Citymonsters – Overview
The Citymonsters introduced by O*GE Interactive is a bottom-up project to introduce fresh character design and positive energy to the city. But what is it ? And how did it start ? Here the answers and a brief overview:
The project website: www.citymonsters.co.il The Facebook Monster Group: www.facebook.com/citymonsters.co.il A map of all the monsters in Haifa 2009 you can find on our Citymonsters Google Maps here
"One day, in the peek of the financial crisis, we were sitting in a Cafe in Haifa, we noticed that everybody is somehow looking down, being worried about future, job, money and how life will go on. – We thought immediately: Something has to happen, people have to cheer and look up – So the idea of citymonsters was born …"
>> Monster face Sticker on Sewage covers
"We are not alone, monsters are among us. Seeing our worried and sour faces daily, they have decided to act: to leave their places and to become visible – to surprise us, to catch a smile, to scare us, to tickle us, to remind us on the meaning of being human with its whole range of human emotions"
" So slowly slowly the monsters appeared from down, because down is always a good place to start with …"
>> Graffiti monsters in Haifa's streets. for more please click here
"From the sewage pipes and hundreds of eye stickers on garbage cans, dozens of graffiti monsters started to appear on walls, always on their mission to catch a smile…"
>> Graffiti monsters in Haifa's streets. for more please click here
"While the first graffities were created undercover at night, the next monsters appeared during day time, allowing interaction with the artists and the people on the streets. However, the police took the interaction level quiet serious and started to arrest the artists on a regular basis, although all walls had been permitted by the municipality… At the end, thanks to the weekly intervention of the vice mayor, all artists had been successfully released and the work continued …"
>> Graffiti monsters in Haifa's streets. for more please click here
"Those monsters have been created as a joint project by all Haifa Graffiti Groups, which set their daily rivalry aside and joint in together to create the biggest graffiti boost in Haifa ever. Additionally a new joint venture has been developed: people collected private funds to realize more graffities in their neighborhoods."
>> Monster Greetings on cabs
"Soon the monsters hi-jacked cabs and busses, driving through Haifa City and metropolin area, waving for attention"
>> Monster Parade at Kikar Sefer, Haifa. for more please click here
"Other monsters got dizzy from driving around endlessly and found a new strategy: In famous locations such as city squares they have been waiting for their "victims". Like here in Kikar Sefer, a giant monster head and a demonstration of more than 80 monsters up to 3 m high behind have been creating a daily traffic chaos: All kids were forcing their parents to drive in circles around the monsters, so they would not miss any."
>> The world's only official Monster Tube. for more please click here
"Other monsters have been settling down in the carmelit, one of the smallest subway systems in the world, turning it into a monster subway. More than 120 monsters, designed by graphic artists from all over the world, are occupying the walls of all five stations, interacting with the waiting passengers. Once entering the train, one can simply sit down and enjoy a fantastic monster trip …"
>> The world's only official Monster Tube. for more please click here
"The monsters were printed as 2m large stickers and pasted on the walls all over"
>> The 3-eyed-cable car monster. for more please click here
"Other urban icons have been also turned into monsters, such as the Haifa Cable Car – once called the Gurell Balls (after Haifa's mayor in the 80s) – now a Three Eyed Monster, hovering over the slopes of the carmel mountain. Who would not like to come an ride that eye-balls ?"
>> The Big Mouth at Gan Haem. for more please click here
"Other city elements got jeleous and demanded to be turned into monsters too. So one juicy monster night, we felt like caries and bactus, giving the stage at Gan Haem its teeth and tongue. Being now a giant mouth, the monster looks forward to receive proposals for advertising contracts from famous tooth paste companies )"
>> Monster Movie Screening. for more please click here
"Monster Clips – How to organize public Screenings ? Very simple: 1.Choose a road / pedestrian zone 2. layout some red carpet and place comfortable seating elements 3. Install a projector and 4. screen fantastic monster movies provided generously by pictoplasma, Berlin …"
>> A day with Tico. for more please click here
"Tico, the logo of the whole project (designed by Tituz Leibing) joint people from Haifa for days to report how life in Haifa is: he was partying his 4th birthday at a kindergarden, got the honor to be Av Shabat, was preparing cookies with kids, joint campings … and became a senior lecturer at Haifa University. Days of unlimited fun"
>> Eco Monster Design Workshops. for more please click here
"After the success of the Urim School Project – My Hero – we have also joined schools into the monster project. At Fichman School, Haifa, we have held a Monster Design Workshop – children at the age of 11 and 12 years have created fantastic monsters out of broken toys, old kitchen utensils and other left overs. We and the monsters love Recycling! "
>> The Monster Game. for more please click here
"The most interactive element of the project is the Monster Game. 80 Super cool Monsters have been created by Haifa citizens of all ages, each one of them truly a masterpiece and collectible object. Each monster has a name, a description of powers and a personal message to the finder. The Game monsters are based on kidrobot's Munny"
>> The Monster Game. for more please click here
"For more than 3 months, each week six monsters have been hidden in various locations in Haifa. On the monsters website, you could see what the monster sees. If you recognize and know the place, run and try to find the monster. If you are the lucky finder, then the monster is entirely yours !!! Just give us a call, post an image of you with the munny in our facebook group – and you are the lucky owner of a super cool and unique monster!"
>> The Monster Game. for more please click here
"Whatever we anticipated, reality proved differently. The Game originally designed for kids, so they could find the monsters with their families, relaxed and in their own pace; attracted from day one lots of ambitious monster hunters. Organized in groups, equipped with GPS, wireless laptops, iphones and google maps, they left almost no chance for the kids. Every location has been discovered within a two hours. Amazing how the people know the city!!!"
>> The Monster Game. for more please click here
"The Citymonsters Project has taken place all over Haifa, no neighborhood, where the monsters did not appear. have a look at the map, it was simply gorgeous"
>> Outlook to the next round
"The project is concepted as an annual project. Currently we are planning already the next year. Bigger, Better, Cooler and much more interactive. Hopefully the beginning of a legacy. 2009 Haifa, 2010 maybe your city? Thanks so much to all the contributing artists !!!"
Gaston & Merav
