"Even when they protest, Italians can't help but create something beautiful"

Stunt leaves famed Spanish Steps filled with thousands of multicolored balls

http://www.klewtv.com/news/national/13836217.html

oh my god this is amazing.

ROME (AP) - Hundreds of thousands of brightly colored balls went cascading down Rome's famed Spanish Steps on Wednesday in the latest stunt orchestrated by the man who dyed the waters of the Trevi Fountain red.TV cameras caught organizer Graziano Cecchini and several others emptying bags full of red, green, yellow and blue balls down the 18th-century steps.The balls bounced down the steps, filling the boat-shaped Barcaccia fountain in the piazza below in a spectacle that stunned passers-by, who snapped photos and scooped up the balls as souvenirs.Officials were forced to briefly cordon off the popular tourist spot. Police detained Cecchini and three others, Italian news reports said.


Cecchini, interviewed at the scene, told Italian TV newscast TG5 that he uses "art - if we want to call it art - to stress our malaise."He said half a million balls were deployed.


Street cleaners later shoveled the balls into garbage trucks and hosed down the stairs to remove strays.Following his Trevi Fountain stunt in October, Cecchini was placed under investigation for possible damage to historical or artistic buildings.




This is from Wikipedia (aka GOD):
On January 16th, 2008, Graziano Cecchini, an anarchic artist, covered the steps with hundreds of thousands of multicolored plastic balls. He claimed that it was done to make the world notice the situation of the Karen people in Burma.


I guess each ball "represented a lie told by a politician."


Take it as a politics, take it as rebellion, take it as a day full of color for tourists. I LOVE THIS! Its a statement. Its causing a stir in peoples' days. Its in your face. Its not violence. Its not at the stake of others. Its a big, wonderful, colorful mess. For some it has much deeper meaning & for others its a bit of fun.


& we all know the Carabinieri had a grand old time trying to organize the clean up!




Here are some pictures from the article: