I think that graffiti says a lot about a place... when all you see around you is "tag" (that awful hieroglyphic scrawl marking public walls in a macho branding reminiscent of dogs marking their territory) it is intimidating, ugly and defacing of the public spaces we share. But, when graffiti is combined with creativity, with wit, it becomes street art in the most inspiring, politically charged, humorous and anarchistic fashion. And here, in Valpairaso, a port city just north of Santiago in Chile, this sort of graffiti is abound... every wall is marked with the most talented murals, stencils, poetry, political slogans - they are a joy to see and I have spent many hours walking the streets in the search for the most creative, interesting and challenging of them.
Valpairso is a charming place - it consists of many hills which wind upwards from the central port, evoking memories of Wellington with its winding narrow streets and colourful tumbledown houses which cover the hills in a wild confusion of old and new, small and large, thin and wide. Artists, students, bohemians, poets and musicians flock here and the local craft shops are as numerous as the cosy welcoming cafes with stained glass windows and wooden chairs... it is a city that invites you to stay awhile and teases your conceptions of order, of art, of fashion, of politics. Viva Valpairaso!
I think that graffiti says a lot about a place... when all you see around you is "tag" (that awful hieroglyphic scrawl marking public walls in a macho branding reminiscent of dogs marking their territory) it is intimidating, ugly and defacing of the public spaces we share. But, when graffiti is combined with creativity, with wit, it becomes street art in the most inspiring, politically charged, humorous and anarchistic fashion. And here, in Valpairaso, a port city just north of Santiago in Chile, this sort of graffiti is abound... every wall is marked with the most talented murals, stencils, poetry, political slogans - they are a joy to see and I have spent many hours walking the streets in the search for the most creative, interesting and challenging of them.
Valpairso is a charming place - it consists of many hills which wind upwards from the central port, evoking memories of Wellington with its winding narrow streets and colourful tumbledown houses which cover the hills in a wild confusion of old and new, small and large, thin and wide. Artists, students, bohemians, poets and musicians flock here and the local craft shops are as numerous as the cosy welcoming cafes with stained glass windows and wooden chairs... it is a city that invites you to stay awhile and teases your conceptions of order, of art, of fashion, of politics. Viva Valpairaso!
1 comment:
I love this picture of the colorful houses on the hill! We loved Valparaiso too, but didn't have enough time to wander around too much to notice all the fantastic graffiti (!). And you're heading for the Inca Trail soon, yes? You are braver than I! Can't wait to see and hear all about it.
Also... yippee for all the penguins you saw in Choros! Amazing.
We just arrived home in New York and I am already missing the craziness and beauty of South America.
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