New York City’s electrifying street art may just make up for its incessant noise, pollution, and subway-shoving. (Not street performance art, mind you… the interpretive dancer who takes up residence on a nearby street corner tends to be a tad progressive for my taste. I’m judgey about my art.)
But really good, actual street art tends to give a city character, grit, and personality.
I try to capture pictures of street art while traveling (and in real life), in part because the nature of the art tends to reflect the character of the city itself. When I saw a gorgeous-photograph-stuffed post on Rommel’s blog The Sophomore Slump a few months back, I made a note that I had to assemble some of my favorite street art pics into a post.
An alleyway off of Rue St-Denis in Montreal gifted me with my very most favorite street art. Ever.
How stunning is that? I’d like to swim in it. To whomever created this masterpiece, I issue a challenge: show yourself! I seriously want to commission this artist to spray paint a wall in my house.
It doesn’t have to be a grand masterpiece to wow me. I like words, too!
Our recent trip to Lisbon, Portugal yielded some particularly gorgeous pieces.
Like its Portuguese-speaking sister, Rio de Janeiro also had some gorgeous street art, even if I was warned not to take my giant camera out for frequent picture-snapping.
Not content to stick to more traditional ‘graffiti,’ artists in the Santa Teresa neighborhood of Rio spray-painted directly onto overflowing tree roots.
While art from halfway around the world is always cool, some of my favorite pieces adorn my own neighborhood here in Manhattan- I feel like I get to know them in passing by almost every day.
There’s a mural on the side of the Elizabeth Street Rag & Bone store that changes every couple weeks. A couple times I’ve seen the artist at work, crafting something new.
And who doesn’t love angel Tom Selleck?
For someone who just can’t seem to get into modern art, I don’t know why street art appeals to me as much as it does.
Perhaps it’s the concept of bringing color and attention to walls that would otherwise be ignored. Even the grittiest corners of the city should have their moment in the sun.
**I’m currently in Austin gettin’ my yeehaw on, so if I’m a bit slow in responding to comments and the like, forgive me. We’re still friends!**
Some really amazing and beautiful examples of street art!
Thank you, Jenny! NYC is a really excellent city to scour for street art... for all the grit & grime, it seems there's something beautiful lurking on every corner!
Holy Basquiat! This is wonderful. I shared this post with my friend who is an Art History Instructor and Art Curator - can't wait to hear her reaction.
Why thank you! :D I would absolutely love to hear your friend's take on street art... is it becoming more of an accepted, mainstream form of modern art?
Hey miranda, this is awesome! I especially liked the picture of the tram in Lisbon - reminded me of my exchange travel when I was still a student! I should make a note to do a collage like this one day. this means i have another excuse to travel! Although Buenos Aires definitely has its street art too.
Ooh, I would LOVE to see your collage of street art, both from Buenos Aires & your days traveling as a student! Did you study in Portugal?
Hey Miranda! I've never studied in Portugal - only in Mannhein, Germany when I was on exchange! The rest of my studies were done in Singapore, where I'm from ;)
Hope you're having fun in Austin!!! I love street art, too. I was just talking to my best friend about it on Friday. Philly has a lot of murals (especially in the area around the zoo), and we drove by one that featured a whale... that led us into a whole conversation about it. We also drove by a truck that featured graffiti that said "You are very beautiful." That's the nicest graffiti I've ever seen! Thanks for sharing these photos. I love them all, but I think my favorite is the same as yours. It seems to move!
SO much fun in Austin- although it's meant I've continued to be a Very Bad Blogger. :{ Oops. I feel like graffiti is getting nicer & nicer (in spirit) these days! Less gang tagging and more inspirational quotes or pretty designs. "You are very beautiful" must make people smile all day long! :)
You are so right, good street art gives character to a city. And you have captured some amazing street art here.
Thank you so much! It's really interesting how street art varies from city to city. It really is a reflection of local concerns & ideology. I find it fascinating! :) Thank you again for stopping by.