Friday 11 April 2008

Hundertwasser


Well, nothing is appropriate to follow the last piece. But urban juxtapositions are rarely appropriate, they just are. What we did after looking at the memorial was take a tram to go and look at the Hundertwasserhaus. God, it's gorgeous: bright, riotous and life-enhancing. Why are we so churlish about using bright colours and pattern in ordinary buildings?

6 comments:

Dale said...

Gorgeously bright houses in intense colors are popping up all over the place in Portland. I love it, and the city is so often dim and wet and gloomy that it's a public service, really.

Anonymous said...

Oh, I love Hundertwasser! As Dale said, places with gloomy winters need colour and I wish Vancouver would learn from Portland. Why should tropical places have it all!?

Zhoen said...

Expense, upkeep, lack of imagination.

MB said...

Not just the color -- it's the organic forms Hundertwasser manages to incorporate as well that intrigue me.

Lucy said...

This is glorious, I'd love to see it.

He retired to a fairly remote northern corner of New Zealand, and designed and built the most fantastic public toilets in the local town, as an act of appreciation for the place. It's put the place, which is predominantly Maori and not well-off, on the tourist map, and the local people loved him for it.

We went there in 2006; I might dig out the photos and post them.

Beth said...

Something about the northern light, and our ridiculous reserve? This is a beautiful picture, and reminds me to put more color into my home and closet! I am always so happy to see color in Montreal, where the winter is so long - and a lot of it comes from immigrants from much warmer places: North Africa, Latin America, India and Pakistan, the Caribbean. I'm grateful!