Transient Art On The Walls Of Athens: 1.Graffiti

Theme: Death and Freedom

A Skeleton with a Horse. Or rather Death and the Horse. Death and Freedom. A beautiful work that captures your imagination as you walk by. A composition which could very well have the signature of E. Munch and find its way in a museum. But it's not from Munch and you don't have to pay a ticket to enjoy this work of art. It's free, somewhere, on the walls of Athens...

"Le Cheval Blême" de David B.

In the darkness, David B.'s nightmares come galloping from the subconscious. In comic book form he manages to recall all the strange places that the pale horse has taken him through. The black and white elliptical splendor of strange sequences and phenomena where everything is possible. Innocense, guilt and imagination, horror and the abstraction of the familiar lead to absurd situations which could nevertheless also be contained in a short story form.



So if a clown asks you to help him find his way out of a labyrinth or one day you suddenly feel your nose grow long then it might also be time to help Mr Death find a real job...

Transient Art On The Walls Of Athens: 2.Stencils

Transient Art On The Walls Of Athens: 1.Graffiti

Theme: The Line Motif



This artist has a clear personal style which is exemplified but the repetitive pattern of lines, the stylistic figures and the nautical, sea themes that are represented. The use of the yellow color and the bee-like black outline are striking

Transient Art On The Walls Of Athens: 1.Graffiti

Theme: Strange Geometry

Geometrical patterns are favored by these graffiti artists on the walls of Athens.

Colors and shapes vary and provide rich decoration on otherwise grey or derelict buildings.

The next graffiti could very well be mistaken for a primitive painting as powerful as the prehistoric paintings found in the caves of Lascaux.

Transient Art On The Walls Of Athens: 1.Graffiti

Theme: The Sculptor

This artist prefers the technique of working on paper and then pasting the paper on the wall like a poster. His main theme is abstract sculpture drawings which could very well be studies or ideas before actually they become sculptures.

It is an unusual, each time relatively small in scale work and therefore hard to spot. The artist signs with a small greek m.

Transient Art On The Walls Of Athens: 1.Graffiti

Theme: Gas Masks

The gas mask is a recurring theme for graffiti artists in Athens. In the area around Exarcheia where clashes between anarchists and riot police is a recurring phenomenon, the gas mask primarily symbolizes survival and resistance against police brutality.

It also makes a statement on a variety of issues from the environmental decline of the city...

... to isolation and the loss of human contact admidst a society that is devouring its own children.

But it can also be seen as making a reference to a sort of Orwellian nightmare society where everything is strictly controlled in an artificial way and oxygen itself has become a valued commodity.

From brut expression to beautifully detailed almost comic quality refinement, the gas masks of Athens stare at you and certainly get the message across.

Photographed by Douglas in Athens in August 2010.

Yuri Pavlovich Annenkov: A Russian Modernist

A russian artist of the early 20th century, Yuri Pavlovich Annenkov (1889-1974) left his mark in the world of modern painting by experimenting with different mediums and techniques and by combining at times various influences from Cubism to Impressionism, to Expressionism, to Dadaism to the art of caricature. He collaborated with magazines and worked for theatre and cinema as a graphic artist. His portraits are of exceptional quality and his graphic work bears the whole-mark of movements such as the Russian Avant Garde and Futurism.

But the balanced blend of Cubism, Realism and Expressionism are especially striking in some of his portraits. Not everything is deconstructed. The straight lines and cut up world of Cubism covers only the background and a realistic portrait with expressionistic traits is placed in front of this background as if sitting in front of a painting. Then the shadows, the colors and the lines which know no boundaries, overlap and come together as a whole.

Annenkov later on experimented with abstract paintings and collages as well as sculptures of mixed materials. Carrying his Russian Avant Garde credentials, he managed to bring together diverse movements and styles. This was always the basis for a quest that would take him to the edge of modernity.

A Gainsbourg demo

The song is called "Comme un Boomerang". I first heard it covered by Etienne Daho and Dani in a live version which was not so bad. And then one day, I came across a demo version that all mighty Serge had briefly put together in a studio. It's clear from the recording that he intended to re-work the song at a later stage. But I think, this version, the original unfinished one, is the best. The guitar sound like a forgotten mantra from the seventies, resonates in a repetitive fashion similar to the song "Give me some truth" by John Lennon. And then the voice of the French chameleon of pop and rock music carries it through to the end. In fact Serge can be heard at the end of the song saying I have to listen to this again. I propose that we do the same...

Listen to

"Comme un Boomerang" by Serge Gainsbourg

The vintage modernity of Ed Askew

Acid folk at its best. Ed Askew is a somewhat obscure American artist of the late 60's and 70's. He is still around experimenting and producing music, but in "Ask the Unicorn", his 1968 debut album and the follow-up tapes of "Little Eyes" (released only in 2003 as a "reissue" that was never issued in the first place) he produced a work that has stood the test of time. He played an instrument called tiple with 10 chords resembling in sound something between a banjo or ukelele, a guitar and a harp. There is a certain urgency in Askew's playing and singing (every song was recorded in one take) and then there is also the shadow of the Bob Dylan emphasis on the lyrics and the delivery. But the songs of Askew have also a certain magical transparency and timelessness in them. The voice is wavering and fragile. David Shirley mentions in his article "The ageless poetry of Ed Askew", that Askew shares with Robert Wyatt "... an incremental, chord based approach to composition and arrangement, layering swelling triads, looped arpegios and the occasional whimsically Monkish flight to build simple keyboard progressions into rich, emotionally compelling soundscapes...". His music is actually simple and complex at the same time. In fact everybody seems to agree nowdays that this is just another case of an artist (see also Dalton, Drake and so many others) making music that could only be appreciated long after its creation.