Travel
I am not crazy about graffiti; I don't like impossible to read graffiti letters on the walls. But today I discovered beauty in these paintings because I realized they give life to dead buildings where nobody lives anymore. As strange as it might seem, in the very heart of Valencia there are plenty of old structures that nobody can make use of; except the graffiti artists. You have to get off the beaten path in order to see Valencia's ephemeral art. You have to let loose yourself on the cobbled streets of the old quarter. You will almost never find graffiti in the tourist centre. But the graffiti is there, on the small streets behind the buildings you are passing by, waiting patiently to fade away.
Do you like graffiti? Do you consider it a form of artistic expression?
- Day Trip To The Big City Of Guadalajara
The last time we were right in downtown Guadalajara (pop 8 million) was in December 2009. We weren't overly impressed at the time...just another big city with a lot of graffiti. And although I think we warmed up to it a little bit more during yesterday's...
- I Can't Stand Graffiti!
We've been in a lot of different cities this year and one of the things we notice is graffiti. In fact, we even notice it when there's a lack of it! We really noticed it in the city of Pittsburgh. Why? Because there isn't any! Click here to...
- The Berlin Wall. A Moment To Ponder
The Berlin Wall was erected in 1961, and though the Eastern Bloc claimed that the wall was there to protect its population from fascist elements, in reality, the Wall was there to prevent people from the Eastern Bloc migrate to the West. West Germans...
- Video: Camogli, Italy. Where Art Grows On Buildings
One of the most pleasant surprises on the Italian Riviera is the small fishing village of Camogli. Camogli has two meanings - 'houses close together' and 'houses of wives' which refers to the fishermens wives, who traditionally spent...
- Las Fallas Festival, Valencia: Mascleta
Las Fallas or the Festival of Fire is held in Valencia, Spain every year from the 1st to the 19th of March. People hit the streets dressed up in traditional costumes, build a huge statue of Virgin Mary out of flowers and enormous fallas...
Travel
Graffiti Art In Valencia - A Photo Essay
Today it's Saturday. I love Saturdays because they are lazy days. But today, I thought of doing something different. I was in the mood to take some photos and I ended up discovering another part of Valencia.
From Gothic quarters to futuristic architecture, Valencia has it all. Art galleries, classical and contemporary art museums are all to be found in this Mediterranean city. But what you will never find in any travel guide is the vibrant graffiti art that covers the forgotten walls of the old quarter called Barrio del Carmen, so famous for its night scene.
The graffiti art in Valencia is often to be found on vacant lots, waiting for the recession to blow over and the bulldozers to move in. But for the sake of adding some color to people's lives, some business owners decided to have the iron shutters of their shops painted too. This is a smart move from their part as graffiti artists have rules and unwritten laws of their own and they would almost never paint on top of somebody else's work of art. So instead of having their shop's or restaurant's shutters ugly signed by different artists, they have nice commissioned paintings related to their business.
It is true that sometimes graffiti becomes a thorn in the city's heart as the creative juices flow through the Valencians blood a bit too fast and too often and the City Hall's employees have to work really hard to clean up the walls, but new paintings spring daily and it is hard to deny some the title of art. Graffiti is the artistic expression of the people, a way of getting noticed without really getting noticed. Graffiti is an artistic expression of ephemeral nature. In a few weeks time some of the paintings in these photos will no longer exist. New ones will take their place. The graffiti scene in Valencia changes every night. And the city breaths and sighs while rivers of paint run over its walls.
Do you like graffiti? Do you consider it a form of artistic expression?
- Day Trip To The Big City Of Guadalajara
The last time we were right in downtown Guadalajara (pop 8 million) was in December 2009. We weren't overly impressed at the time...just another big city with a lot of graffiti. And although I think we warmed up to it a little bit more during yesterday's...
- I Can't Stand Graffiti!
We've been in a lot of different cities this year and one of the things we notice is graffiti. In fact, we even notice it when there's a lack of it! We really noticed it in the city of Pittsburgh. Why? Because there isn't any! Click here to...
- The Berlin Wall. A Moment To Ponder
The Berlin Wall was erected in 1961, and though the Eastern Bloc claimed that the wall was there to protect its population from fascist elements, in reality, the Wall was there to prevent people from the Eastern Bloc migrate to the West. West Germans...
- Video: Camogli, Italy. Where Art Grows On Buildings
One of the most pleasant surprises on the Italian Riviera is the small fishing village of Camogli. Camogli has two meanings - 'houses close together' and 'houses of wives' which refers to the fishermens wives, who traditionally spent...
- Las Fallas Festival, Valencia: Mascleta
Las Fallas or the Festival of Fire is held in Valencia, Spain every year from the 1st to the 19th of March. People hit the streets dressed up in traditional costumes, build a huge statue of Virgin Mary out of flowers and enormous fallas...