Ranging in age from early teens to mid 30’s, Sao Paulo’s controversial pichadores meet weekly to exchange blackbooks, writings and the latest info. This past Thursday, they met at their regular meeting place in the center of town that they refer to as “The Point.” They seem to represent a range of educational levels and economic backgrounds. And unlike most NYC writers, they were eager to be photographed.
A different kind of street art emerges in São Paulo’s economically disadvantaged neighborhoods on the outskirts of the city — some of which I visited yesterday. It is mostly the writings of the pichadores who practice São Paulo’s distinct tagging style, along with graffiti that reminds me of some of the walls I’ve seen in the South Bronx. Here’s a sampling:
photos by Lois Stavsky
I arrived in Sao Paulo yesterday, and within an hour of exploring the nearby streets from my base here in the center of town, I came upon dozens of alluring, diverse images. Here are a few:
Many more to come! (I’ve identified the artists whose work I recognize; info on the others to come).
photos by Lois Stavsky
Check out this classic video of Brazilian street artist Zezao creating a very intricate piece inside what appears to be an abandoned building. Zezao is best known for hitting up his symbolic like tags in some of the most unusual of places – infamously this includes the sewer systems in Brazil. It’s a shame that Zezao opts to smash down the wall right after having finished the piece, but I’m guessing that all part of it?!
Lots of amazing pieces have been hitting the streets of one of my favorite countries recently by some of my favorite artists. Check out these pics of work by Zezão (above), osgêmeos, Titi Freak and Emol.
Can’t wait to see this finished!
Loving Titi Freak’s evolving style – he’s pushing himself in a good direction.
Emol’s new work is awesome, so I’m posting two photos for him.
Thanks to Zezão, Titi, Emol and @felix001 for the images.
– Elisa
Brazilian street art is just plain cooler than street art anywhere else in the world. For a bit of evidence, check out this work from Cena7. His paints some beautiful characters, and I can’t imagine him being from anywhere else. It’s exactly the sort of work I would love to be surprised by one day walking around town.
See more after the jump…
Photos from Cena7
If you’re in Rio De Janerio sometime between now and the end of May, the one thing you can’t miss is Os Gêmeos’ show there. It looks absolutely amazing. More photos at Arrested Motion.
Two really enjoyable street art videos hit the blogosphere today.
The first is from Pure Evil. He’s been in Brazil for a show, and it looks like he’s having a great time checking out the street art there. Some really cool work by extremely talented artists, most of whom I’ve never heard of.
C00l Pure Evil story. The other day, my friend asked me about buying some art for her room. She’s into stuff like Rothko, but I thought I’d try to get her into street art. I sent her an email with links to about 15 street artists to try to get a feel for her taste. I figured she’d end up loving stuff by Remi/Rough or Anthony Lister for their more traditional styles. I threw Pure Evil onto the list because I have a piece by him that I really like, but I didn’t expect her to like it at all. It’s a stencil and it just didn’t seem like her taste. Turns out, Pure Evil was her favorite artist that I linked to. Now, she and I are going to stop by Pure Evil’s gallery to check out his work in person. So that’s my tangent for the day.
The other video is of Shepard Fairey on CBS. It’s a pretty good interview, though I think I caught an error or two when they talk about his original Andre the Giant campaign. Fairey mentions his problems with the AP and claims that his work falls under free speech, so he is not guilty. Can’t wait to hear how that argument plays out in court. I’d love it if he gets off not guilty with that defense.
Via The Art Collectors Blog and Hooked
