Botticelli's Venus Street Art by Blub
l'arte sa nuotare
art knows how to swim
Florence Italy
2016

http://tianakai.com/2014/12/street-art-florence-interview-with-blub/

There is a new sensation in town and the street art in Florence is flourishing. Italian icons like Dante and Botticelli’s Venus—even Amy Winehouse portraits—are filling our alleys wearing scuba masks as they calmly swim deep down underwater. Who is this artist people ask and what does it mean?
I’m here to share some secrets because first of all this artist likes to remain anonymous. One can never be too sure what gender Blub is, how tall Blub is or what Blub even sounds like.
The cool thing about this is that I may have had an aperitivo next to Blub and not even known it. So, let’s get on with the interview about one of my favorite street artists in Florence!

For several years now, an anonymous street artist, known as Blub, appears to have been making waves in and around Florence with a sub-genre of portraiture that he or she terms “l’arte sa nuotare” (art knows how to swim).
At first glance, these urban portraits appear to show past and present European icons playfully submerged underwater, their famous images still highly recognizable, despite the fact that they are now all portrayed wearing scuba masks.
In an recent interview with Tiana Kai, Blub revealed some of the social and artistic motivations behind these compelling urban portraits.
“I like for people to have their own interpretation of what the scuba masks on these icons mean. For me, I had a vision. Before I paint I normally rely on these visions that appear in my mind. I perform instinctively, which creates the best art. Then maybe I think about the piece and things can further materialize from there. L’arte sa nuotare, meaning art knows how to swim, is about two ways one can live life, like eros and love or life and death. We can choose to be stuck with fear due to the crisis or we can choose to take it as an opportunity to overcome our limitations while being confidence in the future and in our potential. So, even though it seems like we are all underwater it is time to learn how to swim! Renaissance art in Florence is still strong and hides today’s art that is alive and contemporary, so by using icons of the past with diving masks the theme presents a mix between the past and the contemporary world. There is no need to deny the past in order to look at the present, but at least acknowledge it.”



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence

Florence, capital of Italy’s Tuscany region, is home to many masterpieces of Renaissance art and architecture. One of its most iconic sights is the Duomo, a cathedral with a terracotta-tiled dome engineered by Brunelleschi and a bell tower by Giotto. The Galleria dell'Accademia displays Michelangelo’s “David” sculpture. The Uffizi Gallery exhibits Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus” and da Vinci’s “Annunciation.”