Posts Tagged ‘wall art’
Graffiti Town – Part III August 28th, 2010
Carrying on from Part I and Part II, this is the third and last instalment of the series on graffiti, wall art and tagging on the streets of Brussels.
I was struck by the contrast between the different forms of self-expression – the random destructiveness and vandalism that seem to be the hallmarks of tagging, versus the artistry and/or fun of graffiti and wall art.
I found the social commentary, spray-painted on the wall of a gas station, particularly amusing.
We are there. Clearly.
The entirety of the wall was used for the image. Yep, that means that everything from the windows to the drain pipe to the texture of the wall was drawn and painted.
Overkill, perhaps?
More coming soon!
Tags: belgium, Brussels, graffiti, tagging, wall art
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Graffiti Town – Part II July 24th, 2010
Carrying on from Part I, this is the second instalment of what I now hope to turn into a three-part series on graffiti, tagging and wall art in Brussels.
These shots here were taken in the underground parking lot of the building one of my friends lives in. The building was named after an English icon and so the running theme seems to be all-English.
According to my friend, the reason all this graffiti was done is as follows: The building was originally a hospital. After the hospital was relocated, the building was left empty for a time. During that period, graffiti artists took advantage and ended up spray painting goodly portions of it. Later, when the building was restored and converted into apartments, the developers chose to commission the wall art a selection of which you see here.
Nothing says posh like fur, clearly.
This way to the basement.
Public school, anyone?
Keeping the peace.
I’m guessing the area, not the football club.
Oddly, rugby was featured, but not football.
Car wash!
And of course, Ascot. I guess you can’t have walls covered in references to everything posh and not cover Ascot.
More coming soon!
Tags: ascot, bentley, bobby, Brussels, building, car wash, carwash, chelsea, converted hospital, eton, graffiti, hospital, Hyde Park, parking, posh, rugby, underground, wall art
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Graffiti Town – Part I June 27th, 2010
This here is the first of a two-part series on graffiti and wall art in Brussels, as promised a while back.
Most of the pictures below were taken on or in the side streets around Rue Haute and Rue Blaes.
More coming soon!
Tags: belgium, Brussels, graffiti, rue blaes, rue haute, wall art
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Wall Art & Comics June 13th, 2010
Early this year I took a trip to Brussels to visit a friend.
I’d visited Brussels only once before for a day. And that as a small child. The one enduring impression I had of the city then was the sheer amount of graffiti all over the place.
After my visit this time, I can certainly confirm that wall art is certainly big over there.
I hope to share with you a short a series on graffiti and wall art in Brussels soon. Meanwhile, this here is a picture of the very first thing I saw upon exiting the Brussels Midi train station following my arrival:
The image, which took up the entirety of the wall of a tall building, is a spectacular reference to all manner of comic books characters prominent in popular culture in Europe and which were created by Belgian artists.
You can see characters from and references to: The Smurfs, Tintin, Leonard, Blake & Mortimer, Thorgal, Spirou, and many many more. Belgium has a long and illustrious history producing some of the best in comics and has been a major influencer in the development of comics in Europe. If you’d like to know more, see here and here.
More coming soon!
Tags: belgian comics, belgium, blake & mortimer, blake and mortimer, Brussels, brussels midi, comic book, comics, european comics, fantasio, franco-belgian comic, graffiti, leonard, smurfs, spirou, thorgal, tintin, train station, wall art
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