A confession ...
I like art, but I am not an artist. I am one who as a child, brought an artwork home to my parents, and they would say, “that’s lovely, what is it?” But I do like looking at other people’s art and often visit contemporary art galleries when I visit a new city.
I like NEW art, not that I object to some of the older stuff, anything with cats in is okay by me and I recently went to see an exhibition of the works of William Blake, but I am interested in an artist’s take on the world … which might be why I am so drawn to street art.
Perhaps street art can be thought of as art that has escaped the constraints of the gallery. It can be seen on walls, on some street furniture, even paving stones on occasion. But of course there is also its scruffy cousin, graffiti.
Why graffiti?
I remember early on in my travels being amazed at how much graffiti I saw in Belgium, the first country I explored in continental Europe. As you know, I love trains and trams and one of the saddest things for me was to see trains tagged with names and logos – especially when these covered the windows so that the carriage was made dark and depressing and it became impossible to see out into the countryside. This does seem to be a very cultural thing as some countries have much more of it than others – in some countries trains and trams are left relatively untouched, in others they are a prime target.
I guess the reason for it is that it gets your name out there. Some taggers (people who just write their name everywhere) see themselves as part of a community and like to have the kudos of being seen in many places. This is why some tags are seen in such hard-to-reach derelict buildings. Although I feel irritated, I also feel quite sorry that this is the only way some young people feel they can make their mark, although I like to think that some will turn into positive street artists and start to make their surroundings more beautiful, not less. One former tagger said to me over coffee that, ‘if Burger King can push its name all over town, why can’t I?’
Do taggers become artists?
But I guess the graffiti which annoys me the most is when some taggers and others decide to paint over established street art. Again I first noticed this in Belgium, where the Tintin murals in Brussels have become something of a tourist attraction but have also attracted unwanted markings. I know that tourism is one of the gripes of young people getting involved in graffiti (as is advertising) and they may feel that it is a protest against the Instagram crowd. It may also be a way of getting more notoriety, but then it would only be in a selected group of other taggers. It takes a step up to street art to be known by a wider circle and ultimately reach the heights of Banksy.
Banksy’s street art career started in Bristol, England where there are now Banksy tours that you can go on to see his work. This is replicated in several cities across the world and indeed there are websites such as BLocal which list tours in various cities in Europe. I know there are similar tours in North America and I am sure in other locations around the world. Street Art is big business. It can also be political. I have spotted one or two examples of ‘anti-business’ art – such as the example below, but part of the problem of being a visitor is not knowing the context in which the art is being shown.
Knowing context can make a difference.
For example – the portrait above this paragraph was spotted in Doboj, Bosnia and I wasn’t sure if he was a politician – as the area is quite contentious, but it turns out he is a well-known actor – Ljubiša Samardžić, though from Serbia so the contention might still be there in a town which is part of a divided country. The north part of Bosnia is contested by Serbia and is still a point of friction between the two countries … I know some graffiti reflects these nationalist sympathies – look at the divided city of Londonderry / Derry for instance. However I later found out that the artist Deni Božić, painter many murals across the city – starting just after some devastating floods in a bid to re-beautify the place – more of his work can be seen in this short video – here.
Street art can be overtly political. A mural celebrating the lawyers who stood up to the mafia in Sicily, (see below) or some of Banksy’s work in Palestine etc. but whatever the original intention of the work, I can still enjoy it for its beauty and to admire the talent of the originator.
Let's just enjoy it?
Discovering a work in a now inaccessible place is also a delight – such as the unicorn I found in a disused dusty carpark in Granada Spain. Having to push through a broken fence in the midday heat to take the shot added to the ‘forbidden-ness of the work itself. In Sheffield the piece I most admire could be photographed from the parking space next door. Now that space is locked and so shots have to be taken from a different, (and not so direct) angle. (See the main image at the top of the page.)
As I said at the beginning, I am not an artist and I am sure those who are would see these pieces through a different lens. I’d be interested to hear what you think of some of the art I have shown here and also if you have your own favourites to share. Street art is there for everyone to see and if it brings a smile then it cannot be bad … can it?
