The Lardner Report

Unleash your creative superpowers!

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.

 

 

Killer Street Art: Unintended Collaboration

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(Pic #1) Detail of graffiti art outside Comme Des Garcons store on 22nd St. and 10th Avenue in the Chelsea district of Manhattan.

They may be total strangers, but graffiti artists, band promoters, and illegal “poster pasters” often meet on the same gritty, decrepit, forgotten walls that make up our urban landscape.  Over a period of years, they unknowingly create partnerships in art making, and change the face of our neighborhoods – for better or for worse.

Together, layer after layer, they build a sensual, textured, visual story I can’t help but explore and dissect.  If you take the time to discover these hidden-yet-public treasures, you might be surprised by their simple beauty. The experience is free, and if you’re armed with a camera, you might celexa take home  some very sweet original art.

(Pic #2) Earliest known street art: Pompeii

This week I catted around streets in the artsy section of Chelsea in New York. Galleries everywhere, but my art could only be found plastered and sprayed on bricks and mortar. Below, I divided up sections of work from the whole (a large building housing the edgy fashion house, “Commes Des Garcons.”)

Graffiti is nothing new. Archeologists say hundreds of public expressions,  in the form of political opinion and social commentary can be found on the walls of Pompeii — dating back to 79 AD. (Pic #2)

“Papered and sprayed:” Inconspicuous entrance to “Commes Des Garcons” in Chelsea.

A More Creative “Drive-By Shooting”

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PLAY ME: https://youtu.be/hvtovLRZw7s 

While most of us are learning to think “outside the box,” artist Jeff Soto thinks “outside the car.” Chevrolet recently tapped the world-famous muralist as part of its series of promotional campaign “stunts” targeting younger buyers.

Turbocharged robotic paint guns — similar to those used in automotive factories — gracefully slide out of the new Chevy Sonic, and force a grand assault of pure paint onto a massive brick wall in Oakland, California. The artist tweaks the mechanical precision work by spray painting his own lines and marks. In the end, we are left with a stunning mural, and Chevy gets you to watch this video.

Still Frame: Chevy/Jeff Soto “drive-by” mural, 2012

Soto graduated with distinction from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.