A few years ago, a random chain of events led to me standing in front of a group of German students answering questions about 'America'. One student asked if there was much graffiti in the States. Unless you live in a city, the answer is not really. Outside of the cities, instead of being seen as an art form, it falls into more of the 'act of vandalism' category. Living in Europe for the past years, I have become a fan of street art that is part of the city. Rather than defacing a structure, it enhances it.
When I had the chance to go to Barcelona for a few days, I knew I would be on the lookout for some of the street art for which the city is famous. While I didn't have enough time to seek out great works, I did happen to come across these interesting pieces in the neighborhood of my hotel.
I will never tire of Amsterdam graffiti and all its creativity.
Just a few pictures from a Sunday morning walk through west Amsterdam, which led to the discovery of this beautiful piece of graffiti, a bicycle floating in the canal and a close-up look at my favorite empty construction site. A nice step away from the cute scene in the center of Amsterdam, towards something a bit dirtier and familiar. I guess that what keeps me going back to Berlin time and again.
As I prepare to head to Berlin on Wednesday, I thought I would resurrect one of my great life mysteries. While I was living in Seoul, I spent a lot of time in Hongdae, an artsy neighborhood in the north with some of the best graffiti in the city. I spotted the above work one day, thought it was interesting, and snapped a photo.