Barcelona Photoblog: living statue
Showing posts with label living statue. Show all posts
Showing posts with label living statue. Show all posts

November 04, 2010

Ramblas Lady Statue Lost in Her Own Thoughts

Ramblas Lady Statue [enlarge]

I do not know whether she impersonates a flamenco dancer or an opera singer but as I said in a previous post human statues in Las Ramblas are much more interesting when they are offstage, when you see the person behind the character. Lost in her own thoughts this lady is in some way acting, she is in the middle of yet another performance, the most difficult, the most demanding, trying to make a living in the real world.

October 14, 2010

Marilyn Monroe Human Statue: The Backstage

Marilyn Monroe Human Statue, Las Ramblas, Barcelona, Spain [enlarge]

If human statues in Barcelona could stand all over the city at will, then this guy impersonating Marilyn Monroe, would certainly have chosen the air vents on Passeig de Gracia sidewalk not very far from Las Ramblas. Instead of that, he must compete with a bunch of other statues. You have the impressive rivals that are really hard to beat and many others that are simply ridiculous, way too many recently. Because my friends, crisis sharpens your survival skills and the boat is already full of survivors. Local authorities have plans to limit statues, starting January next year, to just 30, selected by their quality and working in two shifts (15 in the morning and another 15 in the afternoon) that will perform in a restricted area down Las Ramblas away from Plaça Catalunya, exactly between Pla de la Boqueria and Arc del Teatre square. Artists will be asked to send a CV and imitations of animals or characters carrying weapons will be banned. Let's see how it all ends as some attempts of regulation were made in the past with no success. Hey, I almost forgot Marilyn. You know what, I prefer to capture those moments when living statues are in the intimacy of the backstage sessions, when you can see the real people, lost in their own thoughts, maybe wondering what the heck they are doing on a pedestal all day without twitching a muscle. As I always say, please help the artist behind the statue. Don't pretend they are part of Las Ramblas decoration.

April 12, 2010

Ramblas Angel

Angel human statue in Las Ramblas de Barcelona [enlarge]

This angel was mentioned before in Barcelona Photoblog: Angel or Devil, a popular living statue in Las Ramblas. That time I thought to emphasize the face and not the wings but I owed you the full size human statue. The rest, the pop art background blurred with radial effect on CS4 maybe is too daring but I had fun doing it. Good week everyone!

(Barcelona Photoblog has been kindly listed among the 50 Most Amazing Architectural Photography Blogs by Photography Colleges, a good guide to find online photography tuition. I wanted to thank them and show you my Architecture and Sculpture in Barcelona set on Flickr, a collection of pictures you can find in my blog archives as well)

January 05, 2010

Las Ramblas Devil? Please, Dial 666

Las Ramblas Devil Human Statue  [enlarge]

Satan, Beelzebub, Lucifer, Mephistopheles, Prince of Darkness or simply the Devil are some of the terms used to refer to the eternal antagonist, the adversary, the slanderer ('devil' derives from Gr. diabolos), the evil doer or as we call it El Diablo, that malevolent entity most religions define one way or the other according to their own traditions and beliefs. One thing is true, there seems to be a general acceptance about the existence of evil, they can place it in hell, in the world beyond, in a parallel dimension, in ectoplasm, in your soul, in someone else's soul, in a goat, a black cat, a snake, etc. Being more materialistic, let's say it is just a glitch in the neural connections of our brains stimulated by a high dose of byproduct content in our genetic code, a lousy childhood perhaps and the fact we chew up too many plastic toys when we are toddlers. Of course we can think the devil is our boss, our mother-in-law, our bank creditor or Marilyn Manson. Judging by the horns of our Las Ramblas creature and obviating the Orc shoulder protection from the Lord of the Rings, we could say this is a practical example of downtown demon manifestation. So beware who's next in line when you use a public phone in Barcelona!

December 31, 2009

Ramblas Cowboy Wishes You a Happy 2010!

Ramblas Cowboy, Barcelona, Spain

On behalf of the Ramblas Cowboy, that famous human statue in the renown Barcelona street, we want to wish you all a Happy 2010. He is not my acquaintance, but I am sure he can back me up in this one cause judging by the warm smile he always wears he must be a great guy. I woke up today thinking on catching up his figure against Christmas lights. It came out different but in the end I am happy I walked down to Las Ramblas and enjoyed the good mood everyone was sharing by the end of 2009. All the best!

April 23, 2009

Angel or Devil, A Popular Living Statue in Las Ramblas

Angel Living Statue in Las Ramblas

A very popular living statue in Las Ramblas. An angel, a golden angel showing off impressive wings that can be seen from the distance. This one is by far one of the most attractive human statues in this famous street of Barcelona. All in all the angel is sweet and gentle but if you take a close look you won't be so sure about which master this angel works for: God or the Devil. Click on the image for the big format and let me know what you see, good or evil? Maybe it represents some mythological being I am not aware of.

April 15, 2009

Human Statues: Make-Up Time

Human statue putting some make-up on her face [enlarge]

When you are trapped in the living stream of Las Ramblas and you are shoved along the way from one end to another you probably don't have time to reason out the evidence that human statues are not part of the urban furniture. They are not part of a permanent exhibition either. No one comes and unloads the statues from a truck to gently place them on their improvised pedestals early in the morning. They are anonymous Barcelona citizens, made of flesh and bones, permanent residents or temporary visitors who rely on such unstable and tedious activity to make a living. They have their assigned areas, their timetable, their official permit. To attain that wonderful final look we are all familiar with they sometimes need more than an hour to be ready. It is not strange to see them arrive partly dressed to save time. After all the preparation which may include wearing tons of make-up and fitting into impossible costumes it may happen that the weather suddenly plays tricks on them and spoils the performance. Of course no insurance company will compensate for the cancellation of the show nor will the city hall sympathy with their cause. Las Ramblas certainly wouldn't be that great without the living statues so any help to pay for such painful and respectable effort is always more than welcome. Of course I don't tip them if I capture them before the acting begins as in this image but when they are on "stage" I try not to sneak between tourists to steal a picture from them. A good smiling face, nicely caught in connivance with the camera after you have expressed your gratitude can really make the difference.




February 17, 2009

Carnival 2009 in Barcelona is Coming!

Human statue wearing pirate costume in Barcelona

Next Saturday a big parade will take place in Barcelona to celebrate our Carnival. Not so famous but getting better all the time. As you can imagine I have no recent pictures but I thought this pirate character might do the trick just to start getting in the mood. There are many sites online anticipating carnestoltes but this is the official site: Carnaval. Hmm, I hope they update the site soon.

November 05, 2008

Human Statue Lady at Las Ramblas de Barcelona

Human Statue Lady at Las Ramblas de Barcelona [enlarge]

This is yet another human statue at Las Ramblas. A beautiful, fragile, delicate, hieratic woman standing on this populated street of Barcelona. I was attracted by her face, her makeup and the light coming from nearby stores in the background. Don't forget to check the labels below if you want to see more living statues. And always enlarge for the big format picture.

March 06, 2008

Soldier of Fortune - A Human Statue

Soldier of Fortune - A Human Statue [enlarge]

Stop! Hold it there! You miserable, lousy scoundrel. I swear upon my sword that you will not flee from Barcino without tipping me first. Yes, you, what are you staring at? Give me that black box with lightnings inside. Just one miserable denarius? You must be out of your mind? Oh, that's better, euros will be fine. If you missed my previous post about this living statue please visit: Human Statue of Warrior at Las Ramblas de Barcelona.

February 22, 2008

Biker and Skeleton in Las Ramblas, Barcelona, Spain

Biker and Skeleton in Las Ramblas, Barcelona, Spain [enlarge]

A familiar human statue in Las Ramblas de Barcelona, the man with the skeleton, pedaling both at the same time. I was used to watching him or them dressed in other colors, check it here: Human Statue in Las Ramblas - Biker. He had no problem posing for the camera after the coin hit the bottom of the can.

February 15, 2008

Human Statue's Boot Detail in Las Ramblas, Barcelona, Spain

Human Statue's Boot Detail in Las Ramblas, Barcelona, Spain [enlarge]

This is just a pair of boots but boots can be interesting sometimes, especially those some of the human statues in Las Ramblas wear. An old pistol and a good coat of silver polish can give the character the final touch. Sometimes you can't tell whether they are impersonating a pirate, a hunter, a cowboy, a soldier or any other sort of scoundrel but believe me, it is fun to watch them perform. No need to say that bootlickers should avoid this area, there is a high risk of indigestion.

February 08, 2008

Human Statue of Warrior, Las Ramblas, Barcelona

Human Statue of Warrior, Las Ramblas, Barcelona [enlarge]

Roman, Greek, Persian or whatever the warrior's armor is (I recommend you visit this place for more information: Helenic Art - Armors) I am sure you won't remain indifferent in front of this human statue I photographed at sunset just in front of the Liceu concert hall in Las Ramblas, Barcelona. All previous artists I caught in full daylight so I guess my first night shot is somewhat different and mysterious. Any lead concerning history and armor origin would be appreciated.

February 05, 2008

Save the Earth: Portrait of Human Statue in Las Ramblas, Barcelona

Safe the Earth: Portrait of Human Statue in Las Ramblas, Barcelona [enlarge]

Again we rescue an old character from the archives in an unpublished shot. This time is Mother Nature's turn or at least that's his name the way I see it. It's some sort of tree holding a transparent sphere almost hidden in this picture but totally visible in my original post: Street Artists in Las Ramblas - Human Statue
PS: Remember these pictures look much better if enlarged.

February 04, 2008

Seasoned Human Statue II in Las Ramblas, Barcelona, Spain

Seasoned Human Statue in Las Ramblas

This is another shot of a street artist, a human statue that appeared in Barcelona Photoblog a long time ago: Seasoned Human Statue Sitting in Las Ramblas. Seasoned because of that weather beaten look he has. His previous photography didn't show the suit too much so I thought you would also like to see this one.

February 03, 2008

Marble Living Statue With Lady In Las Ramblas, Barcelona

Marble Living Statue With Lady In Las Ramblas, Barcelona [enlarge]

As today's post will deal with awards and friendship, what better than a human statue, a living statue, one of those anonymous Barcelona street artists shaking hands with a tourist, a lovely lady wearing a smile, proud and happy like a child posing for a photograph with her "hero" at Las Ramblas. This funny guy pretending to be a marble statue was featured some months ago in my blog: A Marvel of Marble Statue

I have been granted an award by Beautiful Places. A wonderful site you should visit often. Thanks so much. It is wonderful that you chose me. That really means a lot to me.

Here are the 5 blogs that made my day

1. Secrets by Quintarantino
2. Com Imagens by Daniel and Carol
3. Nashville Daily Photo by Chris
4. Wailea Daily Photo by Kuanyin
5. Momentos by Dsole

A big thank for always being so supportive and friendly. It is a real pleasure to know them and I do recommend their creative work and their human quality.

Please don't worry if you break the chain, I won't consider it to be rude since I am not an enthusiast myself. Most of all I like that someone thinks of me, that is really flattering so I took my time to really think of people I care like you. Here are the rules I have been given:

1.Write a post with links to 5 blogs that you like.
2.Acknowledge the post of the award giver.
3.Display the You Make My Day logo (in this case I put it on my sidebar)
4.Tell the award winner that they have won by commenting on their blogs or emailing them the news.

October 05, 2007

Human or Living Statue: Goblins in Las Ramblas, Barcelona?

 [enlarge]

Some days ago I published Human Statues at Las Ramblas: Elf or Vulcan?, Barcelona. It is not very attractive to capture people's nape unless the faceless silhouette is expressive enough against the background. This time, on the contrary, the living statue was as stunning as it looked in the side profile picture. As it happened then, I still don't know if this is a goblin or what. Anyway, the man was well disguised. As we are dealing with people photography today I am going to suggest a set on Flickr you will never forget:

- A set about inhabitants of Papua, New Guinea by Eric Lafforgue.
- My set about Humans Statues or Street Artists
- I have started a new blog that compiles blog posts, news, some videos and good widgets all related with Google Hot Trends list. Any of the tags referred to as volcanic or on fire are a gold mine if you manage to include them in your post and still make some sense. Please try Hot Google Trends and tell me what you think.

December 12, 2006

Barcelona Street Artists: Cleopatra in a Trance

Cleopatra street artist and living statue in Las Ramblas, Barcelona

You have seen her before on this site. This time I managed to come up closer to Cleopatra to take a good look at those bracelets, those rings and the pearl tiara with the lethal asp.

Apparently she is still in a trance induced by the dreadful bite although she is quite aware of the noise of those coins falling in a can at her feet.

As you can see she is sitting on a chair which is quite more comfortable than standing still like many of the human statues along Las Ramblas: wise girl indeed!

June 30, 2006

Don Quixote in Santa Susanna (Maresme Coast, Barcelona, Spain)

Don Quijote,Santa Susanna, Barcelona - Spain

Recently I drove to Santa Susanna Beach not very far from Barcelona on the Maresme Coast. After taking a swim and compulsory devouring the mandatory paella at a small restaurant about 20 meters away from the water, we walked along the main street trying to pace up with the tourists who lazily wandered up and down apparently going nowhere.

There was nothing I could think of for a good photo of Barcelona, when among the crowd I happened to see this ghostly Don Quixote (Don Quijote in Spanish), giving me a naughty smile like some goblin that no one but me could see. It's high season and street artists are working on the double.

PS: If someone knows this lady please tell her she really ruined my shot. Was she sticking her tongue out at me?.

April 01, 2006

Street Artist VIII: Silence is Golden

Street Artist VIII: Silence is Golden


After so much architecture I think a photo of people will keep up the good spirit. Let's return to Las Ramblas and admire this Oriental character that swiftly adopts different poses each time a coin makes some noise giving you a sudden start with his rod. Do not disturb the artist while he is working, for him silence is golden.
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