Urban art does not escape any element of our routine: buildings, zebra crossings and even colored stairs that day after day several pedestrians ascend between sighs and smiles. In recent years, several urban artists around the world have realized the success of coloring steps as a successful metaphor for overcoming and, incidentally, taking the opportunity to reinvent the appearance of some of the most important cities on the planet.
If Emerald City had never existed, surely Dorothy would have encountered one of these 5 colorful stairs around the world at the end of the yellow brick road.
Rainbow Stairs - Istanbul (Turkey)
Photography: Qcom
A retired forestry engineer named Huseyin Cetinel decided one good morning spend 800 dollars and color all the steps of this staircase that crosses the Findikli and Cihangir neighborhoods of Istanbul. Over time, the gay community has seen in this color show a subtle reference to the collective, although Cetinel has insisted on confirming that “I did not paint this staircase out of activism, but simply with the aim of making people laugh ». And the neighbors, delighted.
Koi Fish Stairs - Seoul (South Korea)
Photography: Earth Porm
The koi fish is a kind of carp whose spiritual symbolism in countries such as China or South Korea encourages its citizens to tattoo them, introduce them into their lakes or use them as a claim to color such beautiful places as these stairs located in the Naksan neighborhood Park, a former Seoul slum area renovated thanks to the Naksan Art Project initiative since 2006.
Selarón Stairs - Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
Rio de Janeiro is one of the best cities for urban art lovers, especially in places like the favelas, where many have already begun to substitute guns and knives for brushes and smiles. In the case of the Santa Tereza neighborhood, one of the best viewpoints in the city, the Selarón Staircase, with 215 steps and designed by Chilean artist Jorge Selarón It is one of its great prides and one of the most photographed stairs on the planet.
16th Avenue Tiled Stairs - San Francisco (United States)
Photography: De Milked
Cosmopolitan, artistic and very colorful, the Californian city continues to be one of the best showcases for the street art thanks to neighborhoods like Mission District or works such as this «Avenue of Ceramic Steps» located on Moraga Street. A mosaic work product of the union of several local artists whose names lie camouflaged among the exotic and chromatic designs that invade one of the quietest neighborhoods of the Golden Gate city.
Cienfuegos Stairs - Valparaíso (Chile)
When the main attraction of a city are its hills and the views of a Pacific full of history, stairs become essential. If we add to this Valparaíso's passion for color and art, the options are many and one of my favorites would be this Escalera Cienfuegos, in Cerro Cordillera. 164 steps recently renovated under the motto "Color your Hill" in order to turn the entrances to these hills into unique art galleries.
These 5 colorful stairs around the world they reinvent urban elements, make passersby smile and become the latest in urban art. A sample of the good time that this artistic trend is going through, which has found in colors and creativity the best way to revitalize gray cities, forgotten places but, especially, a social situation that vindicates at the slightest occasion.