Transient Art On The Walls Of Athens: 1.Graffiti

Theme: Science Fiction

Some of the strange characters that can be found on the walls of Athens seem to have jumped out of science fiction novels. Take Eros and Dreik for example. They were found on the walls of a parking area in central Athens. Both a bit blue and overweight they stand checking the cars that go in and out. Their immobility all these years on the wall has had serious consequences on their physical appearance.




Further down the street you might come across the cloud people. Strange personalities constantly talking about cloud 9.





The green masks have now become old retired super heroes who wear their masks on the weekend to remember their moments of glory.





Strange creatures seem to be everywhere in Athens. They have become familiar faces that one greets everyday on his way to work.

The Chiaroscuro Life Of Caravaggio

Andrew Graham-Dixon's book is a well researched and fascinating biography of a painter that lived a life as dramatic and extreme as the paintings he left behind. Caravaggio was different. His perspective on religious symbolism embraced truth and not glorification of the divine. Violence, sex, dirt were part of everyday life in the beginning of the 17th century. Caravaggio did not aspire with his paintings to move the common people towards the divine. He rather brought the divine down to the people in a pictorial form that they could perfectly relate to. The faces of Caravaggio's saints and martyrs were not idolised portraits but real human beings. Old men and women, beggars, prostitutes and pimps who take up their roles and re-enact scenes of religious passion.


And then his choice of when to depict the exact moment of the unfolding drama and of course the use of light, shadow and darkness will influence so many painters such as Rembrandt for example. Caravaggio's paintings are snapshots from obscure rehearsals of plays that were never performed because they were always quite provoking and overtly sensual to conform to what was considered proper at the time.


Caravaggio's life was no less real and anti-conformist. Graham-Dixon looks in the archives, blows away the dust from manuscripts and old leather bound books, analyzes the paintings and manages to lift a little the fog surrounding the painter's constant obsessions which quickly turn to confrontations with disastrous results. Duels, murder, narrow escapes, Malta and the Knights of Saint John, the Vatican, ugly scars and a death which was fitting in drama to any of his paintings, make for a fascinating read.





In the end Caravaggio's life caught up with his painting or the other way round and they became entwined. He actively sought redemption the only way he knew which was through painting. The painting of "David with the Head of Goliath" from 1609-1610 where Caravaggio has put himself in the place of Goliath, was his way of saying I am carrying the guilt and I need absolution which in the end was never forthcoming.

Transient Art On The Walls Of Athens: 3. Poster

Theme: The art of the accidental collage

As I was walking in the streets of Athens near the area of Exarcheia, a wonderful idea came to my mind just by looking the layers upon layers of half torn posters on the walls. I suddenly realised that I could photograph interesting accidental collages from the different overlapping and torn posters already posted on the walls.

But of course I soon found out, to my disappointment, that the idea was far from original having been first thought of by André Breton’s Surrealist group in the 1930s. I later on looked in the net and discovered a very interesting article written by Rick Poynor in the internet Eye Magazine from 2001 called "Surface Wreckage". Here is an extract from this article:

" ... The idea that mangled street posters might be physically appropriated for artistic purposes is attributed to Léo Malet, a French poet, who was briefly a member of André Breton’s Surrealist group. In the mid-1930s, observing the processes by which pristine printed images were transformed, Malet proposed a new form of Surrealist street poetry shaped by chance. “Soon,” he wrote, “collage will be executed without scissors, without a razor, without paste . . . Abandoning the artist’s table and his pasteboard, it will take its place on the walls of the city, the unlimited field of poetic realisations.” Commercial artists would supply the raw materials and passing pedestrians, aided by wind and rain, would intervene to unlock new meanings never intended by the designers, as fragments of earlier images, hidden below the top poster, were once again exposed to view... "

Anyway, for what it's worth, here is my attempt at the art of the accidental collage...

The above mentioned article can be found here:

http://www.eyemagazine.com/feature.php?id=17&fid=122

Transient Art On the Walls Of Athens: 3. Poster

The variety of layers upon layers of posters posted in the area of Exarcheia is impressive. With themes that cover serious issues such as immigration, corrupt politicians, statements of political intent and revolution, resistance to police and state brutality in all its forms and the isolating effect of modern society, they often use a humorous way to captivate the passer-by and pass the message quickly and effectively. Here are a few interesting examples:

Transient Art On The Walls Of Athens: 3. Poster

Theme: Electrocution

Using the poster technique, here is an artist who values electricity above all else... Using jump leads these characters share a fair dose of highlighter electrocution. The one looks like an angel already communicating his divine inspiration to a friend. Sharing is what friendship is all about after all... Maybe we should ask Gary Newman the question... "Are friends electric?"

Listen to:
"Are friends Electric?" by Gary Numan & Tubeway Army

Transient Art On The Walls Of Athens: 1.Graffiti

Theme: Modernist painting

It's a tiny taverna in the backstreets of Exarcheia. It has just two tables. But one of the tables is reserved. A gentleman who always brings his own bottle of wine can be found sitting there. His red wine is strong and it goes quickly to the head. Halfway through the bottle and the gentleman has lost all sense of time. The first doubts creep into his mind and he wonders if everything around him is real. Well, the table looks real and the tablecloth and the chairs...



But then when he looks at his hands they seem a bit flat. In fact his whole body now looks two dimensional. And the colors are a bit blunt and the contour is strange, especially when he feels his head. He tries to talk... the lips open but no sound can be heard. He manages to grab the bottle just before everything freezes. And the table is still there, with the chairs and the tablecloth. Untouched. Waiting for the next customer...

Transient Art On The Walls Of Athens: 3. Poster

Theme: Renaissance

This artist uses the technique of first drawing and painting on paper, then cutting and posting the result on the wall. The weary expression on this face and the strange use of color make for a wonderfull portrait reminiscent of a renaissance that is turning to decadence in a blink of an eye...

Transient Art On The Walls Of Athens: 1.Graffiti

Theme: The Line Motif 2



This seems to be the same artist featured in this blog in a previous entry. The winding, spiral tracing of the line is similar and the themes again have to do with the sea but this time they are in their majority black and white. The sea, pirates, boats, couples and women with flowing hair are the main themes of this artist.













The following graffiti was found on a rusty metal door of an abandoned old house in Athens in the area of Exarcheia. The rusty brown of the metal sheet contrasted perfectly with the black and white design and provided a wonderful canvas for a unique piece of art with references to Picasso and the comic book world all in one.



Photographed by Douglas in Athens, August 2010.

Transient Art On The Walls Of Athens: 1.Graffiti

Theme: The Monsters of Athens

This monster is found hiding in dark corners on the walls of Athens behind old graffiti and crumbling bricks. As soon as it is discovered, it shows its teeth and growls ... Argh ... It also changes colors. But famous monsterologists have argued that in fact there exist different species of this kind of monster. The red one in parallel streets, the grey in vertical and the green one in the city squares. One thing is clear... it has sharp teeth and it is slowly getting extinct.

Transient Art On The Walls Of Athens: 1.Graffiti

Theme: Every window tells a story

Windows of abandoned, derelict houses in the center of Athens. In their former life these windows belonged to houses, where real people lived, loved, cried and laughed. Now the windows are built in. Now there is silence. A continuation of the wall. A continuation of lifeless grey. Nobody lives here since almost a century. But suddenly... watch carefully, there is a strange commotion at the windows. Life has returned with all its complications and passions thanks to art.