Another interesting manhole for my collection. I saw this one in Seoul the other day as I wrapped up another brief trip to Korea. I think the Koreans have a wonderful aesthetic and sense of design. I’m bad at identifying design schools. What would this be? Art Deco?
Call me a geek but I think this manhole cover is fantastic. I saw them all over in the backstreets and alleys of the Tienmu area in Taipei, Taiwan. They’re just so fantastically whimsical. It seems there was an improbable meeting of the minds between public works types and artsy folks who decided to create these covers. It’s things like this that make me such a huge fan of Taiwan. The place can be so funky and goofy in the best possible way. I’m trying to think if I’ve ever seen anything like this in China, and I’m really drawing a blank. It would seem that some party boss or apparatchik would quickly put the kibosh on any effort to have fun with a manhole cover design. Most likely, they would consider this one silly and unserious. Why deviate from the traditional waffle pattern? Anyway, what are they REALLY saying with the tree and fish motif? Are they suggesting the party has not been a good steward of the environment? It’s all very disharmonious.
Recent Comments