HUMOR IN ART and Architecture (shortened version) by

HUMOR IN ART and Architecture (shortened version) by Don L. F. Nilsen and Alleen Pace Nilsen 1

Public Art: A Cockney in London 2 Escher Sketch A Parody of Art

3 Picasso and Rhodan 4

HUMOROUS ARCHITECTURE In Time magazines 1997 year-end summary of the best and the worst accomplishments, editors devoted a half-page to a twilight photo of the New York New York hotel, advertised as the Greatest City in Las Vegas. They wrote: O.K., its a hoot, a building thats made to look like

a jumble of buildings. This massive Las Vegas hotel with a Central Park-themed casino takes as its silhouette the Manhattan skyline and for good measure crams in Grants Tomb, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Did we mention the Coney Island roller coaster? Tasteless, you say? We say, beyond tasteless.

5 New York, New York in Las Vegas, Nevada 6

Here is another wonderful example of humor in architectureTempes Upside Down Pyramid built for our City Hall. 7 Heres an

example of a waterfall that serves as its own source. 8

His reptiles appear to crawl off the page and change into living creatures. 9 Self Portrait, Escher Style

10 SALVADOR DALI (1904-1989) He depicted dream worlds in which commonplace objects were juxtaposed, deformed, or metamorphosed into bizarre and irrational distortions.

11 Notice how the perspective changes when the picture is viewed from the side.

At the same time Dali was distorting objects, he was filling them with realistic details and placing them into bleak, sunlit landscapes reminiscent of his

Catalonian homeland. From this angle we are less likely to recognize the people sitting in the sand. 12

Impressionism: Van Goghs Starry Night and David Wiesners Art and Max 13 Expressionism

Edvard Munchs The Scream and Keanes Big Eyes 14 Abstract Expressionism Jackson Pollock (Jack the Dripper)

15 Minimalism Brancusis Bird in Flight 16

Maximalism (Gothic Cathedral) 17 Dadaism or Found Art Du Champss Fountain

18 Realism: Norman Rockwells Freedom from Want 19

In Conclusion, Le Louvre: A Story 20 A thief in Paris planned to steal some paintings from Le Louvre.

He stole the paintings and put them in his van, but his van ran out of gas. When asked how he could mastermind such a crime and then make such a stupid mistake, he replied: 21

I had no Monet 22 To buy Degas 23

To make the Van Gogh 24 I figured I had nothing Toulouse

25 and I had De Gaulle to try it. 26