Wednesday 23 September 2009

Graffiti


Illicit but art is art.









For the paper plane and boats (not fully visible), the artist actually stuck on newspaper to the wall...











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The first four were taken in front of the lido entrance near my place. Whereas the other two were found in Parco Valentino.


7 comments:

  1. I always wonder how graffiti artists get away with it, it probably takes them hours to finish something of that magnitude... doesn't anybody 'happen by'?

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  2. Haha. Perhaps they do it at night with kerosene lamps? Or perhaps the polizia close one eye...hey after all, Italy could use more Leonardos, Michelangelos and Botticellis.

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  3. Lly...you know I love graffiti! Thanks for the post. And you are right..."Art is Art" no matter what the form. And most graffiti is so temporary...often getting painted back over to begin again by another budding artist.

    Dan

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  4. Dan,

    The photos you took of graffiti are so cool. It's sad that it's not a permanent...well, sad only if the graffiti is any good. Some are just an eye-sore. Those should be repainted over real quick >.<

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  6. The large mural you photographed above looks like it's on an open street, so it probably was commissioned. Doing something of that magnitude illegally would be too much for an open street like that. You'd have to be crazy.

    As for getting away with it...with practice you eventually learn how to put up your work quickly and efficiently. Sometimes people bring a friend along to keep watch. If a passerby/cop goes by, they just play it cool.

    The impermanence of graffiti art is a part of what makes it so fun to do and observe. It symbolizes the impermanence of everything. We won't be here forever, and neither will that building that is being painted on. When you really think about it, it has a surreal-like feel to it.

    As for the ugly graffiti that you see on the streets, the "eye-sores"- people who put up that kind of graffiti are called "toys". Usually pre-teen/early teenage kids who think they're amazing artists when really...they're not. Of course a toy can be of any age. But of course, the toys of today are the brilliant graffiti artists of tomorrow. Because eventually, they do get better. Everyone starts out as a toy. Although the majority of toys quit before they get good.

    Anywaaaay, this comment is way too long lol. Too much detail. But I felt compelled to say all that. Well then, have a great day. :]

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  7. Lee,

    Thanks for sharing. I don't mind the long comment. It's insightful.

    Graffiti is an art as much as in the result as it is in the process. Creating a masterpiece, whilst having the pressure of trying not to get arrested brings this art form up to a whole new level. Exciting.

    As for the "toys", it's true when you say everyone starts out as one. Anyone can spray paint, but not everyone can do it well.

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