More from my European backpacking trip - the colorful and unusual Kunst Haus Wien in Vienna

I have really dropped the ball on sharing my images from my 2010 summer backpacking around Europe, so I'm going to try to do it more often. I'll pick up right where we left off, in beautiful Vienna, Austria. I'm sharing with you today the very cool and unusual Kunst Haus Wien, a museum celebrating the work of Friedensreich Hundertwasser.

 A little bit about the house and Friedensreich:

   Hundertwasser's original and unruly artistic vision expressed itself in pictorial art, environmentalism, philosophy, and design of facades, postage stamps, flags, and clothing (among other areas). The common themes in his work utilised bright colours, organic forms, a reconciliation of humans with nature, and a strong individualism, rejecting straight lines. He remains sui generis, although his architectural work is comparable to Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926) in its use of biomorphic forms and the use of tile. He was also inspired by the art of the Vienna Secession, and by the Austrian painters Egon Schiele (1890–1918) and Gustav Klimt (1862–1918). He was fascinated by spirals, and called straight lines "the devil's tools". He called his theory of art "transautomatism", based on Surrealist automatism, but focusing on the experience of the viewer, rather than the artist. via Wikipedia

 The museum ... is designed in typical Hundertwasser style, with wavy, undulating floors and a notable lack of straight lines. Bright, glaring colours are used throughout, and foliage abounds. There is a fountain in the foyer, and a restaurant with abundant plant life reminiscent of a winter garden. An unevenly winding staircase leads to the main part of the exhibition on the upper floors. To keep the rooms flooded with daylight, Hundertwasser, who was said to be fond of sunlight and therefore windows too, had a glass frontage built in front of the facade.via Wikipedia

Hundertwasser designed an apartment building close to the Museum, it also "features undulating floors ("an uneven floor is a divine melody to the feet"), a roof covered with earth and grass, and large trees growing from inside the rooms, with limbs extending from windows." -via Wikipedia

The exterior...

A shot from the staircase.  Notice the curve of the floor where it meets the wall below.

  4 images above via my honey

Below are some shots of the gallery spaces

via Kunst Haus Wien

 Hudertwasser dabbled in almost all forms of 2D and 3D art. He started as a painter but ultimately focused on architecture. Here are some of my favorite works in some of his various mediums:

so beautiful!  Many of his lithographs have metallic gold accents, which makes them especially beautiful, but that aspect doesn't come through well in photographs.
via Hundertwasser.com

My favorite part of so many of his 2D works are the markings he makes on the sides and bottom.
via Art Brokerage

One of his postage stamp designs

via Photobucket

Some of his architectural masterpieces:

A model of the Bad Blumau, a spa

2 images above via Flickr

2 images above are of the Rogner Bad Blumau, in eastern Austria
via Paintings Art Picture

Hundertwasser with another one of his models

via Picasa

I hope you've enjoyed this little glimpse of Vienna and one of it's most cherished artists!

Here's that list again of all my posts from our travels that I've posted -

Spain
•Introduction to my European backpacking trip and a list of places we visited
• Galicia - Baiona and Isle de Cies
• Galicia - the coast, some charming vineyards, and Pontevedra
• Santiago de Compostela and gorgeous hidden beaches
• Gorgeous mountain lakes of Picos de Europa
• Stunning mountains - Picos de Europa
• Bilbao and San Sebastian
• Beautiful Barcelona
• The amazing Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona
• Art Nouveau dream house by Gaudi in Barcelona

Italy
• Not to miss - the gorgeous rocky coast of Italy's Cinque Terre
• More from my summer traveling Europe - amazing Rome
• From my summer in Europe - amazing Pompeii
• Turquoise ocean and vineyards on cliffs - the amazingly stunning Amalfi coast
• My Summer in Europe: Pictures from lovely Florence, Italy
• Enchanting Siena
•Venice
•Lake Como, Italy

Switzerland
•Jungfrau region, Switzerland, Part 1
•Jungfrau region, Switzerland, Part 2

Germany
• One of my favorite cities from my European backpacking trips - Ulm, Germany
• Lake Constance
• Cute HOUSE Overload - the charming medieval homes of Germany's Romantic Road
• Regensburg, Germany, and Salzburg, Austria  

Austria
• Salzburg
• A charming lakeside village, Hallstatt
• Beautiful Vienna

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