Valparaiso Open Air Art~

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, EXTERIOR & INTERIOR DESIGN, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS

There are hundreds of wall sized open air painted murals all over Valparaiso.

Click to enlarge this photo to see how the artist recycled plastic soda bottles to create living window planters for her imaginary town and writes about the need to creatively recycle plastics .

The talent and creativity of these artists blows me away.

In this hostel, I zoomed in on the art around the doorway in the photos below, so you can see the detail.

What strikes me is how talented these artists are,

and how many of them will remain unrecognized.

It is often luck that makes one famous, and another unknown.

In a fairer world, all these artists would be recognized for the true talent they have.

Valparaiso is full of gifted artists, but it also has so many poor people, and the largest slums in Chile.

The unfair fact this illustrates is that talent and poverty often reside together.

Please note: I am traveling by sea now and have limited access to internet. I will check in when possible but please excuse my inability to be responsive online.

Cheers to you from the talented artists of Valparaiso~

221 thoughts on “Valparaiso Open Air Art~”

  11. I always think that these artists who paint on such a scale hold more talent than those who paint on canvas.. I could never begin to get the perspective right on such a huge scale..
    Beautiful art,
    Thank you for sharing <3

    Reply

  12. Wonderful artistic workmanship and use of items that people would just normally throw away. So nice to see these wonderful and talented artists creating things of such beauty.
    Safe travels on your ship excursion. Will be anxiously awaiting your next post to see where you were traveling to next.

    Reply

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    1. It is all over a very big city. The murals started in what is now called the Museo de Arte Abierto Cielo, many decades ago. Now it is concentrated in the Cerro Allegre and Cerro Concepcion regions, but really it is everywhere you go. It is truly amazing, and I have one more series to post.

      Reply

  29. Beautiful work, and photos of it. Thank you Cindy! One of my favourite street artists is Chilean/Canadian. She bases out of Toronto…. Shalak Attack.

    Reply

  34. The soul of a society is found in the creativity that is generated. We MUST support and encourage this remarkable spirit. For in so doing, we save ourselves.

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  37. These to me are even more stunning than the first set – variety, color, technique. Any clue how long they work on them? One huge investment of time, or coming back and forth to add details and new elements? I see one white building outline that suggests multiple visits.

    Reply

  44. I love that beautiful street art!! It’s amazing and impressive. I do agree that they are not getting their due on this. I saw on the news there was a pig and a two year old who were smearing paint on canvas and it was being sold for thousands of dollars. Insane! But of course you can’t buy the street art. I would if I could. I hope you are having a great trip. Hugs.

    Reply

    1. I love pigs. Smart critters. But I love them for what they are, and they are not great painting pigs. So we pay pigs tons of money to “paint” and we ignore people who can actually paint.
      Seems accurate.

      Reply

  52. What a beautiful sample of street art. I too especially like the last one. Thanks for caring Cindy. Yes, the world is very unfair and unbalanced, seemingly by design from those with power and money.

    Reply

    1. There are so often bad people dominating.
      When I was really very little, I was transfixed by the story, “The Emperor Has No Clothes.”
      I think what I liked particularly, was that there was a king who relied on lying people to tell him who, and how, he was. He relied on it so much, they convinced him to walk down the street naked, clothed in their nonexistant garb, until a child yelled, “Look, the emperor has no clothes!”
      I think as a world we need to be focusing on that child, not the emperors.

      Reply

  53. Wow! I would have been proud to have painted any of those, Cindy. Looks like you’re having a great trip . Enjoy it to the max! Happy St Pat’s Day 🍀💚🍀

    Reply

  55. “Talent and poverty often reside together.” Yes, Cindy, that’s often true, whether the talent is athletic prowess, musical ability, writing ability, or whatever. Perhaps it’s God’s way of “rewarding” those who have few material gifts.

    Reply

  62. Unrecognized talent is one of the greatest shames in our world. Part of the reason I’m trying to make myself into an actual writer, and not just an amateur blogger, is so I can locate people whose talents and contributions go unrecognized and give them a platform.

    Reply

    2. “Unrecognized talent is one of the greatest shames in our world.”
      It is. It is also lied about constantly. I think the idea that truly creative talent lies within so many of us, is threatening to those who have much less talent, yet are more successful.

      Reply

      1. Oh yes, absolutely. I imagine it’d be quite threatening to realize that there are many people out there with as much talent as oneself, and that the main reason you’ve succeeded while they haven’t comes down to class and connections. But with new technologies (the internet) and the increasing ease of travel, perhaps it’ll become easier for talented and under-appreciated artists to get discovered? I hope so.

        Reply

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  66. Hi. Many thanks for the opportunity of viewing these spectacular images. Hope you don’t mind will share your post. Have a wonderful day. Happy Travels. Happy Blogging. Goff.

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  67. Pingback: Share Box – Valparaiso Open Air Art — by Cindy Knoke | Art, Photography and Poetry

  73. Cindy, what a treat. I could imagine myself getting lost among the work. How utterly delicious. Thank you for sharing it and I’ve sent this link to several friends who are not bloggers but artists. Two of them happen to live in Sacramento and one in London. I know they will enjoy it as well. <3

    Reply

  81. Fabulous photos.👏👏💖
    I’m in love with the 9th picture of the girl smiling and holding her hair up. Could I post it on my blog to accompany a haiku, crediting you and linking to this post? I’m doing a poem a day during April, and I get lots of inspiration from photography.

    Reply

  84. This is why we should treasure creative arts, even the poorest neighbourhoods don’t give up on beauty, yet we wealthy Westerners often now don’t value these talents and think STEM is the only way forward, there is room for all.

    Reply

    1. So perfectly stated. Where would all the stemer’s be without art and music? There is a western gearhead bias. But us artsy folks won’t let it deter us. Well said Charlotte <3

      Reply

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    1. You are most welcome Jane. It leaves a double impression, first the talent of the artists, and second their generosity in gifting these works of art for all of us to enjoy. They transformed a city.

      Reply

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