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Early closing

Arapaki Manners (CBD) will close early at 5.00pm today, Friday 20 September, due to staff availability. The library will be open again on Monday.

Weird Art (and How to Make It)!

By Beth

Whatever it is you want to say, and however it is you want to say it, get inspired by Weird Artists and books in our collection on Weird Art (and how to make it)!

Book covers on a green background

In a world of incredible mainstream artists like Frida Kahlo and Vincent van Gogh, some of the stranger, funnier, and more relatable creatives can be left flying under the radar. It can also make it more difficult for us - the artistic hoi polloi -  to find our own style and way of creating.

Perhaps you could be inspired by Tomislav Jagnjić, a Serbian concept artist and illustrator whose oeuvre includes titles such as "hey psst, wanna buy some cubes" and "can't believe u forgot the scrolls, how am i supposed to resurrect the dragon now?"

Or maybe you could innovate like Thirza Schaap, a Dutch artist who's been revamping beach trash to create a grim yet aesthetically pleasing commentary on sea pollution.

Or perhaps you'd rather focus on just one subject, and paint it with such determination that you're eventually interrogated by police. Look no further than Alex Schaefer's fascination with painting the Chase Bank. On fire. Repeatedly.

Carpark mural: troubadour dressed in red holding a lute with a green insect-like head. Edited text says: Carpark troubadour says Just do the art!

Original image: James Smith Carpark mural, created 2000, in Public Art and Publicly Accessible Art collection on Wellington City Recollect.

AND there's so much cool and weird public art out around Wellington too! This musical friend was created in the year 2000 (we have not checked to see if they're still there).

And if you're ever feeling insecure about your work, just remember that Massachusetts has its own museum dedicated entirely to celebrating "art too bad to be ignored" - pop on over here for a browse!

And now, I leave you with some of the books that we have in our libraries, that might inspire you to get out there and do some weird art of your own.