With this one a new series starts, "Arts and the city". I was wandering in the ouskirts of Lucerne when I found this small road full of graffiti. Most of the work was done by one guy, the work of whom I found in other cities in Switzerland as well - he always puts his very humorous sign somewhere in his graffiti. I wish I knew him and also other guys that get out in the night, driven from the wish to paint their things. I thought that some images of what they're doing could bring some additional color in empty streets scenes but still preserving the atmosphere of the city. Of course photographing the work of other people is not creative in the sense of doing something new. But for transferring some kind of impression of their work and of the place of their work it might have some interesest. This is the start of that road under a bridge. It looked much like the entrance of some gallery to me and so I decided to give it a try. Just the road and the graffiti, as traces of urban artistic views somewhere in the city.
I find that black upper right corner and the overexposure of the trees and the plants very questionable, but hopefully the street and the typical colors of the graffiti are good enough to let the photo still look OK.
I like graffiti very much too, as for me it is a typical expression of urban life with all its conflicts and chaos. Much like a reflection of what takes place in that problematic but also exciting and quite human "all together, each apart" of the city.
I am glad that you like graffiti too. Unfortunately no front shot of this one, and I am a bit frustrated now for not thinking about that when I was at that place. What a pity!
Thanks a lot for the nice comment and the thoughts, Dave. Well, if it is just smudging something on a statue or similar, then it is much the same like what many people do when using photoshop. ;-) The analogy couldn't be better here - just smudge something for whatever reasons and let people see it.
In cases of misusing graffiti for vandalism I am also rather upset and angry for the damage of whatever object has been defaced, and at the same time for the damage that is caused to the whole group of people that do graffiti in a serious manner. They get unwished but out of the false reasons.
But in cases of concrete deserts with good graffiti work, I couldn't be happier to have it in the city. Instead of having to face that uniform "naked" grey of concrete, I see comics, stories, unusual things. They inject so much of public life in their work, but in an unexpected way, and that alone is very welcome to me.
Perhaps graffiti is the same as what our ancestors did when they started painting thw walls of their caves. If we admire their work after such a long time, then the work of graffiti artists, when it doesn't fall to vandalism, causes much of the same kind of admiration to me.
Good capture of the colours here, Nick! I don't like to see public spaces defaced by graffiti, but it seems to be universal all over the world now. Sometimes it does have a place, but not on public or private property that is enjoyed by others, and particularly not in historic settings, IMHO. Dave.
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