Friday, October 01, 2010

The Hunt for Graffiti


Some of you know that I'm madly fascinated by art. Tried my hand at painting for a while, now I have brushes and an easel that stare at me and a mad urge to paint something, but the hands just don't do my bidding.
 
That is when I discovered Graffiti Art. Not the kind that deface all our public monuments and urinals and buses and benches, not the kind that reminds you that Raj (Hearts) Minal, twenty years after they broke up..this is fun, colourful, totally zany and something I'm itching to do. Just that I don't know if the wrists that don't shake while wielding a brush, feel wary about glorious freehand across huge spaces.

Someday when I build my own place, I think I will have my own graffitti wall.. I saw some amazing ones in Amsterdam and Paris. Some were posted in my Europe travelogue.

I just wonder how Graffiti artists let others wash away their creativity when they run out of walls to paint on...Perhaps its lack of permanence again shows the boldness of the artist, the free spiritedness to let their art get swallowed by time and whims of others, unlike those paintings that get preserved for generations for people to see.

Wonder if a Van Gogh and Matisse could do Graffiti...I'm sure Rafaeli and Michaelangelo could - painting glorious scenes on chapels and fresco art is a glorified form of graffiti, is it not? Or is saying that blasphemous to the Gods of Arts? 

I think freehand in art is a divine skill, some day graffiti too would be more lauded. For now, my tribute to the numerous unknown kids who gave pleasure to my eyes and fodder for my camera..




5 comments:

  1. Sometime I do feel that the walls of my house are so boring though they are in a colour I love... lighter shade of the onion peel. I feel like going mad with some paint but I wonder if people can stand my madness even on my wall. Already my non-conformist ideas have raised some eyebrows as permanently as a face lift would!...:) So it has to be a 'no-entry MY room'....maybe before I die!

    ReplyDelete
  2. If you like graffiti, you'll love Amsterdam. Having said that, I'm going to check out the John Lennon wall in Prague next week! The king of all graffiti walls!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Graffiti, the kind that is an art and not vandalism, is certainly interesting. Your post has given me an idea. I've been wanting to give my apartment a facelift. Maybe, I'll reserve one side of the wall for Graffiti. Something to think about, eh?!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think you should atleast give your garage a taste of your madness..i think you have a very good eye, you can't go completely wrong..:)

    25BAR: Envy you, seriously I do..look forward to some of your pictures...

    RGB: That's a great idea..but keeping your family members posted about your mad-decision might be a safe idea..;)

    ReplyDelete
  5. in mumbai we had the municipality along with a few ngos providing paint,walls and brushes to the citizenry to come out and paint the walls along the railway tracks between mahim and dadar!

    ReplyDelete