BASEL, Part 2, An Artsy City

The very first picture I took in Basel was of this piece of graffiti in a door jamb:

Doesn't it look like a Banksy?  (See here, here, and here.)  I think it is. I want it to be.

And what would Banksy be doing in Basel?  Well, Basel is the site of the world's most important international show for modern and contemporary art, Art Basel.  We were in Basel just two weeks before Art Basel 2012, which was held on June 14-17.  During the rest of the year, Basel's many fine galleries host a plethora of exhibitions, including this one by extremely successful American artist Jeff Koons, whose work I have seen at LACMA:

Never heard of him? Do any of these look familiar?

I even wrote about this sculpture in a previous post.

But I digress.  Basel just oozes artsy-ness.  Check out a random sampling of their doors and windows:

My favorite:

Or take a look at a few of their picturesque buildings:

Even their McDonald's has class.  When was the last time you ate your Big Mac under an umbrella in the city square?

I liked this statue on a church wall with the angels holding up a canopy to protect the man riding his horse and wiping his sword on his robe.  Ewww, did he just stab someone with it?  The scene looks too peaceful for that.

Note: See Bob's explanation in the comment section of this post.

This fountain was especially wonderful.  It was filled with moving parts and reminded me of the Stravinsky Fountain in Paris:

Even nature seemed to be putting on her best artistic display.  The sides of the canal were blanketed with beautiful reddish-orange poppies:

Is this graffiti, or is it commissioned art?

How about "das Original Toi Toi."  Much more aesthetically pleasing than "Pat's Pots," which is what I see in California:

My purple rubber phone case just wouldn't be acceptable in Basel:

Even the tiniest of details were fun to look at:

Note how the fountain seems to be spitting on that man in the red shirt.  Oh wait, that's Dear Brother Dave!

I was especially intrigued by this business name:

With a few minor adjustments, such as the addition of a comma and a new last word, this could be a useful sign:

the ship.  or my back.  or his rocker.

Oh well, time to stop daydreaming.  Let's get this cruise on the river!