion by Welton Becket & Associates. Source: Getty Museum

Dorothy Chandler Pavilion by Welton Becket & Associates. Source: Getty Museum

Do we need anything more than the gorgeous J. Paul Getty Museum itself to illustrate the fact that Los Angeles is a a critical center for architecture? We didn’t, but for the skeptics, the museum is showcasing extra proof of it. Through mid-July, Overdrive: L.A. Constructs the Future will be on exhibition at the Getty Center Exhibitions Pavillion.

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Arts & Culture
05/22/13 11:00am

Art Nerd NYs Street Art Hotspots: PS Os Gemeos

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There is at least one work by the Brazilian twins Os Gemeos left in New York (not counting the splasherized ones in Williamsburg. Their collaboration at PS 11 with graffiti legend Futura still overlooks the playground a few blocks before the gallery madness of Chelsea takes over.

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Image © Lori Zimmer, Art Nerd New York

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Arts & Culture
05/22/13 10:00am

The Modern Man: Roaring 20s Inspired Barbershop in Portland, Oregon

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Mad Men PDX

With the release of the new The Great Gatsby movie, the Roaring ’20s are making a full-fledged comeback, even in the corner of America  known as Portland, Oregon. Walking in the door of the vintage barbershop, The Modern Man, visitors will leave behind the hustle and bustle of the digital era and enter into another era.  “My bet is that they will never have visited a shop like ours before and that’s what we want,” said The Modern Man founder Chris Espinoza. A time when flappers roamed the streets smoking cigarettes, jazz was king, and speakeasys were the place to be during the Prohibition Era. “This is where a kid becomes a man,” said barber Chase Danielle.

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Arts & Culture
05/22/13 9:00am

ICP Triennial Pushes the Boundaries of Photography

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ICP Triennial Untapped Cities

If you’re looking for cutting-edge work in photography and video art, the International Center of Photography (ICP) is the place to go. Their fourth Triennial, A Different Kind of Order, opened on Friday and it showcases work by some of the best and brightest contemporary artists. The curators, Kristen Lubben, Christopher Phillips, Carol Squiers, and Joanna Lehan, took digital modes of creation as a given and set out to create a show that would push the boundaries of photography to see how far it can go.  (more…)

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Arts & Culture
05/22/13 8:06am

Daily What?!: Betty Boop Bike Rack in Midtown

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NYC Bike Rack-David Byrne-Betty Boop-Midtown-44th and 7th-Untapped Cities

David Byrne Bike Rack “The Old Times Square” on 44th Street and 7th Aveue

This awesome bike rack wasn’t actually inspired by Betty Boop, but we like the alliteration of Betty Boop Bike Rack. It’s actually part of a series by artist David Byrne (from the Talking Heads) in partnership with the NYC Department of Transportation and Pace Gallery. As an avid cyclist, David was invited to join a city design competition for bike racks and later submitted his own designs which the city agreed to install.

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Arts & Culture
05/21/13 4:00pm

Taraz, Kazakhstan: A Silk Road City Through an Artpologist’s Eye

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Locals in Taraz, Kazakhstan.

Locals in Taraz, Kazakhstan, with whom the Artpologist Collective will collaborate.

An artist imagines and creates; an anthropologist studies cultures. In cities throughout America, Central Asia and now Kazakhstan, there will soon be hybrid, the “artpologist,” who uses visual representation to understand people and their cultures. Founded in 2007 by U.S.-based anthropologist Zhanara Nauruzbayeva and artists Daniel Gallegos (an Untapped contributor), Gaisha Madanova and Aminatou Echard, The Artpologist Collective aims to combine art and anthropology in social practice art that uses visual mediums to explore urban landscapes. After establishing successful projects in Central Asia and the U.S., Nauruzbayeva is returning to her hometown of Taraz, Kazakhstan. Through a new Kickstarter project, she and Gallegos hope to collaborate with Taraz-based art teacher Gulnara Kospakova and her students to rediscover their city and tell its story. In the long term, the collective aims to compare how people’s backgrounds mold urban spaces around the world.  (more…)

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Architecture
05/21/13 2:00pm

Saving NYC’s Vintage Diners: Moondance, Cheyenne, Empire Diner & the Lost Diner

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It’s always exciting for us at Untapped to see the passionate work of residents get the spotlight. Michael Perlman, chair of the Rego-Forest Preservation Council, is one of those New Yorkers who has taken his fascination for urban quirks and history towards a greater mission–in his case, preservation. Last week, Michael’s work saving the diners of New York City was featured a piece by Eric Jaffe in The Atlantic Cities, chronicling his (often successful) quest to find buyers for iconic diners like the Moondance and Cheyenne diners. He’s also been trying to save the Empire Diner in Chelsea and the abandoned Lost Diner/Lunchbox Diner on West Street.

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Architecture
05/21/13 1:00pm

Untapped Mailbag: Where Can You Film An Apocalpyse Movie in NYC?

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Ellis Island Southside Hospital

Ellis Island Southside Hospital

We love hearing from readers in our Untapped Mailbag, especially when they have questions like, “Where can I film a TV show with an apocalypse v. man story line?” In our answer, here’s a sampling of the spots we suggested:

Ellis Island Southside Hospitals: There isn’t much creepier than an abandoned hospital. This one has old incinerators, medicinal bottles, surgical wards and more.

Fort Totten: This Civil War fort is particularly apocalyptic for the inscriptions soldiers carved into the walls while stationed here.

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Architecture
05/21/13 12:00pm

The Grand Rex Art Deco Cinema in Paris

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Grand-Rex-Paris-Kala-Court-17

We usually go to the cinema and let a film transport us into another world and time. But at The Grand Rex, simply entering its doors is a trip back to history in itself.

Mythical and extravagant, this huge Art Deco cinema was conceived by Jacques Haik, a Tunisian-born film producer and one of the pioneers of French cinema, known to have introduced Charlie Chaplin to the French film audience. Already the owner of the Olympia music hall, he had something grander in mind: a cinema that could seat thousands, in a space spanning 2,000 square meters.  With the help of French architect Auguste Bluysen and engineer John Eberson, famous for his North American “atmospheric theaters”, The Grand Rex opened to the public in December 8, 1932.  (more…)

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