At the start of the Impressionist movement, artists began to paint outside the studio, en plein air. They painted fast; they had to, in order not to lose the light. They employed a totally new painting vocabulary: quick strokes, stubby brushes, incorporating movement and changing light. They were rebels, outside the traditional art world, outliers.
In today's art world, graffiti artists are the outliers. They too are rebels. They work fast, under cover of darkness, in order not to get caught by the police. They work in the open air, out in the streets, but surreptitiously. They have invented an entirely new painting or writing vocabulary, one that is totally alien to most people outside their shadowy, illicit, subversive, hazardous world.
Goar
Stik
But the big difference is, whereas most Impressionist artists struggled to make a living out of their art, graffiti artists don't do it for money. Their art is free. It's meant for public consumption, to be seen by as many people as possible.
In the beginning, at least.
End Less
As in most movements, the genre has evolved into a wide range of methods, characters, degree of success, as well as ways of viewing success.
A host of practitioners has moved into the mainstream. We now speak almost reverentially of street art. A new philosophy has been ascribed to what was once mere vandalism.
Defect
While some are vilified, even hounded into oblivion, a few are glorified. Assiduously researched and much hyped, a whole new constellation of superstar graffiti artists has emerged. To be interviewed, chased by fans and paparazzi, feted by art galleries, and most importantly to be made a commercial success.
Which is, according to a strict code of conduct, to sell out.
Goar
Banksy
In London, a good way to get introduced to the world of street art is through Strawberry Tours' Street Art and Graffiti Tour. It's a daily tour, it's free, and if you're lucky, you'll get the very personable Ben Alderton as guide. He knows his stuff, a genuine enthusiast, and he speaks from the heart.
Tour guide Ben Alderton
Labels: London
I took the three photos above in Lisbon, on Av Fontes Pereira de Melo, after I had learned about the Crono project undertaken by street artists headed by Pedro Soares Neves, Angelo Milano, and Vhils (Alexandre Farto) in collaboration with the city government.
These large-scale murals include works by Os Gemeos, Blu, Lucy Maclauchlan, Sam3, Vhils, and M Chat.
The following are those I took on various other trips. I have no idea who did them or if they were done with permission either from building owners or local authorities. The issue of legality here mainly centers on permission.
Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina
Aveiro, Portugal
Aveiro, Portugal
Labels: graffiti, Street art
In Portugal, a carnival of arts: food art, street art, equestrian art.
Food, glorious food!
In the languid town of Aveiro, the dainty ovos moles seduce the sugar-deprived.
Tantalizing clouds of smoke hover over the streets of Matosinhos in Porto; the air is thick with the hypnotic smell of grilled seafood.
At Cafe Santiago, long lines at the door as the cholesterol-challenged face the ultimate temptation: the notorious Francesinha.
It's a hazardous mashup of Croque Madame, Big Mac, and Sunday Fry-up doused in beer sauce, nestled in a bed of fries under a blanket of melted cheese, and topped with a fried egg.
In the former Mercado da Ribeira, haute cuisine goes slumming. Celebrated chefs present a sneak peek of upmarket fare at food court prices in Lisbon's Time Out Market.
The city as art gallery
Considered a criminal offense by most countries, graffiti is generally practiced surreptitiously by members of street gangs or by shadowy characters with secret identities.
A more evolved version of graffiti has gone mainstream as street art. In Lisbon, as in more and more cities today, some of the leading lights of this subversive art have collaborated with City Hall to turn derelict buildings into giant canvases for what has emerged as a powerful new movement in the contemporary art scene.
Horsing around Baroque-style
The Portuguese School of Equestrian Art (EPAE) is recognized as one of the four top riding academies in the world along with the Royal Andalusian School of Jerez, the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, and the French Cadre Noir in Saumur.
Headquartered in Queluz Palace, the school now holds public displays in Picadeiro Henriqe Calado in Belém, where visitors can watch riding masters put the magnificent Lusitano horses through their paces.
Labels: food, horses, Portugal, Street art
The taxi driver wasn't pleased when we said we were going to the Time Out Market. He didn't say a word but he made a face.
I can understand why. This behemoth will wipe out small restaurants in the area, if it hasn't already done so, after opening in 2014 and quickly becoming Lisbon's top tourist destination. Not good for the local economy already struggling to stay afloat.
Good news for tourists like us though. The food is extraordinarily good. And the price is even better. The cost of today's lunch for 2 was €25. Main course of veal - there was so much of it I had to leave half of mine on the plate, dessert of lovely mille feuille with brûléed custard filling for me and cottage cheesecake for Stuart, plus a glass of wine each.
Labels: Lisbon, Time Out Market
I see this everyday in front of my bus stop on Av Fontes Pereira de Melo. I stare at it while waiting for Bus no. 736 to Praça Figueras. I wish somebody would tell me what it all means! Some features I can guess at but the rest is too obscure for me...
Today's 29 degree heat rules out a graffiti/ street art tour, which is a walking tour. 😞
I have since Googled street art in Lisbon and have now realized that several of these masterworks are within walking distance from my hotel. We leave early tomorrow afternoon but we intend to get up early so we can chase them all down before we leave.
I'm thrilled that the first one I discovered, purely by accident, happens to be a major art work by two of the foremost practitioners of this amazing art form: the famous twins from São Paulo Os Gemeos and the Italian Blu.
It was the first of three derelict structures that have been painted for the Crono project, a collaboration between City Hall and some well-known street artists to turn buildings awaiting reconstruction into pieces of street art in the meantime.
BLU and OSGEMEOS in LISBOA
Labels: Crono project, graffiti, Lisbon, Street art
The quiet university coastal town of Aveiro has been nicknamed the Venice of Portugal: it has a lagoon and canals and gondola-like barcos moliceiros, originally used for harvesting seaweed.
Aveiro is more famous though for ovos moles, the fabled sweet pastry that is listed by the European Union as PGI (Protected Geographical Indication), a distinction similar to wine and cheese appellations like DOC or AOC.
These traditional sweets are said to have been created by 19th century nuns of the Convent of Jesus. Made with egg yolks slowly cooked in sugar syrup then wrapped in wafers so thin to be almost translucent, much like the hosts used for holy communion. The sweets are molded into shapes familiar to the daily lives of the Aveiro folk: fish, clams, shells, barrels, etc.
Also, there's the seafood of course. Daniel Gomes of Restaurante Marisqueria Maré Cheia says the photos on the restaurant walls are of famous people including football stars and a Prime Minister. We've surely found the perfect place for lunch!
Seems to me that, for the first time on this trip, we feel totally relaxed and unhurried. We don't feel compelled to explore; it's such a small place after all with not much going on.
We're happy sitting in a sidewalk café, idly watching people walk by. Or just scrutinizing the cobble stones decorated with pretty marine motifs.
Labels: Aveiro, ovos moles
In Aveiro, Portuguese cappuccino is a blend of coffee and chocolate. It's tasty, not in-your-face buzzed up, and always nice to have, morning and night. Much like the Portuguese people: gentle, unobtrusive, always proper.
On the train from Porto, having had only an apple and yogurt for breakfast, I was missing lunch too. I had a pear in my bag but I hesitated to take it out as nobody on the train was eating. No sandwiches, no fruits, not even chips. They weren't even talking. The train was so quiet, very civilized.
Beautiful bridges...
...great food and cheap wine.
These are a few of my favorite things. 😊
Labels: Aveiro, Porto, Portugal
