I’m becomming increasingly aware of the fact I’m starting to look like some description of chronicler for the Camden Town graffiti scene, and I’m not sure if I like that. Nonetheless, I saw this new piece on the way into work this morning and, I have to admit, I like it. Opinion may differ as to whether this kind of work should be considered Art, but if you ever happen to spend some time down the grim backstreets of North London, then I am sure will come to agree that the place could do with a spot of colour. To give you some clue as to the kind of neighbourhood I’m talking about, the locals call the street featured below “Shit Alley” because it’s where the drunkards and addicts go to relieve themselves at night. In his lesser known 1928 essay, Why I Don’t Like Living in London, D. H. Lawrence derided the city for being a “dull, “grey” and “monotonous” place. He writes:
The morning of departure, I look out of the taxi upon the strange dulness of London’s, arousing a sort of death, and hope and life only return when I get my seat in the boat-train
Truth be told, Old Davy Lawrence had a point. London can be quite a dull place to have to look at. Especially when it’s been raining, it’s like walking through Lowry‘s worst nightmare. However, as long as spray-painters continue to create these colourful murals then at least some of the city will be half tolerable to look at.
What do you think?
It’s not in London, and I don’t have a photo, but for many years I spent twenty minutes (minimum!) waiting at a dreary bus-stop in Southampton. Over one of the shots was a wonderful bit of street art which is only visible if you are standing in the right place. I don’t know what it was supposed to mean, and I don’t know how the artist(s) got onto the sloping roof to paint it, but it never failed to make me a little less miserable about my journey.
Ah, there’s an alleyway near where my mum lives in Buxton Derbyshire, that she calls ‘Dogshit Alley’ where you can practice your slalom skills, often followed by the ‘Boot Scrape of Disgrace’ when you hit one of the ‘bollards’.
Totally agree with you about the graffiti. Here in Bristol, we’ve just had Upfest, a street art festival held annually in the Southville/ Bedminster areas of the city. The scent of spray paint is still heavy in the air …
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2015/jul/27/upfest-2015-street-art-graffiti-festival-in-pictures
3 things:
I like this mural both for the bold contrast of the colours used as for the composition
2. Philadelphia is famous for its wall paintings organized by artists training young people and all committed to the Anti-Grafitti work. In September, I am going to start a blog on this and I dedicate the whole series to you, As I Please, for the pleasure and intelligence of your blog.
3.http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/28/opinion/roger-cohen-lovely-lamentable-london.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=opinion-c-col-right-region®ion=opinion-c-col-right-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region&_r=0
Roger Cohen of the New York Times has returned from London and has slammed her for reasons we can all understand. Please tell us, as you like, why this kind of analysis does not speak to the experience of living in a place as vast and old as London…………Thank you!
Hi, I would love to see some of the work on offer in Philadelphia, and am very much flattered by your dedication. As to London, I guess the city is just so massive and sprawling that the whole thing is almost impossible to rationalize. I think Cohen makes some very intereting points, but it’s remarkable how different an experience people can have here. I only have to look across the street from my living room window to see those who have had a much harder time than I. Your thoughtful comments are always welcome.
I love going up to Camden, always something happening x
It is way beautiful. Such beautiful artistic grafitti
It certainly adds color to the rather colorless street, besides its name….
I just plain like it.
I like the piece, and love artistic graffiti, although I suspect I might think differently if I owned a home in a historic district or something. I saw a comedian last night who said that he used to be a graffiti artist who thought it was cool to go around spraying other people’s property. He said he stopped when he bought property!
This is so bright and cheery!
Love the bold and bright colors, the theme–yes, of course, this is art!
I have come to love thought provoking and carefully created street art. I love that artists are finding places to express themselves and thereby sharing their art for free with everyone. Like a Tibetan Buddhist mandela the art is temporary and can be painted over at any time. In that way the artists can be inspired to regularly create fresh art.
I’ve always been interested in reading graffiti that is politically motivated. When I’m traveling in other cultures I feel the political graffiti gives me a sense of the feelings in the community and graffiti can allow a freedom of political expression that is otherwise impossible in some of the regimes where I travel. On the other side, sometimes political graffiti chills me, like the swastikas that I saw in Chile in 2003. I also can’t stand boring and ugly graffiti tags.
Like you I was initially bemused by street art and regarded it as graffiti but then I read about it and realised that some artists receive licenses to create art on public walls (at least that’s the case in Australia). I then let myself admire and enjoy the art rather than see it as damaging property. I think that street art allows unknown artists to have an audience without having to interact with critics and gallery owners.