If you thought all hotel room art was singularly bland and unimpressive, you might want to check what’s behind that cheesy countryside painting on the wall next time you’re holed up in your hotel room. You just might discover a hidden treasure. As this video shows, enterprising artists are leaving mementos of their talents behind wall hangings in hotel rooms across the world.
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Wall hangings and pictures in hotel rooms are normally affixed with a supposedly fool proof mechanism that ensures the pictures don’t leave when the guests do. That’s not stopping these artists, however. On walls – above the head boards, behind the toilet cistern, behind wall paintings and shower mirrors, even beneath the bed — no inch of hotel room space is spared the artistic talents of these modern impresarios. Artwork varies from pencil sketches of nude women, Van Gogh style sunflowers, abstract forms, and everything in between.
The movement is supposedly the brainchild of Queens of the Stone Age lead musician Josh Homme, who calls each hidden art piece “a toy surprise.” Josh says the idea originated at a small arts festival in Joshua Tree where local musicians would “do” people’s rooms. The inspiration for Josh comes from all the hotel rooms the band stays in when they are on tour, and the intensity of the art depends on their duration they spend in each room.