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Bus Stop Art Fun
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I saw these last week all along the route. they're acers...but not sure if they can beat the fully erected ironing board i saw atop a bus shelter in angel last year. I'm still awaiting someone to set up a teddy bears picnic on one, resplendent with Hambel, Humpty Dumpty, Gemima and of course the Teds.
THESE THINGS BOTHER ME SO MUCH!
i see them along the hackney road/shoreditch high street bus stops. they've been appearing for a couple of months now. some of them have qtips that have been dipped in red paint instead of toothpicks sticking out of them. at one point, there was one at the queensbridge road stop that had wooden sticks nearly a foot long sitcking out. it was taken away soon, though.
but whyyyyyyyy?
You at Londonist.com really do know it all dont you just. Ive been staring at those things every morning on my way to work wondering what the heck they were. Glad im not the only one
I noticed a couple along the no 24 bus route through central london as well - at stops in Bloomsbury and towards Tottenham Court Road. They must be spreading...
pretentious bollocks.....oh my i have left an empty crisp packet on the floor it must be art...urban art my arse
I am so glad someone else has noticed! I've been seeing them for months, and noticed how they have become more elaborate in style. The thing is, when I look at my fellow bus passengers, no-one else seems to be seeing them. So I am glad to have it confirmed that I am not hallucinating. I even did a search on 'bizarre things on top of bus stops hackney' to find this thread...
I think they're great. I liked last years bus-stop art, like the breakfast places set out, the bus-stop that was turfed with geniune dog poo on it!
I was so happy to see the spikey things, it brightens up my journey. It was driving me mad that no-one else seemed to know what I was talking about!
well, I might spoil the fun but... for me the immediate association was... nail bomb... am I mad???
I've been enjoying the spudnicks very much over the last couple of months, from the 67 bus down Kingsland Road. There seem to be some fresh ones lately too.
Good news - a new generation of these 'bus-stop potatopines' has recently appeared along the no 55 route. They are even more complex and sophisticated than the first batch, featuring more richly patterned bodies and an inner and outer sphere of prongs, using cotton buds as well as cocktail sticks this time.
Will their creator ever come out of the shadows?
Jeez, and I thought I was going nuts. I take the 243 from Waterloo to Old St everyday, and first noticed them around Feb/March this year.
There's a bunch of new ones that have been popping up there lately - I've seen the ones with cotton buds instead of cocktail sticks - they're particularly nice. :o)
A while ago I saw a blue coffee mug (empty) on a bus shelter roof near St Georges Sq - must have been left by someone cycling past on a penny farthing... it was there for a good two months before taken away. There's now a dististinct coffe-mug shaped hole where it used to be. It's strange how you get used to these things.
i love you all, i'm not mad........
I have found a boy, who is selling some of these things
go to
chris-beaumont.com
go to timeline
go to 2005
click on the 15th image
I've been enjoying very much since Christmas and noticed he's been improving. I hope the artist come out soon.
i was in london for work last week and saw the same thing, me and my mate got a couple off and had a close look, they have added to it by having painted pictures of potatoes with spikey stuff coming out of it in several areas, and a few even have a sign saying "this is not a potato" gold!!!
"pretentious bollocks.....oh my i have left an empty crisp packet on the floor it must be art...urban art my arse" (from above)
you farking tosser. i suppose you think banksy's stuff is useless, meaningless graffiti too.
this potato mystery is one of the reasons i've always loved the inner-east end. it is a completely awash with marvellous street are and unorthodox humans.
bring it on potato fiend!!
marvellous street art!! typo
Spudniks!!!! thats great!
i want to see one they sound great! are they only in london?
I have frequently seen them on 55 & 8 bus routes & I love them.
Just started working in west London & saw one on Goldhawk Road no.94 bus route near Shepherds Bush
Is West the new East??
i've been seing these potatoes for OVER 3 YEARS!!!started off only at route 55 from oxford circus to old street...they were just potatoes and toothpicks and now they are coloured and they have evolved at the point they are like little puppets...i think this thing i gonna become some sort of new Banksi or something like that!
but i repeat they have been there at least since 2003/2004!
the guy who does these calls himself nonose
www.fotolog.com/nonose
Yeh, i agree that these are great. Sort of like the lady who was etching into milk bottles and leaving them outside peoples houses. The great thing about Banksy and other artists like this is that they do it for their own amusement usually and not for attention so it can take years to find out who is doing this stuff.
Not sure how long the potatoes will last as an investment if people are thinking of nabbing one for the just in case future.
Got a friend who leaves his very good paintings outside departments stores etc and films what happens to them. He leaves a little note on the back of the art asking the person who finds it to log onto his website and tell what has happened to it. Not live yet but will let you know when it is.
http://www.fourblankwalls.co.uk
I've been seeing these things for ages. To be quite honest, they scare me a little. I just imagine them being mines. That doesn't mean I don't like them.
I've been meaning to google "spikey, weird things, London bus stops" for ages 'cause I KNEW there would be some kind of discussion about it some where. That's the magic of it. It's so subtle yet so effective....
I havent seen any of these yet, i live in pontefract so the only thing i get to see at bus tops is chavs and dog c**p. Sounds quite a cool idea. Ill have to stick to my canvas art in my house. Shame as id love to see artwork all over the place, seems a shame to have it hidden away behind walls
They have made a come back!!! I saw them today on the top of bus shelters on the 452 bus route from Battersea to High Street Ken. Looks like someone has pimped them up a bit as the spikes are now in retro neon colours. I think they are wonderful and will be keeping my eyes peeled for more. Its a nice idea that its only for the top deck riders to enjoy :)