Athen's streetscape: May Wallism

Shiftazine has posted observations before about Athens and it’s renewal.

This city is a constant surprise and source of inspiration and delight.

And despite the financial hardships and extraordinary difficult situations, it still brings forth a visual langauge that is memorable. 

The walls of this splendid city are full of ‘Wallisms’. They come in many styles.

 Some are just spontaneous scribbles, some call it graffiti. 

Some of the ‘Wallisms’ are well-executed images, that are considered and crafted and beautiful.

Just love Athens!

Wallism_November: Ode to 'old school' design

Package design is an ever-present part of the urban landscape. 

Strangely, cigarette and tobacco packaging, a key to the overall identity of this commodity,
is vilified in many modern cultures.
Although people within those cultures still use the product inside.

In other cultures, usually more ‘old school’, this visual language is still considered an attractive and acceptable part
of the every day advertising and promotion campaigns.

The Language of Manga_August's Wallism

The image of the left hand page was found in a Tokyo subway station.
It was an illuminated billboard for an advertising campaign and there were about 10 different billboards in total in the series.
The images were 19th century inspired Japanese based imagery but evoked a sense of contemporary Manga drawings for me.

The image on the right hand page is the current ‘Wallism’ of the Lord Gladstone in Chippendale, inner Sydney.    

Wallism_Peeling back time

‘Triumphs and Laments’ is comprised of a 550 meter-long frieze along the urban waterway of the River Tiber in Rome.

It is the South African artist, William Kentridge’s largest public work to date.The figures, which are up to 12m high,
chart the city’s historic victories and defeats, ranging from Romulus and Remus to Pier Paolo Pasolini’s murder outside Rome in 1975.

The dark silhouettes were created from the layers of accumulated grime on the naturally pale travertine embankment wall by
applying high-pressure water jets to giant plastic stencils, a technique better known to street art as “reverse graffiti”. 

It will, sadly, fade away as grim returns.

There for wall to see: February's Wallism

Wallisms are an important part of any society.
Walls are canvases, they provide a platform that is available to all within a society to utilise in whatever way an individual, or group of individuals choose.

These Wallisms, which use to be viewed as vandalism, are vital to the health of a society.
They make statements, either personal, or political.
They allow the rest of us to see what others are thinking and or feeling.

So whether you agree or disagree with the content, or the technique of the image making, just be grateful that we have the freedom to be allowed to create them.

Wallisms are important to all who take time to look.

Wallism_Athenian Phoenix

Beautiful homes and buildings in inner city Athens are crumbling due to neglect and hard times. But this sad situation is the bringer of an opportunity by giving young artists a strong visual presence.  

These buildings are being reinvented and turned into canvases upon which wonderful, playful imagery is placed. 

A statement of renaissance and defiance driven by the artists of Athens which ensures this eternal city maintains contemporary relevance.

Wallism_Serendipity

Walking home can sometimes be a drag.  Sometimes it throws wonderful things in front us.

Pure ‘corner of the eye’ stuff.

This example of Wallism is to be found at the intersection of Cleveland and Regent Streets, Redfern / Chippendale.

It wont be there for long as it is but a happy accident of actions and reactions.

Just love finding something I was not looking for.

A Wallism that speaks a volume

While walking through Redfern, an inner city area of Sydney, shiftazine found this 'Wallism'.
It is a beautiful poster that sits on a very old green painted wall of a very old building in the heart of Redfern.
The sentiment of the poster struke shiftazine as an important one.
How does one define a nationality in this modern world?
Is it one of genealogy?
Is it one of history?
Or is it one of an attitude?
Here is some information found on Wikipedia about the contribution and association Afghanistan has with Australia.

Is it one The "Afghans" or "Ghans" were camel caravaners who worked in Outback Australia from the 1860s to the 1930s.
They included Pathan, Punjabi, Baluchi and Sindhi men from the region between the southern Hindu Kush in Afghanistan and the Indus River in what is now Pakistan, as well as others from Kashmir, Rajasthan, Egypt, Persia and Turkey.
Besides providing vital support to exploration and settlement of the arid interior of the country, these cameleers played a major role in establishing Islam in Australia, building the country's first mosque at Marree in South Australia.
Even though the Afghans' help was greatly appreciated they were also subject to discrimination because of their religion and appearance.

Wallism_A Universal Language

Wallism is a creative activity which knows no boundaries, borders, or limitations.

The degree of thought and planning and execution is a constant source of delight and admiration.

The above examples were found in the heart of Athens (2015), a place rich in energy and art. Wallism rocks

One word says it all

One word says it all...

Craved

Most Wallisms are painted or drawn on walls.

But these quirky examples, found in Agious Nikolas, Crete, have been craved into the soft plaster of an innocent wall.

Childish or sophisticated? A statement or a visual whim?  Skilled or clumsy?  Delightful or vandalism? 
Maybe these are a bit of all of the above, but Wallisms are a part of the texture of a place where people live, everyday.