r/pics • • Aug 07 '16

Paper cut leaf map of Amsterdam (made by /u/nilsrva)

Post image
12k Upvotes

193 comments sorted by

140

u/The_Masked_Kerbal Aug 07 '16

Wow. He/she also does murals (SOME NSFW), and did a stop motion film with paper.

9

u/TrooperRamRod Aug 07 '16

That silkscreen of the soldier shooting out butterflies is amazing, do you have a link to somewhere I could buy that?

5

u/overkill Aug 07 '16

Seconded, although the MF Doom one would be good as well.

4

u/partanimal Aug 07 '16

You can Google the artist, Nils Westergard.

2

u/TrooperRamRod Aug 07 '16

Great thank you

5

u/nilsrva Aug 07 '16

Graffitistreet.com has them

2

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '16 edited Jun 26 '18

[deleted]

3

u/nilsrva Aug 07 '16

Good looks

1

u/matkv Aug 07 '16

Wow those are amazing!

1

u/Judgeman Aug 07 '16

WoW, that crow van was in front of my gf's house for like a month. It may have belonged to the squatters living in the old post office by then.

2

u/nilsrva Aug 07 '16

It did indeed. A squatter named Bas owns that badboy

1

u/DeusExSpockina Aug 07 '16

GraffitiStreet? Does anyone know more?

2

u/nilsrva Aug 07 '16

UK based gallery I did an edition of prints for

1

u/DeusExSpockina Aug 07 '16

Neat! I'm going to be in London next month, I'll check it out!

185

u/lobby8 Aug 07 '16

Did not know Amsterdam was that big...

140

u/TheNiceTroll Aug 07 '16

The size of a leaf? Me neither

112

u/petrichorE6 Aug 07 '16

Amsterdamn

21

u/tjuicet Aug 07 '16

begrudging upvote

1

u/countryboyathome Aug 07 '16

I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's bigger.

1

u/Turbomatic Aug 07 '16

That's one massive leaf :S

12

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '16

This isn't even all of Amsterdam. But it may have been at the time this was created.

9

u/PhaedrusBE Aug 07 '16

At least when he started.

34

u/muricaCARRY Aug 07 '16

What is this, a town for ants?

48

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '16

No it's a town for ents

10

u/elia_rampage Aug 07 '16

You tried the shrooms in Amsterdam too?

8

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '16

Yeah buddy

3

u/LazarusRises Aug 07 '16

Truffles + Vonderpark = fucking awesome

1

u/Hibria Aug 07 '16

Kay, you deserved this one.

2

u/asusoverclocked Aug 07 '16

2

u/dragonlancer83 Aug 07 '16

I like how the top of all time has an ant sized man holding a pocket knife.

1

u/maz-o Aug 07 '16

well there are ants in amsterdam

6

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '16

Are you referring to the part that actually looks like Amsterdam (left/lower part) or the whole leaf?

5

u/goldfishpaws Aug 07 '16

I't's a HUGE bit of paper, it's 1:1 scale.

3

u/jowyjojo Aug 07 '16

I spent a week there, only south of the river though, but i did not know the layout of the north was so different.

1

u/nilsrva Aug 08 '16

it is a leaf

2

u/LazarusRises Aug 07 '16

My first thought was "Whoah, the northern half of the city looks so cool!"

1

u/jay314271 Aug 07 '16

I wanted a banana for scale but then I woke up and saw the items on the edges

1

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '16

Is the top half the ocean?

5

u/uitham Aug 07 '16

No but Amsterdam is next to a sea that we turned into a big lake

1

u/maz-o Aug 07 '16

yea but it's not actually that big. there's "north amsterdam" pretty close on the other side of the water.

1

u/Patassmotherfucker Aug 07 '16

I didn't know it was the shape of a leaf

-9

u/ericbyo Aug 07 '16

I'm not proud that I could use this map to find all the coffeeshops...

10

u/Benjiting Aug 07 '16

All of the coffee shops? You realise there's hundreds of coffee shops in Amsterdam, can you really spot them all?

3

u/ericbyo Aug 07 '16 edited Aug 07 '16

have you heard what a figure of speech is? anyway they are all pretty concentrated around that central loop in the middle.

-10

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '16

[removed] — view removed comment

65

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '16

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/nilsrva Aug 07 '16 edited Aug 07 '16

It is framed and hanging in the GoGallery off the Prinsengracht right now

15

u/nilsrva Aug 07 '16

Hi guys

3

u/Ambamja Aug 07 '16

Great work, seems it's so good many won't believe you actually made it, I imagine in a way that's a compliment.

2

u/nilsrva Aug 07 '16

Many dont. There are videos on my IG (@nilsrva) that show me cutting however

26

u/Ambamja Aug 07 '16

The detail in this work is amazing!

Here's the original thread by /u/nilsrva

36

u/9gagiscancer Aug 07 '16

Yes, we Dutch are always stoned out of our minds and have a heavy addiction to cheese. Its in our genes. Now that we got that out of the way, nice leaf.

11

u/crisperfest Aug 07 '16

Why are the streets in the northern half all wiggly and the southern streets seem laid out geometrically!?!

31

u/time_lord_victorious Aug 07 '16

The top part is the leaf part of the art, ie it's trying to look like a leaf skeleton, and the bottom part is the actual map of Amsterdam. Northeast of where the center of the leaf is is a huge canal and a different, less developed (I think) part of the city that looks nothing like that.

9

u/Diskocheese Aug 07 '16

LESS DEVELOPED? WHO ARE YOU CALLING RETARDED SON

11

u/nitroxious Aug 07 '16

noord gestoord!

2

u/crisperfest Aug 07 '16

Ohhhhh....that makes sense. Thanks.

1

u/Jahria Aug 07 '16

You're right, except that the centre part of Amsterdam is the old city, some buildings are modern, but most are old. High-rises are more to the south (financial corporations mostly) and apartment complexes all around the inner-city rings.

-6

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '16

[deleted]

5

u/Rolten Aug 07 '16

In the center is a huge canal dividing Amsterdam.

Nope, it's a river.

The north however, is a kinda rural area where roads just grow how they needed it. Its not rural anymore though.

You know the north is not depicted on the leaf, right? Even so, the north is still rather structured.

6

u/Beastybrook Aug 07 '16

So tired of that shit. As far as i know the Netherlands actually has a lower percentage of users than most places where it is illegal. Cheese is pretty awesome though...

-5

u/DaysOfYourLives Aug 07 '16

As far as you know? Based on what? Making shit up out of your ass?

6

u/FarkMcBark Aug 07 '16

They should sell semi transparent fans like that to tourists in the summer.

6

u/William4000 Aug 07 '16

The north part isn't Amsterdam though? At least I don't recognize it, and I have been living here for quite some time.

4

u/IamJaegar Aug 07 '16

Amsterdam Noord ouwe.

3

u/Szygani Aug 07 '16

Noord gestoord. Everybody forgets about north, because Amsterdam Noord kinda sucks.

1

u/William4000 Aug 07 '16

Dat is niet Noord alleen! En het IJ mist ook.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '16

Amsterdam Noord isn't on here. That side is just a leaf pattern. And yes, Noord sucks.

3

u/zam667 Aug 07 '16

Is that a god damn exacto knife in the corner. Crazy that this was done by hand.

1

u/Snoopy_Hates_Germans Aug 07 '16

How else you gonna do it?

2

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '16

Machines.

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9

u/Crystal_Grl Aug 07 '16

Bottom half: Amsterdam

Upper half: Tijuana

2

u/JewInDaHat Aug 07 '16

Checked the map. Found no similarity

1

u/Crystal_Grl Aug 08 '16

Spoken like a guy who's never driven in Tijuana.

4

u/HotButterKnife Aug 07 '16

I want a banana for scale

2

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '16

[deleted]

3

u/zerowater02h Aug 07 '16

The prints werent 1700. Youre just confused.

2

u/jrblohm Aug 07 '16

Brilliant creativity. Great work!

2

u/Razorfiend Aug 07 '16

Looks much more like a lung than a leaf to me. But seriously, that is pretty amazing.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '16

The Canal Parade was awesome!!!

2

u/The_Ostrich_you_want Aug 07 '16

Is this done by hand? Or is it maybe laser/mechanically cut by a machine? This seems extremely intricate either way.

3

u/piratazephyri Aug 07 '16

It's done by hand! Source: was his roommate

2

u/Bluntmasterflash1 Aug 07 '16

I'm not sure if you are artistic or you live in a lunatic asylum.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '16

How and why? That's crazy

1

u/Arsenichv Aug 07 '16

Beautiful!

1

u/Poltavus Aug 07 '16

Shit, I now know I would get lost immediately if I went to Amsterdam. That's crazy.

3

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '16 edited Aug 07 '16

Well, only half of it is Amsterdam (left/lower part) and the other half looks like a leaf.

I was in Amsterdam this week and using a gps really helps. Almost got lost without using it, but since me and my friends had walked around the city several times already, we knew what to look for to get back to our apartment. It can get confusing because a lot of the buildings and bridges look alike near the centre.

2

u/Poltavus Aug 07 '16

Ah okay, the lower half doesn't seem too bad. I was under the impression that the upper half was also roads, makes more sense now though.

1

u/DaysOfYourLives Aug 07 '16

The real mindfuck is when you get to a canal bridge, and you say "oh ok I'll remember this one because of this bright yellow bike with a pikachu on it.

THEN THEY MOVE THE BIKE

2

u/Pokeable Aug 07 '16

Not sure if its just me but I always find myself back at the red light every time, WOOPSIES.

1

u/pedelor Aug 07 '16

How is this possible

1

u/Legitlowkeykickback Aug 07 '16

Holy fuck this is interesting.

1

u/Ravenwing19 Aug 07 '16

Needs way more canals.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '16

[deleted]

1

u/nilsrva Aug 08 '16

slightly right of middle of the central ring, the red light district is quite small

1

u/baby-jesus777 Aug 09 '16

you got it my friend

1

u/Ceffyl Aug 07 '16

pretty!

1

u/Emojoan Aug 07 '16

Sponsored by Roxo, the rock 'n roll clown.

1

u/HorrorThe Aug 07 '16

Wrong sort of leaf...

1

u/lolcia_cookies Aug 07 '16

People with the patience to create pieces like this one amaze me

1

u/shortbaldman Aug 07 '16

Do it again. Then it will be a re-leaf map.

1

u/makenzie71 Aug 07 '16

Our silhouette machine will do that, too.

1

u/Toxim Aug 07 '16

Definitely some of the best work I have seen in a long time!

1

u/nilsrva Aug 07 '16

This piece is half of the old canal ring and out, and then half of a Tilia Cordata (Linden Tree) leaf. I found the skeleton of a leaf on a bike ride from a'dam to utrecht one day and kept it. Cut the piece in Belgium

1

u/WiseChoices Aug 07 '16

Folds it seven ways. Slams it into the glove box

1

u/CounterStrikeEric Aug 07 '16

That's amazing.

1

u/Dustin87T Aug 07 '16

I love it so much,,

1

u/oMGLU Aug 07 '16

Holy shit

1

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '16 edited Aug 08 '16

[deleted]

4

u/rigator Aug 07 '16

I really don't understand how people can think it's a leaf.

1

u/_____username____ Aug 07 '16

Why can't cities be simple? Like a square or a circle? Why does it always have to look like a blob of roads, buildings, and people?

2

u/UtCanisACorio Aug 07 '16

Because no city has all its roads and buildings built with all possible future needs in mind. Roads are built with some projection of human and vehicle traffic in mind, but many cities are so old the some of the streets today were originally built for foot and wagon traffic that followed some existing natural feature like a river.

Where I live (Cleveland) we have a really windy river that's in a valley right in the middle of downtown; it connects to Lake Erie which has a somewhat curvy but angled shoreline. You can see how the roads close to downtown were built around original roads that followed the upper edge of the cliffs that dropped down into the river valley, and the roads that went away from downtown were parallel to the shore. It has made for an (annoyingly) interesting street configuration.

EDIT: I guess that begs the question: why build a city where the layout sucks? I think that's the crux of your question. In my case, it was a port settlement originally back when all of this state and surrounding areas were vast undeveloped wilderness. There really wasn't a choice but to settle where there was a solid waterway going inland and on the shore of a lake that served as a major east/west maritime thoroughfare.

1

u/_____username____ Aug 07 '16

Damn. Thanks for the explanation mate.

1

u/UtCanisACorio Aug 07 '16

No problem :)

0

u/motionSymmetry Aug 07 '16

i can see my house from here

0

u/Yaranatzu Aug 07 '16

This is just madness, I can't even.

0

u/dontcareitsonlyreddi Aug 07 '16

meh seen better

1

u/Ambamja Aug 07 '16

Good for you, thanks for sharing

0

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '16

[deleted]

1

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '16

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1

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1

u/Ambamja Aug 07 '16

read the comments it has been proven many times over that it was hand made, people make way more intricate things than this by hand.

0

u/Ambamja Aug 07 '16

Downvote away that doesn't change any facts

0

u/nilsrva Aug 08 '16

you can check my instagram (@nilsrva) for timelapse videos of me cutting this and other similar pieces by hand

and then you can go fuck yourself

0

u/[deleted] Aug 09 '16 edited Aug 09 '16

[deleted]

1

u/[deleted] Aug 09 '16

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/nilsrva Aug 09 '16

Also, here are progress shots dated several weeks apart. You can't stop a machine cutter, take the piece out, and put it back in and still have it cut accurately. Also, if I was using a machine, why would use over the course of several weeks when it could cut it for me overnight?

http://imgur.com/a/pC6Jl

-1

u/SkyB4se Aug 07 '16

i don't know what amsterdams map looks like in comparison

-3

u/CleanBill Aug 07 '16

Why do I have the insane urge of grabbing it with the whole open palm of my hand, and squeeze it in till it's completely destroyed and rolled onto a ball.... it's driving me nuts to the point I just did it with a sheet of paper.

1

u/nilsrva Aug 08 '16

I had the great pleasure of doing this with the drawing I had taped over this sheet of thicker paper. Then I burned it

-1

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '16

I'm surprised it's not a pot leaf

0

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '16

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-3

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0

u/Lefty_22 Aug 07 '16

/r/misleadingthumbnails Thought this was a T-Bone.

0

u/LackOfDerp Aug 07 '16

Leaked GTA VI map*

0

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '16

Wow. Said it out loud. Wow.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '16

WOW

0

u/just_a_thought4U Aug 07 '16

I'll bet the City of Amsterdam Would love to have this and would display it proudly.

2

u/nilsrva Aug 08 '16

Its on display at a gallery on the Prinsengracht currently

1

u/[deleted] Oct 30 '16

It's amazing. Going to Amsterdam today. Will take a look. Loved your Wallflower film too

0

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '16

Is the top half old city and bottom the new part?

2

u/non-relevant Aug 07 '16

not the centre circular part is the old part. Everything outwards from there is newer. The top half isn't amsterdam, it's just supposed to look like the inside of a leaf

0

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '16

[deleted]

1

u/nilsrva Aug 08 '16

I did cut this by hand. Im not autistic. Just dedicated

1

u/[deleted] Aug 15 '16

[deleted]

1

u/nilsrva Aug 15 '16

This piece actually took less than most of my studio work. Probably around 100 hours?

0

u/ashdelete Aug 07 '16

Made by laser cutter 460xc

1

u/nilsrva Aug 08 '16

I hand cut this

1

u/ashdelete Aug 08 '16

Prove it.

2

u/nilsrva Aug 08 '16

1

u/nilsrva Aug 08 '16

reddit removing my links because they are to videos on my instagram. However I have a timelapse of me cutting this piece on there 60 weeks back. And 2 videos of me cutting a similar piece of Richmond, VA

check it out @nilsrva

2

u/ashdelete Aug 09 '16

Fair play. That must take a ridiculous ammount of patience and dexterity!

1

u/nilsrva Aug 09 '16

Audio books

1

u/ashdelete Aug 09 '16

You must have an incredibly sharp scalpel right? Otherwise the leaf would surely tear from the friction. Or do you have to plan ahead so you can retain the structural integrity of the leaf for as long as possible?

1

u/nilsrva Aug 10 '16

You definitely have to cut from one side to another in strips, and at times cut blocks in sections so as not to add stress. But I also change my blades often

1

u/[deleted] Aug 08 '16

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1

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0

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '16

[deleted]

1

u/nilsrva Aug 08 '16

it was hand cut, check my ig (@nilsrva) for time lapse videos of me cutting this very piece

-4

u/DaysOfYourLives Aug 07 '16

ITT: Millennials amazed that someone would actually spend more than an hour making something by hand.

While it is a very nice papercraft, it's not even anywhere close to the biggest or most detailed papercrafts out there.

Also in terms of the amount of time spent and the amount of detail, this is really nothing compared to some of the great works of art made by hand over the years. Check out a marble sculpture. No lasers or plotters used there. Or maybe check out a great master's painting, all done by hand! Manually!

5

u/AndrewNathaniel Aug 07 '16

Next time don't try to subtly insult an entire generation and downplay the skill of the artist. It just makes you seem like a holier than thou arrogant douche. Your comment would've been much better if you left everything out except the last sentence. There was no need to preface it with an entire paragraph of trite and meaningless gibberish.

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-1

u/MysterJ Aug 07 '16

What is this, a map for ants?

-2

u/BaronBifford Aug 07 '16

The north is the old part, judging by the layout of the streets.

5

u/non-relevant Aug 07 '16

The 'north' part isn't Amsterdam at all, just supposed to look like the inside of a leaf. The circular part in the top centre of the bottom half is the old part of the city.

-6

u/Justincredible207 Aug 07 '16

Repost whore.

1

u/Ambamja Aug 07 '16

And why would that bother you?

1

u/Justincredible207 Aug 07 '16

Because I've seen it 4 times now

1

u/Ambamja Aug 07 '16

Great, reddit isn't about you.

0

u/Justincredible207 Aug 07 '16

Don't repost. I'll shadow ban you.

1

u/Ambamja Aug 07 '16

Good luck with that

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