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Moreland Graffiti
Photos and discussion about Graffiti in Moreland.
Upfield Bike Path Part 2
Labels:
Brunswick,
CartoonCharacters,
Factories,
RailwayLine
Mr Miyagi and the Upfield Bike Path
In one of his essays John Updike poses the question: what is American about American art? Is there some essential element that marks itself as an obvious boundary between a work of art that is American and a work that is, say, Australian. He argues that the demarcation point could be more profitably thought of as that line that divides the endeavors of the Puritan White European male from other groups within a society, suggesting that the gap is one of social and economic power rather than nationality.
Fuck Your Blog |
Mr Miyagi |
For the most part you would not expect these artists to be in their mid forties; practicing law by day while breaking it by night. In the City of Moreland most graffitists are men under the age of 18 years and have a diverse socio-cultural background. Still, graffiti as we know it today grew out of the impoverished inner urban precincts of New York City as an act of violence against society. It grew from within the culmination of of voices whose lives had been relegated to silence in the wake of their communities abandonment for the for the more desirable suburbs. The once lively inner urban environment then became an alienating and impersonal landscape where people could loose their capacity to etch out an identity, whose meaning had once been firmly embedded within the rich diversity of difference that was represented by the various ethnic groups that had settled in and opened up shop (Graffito, Dondi White Style Master General).
"According to Victoria Police statistics, graffiti is the highest recorded crime in Moreland. There are 24 graffiti gangs operating in the municipality. Six of these have become territorial, tagging everything in their paths" (Moreland City Graffiti).
In my own part of Moreland I am currently witnessing the gentrification of what was once an ethnically diverse and affordable part of Melbourne. Still, while 62% of us were born in Australia; and many of these 1st generation no doubt, there remains a very visible contingent of Italian, English, Greece, Lebanese, Chinese, Indian, Malaysian and so on. With some variation this seems to be typical of Moreland all the way way from North Fitzroy to Pascoe Vale and Oak Park (City of Moreland Profile).
I have noticed a distinct tension between street art and graffiti, in a previous blog I showed where "Dolphins" had covered over a street mural with his or her signature piece stating "Graffiti Lives".
While not a paid piece the above image shows what had once been a photorealistic image that has since been covered over with a variety of forms of graffiti. This is I suppose, as it should be, given the ephemeral nature of the art form but I can't help wish I had captured her face before she was obliterated by the walls subsequent history.
Behind this final image is the Lux Foundry, it is a magnificent building and a good example of how Brunswick and environs are Metamorphosed in a reversal of Franz Kafka's novella: from a large monstrous creature barely understood by those around him, back into a salesman whose primary function is to ensure you feel safe enough to spend a few extra dollars on a Cafe Latte with your breakfast eggs.
Labels:
Brunswick,
Mural,
Photorealim,
Pieces,
RailwayLine,
Society,
Territory
Location:
Brunswick VIC 3056, Australia
Step-by-Step. Graffiti in the Second Laneway
Not far from the Rona and Insa piece is another dead end lane that houses its own gallery of surprising delights:
Labels:
Collingwood,
Genius,
HumanFlourishing,
Romanticism
Location:
Collingwood VIC 3066, Australia
Rone & Insa in Collingwood
Labels:
Collingwood,
Gif-iti,
Insa,
Photorealim,
Rone,
Rone&Insa,
Wabi-Sabi
Location:
Collingwood VIC 3066, Australia
Full of Colour - Bendigo Street
Unfortunately it is all too easy to find street art in and around Melbourne. Turn a corner and you are faced with this:
Bendigo St, Collingwood 01 |
Labels:
CartoonCharacters,
Collingwood,
Mural
Location:
Collingwood VIC 3066, Australia
Photorealism
Photorealism in graffiti
Traditionally graffiti has been associated with lettering and figures, as a walk around Melbourne's inner urban streets and alleys will attest. There are, of course, variations on theme as designs bounce around both the visual and conceptual, and the neural and social networks of the various individuals and groups who participate in graffiti. Ideas grow as they are challenged, influenced and reinterpreted to provide something novel from a syncretism of the old. And to be honest I have come to find tagging by itself a little tedious, even some of the bulbous bi or tri-colour throw-ups without any attending comic characters now tend to fade beyond the blurred edges of my peripheral vision. Instead I find myself drawn to the Pieces such as those of the FYG crew or the larger murals which, thankfully, are numerous and various enough to keep the brain engaged.
In Ma'Claim - Finest Photorealistic Graffiti, it is explained how the graffiti of the HipHop movement spread around the world in a kind of cultural osmosis. As its forms and function were adapted by other groups it began to change and in East Germany the Ma’Claim crew started to produce a photorealistic style that, coupled with arresting wall concepts, soon saw new transformations of graffiti art across the world.
For some beautiful images of Ma'Claim's work see here and here.
Driving down Hoddle Street I catch a glimpse of this image looking down onto the car-park of a maternity clothing outlet called Pea in a Pod.
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Labels:
Collingwood,
Ma'Caim,
Mural,
Photorealim,
Pieces,
SackvilleStreet
Location:
Collingwood VIC 3066, Australia
Zombie Clowns & the Killing of Mahisasur
These images were taken the same morning I jumped the fence of the abandoned factory. They occur just around the back of the factory or, more accurately, just behind Moskkito Restaurant. Pity I did not yet have the 14 mm lens yet, although it is actually a 16 mm lens on the D300s. Bring on the mythical D400 with a full frame sensor I say!
Zombie Clowns Dummett Cres 01 |
Labels:
Abandoned Building,
Clifton Hill,
Cultural Variation,
Hindu Graffiti,
Indian Aesthetics,
Mural
Location:
Fitzroy North VIC, Australia
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