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~

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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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