In my photo collection, I have several of graffiti. I’ve always enjoyed taking photos of graffiti. You often come up on it unexpectedly; it has eye-popping colors; it can make you wonder what the graffiti artist was thinking; and there’s that element of transience.
Flevopark, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 2009
We unexpectedly came across Flevopark as we were cycling back into Amsterdam after spending the day in Muider. It turns out that graffiti is not completely illegal in the Netherlands. There are places that are designated as legitimate graffiti walls and areas, and Flevopark is one of them. As Americans, it was novel to see people creating away on the walls with their spray paint, concentrating on what they were doing, and not worrying about getting caught.
This graffiti artist didn’t mind that we were watching him so closely.
Working on a detail, Flevopark
Flevopark is busy!–graffiti, skateboarding, bicycles, and chatting.
In Paris, I caught sight of this at the entrance to the Promenade Plantee, a disused railroad track that was turned into a park. While I’m sure the posters were placed over the graffiti, it looks as if the graffiti artist carefully went around them.
Entrance to the Promenade Plantee, Paris, France, 2007
I also like to photograph hanging laundry, so this was a double bonus.
Barcelona, Spain, 2012
I spent a large portion of the summer of 1994 in Poland, and while there, I went to visit some friends in Lviv. Earlier in the year, there had been an election, and throughout the city, campaign slogans remained on fences.
Lviv, Ukraine, 1994. Translation: If you want order, vote for Shkil (Andrei Shkil is a Ukrainian nationalist).
Portland, OR has a large Slavic population, and this is on a popular cycling/commuting trail that heads east out of the city.
Springwater Corridor Trail, Portland, OR, 2011
I thought I’d finish with one of my favorites. In 1997, I spent about seven months in Russia and Eastern Europe. While in Kiev, I stayed on Andriyivsky uzviz, a picturesque, old, windy and cobblestoned street. My hotel was, literally, half finished. The elevator wasn’t working yet, so you had to take the stairs. At each landing, you could look to the hallway on either side. On one side, the rooms were all finished, and on the other, the halls were still full of construction materials and walls taken down to the wood underneath. I passed this graffiti scene every day when I walked along the street. I’m not sure who the characters are supposed to be, but they remind me of the characters in the old Fat Albert cartoons.
Kiev, Ukraine, 1997, Andriyivsky uzviz
