Home > Posts tagged "Romania"

Blog Archives

Urban Art – A universal riot on the walls

What’s the reason that you follow and make documentaries of the things you photograph on the streets so much? Is there a concept to it or is it just randomly photographed? Do you want to express something through it? Why do you do that?

These were the questions I was recently asked, regarding the pictures I take of writings, pieces of art, stencils, graffiti spray-paint-pictures or whatever you may call them. The streets are full of them and we only need to open our eyes, as we walk through the cities, to see them, enjoy them or simply notice them. To be honest, I never thought about a concept behind taking pictures of these works or any bigger meaning. My only intention was about sharing them, giving people the access to them and simply show, that there is something we notice every day but we maybe don’t pay enough attention to.

After I’ve been asked these questions, I was thinking about what could possibly push me, to be so attracted to the documentation of such pieces of art and came up with some questions myself, which I would consider important, to access this broad field of what I like to call Street Art or Urban Art.

What is Street Art/ Urban Art?

If you trust the definition, given by the Institute for Graffiti Research – yes, such an institute is really existent and settled in Vienna – you will find a reference to all kinds of art, that take place in public spaces: Theatre, Music, Paintings. As you read further, two key words should be important to be mentioned: Non-commercial and Non-established spaces. So you can easily reach the conclusion, that street art or urban art is something that you don’t pay for and that you (usually) do not find in a museum or gallery.

One of the most interesting things so far, regarding these aspects, was a Facebook post, referring to a free outdoor museum, under a bridge in Cluj-Napoca.

Title and artist unknown – Cluj-Napoca – 2015 – Rémi Almodt

Title unknown – Ortaku – Cluj-Napoca – 2015 – Rémi Almodt

Artist and title unknown – Cluj-Napoca – 2015 – Rémi Almodt

For me, this is a visual best practice definition, that we can experience with our own eyes, of what urban art or street art means. An open museum, that everyone can visit, at any time, without any entrance fee.

What’s the message?

For me, the essence of the whole thing is the availability. As mentioned before, the paintings/graffiti/outcomes can be found in places, where you would not expect them and the fact, that it is accessible for everyone, regardless the social or financial – or whatever – background. It is uni(que)versal.

It is a kind of art, that is socio-political. People express something through it and we, as perceivers, are up to make something out of it, for ourselves. It could only be a simple writing that says “wake up” or “open your eyes” but still, it captures our attention and we will think about what we see, read or experience.

The messages have always been the most interesting thing for me. On the one hand, the creation is a message or a protest itself, because it is mostly illegal and seen as the violation of someone else’s property. But to take it to the public spaces and make it accessible, is a riot or protest of artists themselves – of course, the intention differs but for me it was always some kind of protest against established forms of art and the galleries that only promote the expensive kind of arts, only for a certain kind of people. On the other hand, the content, the direct message, is another kind of permanent riot. Taking slogans to the streets and leave them there, until they are removed. No need, for daily demonstrations, speeches or forms of expression.

Not to forget the illegal act against the authorities (in this case maybe the police). I always saw the relationship between the artist and the authorities as the fairytale of “Momo and the grey gentlemen” by Michael Ende – of course, this is due to my pre-influence, because I like urban art and graffiti. The artist, coloring the walls, in this case Momo, and the grey men, in this case the authorities, who want to keep the grey color of the concrete, working for the beliefs of corporations.

Why do we need such kind of art?

Three simple words: Variety, Contrast, Protest!

If we reflect a little bit, on how we lead our lives, we will easily notice, that we are bombed with advertisement in every days life. Our attention is drawn to products, presented in busses, huge advertising posters, ads in magazines, newspapers and on the internet. Everything for one simple reason: Consumption.

So, for me urban art faces as well this. It draws the attention away from these things, that keep our minds occupied with influences, bound in a system of ongoing consumption and lays the focus on personal matters and on criticizing the situation we find ourselves in. Even if maybe not the intention for every street artist, it still enriches, broadens and changes the things we see and the way we see them.

We have an urgent need for reflecting our socio-political situation and also our way of consumption. This is, why I think, street art gives a nice contrast to the advertising machinery of big corporations. This drawing by Clay Butler actually illustrates this quite well.

„Sidewalk Bubblegum“– Clay Butler – 1996 – www.sidewalkbubblegum.com

For me, this is the perfect illustration, of what is going wrong in our society. We face all this manipulative advertising, drawing our attention, leading us to buy all kind of things, we might even not need, only for the sake of having or owning them. And in the midst of all this advertising, the complaint about something, that stands out and that symbolizes non-conformity: Personal fulfillment, a piece of art, or just a simple writing on a wall. People might not share the beauty of everything that they find or see in the streets but the same thing goes for all the advertising. Even if we don’t find a direct message here, we are still smart enough to notice the paradox about this, no?

What is it that makes it an international movement?

I could see outcomes at every destination that I travelled to, so far. It did not matter if I was in Germany, Romania, Portugal, Canada or the States – and we can easily find blogs or pages on street art, over the whole world.

I think the simple reason – and a nice reason to see – is that we as humans are not so different. It does not matter, where we come from, which gods we pray to, what color our skin has or what sexual orientation we have. All over the earth we take the things that concern us into public spaces and spray or write them on walls. Everywhere, we feel the need to express things, highlight aspects or simply make the places we live in more beautiful, in our very unique and own way.

“Cerberul AMURAL” – PisicaPatrata Irlo Obert – Brasov – 2015 – Rémi Almodt

Title and artist unknown – Porto, Portugal – 2014 – Rémi Almodt

Banksy – Israel/Palestine – found on: https://www.facebook.com/Banksy-217252245137190/?fref=ts

What’s the plea now?

My plea is simple: Do something! If you like what you see, support it, share it, do something yourself, show that this concerns you. The public spaces belong to the people, so the people –which we are – have the right, to shape them the way they want it. There is something that all money can’t buy you, which I would call the self fulfillment, as already mentioned earlier. All kinds of arts are this, in my opinion. A purpose, maybe only for the sake of doing it, that silences the mind, strengthens our creativity and that lets us speak in another way. Something, that we consider as beautiful, that we are proud of and that pushes us to be active and to do something.

People should not be held back by regulations or laws that only support the commercial idea behind something. Why can’t we share spaces for free and give something, when we can and when we like it? Not everyone has money but everyone has an aesthetic understanding and one should not be valued higher than the other.

Cities have thousand faces and urban art shapes them every day and creates these meaningful faces that we can experience when we want and how we want. For me and other people it is an important part of life and one’s very own way of expression. It shows us problems that occur in society or simply tries to change spaces and make them more beautiful. It is always up to us, how we create the places we live in, we simply need to be conscious about the fact that we have it in our heads and hands.

written by Rémi Almodt, student at Babeș-Bolyai University – Faculty of Political, Administrative and Communication Sciences – Journalism (in German)