Stop-motion graffiti animation: "Big Bang Big Boom"

Blu's "Big Bang Big Boom" is a spectacular stop-motion graffiti animation depicting "an unscientific point of view on the beginning and evolution of life ... and how it could probably end." (Thanks, Lindsay Tiemeyer!)

David Pescovitz is Boing Boing's co-editor/managing partner. He's also a research director at Institute for the Future. On Instagram, he's @pesco.

MORE: Art and Design

More at Boing Boing

The technology that links taxonomy and Star Trek

Hackers prepare for first "national holiday" in their honor

Anonymous

Amazing!!!!! I’m speechless… A genius masterpiece.
synthsis

holy shit. that was awesome.
- imag
  
  I came here say that exact same thing.
  
  The 3D to 2D, the inventiveness, the fact that the drawings oriented the scene irrespective of camera location. That was totally and completely awesome. I am in awe.
Anonymous

Good show. You are adding to civilization. Keep making art.
James

WOW. That was fantastic, so inventive and so much effort had gone into it.

How can that only have got 636k views yet a Justin Bieber video can get over 200 million, there’s something seriously wrong with the world.
Anonymous

Art like this is really worth the label of art. Unlike “art” like anything pollock or warhol ever did. It’s simple things like this that can truly inspire. Share and share alike!
- Anonymous
  
  Sneaky, putting down Pollock and Warhol while praising this video.
  
  Learn something about modern art.
  
  This video blew my mind, by the way.
Anonymous

that…was just absolutely incredible, wow amazing job and amazing message too
ty collins

Many a true word is said in jest!
eyemyth

I hate to see something that was done with such obvious dedication and care ruined by such terrible camerawork. I couldn’t watch more than 2 minutes of it…
- Anonymous
  
  you sir. are a bummer.
- Anonymous
  
  You know it is called stop-motion animation for a reason. It is not the ‘camerawork’ which is at fault, as you naively think.
  - eyemyth
    
    What do you know, anonymous troll?
- Anonymous
  
  hm I think that whomever was operating the camera also put in hard work and dedication. You should keep snide remarks to yourself.
Anonymous

Absolutely astounding
Anonymous

where are the credits for all the artists involve? or it is BLU only doing all the art work, man it is insane how much work have to be done…my respect for doing so much art just to erase it a moment later….the bullet going around the tank was the best graphic protest.
Anonymous

LEGENDARY SHIT BLU!!!!! MY HERO!!!!!!!!!
Anonymous

Very cool, but like life, the ending is a mystery because the clip stopped playing when the monkeys jumped on the elephant.
Anonymous

Wow. That is all I can say. Wow.
Anonymous

how long did that take
bobkat

found out about Blu via bb a couple of years ago. it’s been fun to see his work progress – this is definitely his most ambitious work to date, and also his most successful, i think.

incredible stuff!
Anonymous

and THAT is why I read boingboing
endymion

For a second I thought this was going to be about Hall and Oates.
Anonymous

Nice interesting use of time lapse and animation

dna
Anonymous

Very very cool!
Anonymous

AMAZING……………….
Anonymous

Amazing!! So raw and beautiful! Nicely done.
Anonymous

so true on the message. We’re killing our own kind.
Kercules

thank you
classic01

On the first few seconds I was thinking “on no one more of those boring stop motion clips.” Then I quickly realize.. This is effing epic!
DirkSJ

Quite amazing.

I hope they got city approval though. If they didn’t I hope they get jail time (or at least community service to clean all that up).
- Anonymous
  
  “I hope they got city approval though. If they didn’t I hope they get jail time (or at least community service to clean all that up).”
  
  Seriously? THAT’S what you think we should do with artists that don’t use conventional channels for expression?
  
  I want to say more, but seriously?
  
  Facepalm.
  - Anonymous
    
    I’m with you on this one. Jail time!!?? WTF!! Give him/her/them some awards and get the faceless corporate arms dealers, etc. to do the cleanups.
    Tags and mindless graffiti deserve some sort of punishment but this sort of stuff (like Banksy’s work) deserves applause. I hope it was richly rewarded.
    And as for where the work was done, most of it was on derelict sites, scratched into sand or over urban wasteland – “hats off” I say.
  - Anonymous
    
    “Artists that don’t use conventional techniques”???
    
    So, if I came to your house and I painted over your ipod or iphone, or your car, or your TV, and called it art, that would be OK with you?
    
    Facepalm to you.
  - Anonymous
    
    hmmmm he is not saying that’s what he(or she) thinks they deserve, but that’s what happens.
    - Anonymous
      
      How does “I HOPE they get” not saying what (s)he thinks they deserve?
Anonymous

Did he died?
Anonymous

Unbelievable. Completely amazing.

I can’t stop watching it.
furu_inu

Sheer brilliance. I only wish Winsor McCay could have seen it.
Anonymous

Truly awesome, amazing, and inspiring work. You’ve made me want to create something.

How long did it take?
Lucretia

Just amazing! Thank you!
Anonymous

incredible. Definitely sharing this
Anonymous

wow! This is so incredible, I wonder how long it took to do all of that and where it took place.. pure awesome.
Donald Petersen

Good God, that was one hell of a lot of work. I loved everything about it. Part of me was a little aghast about how enormous the scope of the “canvas” was, apparently incorporating public and private property alike, and using what looked like an ungodly amount of paint. But I dug it. Like Steven Wright sez, “I wouldn’t want to paint it” either, but it pleases me that somebody did.
r721

No one mentioned their previous video “Muto” yet? Here it is: http://vimeo.com/993998.
Anonymous

You’ll notice that all those surfaces were getting painted white, and were generally in a state of disrepair/neglect anyway. I say what a wonderful way to have some fun AND clean up a neighbourhood. The amount of time it would have taken to do this would require permission prior. I can’t believe people would think otherwise.

As for the artistic looping (and the fun bits like katamari and the pencil sharpening dino) that was pretty awsome. Now i get the title “Big Bang Big Boom”. I enjoyed the circle around the tank.

Thank you guys!
Anonymous

Wow, amazing. Thanks for all the hard work you put into that!
sg1969

That was mesmerising
Anonymous

Very creative! Also reminds me of the time, remember, when film could show a plant grow from a seed into a full-grown plant in a few seconds, but which in real time, took several weeks. This is great!
Anonymous

always has to be one cynic in the crowd…

this is some amazingly, astonishing, awe inspiring piece of time consuming work…………5 stars +
……………
Anonymous

Wow! Very cool. I am sad to say that the ending ruined the entire effort for me. Nuclear annihilation while a possibility is such a trite and disempowering future scenario. Why not use all of that creativity to imagine something different. Why not space travel. or weird evolution going who knows where. Just sayin.

Matt Muller
- Anonymous
  
  “Anon â€¢ #29 â€¢ 6:30 PM Saturday, Jul 10, 2010 â€¢ Reply
  I am sad to say that the ending ruined the entire effort for me. Nuclear annihilation while a possibility is such a trite and disempowering future scenario. Why not use all of that creativity to imagine something different.”
  
  Dude u miss the point totally, Movie is about an unending cycle we say from ashes to ashes, well from big bang to a big bang, whose to say that isnt whan happened in the first place? Its just a if we keep on this path this will be our end scenario thats all
- Anonymous
  
  “Nuclear annihilation while a possibility is such a trite and disempowering future scenario. Why not use all of that creativity to imagine something different. Why not space travel. or weird evolution going who knows where.”
  
  Because destroying ourselves through nuclear war is far more likely than space travel or weird evolution. And the possible message (I saw) in the ending was a criticism of the path we, as all the people in the world, have taken; and will most likely take in the future. That is to say, while nuclear war might not be the end, I can’t help but feel we will play a major part in our own end.
Anonymous

simply amazing, it isnt only the incredible job it is, but the metaphor its very good too. +10 keep doing like that
Luke Hunter James-Erickson

nice Katamari moment around minute 5
- Dapper Swain
  
  I agree. And nice Alien/The Several Journeys of Reemus moment at 2:50
Anonymous

I loved it!
lovelystrangeness

Simply amazing! Was this a city-endorsed art project or are they the most brazen graffiti artists of all time?