www.designboom.com: for the latest in his series of super-scale, sea-bound sculptures, renowned dutch artist florentijn hofman has created the 21-metre-long ‘hippopothames’, just towed upriver from its build site at royal docks to its end position at nine elms on the south bank, UK. as part of totally thames — a 30-day program of events taking place along the river — the artist’s first ever UK commission draws reference from the prehistory of the site, and the hippos that used to inhabit it.
9 comments:
I don’t understand this whole fad of having large animals along rivers, first the duck that ended up in Pittsburgh and now this giant Hippo. Yes, there used to be hippos inhabiting that river, but how is that art? First of all this thing looks really ugly and it probably would have been more interesting if it either looked exactly like a hippo, just 10 times the normal size, or if the design of it was far more abstract. Maybe it’s just me and I don’t get it. The artist is right in that a big thing on the river may break a person’s routine for 5 minutes, but other than its size it does not seem to be something that would captivate a person’s attention for more than 10 minutes; the same happened with the giant duck. I suppose if the artist’s only intention was to attract people to check out the area, then it is totally going to be a success. But I would defiantly not constitute it as interesting art.
So this is pretty kool, I mean who does not love a giant hippo. Being involved in theatre and being asked to build untraditional and uniquely designed scenic pieces of one of the things that I love about the career path that I have picked. I really hope that people enjoy the hippo in London and give people something to do and a reason to get out of the house. Many people in life need a reason to do something and I think florentijn has given people a reason to get out. Because that is what he has said in the article “a brak from their daily routines” and I love it. So my next question is where does the hippo go when it is done living its life and entertaining children, women and men alike. Will the hippo travel the world or just the Thames, well that is yet to be seen. Enjoy the hippo London.
Ok, this reminds me of the duck too. I don't know if anyone thinks differently but I think THIS IS TOO ADORABLE!!!! Like I want to fly to London just to see it with my own eyes right now (though in reality I can't :( ). I think this is something that I would love to see more often, doesn't mean I love the idea of having animals floating on rivers all around the world or anything like that.It's true that this might seems like a copy version of the duck but the idea of wanting people to "Take a break from daily routine" is the thing that I really buy into, despite the fact that it can be for local advertisement or trying to attract tourists of to create awareness of the district. High numbers of the world populations nowadays are facing never ending stress and having depression so having someone who cares about this and find ways to create something that bring little smiles on people's face is very thoughtful to mr.
I love it, a lot. Yay Hippo!
I disagree with Simone's idea that this, and the duck captivate a person's attention for more than 10 minutes. When the Duck came to Pittsburgh people were captivated by it the entire time it was time. It's fun.
Florentijn Hofman wrote an explaination for the Duck, "The Rubber Duck knows no frontiers, it doesn't discriminate people and doesn't have a political connotation. The friendly, floating Rubber Duck has healing properties: it can relieve mondial tensions as well as define them. The rubber duck is soft, friendly and suitable for all ages"
That's all he wants. For people to have fun, and enjoy themselves. Don't get upset about it, just enjoy it and feel better about everything. That is what I think art should be about, having fun and enjoying yourself.
This is so adorable. A giant hippo floating down the river is a great tourist attraction. Simone had made a comment that to her it was not art and thats okay. With a piece like this it will be seen in many different ways depending on who you are. For some it is art, in large scale floating in a river that they can go see and also get to explore the area around it. To some it is just one of the weird attractions at Totally Thames. This will bring many people to Totally Thames, I mean look how many people went to go see Pittsburgh's giant duck.
Is this art? Design? Or just whimsy?
I tend to think of art as expressing a theme or asking a question or challenging a perception, but mostly fulfilling a need to express that, for the artist, is central to their way of existing in the world. It is an invitation into a conversation the artist is having with herself, and the impetus is internal.
Design, on the other hand, concerns itself with form (again, a personal definition). Here, the impetus is external: the designer solves a problem. In so doing, she engages with the defining characteristics of an object, is an alchemist toying with the underlying mysteries of geometry and color and space, manipulating these qualities to produce something worthy (or not) of admiration. Objects of design, at their best, invite us to admire how beautiful or complex or simple or chaotic or finely honed the world can be.
Whimsy is un-needed and uncalled for. It is derived from neither a need nor an admiration, but a desire, a fancy, a whim. Its value is based in its very unnecessary-ness. It need not have been born in the furnace of artistic expression, nor must it be overly-well defined. It exists for us in a moment of distraction to remind us that not everything is so serious or so necessary, which has its place too.
I'm in love with this installation. It's the perfect kind of installation for a large city setting, family-friendly and playful. I think that the wood panelling was the perfect medium to use, it's unexpected and surprising . Not to mention the wood panelling gives the hippothames the perfect modern touch that we would see in most large, viral, city art installations. I think it serves as an adorable reminder to keep your chin up, and I want one installed in different animal styles immediately Hope to see more from this artist.
This is really cool! I especially love the timelapses of the hippo being constructed. I appreciate the art Hofman has created purely by using scale in a really creative way. Giant animals moving in places everyone takes for granted look really cool and draw a lot of attention to the underused spaces around us. It reminds me of the time they floated hundreds of rubber ducks in the pond in Schenley, giving whole new meaning to the space.
THIS IS HYSTERICAL!! This is so much cooler than the rubber duck instillation in the river last year. What is so impressive about the hippo is that is primarily underwater. This must have been challenging for both the artist and the constructor. The one thing I don't love about the hippo is that it doesn't really look that realistic. I know that the point is that it is an oversized hippo, but it would have been kinda creepy but even funnier if it was a realistic oversized hippo. Otherwise, I love it! I hope that the trend of using rivers in art instillations continues to be a thing because I feel that is is a lot of untapped potential there.
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