apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Butterflies remind me of Mariah Carey. No can do.

The effect is beautiful and its really his mounting mechanism that is the stroke of genius, stems of thin metal to provide movement.

I wasn't going to say the exact same thing but I remember that from another time (not who said it, but it was an instant meta-association). I like butterflies sometimes, but they're twee, and they're also bugs. This is a good idea if expanded to other interesting shapes that are neither twee nor bugs.

I'll say something again, because this article has pictures of everything instead of having to click through all the thumbnails - why do you have it this way (preferable) sometimes and the other way (annoying) other times? I hate clicking all the damn thumbnails, so if it's all the same, just post the pictures in the fashion this article is posted in. Thanks.

The black butterflies on the tan textured wall is more heebie-jeebie than the others.

it's gorgeous but it also makes me itchy.

There is nothing "twee" about the work of Paul Villiski; check out his website, and the butterfly installations there -- stunning.

Not twee at all. Absolutely stunning, in fact. Twee would be three or five, with rainbow colors. A flock of these, artfully placed to evoke movement and lightness, and done essentially as silhouettes ... is lovely.

And they are insects, not bugs. Bugs are a distinct thing (and cute).

I beleive we had one of his installations in a room of a recent SF Decorator Showhouse - and they were beautiful.

Butterflies remind me of caterpillars, spring days, milkweed, Pacific Grove, a hand-painted china teacup that I gave my Mom for Mother's Day when I was a little boy...
...and Neiman Marcus shopping bags.

I find these displays, be they birds, bees, butterflies or something else, to be really annoying. Too much clutter and visually irritating. Given how often I'm seeing them, I am clearly in the minority in this opinion. This kind of display is replacing antlers/mounted animal heads as the popular new design trend. I hope it wears itself out quickly.

I agree that these are not at all twee. While I have certainly seen my share of twee butterfly decor, this is on a whole other level - especially when you consider the concept behind it. Beautiful.

I'm sorry, I think butterflies are like the valentine heart that dots the i in animal. In swarms like these installations, also creepy. Butterflies don't know they're cuter than moths. That is my reaction, you cannot sway me! My reaction may not apply to you!

I looked at his other art, it's ok by me!

Lovely and delicate. I'd go for this in a heartbeat.

Do you really want to dust these?

The black ones are The Birds-ish, but the others are lovely.

I love the gold!

And agree with KTG about thumbnails sucking. This post is so much more pleasant to read because I don't have to click on every pick and then back through.

Whoops. Meant "pic"

Dust? oh ha ha. Srsly.

I would like to see how he makes these, but I suppose that's his secret. But I'm gonna go cut up a 7Up can now.

Rather reminiscent of Yorgos Kypris's work, though he also does fish and birds: http://www.matiartgallery.com/index.php?id=635

i like the creepy black ones

I love the concept, but definitely overdid butterfly decor years ago. Sad, b/c I'd like to like these unfettered. But I could see doing it DIY (M?) with schools of fish or leaves, as though they are blowing about in wind.

Ohhh.. yeah, the more I think of it, I like the idea of leaves like this. Blown along the baseboard in swirls? I could get behind that.

I think these were installed in Shigeru Ban's Furniture House in Sagaponac: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/look/look-revisiting-shigeru-bans-sagaponac-furniture-house-077599

(the link to the original Telegraph article doesn't seem to be working right now, but if you follow it, there's a photo of the butterflies installed on one of the plywood walls)

Thumbnails are a big ole thumbs down. Thanks for bringing it up!

Hate thumbnails.

For some reason the butterflies aren't all that bad and I am so not into twee.

I hate the thumbnails too. They interrupt the reading. Very annoying.

Oh and... maybe it's just me, but my head exploded by the differentiation of insect and bug... isn't bug the colloquial term for insect? jeje it's late, I should go to sleep.

From the Wikipedia disambiguation page for the word "bug":

An insect of the order Hemiptera, also known as the "true bugs". (Older taxonomies identify a suborder, Heteroptera.)

Any arthropod (excepting most crustaceans); includes insects, but also non-insects such as spiders and centipedes

Some people are interested in the difference and some people just categorize them in the interest of efficiency rather than ignorance and perhaps a negative association with all of them, any of them. It's not conversational to list all the classifications of 6-2000 legged things or list the things I don't like about their chitin, mandibles, or antennae I don't want to touch or use for decoration, especially when they are installed in a swarm formation and sway when it gets breezy, and probably make a shussy, whispery, spine-chilling sound when they're all shaking at once.

was this who did the black butterly installation at the philadelphia art museum (thats now gone...so sad) did anyone see that this summer? an entire room absolutely covered with swarming butterflies, soaring up the the super high ceilings and escaping up the adjoining stairway. it was pretty maginificent, i watched them take it down slowly too. like the trees lose their leaves in fall.

There is no way that he is getting that level of detail from a pair of even the finest tin snips. I'm guessing laser-cut.

Actually, I'm recreating this project right now and I haven't even needed tin snips! I was shopping online for jeweler's tin snips when I though - oh hell, I'll just try using regular scissors and see what happens. Worst happens, I waste a beer can. Turns out The material used to make coke and beer cans is almost as easy to cut as paper! I'm getting amazing detail! It's a little time-consuming, but I've got thirty butterflies now. I just do it in my down time while the tv is on. I haven't painted them yet, but the silver on the top side and the colors on the underside actually looks really neat and I've gotten so many compliments on the way they look mounted with just a little bit of tacky flying across the large mirror in my living room. Had a request to make some for other people too!

YOU GO, thatjessicagirl! Yes, aluminum beer cans are easily cut out, though something of this scale is clearly a time consumer. A range of comments never fails to crack me up! HOW ARE THE CUT-OUTS ATTACHED TO THE WALL??? I'm really lost here, help please. It's an unconventional idea with loads of possibilities that lends itself to limitless interpretation, and goes from so elegant (as illustrated) to fun. What I really like about this idea is the shadow-play, which could be left to shift in natural sunlight if available in the space, or easily manipulated.