Design
Spruce Up Dull Alleys With This Rainbow Machine
Beautifying burnt-out cars, wrecked storefronts and other urban blight with the power of colored paint.
The big problem with reclaiming alleyways is that, visually, they're often about as attractive as a corridor in a Turkish dungeon. Design aesthetics run about the same for most alleys: brick walls hairy with mildew or other mysterious bio-presences, rows of trashcans or stacks of garbage bags, a sliver of sky far above that lets in pale, dust-moted light.
But do they have to be so monotonous? Dutch artist Edwin Deen doesn't think so, and he's gone to his workshop to craft a fix for these blah thoroughfares. Deen's brainstorm is called the "Liquid Rainbow," and it can coat a dismal alley in a matter of seconds with a vibrant, happiness-spreading prism of paint.