If you wish to travel the world but are hindered by budget or time constraints, a relatively inspiring alternative is to explore the pages of Lannoo’s June release, “The Art Travel Book: 40 Iconic Outdoor Artworks.”
The book was beautifully curated and crafted by Dutch art enthusiasts Nadine van den Bosch and Nienke van der Wal.
They are the founders of the Young Collectors Circle, also known as The Collectors Circle, a platform designed to ensure that contemporary art is accessible to all.
They also aspire to inspire a whole new generation of art collectors — and this book could be your resource or launchpad into that world.
“Whether you use this book to dream or to create an itinerary for a trip around the globe, we hope the artworks serve as a window to another way of seeing, thinking and experiencing the world,” the authors wrote.
“And if you do go for a visit, please know you will find practical details via the links behind the QR codes.”
The pieces selected — with gorgeous photographs — offer insights into works, as the title states, situated outdoors from mostly notable and noticeable masterpieces that even non-art lovers could appreciate and recognize.
The pages perhaps focus too heavily on already globally-recognized and canonical Western, or internationally established blue-chip artists and known works.
We understand the appeal — these are universally famous and already highly instagrammable and crowd-pleasing landmarks. But I was hoping they could have provided more space on the journey to maybe lesser-known local favorites.
Many of the locations featured are freely accessible, making this book a sort of guide to these treasures and an invitation to go out there and explore the world — or your own backyard.
Of the 40 outdoor artworks, exactly half are solely represented in Europe; 11 in the Americas; and six in Asia and Oceania.
The only highlighted work in an Arab country was Qatar, and merely three in the whole of Africa, two of which were in South Africa, and one in Morocco. Surely there are ample other examples which exist in these very vast areas.
While a good collection, I was hoping we could have seen some art represented in the other remaining continents to round it up — but perhaps we need to get some ‘good’ outdoor art to those places. And then perhaps another book to document that, too.
In the meantime, this is an outdoor art guide worth exploring.
