Help

Brain Pickings takes 200+ hours a month to curate and edit. If you find any joy and value in it, we would really appreciate a modest donation.

Subscribe

  • Subscribe by RSS feed
  • Subscribe by email

Connect

  • Follow on Twitter
  • Stumble It
  • Add to del.icio.us
  • Become a Fan
  • TwitterCounter for @brainpicker
ted.com

06

Jul

2010

Blu is Back: The Story of Evolution, Told in Graffiti

By Maria Popova

Lo-fi Darwinism, or why art and algorithm don’t hold hands on Buenos Aires sidewalks.

Nearly two years ago, Italian street artist Blu made waves with MUTO — arguably the most creative graffiti-driven animation of all time. Today, Blu is back with BIG BAG BIG BOOM, the latest gem in his treasure chest of stop-motion urban storytelling — an abstract exploration of the beginning and evolution of life.

What makes this so remarkable is that all of the animation effects were achieved in-camera, “animated” simply by filming the progression of painting on buildings, sidewalks and objects, with no post-production composting whatsoever. This analog, organic, lo-fi visual storytelling offers a complete paradigm shift, challenging us to think differently about a medium that is, at least today, inherently digital and software-assisted.

At least for today — Art: 1, Algorithm: 0.

We’ve got a weekly newsletter and people say it’s cool. It comes out on Sundays, offers the week’s articles, and features five more tasty bites of web-wide interestingness. Here’s an example. Like? Sign up.

You may also enjoy:

  • Duelity: Earth’s Story, Split Down the Middle Brilliant split-screen animation telling both sides of Earth's story, Darwinism and Creationism, with humor and creative genius....
  • Facadeprinter: Graffiti Meets Paintball Innovative inkjet printer in architectonical scale -- a simple, software-controlled robot that shoots artwork from a distance, dot by dot, onto the target surface area....
  • Collaborative Creation: PSST! Transcending the ego, or why the future of storytelling is in its past....
  • Graffiti Love Letter Steve Powers' beautiful ongoing graffiti love letter stretching across 20 blocks, as much an intimate confession as it is an ode to the city....
  • The Art of Pixar Short Films Birds, toys, or what the history of computing has to do with the creative legacy of our time - a brilliant book about the magic of Pixar....

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 6th, 2010 at 5:00 am in art, culture, film and was tagged , , , , , , , .

44 Responses

  1. Big Bag Big Boom via @nathanielr http://bit.ly/a4WCTZ

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    filmdrblog on July 6th, 2010 at 5:04 am

  2. [...] a simultaneously concise and descriptive two word description of it: Lo-fi Darwinism. Check out the rest of the post here and another great Blu video [...]

    RadarLake » Big Bang Big Boom Great Art on July 6th, 2010 at 5:38 am

  3. Big Bag Big Boom – Blu is back, telling the story of evolution with another stop-motion graffiti gem http://su.pr/1a5LJQ

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    brainpicker on July 6th, 2010 at 6:15 am

  4. RT @brainpicker: Big Bag Big Boom – Blu is back, telling the story of evolution with another stop-motion graffiti gem http://su.pr/1a5LJQ

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    speakez_stl on July 6th, 2010 at 6:17 am

  5. RT @brainpicker: Big Bag Big Boom – Blu is back, telling the story of evolution with another stop-motion graffiti gem http://su.pr/1a5LJQ

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    _shkan on July 6th, 2010 at 6:18 am

  6. RT @brainpicker: Big Bag Big Boom – Blu is back, telling the story of evolution with another stop-motion graffiti gem http://su.pr/1a5LJQ

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    thinkleft on July 6th, 2010 at 6:19 am

  7. RT @brainpicker Blu is Back: The Story of Evolution, Told in Graffiti http://is.gd/dhopa

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    _shkan on July 6th, 2010 at 6:19 am

  8. Big Bang, Big Boom. Stunning portrayal of evolution #stop-motion #animation #graffiti http://su.pr/1a5LJQ RT @brainpicker

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    andrew_w_morse on July 6th, 2010 at 6:22 am

  9. RT @brainpicker: Big Bag Big Boom – Blu is back, telling the story of evolution with another stop-motion graffiti gem http://su.pr/1a5LJQ

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    krashwin on July 6th, 2010 at 6:22 am

  10. out of the ooze and born to cruise- street art video may make neil shubin’s lectures more awesome: http://su.pr/1a5LJQ (via @brainpicker)

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    conorcbarnes on July 6th, 2010 at 6:28 am

  11. amazing RT @brainpicker Big Bag Big Boom – Blu is back, telling the story of evolution with stop-motion graffiti gem http://su.pr/1a5LJQ

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    wonky_donky on July 6th, 2010 at 6:40 am

  12. Blu is Back: The Story of Evolution, Told in Graffiti | Brain Pickings – http://bit.ly/crC1Ri #in

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    ThirdEye3 on July 6th, 2010 at 6:42 am

  13. RT @brainpicker: Big Bag Big Boom – Blu is back, telling the story of evolution with another stop-motion graffiti gem http://su.pr/1a5LJQ

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    nickdiamondjr on July 6th, 2010 at 6:44 am

  14. Blu is Back: The Story of Evolution, Told in Graffiti: Street artist extraordinaire Blu, he of MUTO fame, is back … http://bit.ly/9UskJI

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    SharedLooks on July 6th, 2010 at 6:52 am

  15. Blu is Back: The Story of Evolution, Told in Graffiti – [BrainPickings.org] – http://bit.ly/aQHIy5

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    vvladimir on July 6th, 2010 at 7:18 am

  16. RT @brainpicker: Big Bag Big Boom – Blu is back, telling the story of evolution with another stop-motion graffiti gem http://su.pr/1a5LJQ

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    klu1 on July 6th, 2010 at 1:26 am

  17. Blu is Back: The Story of Evolution, Told in Graffiti http://j.mp/djU8aN

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    paradisetossed on July 6th, 2010 at 9:35 am

  18. RT @conorcbarnes: out of the ooze and born to cruise- street art video may make neil shubin’s lectures more awesome: http://su.pr/1a5LJQ (via @brainpicker)

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    SavvyNBeauty on July 6th, 2010 at 2:59 am

  19. RT @brainpicker Blu is Back: The Story of Evolution, Told in Graffiti http://is.gd/dhopa

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    monatypic on July 6th, 2010 at 10:47 am

  20. Blu is Back: The Story of Evolution, Told in Graffiti http://ow.ly/27Gjm Wicked cool stop motion! ^KB

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    memelabs on July 6th, 2010 at 11:55 am

  21. RT @memelabs: Blu is Back: The Story of Evolution, Told in Graffiti http://ow.ly/27Gjm Wicked cool stop motion! ^KB

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    JoannaSimpson on July 6th, 2010 at 12:08 pm

  22. If you missed it ? Big Bag Big Boom – Blu is back, telling the story of evolution with another stop-motion graffiti gem http://su.pr/1a5LJQ

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    brainpicker on July 6th, 2010 at 1:20 pm

  23. RT @brainpicker: If you missed it ? Big Bag Big Boom – Blu is back, telling the story of evolution with another stop-motion graffiti gem http://su.pr/1a5LJQ

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    hudsonette on July 6th, 2010 at 6:21 am

  24. BLU is back – Big Bag Big Boom http://su.pr/1a5LJQ via @brainpicker #stopmotion #graffiti

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    TheLoneOlive on July 6th, 2010 at 1:22 pm

  25. The Story of Evolution, Told in Graffiti: http://bit.ly/bMuPrU

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    thinkbrilliant on July 6th, 2010 at 4:15 pm

  26. THIS IS EPIC RT @thinkbrilliant The Story of Evolution, Told in Graffiti: http://ow.ly/27QXc

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    MichaelGoudie on July 6th, 2010 at 9:29 am

  27. Very, very cool stop-motion animation uses paint on buildings & much more http://bit.ly/cE4mfV

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    kellymcalearney on July 6th, 2010 at 4:56 pm

  28. RT @kellymcalearney-Very, very cool stop-motion animation uses paint on buildings & much more http://bit.ly/cE4mfV

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    StopMotionWorld on July 6th, 2010 at 5:01 pm

  29. RT @thinkbrilliant: The Story of Evolution, Told in Graffiti: http://bit.ly/bMuPrU

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    tsiona on July 6th, 2010 at 5:39 pm

  30. Blu is back, telling the story of evolution with another stop-motion graffiti gem http://su.pr/1a5LJQ /via @brainpicker

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    creativetallis on July 6th, 2010 at 3:05 pm

  31. Italian street artist Blu is back with another stop-motion graffiti. Big Bag Big Boom: http://bit.ly/doZh8N

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    edutechnews on July 7th, 2010 at 1:42 am

  32. RT @edutechnews-Italian street artist Blu is back with another stop-motion graffiti. Big Bag Big Boom: http://bit.ly/doZh8N

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    StopMotionWorld on July 7th, 2010 at 1:46 am

  33. Ein Stop-Motion-Graffiti des italienischen Künstlers Blu. Big Bag Big Boom: http://bit.ly/doZh8N

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    neueslernen on July 7th, 2010 at 2:05 am

  34. RT @memelabs: Encore Tweet for @JoannaSimpson! RT @memelabs: The Story of Evolution, Told in Graffiti http://ow.ly/27Gjm Wicked cool stop motion! ^KB

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    JoannaSimpson on July 7th, 2010 at 4:21 am

  35. RT @brainpicker Blu is Back: The Story of Evolution, Told in Graffiti http://is.gd/dhopa

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    HootVintage on July 8th, 2010 at 9:53 am

  36. RT @edutechnews: Italian street artist Blu is back with another stop-motion graffiti. Big Bag Big Boom: http://bit.ly/doZh8N

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    darrananderson on July 10th, 2010 at 6:17 am

  37. Brilliant! RT @brainpicker Blu is Back: The Story of Evolution, Told in Graffiti http://is.gd/dhopa

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    SuellenWags on July 11th, 2010 at 12:32 am

  38. Blu is Back: The Story of Evolution, Told in Graffiti http://j.mp/9jKS6a #streetart #graffiti

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    remic on July 12th, 2010 at 11:04 am

  39. Blu is Back: The Story of Evolution, Told in Graffiti http://j.mp/9jKS6a #streetart #graffiti http://bit.ly/bEjBKN

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    hntrgthrr on July 12th, 2010 at 2:20 pm

  40. Awesome graffiti-driven #animation: Story of Evolution told in #graffiti http://j.mp/9jKS6a http://bit.ly/bEjBKN via @hntrgthrr @remic

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    trixl on July 12th, 2010 at 2:48 pm

  41. [...] the original post at Brain Pickings – or visit BLU’s [...]

  42. RT @trixl: Awesome graffiti-driven #animation: Story of Evolution told in #graffiti http://j.mp/9jKS6a http://bit.ly/bEjBKN via @hntrgthrr @remic

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    Xiane on July 16th, 2010 at 12:46 am

  43. street art redifining visual storytelling… amazing video! http://bit.ly/ccjbBa

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    jeroenbryon on July 18th, 2010 at 2:29 pm

  44. street art redefining visual storytelling… amazing video! http://bit.ly/ccjbBa

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    jeroenbryon on July 18th, 2010 at 6:24 pm

Comments? Give Brain Pickings a piece of your mind:

«
»