I'm not going to do a very long post, since I'm on my phone, travelling through Romania. But I wanted to take a moment to talk about what I think is one of theost badass things we have today and that is graffiti.
Oh, don't worry, I know graffiti isn't "new" by any means, I know it's been around for ages. And honestly, I don't know what kind of graffiti they had fifty or a hundred years ago, but lately, my eyes have been drawn to the walls in awe and admiration.
I'm not talking simply scribbling your name or some cool nickname on a wall. Although maybe, that's a way of expressing yourself too. Of saying 'yes, I was here'. And that's great. But what leaves me wide-eyed is all the amazing art adorning the walls of forgotten buildings. Seriously, do you ever look around as you walk on the street?
It's better than any museum I've ever seen and I've been to a fair few. The art of the walls that we call graffitti is so vibrant, so alive.
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And some of it even has that fearlessness that is unique to the emerging artist - I can do anything. I can create anything.
And it's on the walls...
Isn't that just mind-blowing?
I found this amazing place today, walking the streets of Brașov, Romania, this huge wall, painted in all sorts of loud, powerful colors and there were places and faces and staircases and life. All drawn on that wall. That's not vandalism, it's art.
And art should never be prohibited.
But you know the truly beautiful thing about graffiti?
Even if it is prohibited, which in many places it is, that doesn't matter. People still do it. And I think that graffiti is a bit different from other arts, since here, we know from the get go you're not supposed to be doing this and yet, a lot of people said screw it, I'm gonna do it anyway. I'm gonna create art.
I love that.
Then, I went to a very narrow street, called Strada Sforii and its walls were filled. This time, not with drawings, but scribbles. Love notes, bits of poems and songs or some composed by the one writing it on the wall. And it was heartwarming to walk there and see all the love and emotion, to be privy to these people's lives. Because that's what art should be, after all, a window into another world.
And today, I felt that everyhing would be okay because even if they outlaw art at some point people are still gonna do it. As long as we have walls, we still have art (ironic, huh?). It's brilliant. And even if it isn't so, something that makes you feel so amazing is bound to be good.
I love graffiti.
Thank you for reading,
For some reason, my phone insists on posting the pictures upside-down, but it's art, and I think it looks awesome anyway.
i've always loved graffiti too! i feel like urban landscapes can so often be inhuman and unkind, and in addition to being beautifully anarchic, i also love graffiti as a response to the brutality of industry & capitalism! thanks for sharing!
I love the look of graffiti. we don't have a lot of it around here, a few old buildings an whatnot other then that the trains that path through always have some nice work on them.