The world’s most peculiar art pieces

“Art is never finished, only abandoned” – Leonardo da Vinci.

Art has always been a part of people’s daily life. In ancient times, massive statues or tombs, such as the ones in Egypt, represented many themes that survived to this day. In modern times, the word art is not limited to one physical item such as a painting or a statue.

Nowadays, art includes musical pieces, performances such as ballet or theatre, interior or exterior art related to design, even computer programmes and simulations are considered as art. Today, we will turn our eyes to some of the strangest art pieces in the world.

Salvador Dali’s Reflection Elephants and The Persistence of Memory

First on the list is the great Salvador Dali. Born in Spain, 1904, Dali was known for his surrealist paintings. His incredible technical skills and peculiar artwork raises questions to this day. Looking at Dali’s paintings makes you wonder if he was representing one of his many dreams.

Dali’s two most peculiar masterpieces are Reflection Elephants and The Persistence of Memory.

Leonardo da Vinci’s The Vitruvian Man

Another big name that comes to mind when considering classic art pieces is Leonardo da Vinci. Born in 1452, Da Vinci was a painter, inventor who made sculpture, music and was also good at mathematics; his genius remains unsurpassed and his art will live on forever. Although he is the author of the famous Mona Lisa, his other – The Vitruvian Man – is an intriguing piece. This drawing by Da Vinci represents the proportions of the human body and has sparked countless of debates over the years.

Edvard Munch’s The Scream

Next up, is a bizarre painting called The Scream, created by Edvard Munch, a Norwegian painter. Painted in 1893, this masterpiece has become world known. The agonising face in the picture, combined with the smooth sunset background might as well be symbolising the human emotion of anxiety. But then again, art can be interpreted in many different ways. One thing is for sure – The Scream is an iconic art piece.

Cassius Marcellus Coolidge’s Dogs Playing Poker

The next art piece on the list is a rather eccentric one. The world-famous Dogs Playing Poker by Cassius Marcellus Coolidge. The artist, born 1844 in Staten Island is the creator behind this masterpiece. Dogs Playing Poker is actually not a single painting, but rather a series of 16. The most famous painting of the series is titled A Friend in Need. Painted in 1903, the masterpiece features dogs playing poker with two of the dogs trying to cheat.

Grant Wood’s American Gothic

Another strange piece of art is the American Gothic. Painted by Grant Wood in 1930 it is known that he received inspiration for the work from an American gothic house in Eldon, Iowa. Although the painting is quite serious, it has got the attention of many people who still parody it to this day.

The Cadillac Ranch by Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez and Doug Michels

In 1974, a group of three artists from the group Ant Farm created a rather strange installation called The Cadillac Ranch. In Amarillo, Texas, Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez and Doug Michels buried ten Cadillacs (1949-1963) halfway into the ground, nose-first. The creators used old and broken cars and placed them in a straight line, buried of course. In 1997, the art installation was relocated a few miles away, but in 2019 eight of the buried Cadillacs were damaged due to a fire.

Nam Jun Paik’s Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii

So far, we have seen quite a few well-known classics, but now let’s turn our eyes to modern-day art pieces. Nam June Paik created Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii art installation in 1995. It features a map of the United States, made with steel, wood, customer electric parts, neon lighting and 51 television screens. This art installation is a truly amazing masterpiece.

Charles Pétillon’s Heartbeat 

In 2015, visitors at Covent Garden, London, UK, had the opportunity to view a large-scale art installation by Charles Pétillon. The French artist’s installation featured 100,000 white balloons. The art piece was called Heartbeat. Stretching 54 meters on the ceiling of Covent Garden, the installation took 20 people five days to build.

Hollow by Katie Paterson and Zeller & Moye

Next up is Hollow. This is an external artwork accessible by the public. Created in 2016 by Katie Paterson and Zeller & Moye, this piece of art is strangely appealing. It can be seen in Bristol’s city Royal Fort Garden and it features a miniature forest that consists of over 10,000 different tree species. The installation looks like a scene from the movie Inception and it took the artists some three years to complete while they were gathering the tree samples.

Christo’s The Floating Piers 

The Floating Piers is an artwork by Christo Vladimirov Javacheff and Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon. This work of art was installed temporarily at Lake Iseo, Brescia, Italy in 2016. It includes 70,000 square meters of fabric that is carried by a floating dock system with 226,000 polyethylene cubes. This incredible artwork created a walkable surface for visitors that spread between Sulzano, Monte Isola and the island of San Paolo. The concept for The Floating Piers dates back to 1970, but it wasn’t until 2013 that the artists began work on the project.

This concludes the list of the world’s most peculiar and perhaps a little bizarre art. There are more great examples of how eccentricity can translate into some of the most compelling works of art in the world. All of the above are considered cornerstones of human knowledge and endeavour, so being even vaguely familiar with them is a sign of an inquisitve mind.

The editorial unit