Rice Field Art Work

In the village of  Aomori in Inakadate, Japan a very special tradition has taken hold. Since 1993, farmers strategically plant different coloured rice in their fields to create some very surprising results…:

These pieces of art work slowly mature as the summer progresses, and then when the rice is harvested the canvas is wiped clean and the farmers being with an entirely new design:

How they can design these things on such a scale is beyond me. It’s like building up a picture in MS paint pixel by pixel! Check out the cool 3D effect on this one:

Pretty cool eh?

Spring Temple Buddha

Currently the tallest statue in the world, the spring temple Buddha measures an impressive 128 metres tall- almost three times the height of the statue of liberty (without her plinth). This colossal Buddha can be found in Lushan county, Henan, China.

Build of copper, he weighs in at almost a thousand tonnes and cost around fifty five million US dollars.

Supposedly, the Chinese built this state to condemn the destruction of Afghanistan’s Buddhist heritage by the Taliban, but other wild theories abound, including one that states it is a secret military headquarters. Check out the statue in comparison to the people on the steps:

Image source

The Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral

A few years ago I was wondering around Liverpool doing some research for my university course. One of the places that my friend Dave showed me was the Liverpool metropolitan Cathedral, or as it is better known locally thanks to its unusual architecture, Paddy’s Wigwam.

Below are some pictures that I took, click the thumbnails for a better view.

 A grade 2 listed building, The Liverpool metropolitan church was designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd and stands nearly 85 metres tall.

The design around the roof is a reference to Jesus’ crown of thorns, and the whole structure was built in less than five years.

If you’re ever in the Liverpool area, it’s worth checking it out just for the beautiful architecture, and check it out at night for a real breath taker!

Edgar Mueller’s Lava Burst

Many people are familiar with the idea of 3D art. These drawings (Often street murals) are distorted in such a way that when you look at them from the correct angle, they appear totally three dimensional. Pictures and example of these abound on the Internet, but none are quite so impressive as Edgar Mueller’s Lava burst:

Mueller is an artist who specialises in large scale 3D street murals, and has created all sorts of bizarre creations from caves to waterfalls, terrifying motorists all over Europe.

Of all the artists and pieces in this article, I think Mueller takes the trophy. His work may not be the biggest, but it’s almost certainly the most skill in the hands of one man, and the most impressive individual feat. The ability to create a 3D pavement mural is impressive enough, the artist needs to distort and then paint the picture very precisely, or the illusion falls apart. But to do it on this scale, now that is a thing of beauty!