Beauty and The Beast:
Public Art With a Message
Gillie and Marc 1
(c) Gillie and Marc's bicycle being ridden by endangered animals
I am once again beating the drum on behalf of public art that goes way beyond pacifying city requirements.
Why not install art that is meant to be memorable?
Meant to be Instagram-able?
Why not create art that instantly creates a sense of place?
And how about while you’re at it, creating education and inducing donations to save animal species?
Enter artists Gillie and Marc Schattner.
The much-in-love couple have become two of the most popular artists in cities all over the world by creating public art pieces that attract interaction with the public, enchant children, and teach everyone about threats facing many animals people love.
Based on their personal interest in protecting endangered species, Gillie and Marc have pioneered a new kind of art with both heartstring attachment and actual QR codes on their sculptures to educate those interested in what we can do to help endangered animals.
As many of you may know, animals are my favorite people, so naturally, I love this art.
Gillie and Marc work in partnership with World Wildlife Fund and many others to create art that includes a donation to animal welfare charities.
In the piece pictured here, (c) Gillie and Marc, the bicycle features endangered animals on the seats, and they’ve left an open seat for passers-by to sit on the bike with the animals. And people do sit, and have their photos taken to share. And it creates an interactive and memorable moment for everyone!
Their work is currently in art galleries and public sites in more than 250 cities around the world.
In addition to their large public art pieces, Gillie and Marc sell small sculptures to the public on their website, so you can buy a piece if you’d like!
They naturally are open to commissions for their public pieces, and are finding that their work really touches the community.
Watch this video to see how amazing their artwork is, and how much the public enjoys it.