The Lardner Report

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Barcelona Graffiti: A Method To Its Madness

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(Pic #1) Barcelona buildings showcase striking street art – and benefit from the drive-by “art attacks.”

I had always wondered why European homeowners allowed graffiti to cover their facades and doorways and how they seemed  to simply accept these turf attacks as a reality of their changing urban landscape.

Last week, while working in Barcelona, I got my answer. A colleague of mine, Rosa told me that provigil back in the day the government would not tax homeowners until the fronts of their buildings were completed. So seeing the financial advantages of “vandalized” spray-painted storefronts and homes, owners started to leave the art and take the tax break. It’s a tradition that has lasted for years.

I took these photos in the Raval section of the city — where the art can be anonymous — and extraordinary.

 

 

Today’s Pic: Side Street Surprise

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(Pic #1) “Mila” demonstrates the art of zen gymnastics in a Barcelona courtyard.

La Sagrada Familia Church, The Magic Fountain, The Picasso Museum — all made the list: The Top Ten tourist attractions in the city of Barcelona, Spain. All definitely worth seeing.

“Lua” explores gravity and a moment of peace.

But “Mila” and her sister “Lua” did not make the list — yet they will remain one of the sweetest travel images I take home with me. They are two little girls I happened to encounter in the Raval pharmacy section of Barcelona near the Museum of Contemporary Art.

They took me by surprise when I happened to be photographing some radical street art in the neighborhood and found them playing fearlessly on these bike racks: tossing their tiny frames up and over, around and through. They didn’t mug for the camera, nor did they seek praise. They just played.

At the end, Mila took her arch position pose (above) and just chilled. Self-posssesed and lovely, she shared a Mona Lisa smile.

 

Today’s Pic: A Child’s Moment of Reflection

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(Pic #1) Lily May Schmidt, age 8, from St Cyril of Jerusalem School in Encino, California, pauses to reflect on the souls lost on 9/11. (Photo by Josh Kaplan)

Like so many others who lost friends when the towers fell on September 11, 2001, I thought of them constantly in the days and weeks that followed. Reporting for Fox5 in New York right before that fateful day, I shared on camera time with firefighters, sanitation workers, and Port Authority officers during live shots all over the city for the morning news.  At least 4 of these extraordinary civil servants I knew lost their lives that day. My FDNY buddy Kevin Hannafin lost his brother Tommy in the attack, and remarkably found and walked out of the rubble with his brother’s fire helmet in hand. He told me it was “the proudest day” of his life.

They say “time heals,” but I find it just puts feelings on hold, until something reminds us what’s still really going on inside. Each year on the anniversary of that horrific day, when the country takes a moment to remember, I feel what I am supposed to feel, and shut the door until the next day of remembrance. I worry ambien that I am losing my connection with the victims I knew — and that maybe the horror of that day (and the lessons we learned from it) might be slipping out of my — and public — consciousness.

But last weekend, I got the message I needed to see — when I took a trip to Pepperdine University overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Malibu, California, where each year they honor the victims and emergency responders who died on 9/11, with a daunting display of 2977 flags poised on the school’s majestic hill.

There, amidst the tourists, the Boy Scouts and the biker dudes, I saw this little girl on her knees — praying, alone — with the most loving expression you could imagine on her face. At age 8, Lily May Schmidt wasn’t even born on 9/11/01. But there she was — kneeling — reflecting — on souls she said  she “wanted to pray for.”

That simple image made me realize we haven’t forgotten. And we can count on the likes of Lily May Schmidt to keep us on track: conscious — and compassionate.

(Pic #2) Los Angeles Boy Scout troop members pause amidst the display. (Photo by Josh Kaplan)