Valparaiso Open Air Art II~

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

The city of Valparaiso Chile is full of over a thousand large scale open air art murals, some like the one above, cover the walls of multi-story buildings.

The first murals were painted by art students from a local university in the 1960’s and 70’s, in an area of the city called Cerro Bellavista.

This area is now a landmark named El Museo a Cielo Abierto (The Open Air Museum).

Valparaiso in entirety was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003.

Walking in this city wide open air art museum, one is struck not only by the talent of the amazing artists,

but also by their appreciation of the beauty,

joy, and humor of life.

To this day, artists are continuing to add their talented contributions to this remarkable city.

Valparaiso is a magnet attracting artists of all kinds. Their artistry makes visiting here a pure joy.

Cheers to you from beautiful Valparaiso and her amazing artists~

200 thoughts on “Valparaiso Open Air Art II~”

    1. The art from the 60’s and 70’s is in Cerro Bellavista and is older art. The first murals I chose for this post are from this period, and they are stunningly wonderful. The continuing art, all over the city, is a testament to the original artists vision, and the evolution of artistic talent.

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      2. Also I meant to say that I find my batteries die more quickly when I do a lot of zooming (which may not be an issue for you if you have the big lens you can just attach) – but I have three spare batteries with me all the time, just in case.

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  6. Wow! very impressive!!!
    I’m so amazed at anyone who can draw, but when they can make the proportions correct on such a huge building that is really incredible.

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      1. Such wonderful talent. When I was scrolling through the pictures I could literally see the cat peeking around the corner. It was just amazing to me.

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        1. Yes, I know me too. And how did the artist create such a detailed, actual curious cat, on such a large scale and crude space?
          It just proves that artists triumph over all, because they show us how valuable we can be.

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  16. Thank you, Cindy, for posting this second series of photos. The art here is as wonderful as in the first series. The colors, the structure and the artistry are astonishing, especially on that grand scale. The difficulty of executing these pieces blows me away. What an extraordinary fount of talent in one place! I feel I would want to return there over and over to drink it all in!

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    1. There you go again, being so able to cut to the core. I learned how amazing these artists are, and how wonderful Valparaiso is for sheltering them. I watched a person start a really large scale mural. I thought he would outline it first. But he didn’t. He just free form painted it in huge swatches of brilliance.

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  22. Wonderfully vibrant art and joyful celebration of life! 😀 I imagine my head would be be spinning with so much to take in and my arm aching from taking all those photos! 😀 Many thanks for sharing and such a colourful and creative start to my morning, Cindy! 😀

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    1. You have a good eye. Valparaiso is stunning because it is comprised of steep hills, covered by stacked houses and buildings, that crawl down the mountainside to the sea.

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  34. Pingback: Valparaiso Open Air Art II~ — (another wonderful post from Cindy Knoke) | Rethinking Life

  38. How wonderful! And I’m sure these amazing artists “feed” off each other, adding to their creativity, too. Love the kitty playing with the fish in the glass!

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    1. Valparaiso and the coastal cities around it are wonderful, and then of course you can venture even further south where the landscape becomes even more magical. This is why we keep going back to Chile and Argentina.

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  44. Fantastic art that you shared of Valparaiso, Cindy, thank you. I never knew an entire city could be a UNESCO site, it must be extraordinary. Your photos are a delight, not only for the art and different styles you highlighted, but also for the perspective you were able to show in the hugeness of each mural.

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  47. Since we both travel the globe in hopes of seeing ‘stuff’, we both have learned, the more we see, the more we miss.
    It’s wonderful isn’t it Alison, this pursuit of ours, and this recognition, that it will never ever begin to be enough to capture the beauty of this planet and it’s occupants.
    Love to you.

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    1. Oh, the beige on beige in US cities and suburbs is the bane of my existence. People in the US seemed afraid of color. Even our cars are mono-chromatic! Bring back the blues, greens, yellows. I am so tired of grey, white, silver, and black cars!

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  60. This is art of the heart and the soul – proudly and beautifully expressed for all to see.
    So good, so lovely ! Thanks for sharing it with us too. ❤

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  61. How can you not love street art such as this? There is so much to observe, and appreciate, and learn hidden in the surface beauty. The cats were my favorites. Wonderful pics, Cuz 🌺🐱🌹

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  68. Oh wow, I want to visit. There are some places in Glasgow and London that would really benefit from such vibrant and colourful, talented artistry. I drove through the City yesterday and there is some ugly graffiti and lots of litter and I would love to just colour it all over.

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    1. I so agree. Take a run down and neglected area and turn the artists living there loose to turn into an outdoor art gallery, drawing people, and their cash back to the area. Pure genius! Everyone wins. <3

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  76. Looking again here. (Great thing about online travel: you can drop everything snd go. And go back whenever) Bright stuff, an energy and attitude I haven’t experienced, but admire, sometimes wish for. Hard to come by in buttoned-down, manicured suburban mid-west.. Grateful for you!

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    1. Online travel has no congested airplanes with airplane germs, no lost baggage, and no cost. It is the best way to fly! Your comment touched my <3 Thank you! And I do know exactly what you mean. In so many countries color is celebrated, mixed around, used so creatively. I love it. I come home to beige on beige American suburbs and wonder why we are so timid about color.

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      1. I saved the yellow cat one. Even though the sign says no stopping, each time I do the cat stops me from thinking. I just smile for a while.

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      2. I meant to say, the whole thing stops me: the colors, the forms, the story, the sign, and the facts that someone made this right there in the street, and that you thought to put into your little electronic museum. Cheers all around!

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        1. You know the amazing thing about the sign? The artist incorporated the painting around it. How cool is that! I just loved the cleverness and whimsy, and how it captured the the cat’s cute cattiness. Cheers back to you Albert. It is lovely to meet you here in our peaceful electronic world.

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  79. These artworks are so beautiful. I really admire their talent. Thank you so much for sharing. Just looking at these gave me so much happiness

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  80. Thank You showing these – gorgeous pics. I visited Valparaiso in 2004, when my daughter was working in Santiago de Chile during three months, then we did not see these..

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  84. jei

    Valparaíso en la noche,
    Siento tus pasos de baile,
    Van recorriendo mi cuerpo,
    Van despertando mi sangre,
    Valparaíso en la noche,
    Eres más libre que el aire. (…)

    From ‘Valparaiso en la noche’, a beautiful song by Angel Parralog is marvellous

    P.S. – Cindy, your site is marvellous! 🙂

    Reply

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