Oddity Central |
- Would You Give Him Your Vote? Tattooed-Face Man Runs for President
- The Mind-Blowing Staple Art of Baptiste Debombourg
- Russian Pensioner Decorates Her House with 30,000 Plastic Bottle Caps
| Would You Give Him Your Vote? Tattooed-Face Man Runs for President Posted: 11 Sep 2012 07:13 AM PDT
Meet Vladimir Franz, probably the most tattooed man to ever run for president in any country of the world. The eccentric candidate is currently gathering signatures in order to be able to candidate for president of the Czech Republic in 2013. 53-year-old Vladimir Franz has what many people call a striking appearance. His face and body are covered with tattoos, which actually makes him look blue, literally blue. But that’s not all that makes him stand out from the rest of the candidates. He’s the perfect example of why people should never “judge a book by its cover”. You couldn’t tell by looking at him, but Franz is actually a drama professor at one of the most prestigious universities in Prague, a talented painter and a successful opera composer. As a young man, he also graduated from law school and got a doctorate in the field of law, but chose not to pursue a career as a lawyer or magistrate during the communist Czechoslovakian regime. Instead, he turned his atention towards art, and after studying painting and music, he became a university professor as well. He is well know in the Czech Republic for initiating a serious of cultural movements for the country’s youth, which makes him very popular among young voters.
Believe it or not, Vladimir Franz’s political views are far less extreme than his looks. He seems to have very moderate and agreeable positions on very general issues, which probably is something many people wouldn’t expect from someone with his face covered with tattoos and piercings. Even analysts agree that his very clear views and an inspired political agenda are likely to make him popular with voters. Although he isn’t credited with the highest chance of wining the 2013 Czech presidential elections, Franz is expected to gather more votes than a few of the other candidates who have expressed their intention of running for president. He is still collecting signatures and hopes to reach the 50,000 threshold in order to be officially allowed to candidate for presidency, and judging by his online popularity, he’s not going to have too much trouble. The university professor also announced he will be running his campaign exclusively on social networks. Check out his Facebook page.
Talking about the tattoos covering most of his face and body, Vladimir Franz said he sees tattooing simply as a centuries-old art form, an aesthetic means people have been using to express themselves since time immemorial. In his case they have nothing to do with dark magic or any kind of bizarre ritual.
So, would you vote for a man who looks like Vladimir Franz? I would, not only because he seems like a complex person with agreeable political views, but also because I think he would make diplomatic meetings and photos a lot more interesting.
He reminds me of Lucky Diamond Rich, the most tattooed man on Earth. via Prague Monitor Photos: Gucci Wolf Would You Give Him Your Vote? Tattooed-Face Man Runs for President was originally posted at OddityCentral.com |
| The Mind-Blowing Staple Art of Baptiste Debombourg Posted: 11 Sep 2012 03:00 AM PDT
For most of us staples are necessary office accessories, but for French artist Baptiste Debombourg the tiny pieces of metal are a unique art medium that allow him to create detailed masterpieces inspired by Italian Mannerism and the German Renaissance. We first featured Baptiste Debombourg on Oddity Central in March, after he unveiled a monumental mural made with 450,000 staples, but he’s been keeping busy and now has an impressive portfolio of new awe-inspiring staple artworks. For years, the French artist has been gradually perfecting his unique technique taking to a level where he’s now able to create detailed re-interpretations of famous classic paintings. Instead of relying on the usual art mediums, like acrylic or oil paints, he takes these simple objects we use in our every day lives and creates thought-provoking works that blend classic and contemporary art. His Aggravure series contains hundreds of thousands of staples and is currently on display at the Krupic Krestig Gallery in Cologne.
via My Eclectic Depiction of Life The Mind-Blowing Staple Art of Baptiste Debombourg was originally posted at OddityCentral.com |
| Russian Pensioner Decorates Her House with 30,000 Plastic Bottle Caps Posted: 11 Sep 2012 02:15 AM PDT
Olga Kostina, a Russian pensioner from the Russian village of Kamarchaga, in the Siberian taiga, has decorated her simple wooden home with artistic patterns made from over 30,000 plastic bottle caps. The Siberian taiga is one of the most beautiful natural ecosystems on Earth, but with a population density of just 3 people per square kilometer, it can be a very lonely place sometimes. But one woman living in the rural area at the edge of the taiga’s endless forests has found a very entertaining hobby to help pass the time when there’s simply no one around to talk to. Olga Kostina started collecting all kinds of plastic bottle caps from soda bottles and when she decided she had enough, she began using them to decorate the walls of her wooden house, in Kamarchaga village. The pixelated patterns that cover most of her home range from traditional macrame motifs to animals living in the neighboring forest. The Russian pensioner placed every single bottle cap by hand, using a hammer and nails to fix them in place, and used the macrame technique (hand woven and knit knots) to create the intricate mosaics. So far she has used over 30,000 plastic bottle caps and her home has become a local landmark of sorts. But she’s not planning on stopping until her house and adjacent structures are covered with colorful patterns.
Photos: © REUTERS / Ilya Naymushin Plastic bottle caps have been used as art medium for a while now, and we’ve featured a few wonderful artworks right here on OC. Check out the plastic bottle cap recreation of Van Gogh’s Starry Night, or the detailed self-portrait of Mary Ellen Croteau.
Photos: © REUTERS / Ilya Naymushin
Photos: © REUTERS / Ilya Naymushin
Photos: © REUTERS / Ilya Naymushin
Photos: © REUTERS / Ilya Naymushin
Photos: © REUTERS / Ilya Naymushin via Drugoi Russian Pensioner Decorates Her House with 30,000 Plastic Bottle Caps was originally posted at OddityCentral.com |
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