Bright pinks, deep blues, sunny yellows and a splash of rainbows. Street Art is a concept very prominent in Colombia and from what I can see in Ecuador too, which makes me assume it is quite common in the west. Actually I witnessed it for the first time in London, with underground music revolution, where people display their musical talents in the Subway, on the streets and outside restaurants.
But come to think of it, it exists in India also(in the form of snake charmers and kids with monkeys); but you often notice much more when you are traveling than in your every day lives. Its like all your 5 senses magnify everything you see, hear, taste or do. That explains why people put on so much weight when they are travelling. Like all my friends complained about gaining weight right when they first arrived to India and I put on 8 kilos in 2 months when I got to Colombia. I used to think its got something to do with the change in time zones but this sounds more like a plausible explanation. The flavor of the food is just exaggerated in our mouths and we think its extra tasty and that's why eat more! Also this is the reason why most people invent things or get the best business ideas while traveling. Because when they find something in another country that can fill the need gap in their own, their heads go Koo-Koo. They think...hmmm.. why don't we have something like this in our country? We really need it..hmmm... Oh maybe I can be the one who starts it.. and before you know it BANG BANG BANG! We have our next Blake Mycoskie!!
Back to my point... While I was in capital city of Colombia, world famous for its street graffiti, each and every wall, flyover, building, street y calle made my eyes pop out! My excitement made my local friend, who admitted he took it for granted, re-appreciate it more. So I took on the mission to photograph each and every Graffiti I saw on every wall, and failed miserably to do so in the one odd week I had there. But I sure did acknowledge its worth on my every TransMilenio, bus or taxi ride.
There are many forms of street art. Mostly visual, it could be audiovisual or in the form of fine art or performing arts. Graffiti in particular is not vandalism in any sense. If anything it adds to the aesthetic value of a city, adding more character like in the case of Bogota. Some of them are more than 10 to 15 years old; as told by a friend who had been living in the city for 30 years of his life. I just learnt that there are many forms in Graffiti itself. Stencil Graffiti, Post Graffiti, Neo-Graffiti, Gerilla art, Sticker art...and more. And that's just for graffiti... imagine there are performing arts, caricaturing and so much more!
More on that coming soon... but before that... do you know how a regular Colombian conversation between two friends goes?
In Bogota, one friend says to the other, "Wanna go out and paint the city red, tonight?" The other says "Not possible, man! There aren't any left empty." Hehe.
So now that you had enough of my super lame jokes, go ahead and enjoy the Grafitti below. :)
But come to think of it, it exists in India also(in the form of snake charmers and kids with monkeys); but you often notice much more when you are traveling than in your every day lives. Its like all your 5 senses magnify everything you see, hear, taste or do. That explains why people put on so much weight when they are travelling. Like all my friends complained about gaining weight right when they first arrived to India and I put on 8 kilos in 2 months when I got to Colombia. I used to think its got something to do with the change in time zones but this sounds more like a plausible explanation. The flavor of the food is just exaggerated in our mouths and we think its extra tasty and that's why eat more! Also this is the reason why most people invent things or get the best business ideas while traveling. Because when they find something in another country that can fill the need gap in their own, their heads go Koo-Koo. They think...hmmm.. why don't we have something like this in our country? We really need it..hmmm... Oh maybe I can be the one who starts it.. and before you know it BANG BANG BANG! We have our next Blake Mycoskie!!
Back to my point... While I was in capital city of Colombia, world famous for its street graffiti, each and every wall, flyover, building, street y calle made my eyes pop out! My excitement made my local friend, who admitted he took it for granted, re-appreciate it more. So I took on the mission to photograph each and every Graffiti I saw on every wall, and failed miserably to do so in the one odd week I had there. But I sure did acknowledge its worth on my every TransMilenio, bus or taxi ride.
There are many forms of street art. Mostly visual, it could be audiovisual or in the form of fine art or performing arts. Graffiti in particular is not vandalism in any sense. If anything it adds to the aesthetic value of a city, adding more character like in the case of Bogota. Some of them are more than 10 to 15 years old; as told by a friend who had been living in the city for 30 years of his life. I just learnt that there are many forms in Graffiti itself. Stencil Graffiti, Post Graffiti, Neo-Graffiti, Gerilla art, Sticker art...and more. And that's just for graffiti... imagine there are performing arts, caricaturing and so much more!
More on that coming soon... but before that... do you know how a regular Colombian conversation between two friends goes?
In Bogota, one friend says to the other, "Wanna go out and paint the city red, tonight?" The other says "Not possible, man! There aren't any left empty." Hehe.
So now that you had enough of my super lame jokes, go ahead and enjoy the Grafitti below. :)
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