A rt Underfoot: Manhole Covers as Urban Art WORDS + DESIGN VICTORIA STEPHENS PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY EUGENE PRINTMAKERS
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The history of the movement began in Japan. Yasutake Kameda, a government employee, is credited with the idea of creating artistic manhole covers as a public relations decision to popularize the modernizing of the country's sewer system in 1985. Japan is the continuing leader in this art form, as they paint the tops of the customized 80 pound cast iron lids with brightly colored resin paint. The grooves and crevices of the designs are filled with care. Most of the cities in Japan have their own designs with more than 12,000 total unique images. These include famous buildings, cartoon characters, sports, and elements of nature among many other things.
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ecorative manhole covers are a trending international urban art form. These cast iron lids function to provide access to underground pipes and utilities for repair and maintenance. But throughout the world, the art of manhole cover designs has a devoted cult following. Manhole cover enthusiasts, known as 'manholers', photograph, gather, trade memorabilia, sell and purchase swag. Manholers form a special group of tourists that hunt and explore for new designs, which are often logged by GPS coordinates. Books, websites, and films have been dedicated entirely to this art form, and there are even manhole cover festivals, conventions, and seminars. Artists worldwide document, photograph, ogle, make rubbings and prints of the creative and unique designs found in these mundane elements of daily life. Each geographic location has its own brand that marks its region. Designs on the top of the covers vary from place to place. Often they convey stories of what is important to the history or culture of people of that city, what they are known for and what they value. In the US and locally - Many major cities include region-specific designs. For example, Tampa, Florida, has old-time sailing ships and fish; Seattle, Washington, has maps of the city, spiders, flowers and tribal designs, and Detroit, Michigan, has a hand holding the sun. In Oregon and throughout the Pacific Northwest salmon are a popular sewer lid design, including many places in Eugene.
A Berlin-based group of printmakers known as 'Raubdruckerin’ or ‘Print Pirates’ travel throughout the major cities of Europe making prints of various sewer lids. The manhole cover designs are transferred to clothing, bags and other goods, which sell to an international market. Among the dozens of cities are Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Berlin, Budapest, Copenhagen, Madrid, Paris, Rome, and Vienna. Spring 2021 | The Bleed | Volume 12
Last year, the Eugene Printmakers, a group of local print-based artists, received a grant from the City of Eugene to create art using designs found in public spaces. The purpose of the project was to encourage the public during the prolonged pandemic quarantine by bringing a part of the city to them. From August through December, artists with Eugene Printmakers engaged in this urban art venture
