the big art clean up – ursus wehrli

by Jen Bayne
September 27, 2011
110 comments
design, photography

Swiss artist Ursus Wehrli has gone to extreme lengths to clean up art. In his upcoming book The Art of Clean Up Wehrli embarks upon a tedious mission to make the messy tidy; he even tackles famous paintings by Pollock and Van Gogh in a bid to clean them up (see the video below). And I thought that I was a tidy person…

Can’t get enough? Check out this blog, Things Organized Neatly.

Here’s Wehrli giving a TED talk:

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Blogging about art, architecture and design that tickle my fancy.

110 thoughts on “the big art clean up – ursus wehrli”

  2. Jean says:

    Ha,sometimes,to be native is more lovely:)
    How do you think of it?So cute…thank you.

  4. RaymondRaymond Soretire says:

    OMG! that’s awesome! Makes me think and look at everyday stuff from a completely different perspective….especially, when next I’m about to eat….whaoh! Great job indeed!

  7. larosson says:

    I don’t know if you have a Tumblr account, but there is a blog on there called ‘Things Organised Neatly’ and it contains hundreds of images just like those above. I sometimes find myself feeling claustrophobic just contemplating the time it must have taken to organise the things in such a way, if that makes sense. Very interesting, though!

  11. Nastasja says:

    Omg, this is so perfect!
    Fabulous idea, made me laugh and think of it. Keep up the good work!
    Greets.

  19. adpraisal says:

    The art of being tidy, my granny would absolutely love this! She always used to go on how being messy is not clever..

  20. DoF@theinfill says:

    Worryingly pleasing images. Thanks for sharing this, though now I’m a bit edgy when I look at things randomly or artistically placed and wonder if I should be doing something about them 🙂
    (His presentation style makes him seem a bit like Victor Borge)
    Great post!

  28. tarotworldtour says:

    What an interesting way to look at compartmentalization. I often do this to see the volume of what I am taking in, whether it be food or information.

    It’s great to see more and more zany work coming out of artists in Europe. In Asia, it is just a mad dash to acquire the most valuable pieces and separate the forgeries from the authentic, as I discovered when having to help write a letter of provenance to Sotheby’s (London salesroom) this summer.

  29. Lalissa Singson says:

    Awesome! 🙂 Patterns, lines, everything!

    lalissasingson.wordpress.com

  31. niasunset says:

    This is amazing. Fascinated me. Congratulations on being Freshly Pressed. And Thank you for this great post, how nice to meet with you. With my love, nia

  32. INTOFORM says:

    Thanks for all your comments guys! I have a great follow-up post planned for tomorrow along the same theme….stay tuned and keep tidying 🙂

  33. aparisi13 says:

    As someone with a rockin’ closet case of ocd, my breath caught in my throat when I scrolled through these images and I thought; “this is how things are intended to be”…sigh. I wish my whole life was neatly organized and packed into a small cigarette box of love. Excellent post, I will obsessively look at these paradigms of neatness and dream of a brighter future. whoop whoop!

  34. RiverUnderWater says:

    This is one of my favorite things right now. I have seen it already, however, I don’t ,mind seeing it again. Usually I get bored easy, especially with modern art. Maybe this is just a warning I have OCD………

  35. 12vanblart says:

    Not even kidding, at first, I thought that he was actually making the stuff organized like that… then i got to the one with the starts 😛

  38. idreamofeden says:

    This post is visually and mentally stimulating. What a creative approach! Congratulations on being freshly pressed!

  45. A Poor Reflection says:

    Hilarious! Finally someone I can relate with. Did anyone notice he seemed to be having trouble breathing until he tidied everything up? Thanks for the awesome work Wehrli, we can all breathe a little better with things in their proper place. Thanks for the post!

  46. Patty says:

    Oh, wow, I saw some of these on Things Organized Neatly [http://thingsorganizedneatly.tumblr.com/]! I’ve had that site bookmarked (under “Eye Candy”) for a few months now, and I check it out whenever I can. It’s practically therapy for me.

    They remind me of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot somehow. Haha! Congrats on getting Freshly Pressed!

  59. kjpgarcia says:

    This is what I’m talking about. I love this kind of art. I like the notion of organization. I was just talking to a friend about this guy’s approach to art it’s rather insightful.

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  67. yagerbabies says:

    I love this! Is it done by computer? Or did some one sit down and organise that soup stuff? I’m fascinated by this concept, how cool thank you 😀

  68. jamieahughes says:

    Wow! As a neat freak, every inch of this blog appeals to me. I think my favorite is the photo of the cars arranged by size and color!

  74. Scarlet DeBloyce says:

    Wonderful idea, I wonder if he is a virgo with that sort of meticulous artistry?

  75. srqpix says:

    I really liked this post and I am also a fan of Things Organized Neatly but I don’t like The show Monk…that guy was creepy!

  76. mmgoodsongs says:

    How interesting? It always amazes me when I see some new way of looking at things. Where does that come from …..creativity is boundless….and we need it now more than ever. Thanks for sharing.

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  88. gaycarboys says:

    I write about cars so I loved the carpark shot. I have a friend who is obsessive about cleaning so this isn’t as far fetched as it seems. Thanks for the great post.

    • K.L.Richardson says:

      Just what I was thinking! Reminds me of Adrian Monk, the detective with OCD. Wonderful images though…sort of “Creativity: The Prequel”

  95. You As A Machine says:

    Glad to have recently found you via Freshly Pressed. You got me hooked with this post, enjoyed the video clip and had a laugh showing the post to my kids…who got a kick out of it too. I will enjoy exploring your site in more detail in the future.
    As a result I have nominated you for the Versatile Blogger Award. Congratulations! Go to this post to claim. http://youasamachine.com/blog/

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  101. afterglow76 says:

    stunning photos and a really great concept, love the mixture of scales from the everyday to grandiose.

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