Plastic bag animal sculptures for subway gratings

An unknown artist fashions animals out of plastic bags and fastens them to subway gratings, and the hot air inflates them and makes them puff up and wiggle.

The story we heard at dinner tonight is that there's an artist who's been making these animals out of discarded plastic bags. He (or she) ties the bags to the ventilation grates above the subway lines so that when the subway rushes through underneath, the animal jumps up and springs to life.

Link (Thanks, Marilyn!)

• [minTphresh]

  so…very…awesome…( drrroooool!)

• [gATO]

  I agree with Thad and Muse, it is indeed inspiring and fantastic to find good, unexpected street art. It makes my day.

• [iris]

  Actually, the Wooster Collective has a some interesting videos of these scuptures. They say that the name of the artist is Joshua Allen Harris.

  Here’s the link.

• [Muse]

  I think that since street art has a subversive element at heart, it is fun to consider whimsical humor a subversive act in modern society. Did anyone who saw these little dancing plastic bag critters, or any of the other street art get inspired, even a little bit, to do anything creative? I’d like to think that creativity inspires more creativity, so even small acts can ripple out to have a larger effect on people’s lives.

• [Thad E Ginataom]

  What a wonderful thing to do.

  So much ‘art’ just seems to inflate the ego of the artist — this must be like being given a bunch of flowers by a stranger.

  I’m too many thousands of miles away to ever see it, but thanks for bringing it to me anyway!

  Thad E Ginathom

• [runasand]

  It would have scared me.

• [alisong76]

  I’d probably shit myself if that happened in front of me, and I LIKE dogs!

• [Vale]

  One of the most disturbingly sad things I’ve seen.

  Where will the polar bears go when the ice has gone?

• [alisong76]

  There’s video here.

• [franko]

  brilliant. Takuan (#7) is right — i’m sure that coke is in the process of some “guerilla” marketing scheme right now.

• [Anonymous]

  Does anyone know which station these are in the subway system?

• [Antinous]

  It looks like a baby seal waiting to be clubbed.

• [cha0tic]

  The video was great. There seemed to be so much animation when the bear/dog leapt up. Something I wish I could see IRL. I’m sure small kids would have loved it.

• [Muse]

  This is great. It is some of the best street art I have seen since Banksy.
  http://www.banksy.co.uk/

  The bear does look a bit creepy in the image, but I think it is because it is at night. If you watch the videos on the page Iris linked to it is more comical than anything.

  I love that simple and unexpected works of art can break people out of the monotony of their day and make them happy for no reason at all.

  My favorite example of street art is when the artist “True” replaced the warning signs on NY subways with these:
  http://chrisglass.com/journal/images/2007/0613-life-instructions.jpg

• [Anonymous]

  I think that that is a very cool thing to do with plastic bags.

• [Takuan]

  why does this creature not have Coca Cola printed on its sides?

• [twig]

  Muse, that’s really wonderful.

• [Xydexx]

  Yay for inflatable animals in the urban wilderness!

• [noen]

  Beautiful, wonderful and creepy as hell.

• [cha0tic]

  @ Thad, Muse and Gato. Yeah, stuff like this is made to make a day. First time I came across Banksy was a little Rat Bouncer, by a Red carpet and rat hole painted low down on some steps up from The Embankment in London. It was one of the best things I saw that weekend.

• [todayinart]

  I love it and had to feature it. Here is a video