Artists have ways of beautifying the strangest and most wonderful places with art installations. Streets, subways, oceans, schools, government buildings, etc. – the list goes on and on. Some of the most unique places art has been and is currently being installed are seabeds. The results are creative, to say the least, and stunning.
Man Creates an Art Museum in the Caribbean Sea Oceans
British-Guyanan underwater artist Jason deCaires Taylor is one individual who has transformed the Caribbean Sea oceans into a museum, literally. In 2009, Taylor partnered with leaders of the National Marine Park and Cancún Nautical Association to “create an iconic underwater museum called the Museo Subacuático de Arte (MUSA),” wrote Newsweek’s Michael Carroll. (Interesting fact: the site contributes about $20 million to the local economy each year.)
Speaking of the Museo Subacuático de Arte, Taylor said, “By enlisting the help of local volunteers, I was able to transform what was a barren seabed into a 420-square-meter wildlife haven,” reported Carroll in his article An Underwater Art Scene Blossoms in the Ocean. He continued to quote Taylor: “The total weight of the artificial structures was 200 tons. So far, I have made 510 sculptures of real people, recruited almost entirely from the local community. I achieved this by taking casts and replicating these in materials that tend to promote coral growth. These were placed on the ocean floor to form the base for coral colonization and a new habitat for life. Over time, I was astounded to see tubes growing out of the eyes of the statues and invertebrates making their homes on them.”
See photos of Museo Subacuático de Arte here.
Other Amazing Underwater Works of Art
Taylor is not the only artist turning oceans into art museums. In 1954, Italian artist Guido Galletti sculpted Christ of the Abyss, which is “located more than 15 meters deep under the sea. The bronze statue was placed on the seabed on the 22nd of August, 1954, at the initiative of legendary Italian diver Duilio Marcante, who wanted to place a statue of Jesus following the death of his friend Dario Gonzatti, which occurred during a dive a few years earlier in that spot,” states www.christoftheabyss.net. Also, in the article mentioned above, Michael Carroll made reference to an American artist named Colleen Flanigan who created “giant steel-mesh structures shaped into wavelike forms. She fused pioneering scientific theory on coral growth with her art.” See photos and videos of Flanigan’s work here.
Where is the most unique place you have seen art installed? Where would you like to see an art installation? Share with us in the section below.
Read more Segmation blog posts about art installations: