The Mysterious Banana around Cologne by Thomas Baumgärtel

Stadtbanane

Plenty of Bananas in Cologne

Have you recognized all the bananas in Cologne and other places?  The cityscape includes quite some interesting aspects once in a while.

Who is actually behind the scenes of the Banana?

Around 30 years ago, Tomas Baumgärtel started to spray the banana for the first time onto buildings. This he is also known as the “Bananasprayer”. The banana functions as a tag. A tag that shows that the buildings are arty places. This should display easily that one can find great pieces of art in this specific building. Mr. Baumgärtel selects museums, galleries as well as art schools.

The History of the Bananas by Thomas Baumgärtel

Thirty years ago, the banana was rejected. Most people did not like it and rather saw it as vandalism. It was common that landlords or museums cleaned the surface by removing the banana. This is something that no one can still imagine. Back in the days when Thomas Baumgärtel was not known for his work, no one would have thought that the Banana would change its meaning one day. The view about the banana has changed over the last three decades. Now, you will also find fake bananas because the tag became a symbol for extraordinary places of art.

The Teachnique of the Banana

The Banana is done with the teachnique of stencil. That is a kind of art that is produced with one or more stencils. The Banana by Thomas Baumgärtel is done with two stencils, one for each color: black and yellow.

So next time you see a banana on a building, you know what it is all about.

More information about: Thomas Baumgärtel

 

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