Sunday, April 3, 2011

An aircraft as an art form?


I was intrigued to read about artist Mimmo Paladino's transformation of a Piaggio P.180 Avanti aircraft into a work of art in a Milanese gallery.



Piaggio P.180 Avanti of the Italian Air Force



Flight Global reports:

A Piaggio P180 Avanti II has been transformed into a work of art by Italian artist Mimmo Paladino. The exhibit is dubbed Cacciatore di Stelle (Star Hunter) and it is the first time an aircraft has been painted by a contemporary artist. It is on display at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan until 28 April.



Paladino-painted Piaggio (click the image for a larger view)



"The Avanti has been chosen because it can be considered a work of art itself, as an expression of Italian genius in design and engineering. That's why this creation is an unprecedented event," says Piaggio Aero chief executive Alberto Galassi.


There's more at the link.

That's a pretty amazing paint job for an aircraft! It's worth clicking on the picture above to see it in greater detail. I wonder how long it took? Also, will the artwork be seen in the air after the exhibition, or removed so that the plane can be more conventionally painted?

Peter

8 comments:

  1. Depends on how the paint was applied; if it is go-fly type urethane or similar I'd expect they'd leave it, but if it is just decorative lacquer over the existing paint I'd expect it to be removed.

    Judging by this and this it doesn't have any go-fly markings on it, which suggests that the paint is indeed temporary.

    That said I do like it, for the theme and its resemblance to traditional blueprints.

    Jim

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  2. I wish I could get into this Romper Room inspired art craze. There's so much of it, and I hear people rave about it, but I just don't get it. If I glue glitter on storm sewer grates does that make me an artist? I'm sorry, splashing primary colors on something seems more to me like fingerpainting than art. Although I suppose it does fulfill art's purpose by causing a reaction. But it's probably not the reaction the artist wanted me to have.

    Besides, the map motif would be more appropriate with a title like "Star Seeker" or "Star Explorer."

    Now if you'll excuse me, I need to chase some kids off of my lawn.

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  3. Not the first.

    http://artcar.blogspot.com/2010/08/painted-cuban-plane-by-xavier-cortada.html

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  4. Another one:

    http://www.suite101.com/blog/evkanter/whales_on_a_plane

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yet another:

    http://www.kalayadreams.com/index.php?/Artists/rene-kulitja.html

    ReplyDelete
  6. Again:

    http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/geeky-pokemon-vehicles-aircraft

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  7. "...it is the first time an aircraft has been painted by a contemporary artist...this creation is an unprecedented event..."


    There is nothing new under the sun.

    ReplyDelete

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