I found myself stuck for a few minutes without an umbrella when the rain started. Luckily there was space under the arch at the entrance to Passage de la Bonne Graine
below: A little portrait by Sohan Street above a torn and defaced group photo of four men. The latter is signed in the bottom corner as Docteur something but because the paper is ripped, the rest of the name is lost.
Three Chimneys is an urban park that is built on the site of an old power plant. In Catalan it’s Jardins de les Tres Xemeneies while in Spanish it is known as Jardines de las Tres Chimeneas. It is one of a few legal places for street art in Barcelona.
below: Long horizontal mural by a group of artists, Noble, Turkesa, KTHR, and Wios painted as part of a Mural Jam in October 2022.
below: Monkey see, monkey do. “Buy bitcoin” says the Banksy monkey, pasted over the topless green woman whose portrait was signed in pink by Santiago [illegible surname].
below: purple duck
below: True love is pierced, tattooed, and stitched up.
below: “Relax, you’re on a floating rock”
below: Braiding green hair with snaps, crackles, and pops. Signed, dextre polo
below: Three chimneys refers to the three brick towers, or smokestacks, from an old coal burning power plant, the first one built in Spain. The first chimney was built in 1881 (or 1896 depending on the info source) by the Barcelona Traction Power and Light Company; the other two followed in 1908 and 1912. It became known as La Canadenca (in Catalan) because in 1911 one of its major shareholders became the Canadian Bank of Commerce. Each tower is 236 feet tall (72m) and up to 13 feet (4m) in diameter. Most of the facility was demolished in 1987.
below: Slaps on a metal pole.
below: poster high on a wall, #universalhumanity series of wheatpaste and collage
Some of the large pieces of equipment from the power plant were left scattered around the park to look like sculptures, adding interest and historical perspective to the public space.
below: Equitat is written across her chest in a painting by Vale Wilson and Popi. This is a very recent creation and was one of the murals painted for Womart Jam, and event that featured 10 female artists. It was held on International Womens Day.
Marvellously layered. Contributed to by many. Evolving over time.
below: “Please point the camera toward me” and a Salvador Dali portrait by Pat Brazil. In the middle, a large black and white object that resembles a bomb, a needlepoint bomb.
below: With hope in her eyes, by RAF Urban whose work reflects the idea that diversity is hope. Orange paint has partially hidden the bottle of pills (was there a label?) as well as the woman’s face and hands (what is she holding?).
below: Kandin ski. There are quite a few of these pictures around Barcelona – a whole series featuring different well known people. This Kandin-ski was the only one on this door. I haven’t been able to find out who the artist is – clues may lie in the top line of ‘text’ in the upper left corner but I can not figure out what it says.
below: Some wheatpaste in various conditions including a very torn and peeling Ironmould black and white drawing and a red capped Amar Garpa. Unsigned, and therefore unknown monkey, dog, little kid, and man with red beard and glasses.
below: The square in the top right corner reads, “The purpose of this festival is to use art as the attraction of the Qr code, generally used in transactions involving money, purchasing, and capitalism.” (last word in red). Then it is repeated in Spanish (where it might make more sense). “…. es utilizar el arte como atractivo del codico QR, en general utilizado en transacciones implicando dinero, compras, y el captilalism’.
Freeman Alleyis a private lane that runs parallel to the Bowery close to Sara Roosevelt Park and Bowery subway station. It has become a destination for graffiti both for those who make it and for those who want to look at it. Stencils, wheatpaste, and stickers are the most common and there is lots of it! There is probably more than one blog post’s worth so this is just the start.
below: No loitering in the alley. About to munched on – this one-eyed pink and purple banana by eye.sticker is i danger of losing part of its peel.
below: “Do you see this?” Eyes and hearts but with a tear or two.
below: Mickey Mouse crucified, and a feline love more, #nohatefamily. Something about hello mushroom in there as well.
below: “Black Lives Matter is a movement, not a moment, by Individual Activist,
below: Many faces here including a lightning struck David Bowie. In the center is an anti-war poster by Brad Heckman (aka hecksign) that features a portrait of Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky.
below: Another Individual Activist anti-war poster. Ukraine is not Putin’s blank canvas. On the left is a big colourful beetle by modomatic.
below: Another modomatic, this time a multicoloured mask. Sticking out on the right is a yellow arm with a pink donut and half smoked joint while a Half Brooklyn Crooklyn’s figure is running away (the last is by TheOhioGirl).
below: Another modomatic creation – insect like? Botanical?
below: “So much love” on newspaper by jkosart along with a back and white intricate drawing of a creature of some kind (signed moose)
below: A picture of a painter painting a picture, by font147
below: Two women – one on the Sony screen along with one as a BLM tribute by Voxx Romana
below: Mother and Child on blue
below: A yellow duck below an old faded poem. Once there was a bouquet of red roses but it looks like someone showed their displeasure with pink paint.
below: At the very top, a multiple-eyed face by sold out art show. The woman with the black and white flower hair has her own post on this blog – see Unleashing Flowers.
below: A period piece, black and white in sepia, from 33wallflower33,
below: Oversalted broccoli and a boxer
In case you are interested in such things, there is a gallery/shop in the alley that features the work of many of these artists.
Street art of a slightly different kind…. Seen pasted on a wall on a street in Paris – a display of black and white prints of famous paintings by women artists from over the centuries.
below: ‘Game of Chess’ by Sofonisba Anguissola (c1532-1625, Italian)
below:Self Portrait by Judith Leyster (1609-1660, Dutch)
below: Portrait of Antonietta Gonzales painted by Lavinia Fontana. (1552-1614). She was possibly Italy’s first professional painter. The subject of the painting, Antonietta, suffered from a condition known as hypertrichosis (aka werewolf syndrome), a rare genetic disorder that results in excess body hair. Antonietta’s father also had the disorder as did two of her sisters.
below: A man’s portrait by Rosalba Carriera (1673-1757, Venetian)
below: ‘Portrait of a Lady as a Vestal Virgin’ by Angelica Kauffman (1741-1807), a Swiss Neoclassical painter. Her father was also a painter. He started teaching her at an early age and by 12 she was already known as a painter in her own right. Kauffman was one of only two women founders of the Royal Academy in London.
below: “Still Life with Flowers and Gold Trophies” by Clara Peeters (1589-1657, Flemish)
below:
Another still life with flowers, this one by Rachel Ruysch (1664-1750). She was a Dutch artist whose painting career lasted more than 60 years; she was a master at painting still lifes with flowers.
below: ‘The Redeemer’ by St. Hildegard von Bingen (c1098-1179), with a copy of the original (in colour and unfaded) underneath. St. Hildegard, or Sybil of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess with many accomplishments to her name.
below: ‘The Penis Tree’. Between about 1325 and 1353, Jeanne and Richard de Montbaston printed books and manuscripts including the “scandalous, rude and misogynistic” poem, the ‘Roman de la Rose’. The first 4,058 verses were written by Guillaume de Lorris in the early 1200s and they describe a courtier’s attempt to win over a woman. About 40 years later, Jean de Meun (aka Jean Chopinel) wrote another 19000 lines. This was before the invention of the printing press so each manuscript was hand drawn. The picture shown here of a nun picking penises from a tree is attributed to Jeanne de Montbaston.
In the 13th arrond. of Paris, on rue de Croulebarbe, there is one segment of wall covered with street art.
below: Unfortunately Chloe’s name has been added on top of this mural by Titomulk, a pair of French artists. It hides some of the intricate black and white details, as well as some of the text, of the “Insania Cultura” mural. A singer with her microphone, a portrait of Van Gogh, a book with the title “Knowledge is Power”, a Spiderman mask, and a very naked man. “Si vous trouvez [illegible] culture, coute cher, essayez l’ignorance” translates to ‘If you find culture too expensive, try ignorance.’
below: Painted to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of “The Kid”, a silent movie starring Charlie Chaplin, by Sweb and Sonia O.
below: A Mr. Myl creation – text and a toothy purple guy with a white nose ring, greenery, and barbed wire
below: Five black and white portraits of women with red text, “Hey Heroes, I will be your Queen”.
below: 3-D blue man face with rainbow bubbles by Gregos.
below: More 3D heads, this time it’s Mr. Serieux with 5 green stars, Mr. Affreux, Mr. Soleil with his yellow rays of light, and Mme Lune with an orange crescent moon that looks like an orange banana or a piece of canteloupe.
below: Rue des Deux Boules is a short street, only one block long. At one end is rue Bertin Poiree where you can find these two little 3D objects stuck to the wall – a gymnast standing on one hand and a striped octopus.
On a little dead end street near Gumpendorfgasse u-bahn station, there is a small series of murals. The most prominent one, is of a man in a black striped long sleeved T-shirt taking a picture with a polaroid camera.
To his right are a few images that look like they are the resulting polaroids – part of his collection perhaps.
These images were painted by Jana and JS, a couple who have been painting murals together for many years.
below: A collaboration between Dutch artist nilsRVA (aka Nils Westergard) and local Viennese artist emilone (aka emanuel jesse) produced this peaceful looking sleeper.
below: The woman on the right with the curly hair was painted by Paola Delfin.
below: Some more emilone pieces – unfortunately with some graffiti added.
below: Down beside the man in the baseball cap, there is text, p.phobia. Is this a “signature” of the person who painted that man? The righthand side of the artwork is more emilone.
The painting are from 2014 and 2015. The photos were taken June 2022.
Eyes on the Streets 