I was in the mood for a little good graffiti today. This did the trick. Love this artist's style.
Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - gsz - photo - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!
Location: NYC, USA ★
Photo courtesy of gsz
I love discovering random details like this on a stroll though a city like Paris. Pixelicious! Wonderful find and lovely composition and post-processing.
Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - kikognou - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!
Location: Paris, France ★
Photo courtesy of kikognou
What a cool piece of art and "live painting" - both.
Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the graffiti artist - Jef Aérosol - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!
Location: Camogli, Italy ★
Photo courtesy of Jef Aérosol [Photo © Hervé Photograff]
Life is wonderful. Particularly in Paris. And even more particularly, when lost in Paris.
Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - tofz4u - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!
Location: Paris, France ★
Photo courtesy of tofz4u
What a lovely portrait.
I was inspired to Flickr today for a Fuji Instax image, per an email on the camera and wide-format instant prints that I got today from Photojojo. Hmm. Move over Polaroid. Fuji Instax looks pretty spiffy. But really, what's not to love about the soft and dreamy effects of all instant cameras and film?
Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - Flibustier et Cie - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!
Location: Paris, France ★
Photo courtesy of Flibustier et Cie
Back on our ongoing look at good graffiti, I caught an episode of Euromaxx this morning and really enjoyed the little snippet they did on London artist Ben Eine. For his first visit to the White House, British PM David Cameron chose a Ben Eine piece to present President Obama as a gift. Apparently the two share a love of contemporary art, and Cameron wanted his gift to reflect this.
Ben Eine is a relatively little-known London street artist (though perhaps no more, after David Cameron's famous gift-giving), who's made a name for himself, locally, by brightening the underpasses, bridges, and train carriages of his native south London with big, bold, and above all colorful typographic statements. His best known work, at the moment, are the lively letters of the alphabet that he's applied over (formerly) dreary metal shop shutters.
Take a peek at more of Eine's alphabet art here.
Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - Leo Reynolds - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!
Location: London, England ★
Photo courtesy of Leo Reynolds
Leo & Pipo take Berlin!
I'd love to see them hit my neck of the woods and take Oakland or San Francisco. That would be awesomeness.
"Since 2008 Parisian duo Leo & Pipo have been wheat pasting nameless characters from bygone eras all over their home town. District by district, rue by rue, Leo & Pipo inject a sense of charm, humor and some historical remembrance to dreary concrete facades; hopefully transporting the viewer to another Paris through a visual time machine."
To learn more about Leo & Pipo, check out their MySpace page. You'll even find a portrait of the pair, there. If a view to more of their charming artwork is what you're after, dive into the dynamic duo's photostream on Flickr.
Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - Leo & Pipo - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!
Location: Berlin, Germany ★
Photo courtesy of Leo & Pipo
There was a little convo a few posts ago on graffiti, the good vs. the bad, and its ability to, when bad, ruin a fabled or sacred location. So let's focus on the good graf. The kind you feel lucky to have discovered, the sort that makes you smile and want to snap a picture. A picture like this one of a YZ collage from her Village Popincourt series, in Paris.
Check out videos on Still Alive - one of YZ's many projects - here.
On my last trip to Paris this spring, I noticed these two cats in the strangest spots. I began to feel like I was on a treasure hunt, seeking them out to shoot like a paparazzi possessed. Locals know them well. As I was taking a picture of the pair on an old, weathered wooden door, a Parisian gentleman stopped and spontaneously directed me to a place nearby where there was an even larger, life-size Leo & Pipo collage. I thanked him and set out in search of it, but never found it. And on my last day in Paris, just strolling about town and enjoying being free of my heavy camera gear, I stumbled upon the most wonderful Leo & Pipo paste-up on the narrow side of a freshly painted lavender storefront. I was so bummed not to have the ability to photograph it, but no matter. It was instantly burned into my memory bank, where I look in on it and enjoy it, often.
Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - Brin d'Amour - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!
Location: Paris, France ★
Photo courtesy of Brin d'Amour
Very sort of Miró, no?
I have no idea what the translation for e Napoli chiagn' is - perhaps the photog or someone here who knows will post a comment - but I like the artwork and the way it seemingly springs to life in this photo.
Read more about the artist, Napoli native Diego Miedo, here.
Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - Jekyll283 - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!
Location: Naples, Italy ★
Photo courtesy of Jekyll283
I wasn't able to post yesterday because the Share This button wasn't available in Flickr's new and improved site rollout. Seems the trouble is fixed, today. Lookin' good! I'm digging the new design. And I'm digging this groovy graffiti photo, too!
Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - Newtown_graffiti - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!
Location: Sydney, Australia ★
Photo courtesy of GNewtown_graffiti
Well, I guess if Barack can [bring jobs to the United States] then Sarkozy can [bring jobs to Europe], too. We can only hope!
Who says graffiti isn't art?
Lately I've been watching a lot of Commissario Montalbano on both my local Public Broadcasting Station (PBS) and online, via Rai.tv video on demand in an effort to virtual vacate and augment my Italian lessons. It's favoloso! The television series is based on the books by Andrea Camilleri, set in a fictional town in Sicily. The best part about the TV show is that it's all shot on location, in Sicily. So in addition to sharpening your Italian, you get to see Sicily. It's like a travel show and a murder-mystery movie, all in one! So anyhow, after watching yet another episode of Montalbano last night, I thought I'd take us on a quick trip to Sicily today. I don't know about you, but I think this photo is gorgeous. The color, the texture. The only element that gives me sad pause is wondering and worrying about the dog. Is it someone's pet? Or is it one of the many homeless cats and dogs one reads about in Sicily and elsewhere in Italy?
Day two: Alas, I'm under the weather. So for the next few days I'll just be posting photos without commentary. That shouldn't stop you from commenting though!
One of the unlikely elements abroad I've grown fond of "discovering" or seeking out and photographing is graffiti. Stencil graffiti in particular. Who isn't a fan of Britain's Banksy, for example? I love the artistry, the whimsy, the popularity of making a piece an opportunity for social commentary. Tagging, as you also see in this image, is (unfortunately) perhaps a more common form of graffiti. That said, stenciling seems to consistently transcend the trash (like tagging) and elevate "street art" to the real thing. Love it.
When most first-time visitors to Venice finally arrive at their destination, I think many are aghast at all of the graffiti they encounter. It is, in a word, shocking. Or maybe disappointing is more accurate. Or, perhaps, travesty is best fitting. Sometimes the graffiti is political and artistic and actually quite fabulous. But too often it's a version of or on par with the above tragedy. A testament to overwhelming beauty and charm of Venice, the city is still just that - beautiful and charming - even with all of the senseless and ugly graffiti. That said, even when you hit desensitization and come to expect it you never really get used to it. With no blood ties to the city, I'd still happily break the legs of anyone I caught defacing a building like this. Not literally of course, but I'd certainly rip them a proverbial new one in my best broken Italian. Or fluent American English. Perhaps with a little scary slang thrown in for good measure. That might be more effective.
