Tag Archives: Street art

Reflecting on 2020

30 Wednesday Dec 2020

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5 masks hanging on a clotheslineAddio 2020!  Is that too polite? How about vai via 2020?  Via al inferno 2020?  Vaffanculo 2020 may be the most appropriate send off to this year that most of us would like to forget.  COVID 19 has affected life for everyone.  Even in my weirdest dreams, I never imagined plague and pestilence in the form of a planetary health crisis during my lifetime…..yet here we are.

My word of the year is sottosopra (sot•toh•SOH•prah)…..upside down.  I doubt I am alone feeling like an extra in a bad science fiction movie, where everything in the world is upside down. Kisses and hugs spread disease, lounging on the couch binge watching Netflix is responsible adult behaviour, NOT visiting family is a sign of love, and losers are the ones who DO go out on New Year’s Eve!Personal Protective Equipment

The loss of life, paralysis of the world economy, and mental health effects of this pandemic have been devastating.  It has been more stressful than most of us are willing to admit.  Each of us copes differently with the confusion, fear and stress of quarantine, distancing, and finding distraction from all things 2020.  Some of us are madly productive, and others slow right down.  As long as our activities help us cope and we follow local guidelines to help everyone stay safe, it does not really matter.

This has been a time for many of us to reflect about what is important, especially so in this quieter of Christmas seasons.  There are not many positive things to discuss during a global pandemic.  Even so, I have felt humbled by the outpouring of kindness, humanity and creativity that has come out of this terrible situation and speak to the resilience of the human spirit.  Just a few of my favourite examples include:

  • The adaptability and creativity of businesses, workplaces, schools and social groups, offering their services differently and online.  I have been doing zoom yoga 3-4 times a week! Many of these practices will likely continue in some form when the world is no longer sottosopra!
  • The world becoming emotional watching videos of neighbourhoods throughout Italia singing in solidarity from their balconies and windows.  This uplifting show of unity and community support spread positivity around the world.
  • Collective rounds of applause and banging of pots for frontline health care workers.  As a healthcare worker, I thank you all for your enthusiasm! This video ‘A Violin flies over Cremona’ of Lena Yokoyama playing Ennio Morricone for health care workers on the roof of the hospital in Cremona makes me cry.  The full 15 minute documentary, with English voice over by my amica Anna Ambrosini is available here 
  • Pandemic street art!  A creative response to the pandemic, often with a dose of humour.  I wrote about street art for International Nurses Day and have another post planned soon.John Doh street art
  • Volunteers helping the elderly with groceries and errands, sewing masks, donating blood and many other wonderful things.
  • Nerdy science geeks are finally cool!
  • The elementary school near home had to cancel their Christmas concert.  They walked around and sang in front of the homes of the older and housebound neighbours instead.  Singing with their antlers and little masks on-they were adorable.  My parents were so thrilled, as was 98 year old Pasquale across the street.
  • The extra effort to spread Christmas cheer this year with outdoor decorations and lights.   Tree lots here sold out the in first week and many stores almost sold out of seasonal stuff by mid-December.  My lights and decorations always help me get through the cold, wet, dark, depressing days of winter, so I have really appreciated this.


    2020     was consistent…ha fatto schifo dall’inizio fino alla fine! It sucked from beginning to end!

    Please remember the global Christmas message of goodwill towards everyone.  We are all facing challenges that are not visible.  Do not assume you know what others are going through. As our Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says ‘Be safe, be calm, be kind’.

    Il Bacio TV Boy Pandemic street art

    Wishing all readers of Un po’ di pepe a safe, healthy, happy, better New Year, where the world is not upside down!

    Tanti auguri a tutti i lettori di Un po’ di pepe per un migliore Anno Nuovo piena di gioia, salute e sicurezza, dove il mondo non è sottosopra5 masks hanging on a clothesline

     Forza!  Hang in there everyone!

     Virtual baci e abbracci, Cristina

    Street art images from the artist’s instagram:

  • No need to shit yourself @johndohart
  • Trust Science, not Morons, Mike Dellaria @dellarious
  • Il Bacio @TVBoy

Street Art for International Nurses Day

12 Tuesday May 2020

Posted by in Inspiration

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Angeli Custodi TV Boy Street Art Guardian AngelsMay 12th is International Nurses Day.  Since 1965, it has been a day to mark the contributions that nurses make to society.  May 12th was chosen because it is the anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale.

The theme for International Nurses Day 2020 is A voice to lead:  Nursing the world to heal. A fitting theme for this (so far) sucky pandemic year.

I would like to take this opportunity to recognize my fellow nurses and also doctors, first responders, lab and radiology techs, respiratory techs (Yes, especially the RT’s!), housekeeping staff, delivery drivers, mail carriers, everyone in the food distribution chain, and all other essential workers.  Sending much love and gratitude to you all!

Super Nurse street art by FAKEStreet artists have also been showing the love.  ‘Super Nurse’ is a stencil art mural by Dutch urban artist FAKE.  The artist is offering the image as a free downloadable PDF with a customizable background from his website Highonspraypaint to share with healthcare professionals, give as a gift, or put up in the workplace. Super nurse FAKE street art downloadable PDF

‘We can do it/ce la faremo‘ is Sicilian street artist TVBoy’s health care professional image released for italian labour day, May 1 as a ‘tribute to all health workers who have not spared themselves in these months and worked with courage and dedication, as always, even if we have only realized now the importance they have in our lives’.  I like to call her Rosie because she is posing like the WWII poster of Rosie the Riveter!We can do it TV Boy street art

The cover image Guardian Angels/Angeli Custodi, is also by TV Boy, aka Salvatore Benintende.  TVBoy and Banksy were also featured in the post Napoli Street Art.Banksy Game Changer Sock Monkey Super Nurse

Banksy’s newest work ‘Game Changer’ is a beautiful image.  A child ditches his makebelieve superhero action figures to play with a real one….Sock Monkey Super Nurse to the rescue!  He has donated the work to  Southhampton Hospital to be auctioned off to raise funds for health services. Banksy Sock monkey super nurse close up

Happy Nurses Day everyone!  Please share the love and kindness.

Images from the artists’ instagram accounts @iamfake, @banksy, @tvboy.

Ciao, Cristina

Blub a Napoli

28 Wednesday Aug 2019

Posted by in Art, Italia, Photography

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Blub Il Volo di Dedalo e la caduta di Icaro fresco MANNA few weeks ago I took a daytrip to Napoli for sfogliatelle-but also to see the Blub exhibit at MANN (Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli).  If you do not know about the street artist from Firenze, make sure to read my Blub post L’Arte sa Nuotare.  Blub (Bloob) takes famous works of art and gives them a new look, immersing them underwater, complete with blue background, snorkel masks and bollicine-bubbles.  Prints are organically glued to the metallic doors of gas and electrical panels, which provide ready-made frames.

To prepare for the exhibit, Napoli’s Centro Storico was ‘Blubified’ with 40 works plastered on sportelli-the doors of gas and electrical panels. A few are specific to Napoli, for example Totò and Re Carlo III Borbone (King Charles III).Blub, Re Carlo III Borbone a Napoli

In the exhibit, which only includes 5 new works, the project ‘L’Arte sa Nuotare’ (Art knows how to swim) is extended to Pompeii.  4 paintings on metal are inspired by affreschi (frescoes) from the ruins of Pompeii.  There is also the portrait of Carlo III and some sculptures have been adorned with masks and fins, as well as the tomb in the photo below.Museo Archeologico Nazionale Napoli Blub

The nymph is a detail from the fresco ‘Il Volo di Dedalo e la caduta di Icaro’(the flight of Dedalus and the fall of Icarus) from Villa Imperiale, Pompeii.  It is an acrylic painting on a metal door and I love how the rust has been incorporated. Detail from Il Volo di Dedalo e la caduta di Icaro Blub pompeii

Terentius Neo e la moglie (Terentius Neo and his wife) is a fresco from 55-79 AD found in 1868 in the house of baker Terentius Neo, which was also the bakery. The middle class couple is well-dressed, and he holds a scroll with seal, his wife a stylus and wax tablet to demonstrate that they are literate and cultured.  His wife is portrayed as an equal, in fact she seems to be standing in front of her husband.Blub Terentius Neo e la moglie

Here is the original fresco in MANN:Terentius Neo e la moglie Pompeii

Donna con tavolette cerate e stilo (Woman with wax tablets and pen) is a tondo, a round painting found in 1760 in the Insula Occidentalis house in Pompeii.  It depicts a wealthy woman with gold earrings and a gold hair net. She is holding a stylus and 4 wax tablets, to demonstrate learning and culture.  This  fresco is known as Sappho, although it is not a portrait of the poetess, in fact the stylus and wax tablets were more likely used for accounting than poetry. Blub again incorporates the rust on the metal door to add ‘age’ to the work.'Sappho' by Blub Napoli

The original fresco in MANN:Sappho MANN

My favourite Blub here is Maschera Teatrale di Donna (Woman’s theater mask) inspired by a fresco in Casa del braciale d’oro (House of the golden bracelet) in Pompeii. The work is under glass, so my photo has glare issues.  The tag says that this Blub work is an acrylic on metal door and is in a private collection in Hingham, Massachusetts, so I think that means Blub made a sale!

Maschera Teatrale subacqua, from L’Arte sa Nuotare Facebook page

Blub quote Napoli MANN exhibit

‘….water is my element.  Life is born from water, it is the hidden side of matter.  When you are immersed, time stops and becomes weightless, while thoughts flow freely in a suspended dimension…for this I propose personalities that have transmitted an example of greatness that survives still today, as if underwater, without time.’  Blub

Seeing all the affreschi from Pompeii in MANN really inspired me to get out my bucket of plaster and pigments.  Fresco painting is not a very ‘modern’ art form, but I have dabbled in it a bit and really love it.  Below is my detail of La Cappella Sistina. My next fresco painting might be one of Giotto’s angels. I’ll be looking for rusty metal doors to paint on! Let me know if you have any.Cappella Sistina Cristina Pepe

Blub hunting in the Centro Storico was not very productive.  We found a peek-a boo Blub….a Renaissance woman mostly covered by the propped open door of a store! Blub NapoliGiuseppe Verdi looks very distinguished among the graffiti.  I was disappointed to not find a Totò, but did find a Banksy and lots of other interesting street art-which I will leave for another post!Blub Verdi, Napoli

The exhibit in MANN ends in a few days.  I hope you enjoyed this virtual Blub tour and that all of you can some day view real life ‘Blubi’! Ciao, Cristina

*Photo credit-Both photos of Terentius Neo e la moglie and Blub’s Sappho taken by my cugino and Napoli travel partner Mark ‘Peperotti‘ Pepe

L’arte sa nuotare

08 Saturday Jun 2019

Posted by in Art, Firenze, Italia, Photography

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Putto Raffaello Firenze street art BlubL’arte sa Nuotare -art knows how to swim- is a project by Italian street artist Blub (Bloob).  Anyone who has been to Firenze in the last few years has likely seen Blub’s work plastered onto the city’s sportelli di gas e di luce- the metallic doors of gas and electrical panels. Blub street art FirenzeI was recently in Firenze with my nipotina Isabella. We were constantly on the lookout for ‘Blubi’ (BLOO•bee).  It was like a scavenger hunt! We even spotted a few in Lucca, but none in Siena.  Blub street art Firenze Dante l'arte sa nuotareNo one has met mysterious street artist Blub.  All we know about Blub is that he…..or she….. is from Firenze and is a talented artist with a fun, quirky sense of humour.Blub street artist Firenze, the Creation of AdamBlub’s series “L’arte sa Nuotare’ takes famous works of art and gives them a new look, immersing them underwater, complete with blue background, snorkel masks and bollicine-bubbles! Blub street art La Dolce Vita Shannon Milar L'arte sa nuotare

More recent works receiving the Blub treatment are contemporary icons such as the kiss from La Dolce Vita, Freddie Mercury and Amy Winehouse.  Blubi have a magnetic attraction to anyone passing by. Blub Modigliani street art Lucca l'arte sa nuotareThe works are not graffiti painted directly onto the precious, crumbling renaissance walls. Blub paints 1 original acrylic on canvas or metal, then makes posters in sizes to fit the sportelli and pastes them up with 100% plant based glue. Sportelli also provide ready made frames.Ragazza con l'orecchina di perla Blub street artist Firenze, Girl with a pearl earring

How did this series start?  According to a February 2019 interview (in Italiano) with Firenze Urban Lifestyle Magazine, Blub claims that for fun, the first ‘masked’ triad were Da Vinci works-La Gioconda (aka Mona Lisa), Dama con l’ermellino, and a self portrait of Leonardo.  One night, with the help and encouragement of friends, they were pasted up on sportelli in the San Niccolò area. Blub Leonardo Da Vinci Donna con l'ermellino Firenze street art

It was originally a way of remembering the flood of the Arno in 1966 and the saving of Firenze’s priceless artwork from the muddy water that ravaged the city.  That night ‘l’arte non affoga’ (art does not drown) became ‘l’arte sa nuotare’.

Firenze Duomo Blub street artAside from the reference to the 1966 flood, the series brings together the past and contemporary world, pays tribute to the personality of Firenze and is dedicated to those who find solutions in a sea of difficulty. The expression ‘sink or swim’ comes to mind.Van Gogh Blub street art l'arte sa nuotare

Water generates life and is a symbol of rebirth and purification.  Time stands still underwater, placing the immersed works that have left their mark and survive today in another dimension.  With this series of work, Blub is trying to incite curiosity rather than controversy.

Blub street art firenze L'arte sa nuotareBlub hunting will now also be possible in Napoli!  Blub has 6 new works on display at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli until August 31!  Frescoes from Pompeii underwater!  I will definitely try to see this exhibit!  Update!  I did  make  it  to  Napoli.  Read  about  it  in  Blub  a Napoli. I hope you enjoyed this Blub photo exhibit! Have you had the pleasure of finding Blubi? If you like to view artwork al fresco and un po’ bagnato, happy Blub hunting!  More Blub images are available on instagram #lartesanuotare.

Ciao, Cristina

*La Dolce Vita photo taken by Shannon Milar in Lucca.  All other photos taken by me in Firenze, except the Amedeo Modigliani which was taken in Lucca.Putto Raffaello Blub street artist Firenze