Thursday, December 31, 2009

Santa Fe



Ok, so technically it´s not Buenos Aires but it´s only 6 hours away, so i think i can still get away with a post about my trip there.  My boyfriend´s family lives there and we went to spend Christmas with everyone and for a much needed break from the city. Santa Fe has a population of about 600,000 and there are at least that many mosquitos living there as well.  Charles Darwin actually went there around 1833 and in his notes he wrote something like "the combination of humidity and heat during the siesta (afternoon) time and mosquitos make this place unliveable..."  At two in the afternoon the city is like a ghost town for exactly this reason, and because the afternoon siesta here is a ritual.  The people take a break from their work, close their shops, have lunch with their families and take a nap. Santa Fe is basically a mini version of Buenos Aires, there are some great buildings and a few things caught my eye...




 
 
 

This last photo is of a huge icecreamery or heladeria in Spanish.  The decor is stainless steel, white and mint green and looks right out of the 1950s.  They LOVE their icecream here in Argentina, there are almost as many heladerias as there are newspaper stands and i have to say, they give the Italians a run for their money in terms of the tastiest icecream around (icecream/gelati, it´s in the same family).


Sunday, December 13, 2009

Street Art Almagro


About five minutes walk from my apartment there are a series of bridges that cross above the train lines in the suburb of Almagro.  Sometimes I take a different route walking home from work and recently i came upon these paintings on the walls of one of these bridges.  Next to the paintings there is a sign that says that all of the art is done by people that are living on the street and please do not paint over it.  The initiative is called Arte Sin Techo, or Art Without a Ceiling, and they work with the community and have a cultural centre a few blocks from where i took these photos.  The images remind me a little bit of Australian artist David Bromley.



I love the moustache on this girl!  It´s a bit of a Chinese style moustache in that simple-ink-drawing kind of way and i love the result.



This picture is done in the style of a child running, with child-like clothing, but the face and the hair really make it look like an old lady.  I love the contrast of the two ideas.  What a great initiative this project is.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Museo Metropolitano


Last night I had my work´s christmas party at the Museo Metropolitano in Palermo Chico.   It´s a beautiful building with a lovely courtyard and gardens and was constructed in 1928.  It was a private residence until the 1980´s and it now features art exhibitions, music recitals and you can book the bar and courtyard for private functions.



Saturday, December 5, 2009

Post Street Bar


After work last wednesday night we all headed to Post Street Bar in Palermo to celebrate Jonathan´s birthday.  The whole place is completely covered in stencils, including the bathrooms (which can help to pass the time there) and we spent the evening with cerveza on the rooftop terrace.  They say that the stencil art is done by the most important street artists in Buenos Aires, and you don´t have to walk far from the bar to see that Buenos Aires is full of great street art and many creative people that are contributing to the art and design scene in Argentina.






Sunday, November 29, 2009

Juana Molina


 Last night I went to see Argentinian musician Juana Molina in the theatre ND Ateneo in the centre of Buenos Aires.  She is one of a handful of Argentinian musicians that are, in my opinion, creating a different sound and bringing something new to the scene in Argentina.  Her style of music is difficult to describe, but the terms indie, folk and electronica come to mind, or her myspace describes it as "Big beat, swing, minimalista".  She creates her sound by using sound recording pedals and machines that play back instantly what she records, and she builds the sounds like layers of a cake, applying one on top of the other.  After listening to her music for almost 2 years now it was great to see her live and see exactly how the sound comes together.  Before becoming a musician she used to be an actor, which comes across in the way she interacts with the audience with small details and funny anecdotes.  It was a great experience that allows her music to be appreciated in a new way so if you get the chance, check her out!



Saturday, November 14, 2009


When i first moved to Buenos Aires i lived in a neighbourhood called Flores.  There was this lovely big park about 10 minutes walk from our house and it had these AMAZING gates on one side.  There really was no point to the gates, at least nowadays, because there is no wall either side of them, and behind them is just a disused path.  But i imagine 50 years ago that they led to a building on the edge of the park, a private residence or a type of government building that held events there.  I have no idea if anyone looks upon these gates with such admiration as i do but i think it is fantastic that they are still there.  Buenos Aires is full of beautiful iron work like this and many buildings feature doors, gates and windows with great patterns and details.  It is these buildings that give Buenos Aires its character, history and life.


Saturday, October 31, 2009

My apartment building


Owing to its history of more than 400 years, Buenos Aires has some amazing architecture.  There are many buildings that utilise materials that you wont find in modern buildings.  I love the entrance to my apartment building with its use of marble and old fashioned lights.  And then after you enter there is a staircase with beautiful iron railing, etched windows and art deco light fixtures.






There is a film noir-esque feeling to stairs, depending on how the light changes.  I have manipulated the light to help achieve this, but at night you get the feeling anyway.




 

From our back patio there is a view of the amazing stairwell window, that when lit up at night, is quite a sight.  You dont get the full effect from the photos but you can begin to see the detail that has been put into the image.



 


Monday, October 26, 2009


The other day i took a different turn on the way to work and walked past this amazing whale on the wall.  It almost jumps out at you when you walk by.  People often make political statements in public places in Buenos Aires and this one refers to the recent situation with the president of Honduras.  For me the wall is 100 times better like this than if it were a wall without art.

There were some other great images in close proximity to the whale that i have included here too.

 





Sunday, October 11, 2009

My Everyday Street Art


Everyday as i walk to and from work, which is a sunny office in Palermo, i pass these street art images, and everytime i look at them i love the visual mix of old building-bright graphic. Buenos Aires is full of amazing street art, in places that you may not expect it.



These 4 images are on the side of a building that on street level is an antiques store. The building is on a corner and there is a brilliant mix of sunlight, windows, graphics and antique furniture.