Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Street Art: The Bold & The Beautiful

Wanderings

The Travelled Monkey - in Brussels
Photos by John Weaver
Graffiti, posters, stickers – they’re everywhere. Cities today are exploding with so much (sometimes) creative expression that we hardly see it anymore, even when it’s right in front of us. It just blends into the street, seen but not seen. 

Is it art? Sometimes. Is it vandalism? Usually. The best stuff is typically a bit of both. 

I’m obsessed with street art (spotting it, photographing it, but not usually doing it. Although I did dabble briefly in sticker bombing. This was my signature sticker – not exactly art, I admit). 

Here are a few of my favorite sightings over the past few years. 

I’m curious to know what you think about street art. What catches your eye? Leave a comment below – it’s one wall you’re allowed to write whatever you want to on!

Portraits from Lisbon, Lisbon, Metz (France), & Brussels
The Travelled Monkey - Lisbon


The Travelled Monkey - Brussels

The Travelled Monkey - Brussels
































































































































Columbus, Ohio doesn't have much of the gritty street art you see in Europe. But there are a couple of nice murals.

The Travelled Monkey - Columbus
The Travelled Monkey - Columbus






















Posters on top of posters on top of posters. As they wear and tear, the layers give a really cool effect, like these I saw in Metz, France.

The Travelled Monkey - Metz


























The Travelled Monkey - Metz


























The Travelled Monkey - Metz

























And this one in London.

The Travelled Monkey - Street Art





















Brussels by night!


The Travelled Monkey - Street Art







The Travelled Monkey - Street Art
The Travelled Monkey - Street Art
Then there're the ones that just make you laugh.

The Travelled Monkey - Street Art
Finally, this just goes to show that sometimes all you need is a pen.


…and there’s much more. I haven’t really got into any graffiti here, but it's probably worth it's own post later on.

3 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed looking at these images. Good eye John. I feel that if these were made into prints, they could be hung in a gallery. Fun to look at. Looks like art to me :) Dad

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  2. I'm always drawn to street art too, John! Louvain-la-Neuve, near where we live, has loads of murals and street art - I keep meaning to go exploring with my camera! When I do, I'll send you some pics for your collection ; ) Siobhan

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    1. Thanks! Yes please do. It's been years since I've been to Louvain-la-Neuve. Coming from Leuven, everything in Louvain always seemed so newly constructed and a bit sterile, like it didn't have a real identity yet. So it's cool to hear that there's a street art scene there - I think it definitely helps people connect to a place, and gives the place an identity (which I'm sure you know about from NI)!

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