Graffiti

Posted by: teachertraveler8

Graffiti - 05/24/11 09:51 AM

As I've been showing my students pictures from my recent trip to Spain, they have noticed the graffiti on bridges and garage doors. Can someone explain whether or not this is legal, who generally does the graffiti, if it has a significance and if so, what is it.

Muchas gracias.
Posted by: steve robinson

Re: Graffiti - 05/24/11 01:26 PM

It's not legal at all !! I actually love some of the graffiti and have photographed it many times in Spain . The artwork is sensational and really cutting edge . Generally the graffiti is done by young people .... a sort of anti government thing ... In Madrid there are great examples down by the river Manzanares in Arguelles .. by the railway tracks . Where I was living in Barrio Salamanca there is a park called Fuente del Berro where you can see beautiful graffiti going towards the Plaza de Toros . I actually published some of my photos on flickr.com and have had some good feedback !
What I DON'T like is graffiti on historical buildings and private houses ... THAT is vandalism and , if caught , the perpetrators should be prosecuted .
Graffiti has been popular for centuries , with many ancient buildings having initials and messages carved into their walls .. The new style of graffiti is colourful and should be considered as an art as long as it does not destroy ancient or important buildings .
The graffiti artists have to respect that their work is art but that a 17th century building ( for example ) in Madrid is ALSO a work of art . The graffiti artists should have respect for the community AND for fellow artists , ancient and new !
Posted by: MadridMan

Re: Graffiti - 05/25/11 06:41 AM

The graffiti in Spain really makes me ill. I hate it. The attitude surrounding it is too relaxed, in my opinion, and the kids and teens who do it don't seem to think there's anything wrong with it. I've watched kids do it right in front of me, 10 years old, with a wide-tip black marker and it seems fun to deface public or private property. I guess when those same kids have parents whom openly/proudly/casually download music, movies, and software illegally from the internet how can they have any higher sense of property value or morality? HAPPY NOW?! You got me started! GRRR!! angry

Why do we in the USA, generally, have such a low opinion of graffiti?? Do kids just have "better" things to do than spend time painting on bridges and buildings?

If the graffiti was "art" and made some sense, that'd be one thing. But the random doodlings of 13-year old hardly qualifies.

Saludos, MadridMan
Posted by: pedmar

Re: Graffiti - 05/25/11 03:41 PM

No its not legal but its a thing of the present for better or worse.Its all over, NYC has it big too, and the outskirts of Paris has it.
I dont like it so avoid those areas...
Posted by: MadridMan

Re: Graffiti - 05/26/11 12:04 PM

Graffiti is not illegal?? huh: Surely it is!!
Posted by: admiral44

Re: Graffiti - 06/13/11 08:29 AM

MadridMan,

I agree with you on this issue. During my last visit to Spain, I found graffiti everywhere, including extremely rural areas, for example a water tank in the middle of a field. Someone trekked out there to leave their mindless mark.

These artists should remember the old adage: the right to swing your fist ends where someone's nose begins.

Bon dia.

44
Posted by: MadridMan

Re: Graffiti - 07/28/11 06:33 AM

By contrast, after a day-trip to London I was SO SURPRISED they have ABSOLUTELY NO GRAFFITI in downtown London. The ONLY place I saw it in London was on a very precariously-located train bridge crossing the Thames river.

Saludos, MadridMan
Posted by: steve robinson

Re: Graffiti - 08/23/11 05:57 AM

I think MM , that the reason you didn't see so much graffiti was that you were in the centre of town which the authorities spend millions on trying to keep graffiti free . Had you been in East London ( though it may change now as it's the centre for the 2012 olympics ) you would see huge amounts of graffiti .. Areas such as Hackney , Canning Town etc.. The same goes for South East London and places such as Brixton . But , as you saw in Brighton , the graffiti can be specacular if it's commissioned . For me , the saddest city for graffiti is Lisbon . All those
beautiful tiles completely covered sometimes .
Posted by: Crisco

Re: Graffiti - 08/23/11 09:57 AM

I agree that most of the graffiti is dreadful and disrespectful.
However,I saw some fabulous graffiti art walking next to a long building in Chueca- I can't remember the street!
Some years ago in the States spray paint was locked up in stores and therefore not as easy to buy.In my neighborhood there's a phone number to call to report graffiti and it is painted over very quickly.I believe the fear is that the graffiti is done by gang members!
The trains in New York used to be dreadful but they have that under control nowadays.
The saddest thing for me is when you try to take a photo of some historic site and you can't find an angle to avoid the graffiti.
Posted by: steve robinson

Re: Graffiti - 08/28/11 05:30 AM

Crisco . That was in Calle de Hortaleza where they were refurbishing a beautiful old building (I seem to remember that it was due to be an arts centre ). This was at the end of Hortaleza , away from Gran Vía That graffiti WAS amazing but was painted on boards and not the building . I took quite a few photos of that and uploaded them to my Flickr account . I got quite a lot of feedback about them . Anybody walking up Hortaleza from Gran Vía might want to check out what the big building on the left is now .. It´s quite a long way up towards Alonso Martínez .. probably near the turning into Calle de San Lorenzo .