Cidade Cinza - The beauty of a changing city

Two weeks ago, on November 22nd 2013, 'Cidade Cinza' was launched at few cinemas in Brazil.

The documentary, features big names of Sao Paulo's graffiti scene, and talks about the irony of having removed paintings from well renowned artist, like the 'OsGemeos', from the streets of the capital whilst these same artists are exposing at famous galleries around the world.

Besides agreeing with the principle that graffities made by talented artists add colour to grey, boring cities and, of course, that the government should spend our money combating crime and more important matters than 'cleaning' the walls of the streets. I believe that 'expiration' is part of the game, and that the beauty of street art is that it's changing all the time, it's not permanent and, in many cases, it's illegal, therefore created under certain circumstances that made the works what they are. If everyone was allowed to paint what they wanted, take their time in doing it and having their creations preserved, graffities, and street art in general, wouldn't be as impressive.

Let's be honest, there are two roles in the society here; one is for the people that fight against the system using art as their weapon, and the other one is for the regulatory bodies that fight back. Referring to my previous post Street Art vs Arte de Rua it's thanks to that, that the techniques are evolving. Without control and adrenaline it would be too easy and boring!

While Sao Paulo's prefecture is busy painting the walls grey, I will be busy searching for new artists and beautiful paintings...

Dear Mayor, there are many serious problems in this city that need solving!
Don't waste time & money erasing graffiti on the streets!
Source: http://nanicolina.com

Sao Paulo's council workers painting the streets grey.
Source: https://www.facebook.com/cidadecinzafilme

Street Art vs Arte de Rua

Everyone knows that the traffic here in the city of São Paulo is not the best, and while I spend an hour sitting on a crowded bus, a lot of things come to my mind, so, what I am about to say may seem very obvious to many, but is something that I've just recently realised.

If you look at the street art you find in London vs. what you'd find in São Paulo, there is a clear difference. São Paulo artists are generally more about graffiti, hand free draws with vibrant colours whilst the British focus a lot on stencil, little sculptures or ready made print screens that are pasted onto walls... The reason?? - Is not just the Banksy influence - is the security!! 

The English capital counts with thousands of cameras that are connected to a very effective police, so the artists have to be very quick if they don't want to get caught with the subsequent fine and possible arrest (this week the Space Invader has been reportedly arrested in NYC ). The solution? - pre-ready made creations that take less time to spray, paste or glue to the walls, and possibly with more expensive materials that can be afforded by art students and well-known/well-paid artists.

In Brazil the reality is different, there are barely no cameras, and it's definitely not the priority of the police to run to stop someone spraying at wall when there are many other more important crimes to resolve. Two Sundays ago, I found someone painting a beautiful well detailed graffiti here near to my house in a quite posh area of the city, at 4pm and nobody seemed to be bothered about it. At the end of the day they add a little fun to this enormous metropole :-)

And just another observation, whilst the street art in London doesn't have a very long-lasting life - unless is painted by Banksy and ridiculously protected by the council - the paintings in São Paulo last much longer because there are no resources to clean them... thanks God for that!

Graffiti in Liberdade, Sao Paulo

Stencil on the walls of London's Old Street/Bricklane area

Back here

I created this blog in October 2011 and since then I haven't written anything. A busy time schedule and a bit (lot) of laziness have stopped me posting regularly, or at all, here, but since there have been many changes in my life, and I am a bored housewife now (hope not for too long), I have decided to re-start the project.

Expect my thoughts about the new country I'm living in (Brazil), and a loooooot of the street art that decorates the walls of this grey city, São Paulo; no shame for the streets here...