I found some more work from Australian artist, Crisp. This is located around Septima y Calle 52 or so…I don’t think it’s Obama necessarily that Crisp is raging against. Rather, I think it would be any U.S. President or Western leader. They all seem to represent the problems with the world: debt, war, hate, greed, pollution, and fraud. The indigenous people pictured next to the evil capitalist, are the people who essentially started this world. They’re the ones who respect the earth and approach the world with purity. The powers that be have ruined the simplicity and destroyed the opposing forces of monetary balance, peace, love, generosity, clean air, and truth. Notice two things: First, Crisp has his name with the proper ideals on the clothing of the indigenous people, while obviously Obama is cloaked in the opposite. Secondly, someone has tagged an “L,” I’m assuming for “Loser,” on Obama’s head and I’m pretty sure that wasn’t Crisp. But, I could be wrong. I’m awaiting verification.
Bastardilla (“Italics” in English) is one of the leading female street artists. She’s known for doing very large murals depicting women experiencing different forms of isolation or sadness. This one on a huge wall facing a children’s playground, shows a woman inhaling daggers. She has murals all over the world including Madrid, Guatemala City, and Boston. Sadly, there’s a story that Bastardilla was raped in Bogotá when she was younger and that experience has served to influence her paintings of women. 29SEP12. Bogotá, Colombia.
The artist Rodez is considered a legend on the streets of Bogotá. He’s in his late 50’s-early 60’s and he is a published children’s book illustrator/designer when not painting on the streets. Keeping his passion all in the family, he paints with his two sons, Nomada and Malegria. The three of them are from Colombia, but are based in Buenos Aires. Here are some highlights below:
* Tokidoki hit the max space limit last week, so I am reconfiguring my blog in order to keep it running smoothly and to feature premier content only! So, I’ve been revisiting older posts and deleting and editing in an effort to streamline the content. Here is one of my first posts ever ~ as I started this blog while living in Bogotá, Colombia in 2012 and Bogotá is where my passion for street art and graffiti was born:
Please follow me on my journey as I seek to learn all about the street artists’ work that I admire so much here in Bogotá. For example, today I realized that a lot of the work that I thought was solely Lesivo’s, was really also Toxicomano’s and DjLu’s?! I found this out by researching what I could online and by also going through my pictures and seeing the distinctive styles. Well, they’re becoming more distinctive…
Throughout Bogotá, the city’s walls and its lampposts are covered, so the next logical surface are planter boxes. On Carrera 7, there are at least three blocks of planters decorated with the art of DjLu and Lesivo. I think they’re new as of this weekend. Bogotá appears proud of its artists and seems to consider their creations as something that beautifies the city.
DjLu Planter on Carrera 7
Lesivo planter
The picture above is a closer look at the type of stencil work that is on at least fifty planters on Carrera 7. “juegasiempre” means “always game.”
Also pictured above, is another planter box on Carrera 7. This time, it’s Lesivo! I think this mural refers to money being evil and how a person can start out beautiful, pure, and idealistic, but the influence of money can corrode one’s soul. I don’t understand the politics of Colombia enough to really say, but it appears to be a reference to the political leaders.
Toxicomano in the Macarena
I captured this shot out of a taxi window. “Somos muchos mas” directly translates into “We are so much more.” This is a beautiful mural by Toxicomano and it’s featured in the Macarena.
This is my favorite piece by Toxicomano. “Los Feos Somos Mucho Mas Bonitos” directly translates into “The Ugly are Much More Beautiful.” I have no facts to go on, but I interpret it as a political statement condemning the wealthy elite, saying that all citizens need to be heard and represented.
The picture above is one of my favorite symbolic Lesivo images. I like his inclusion of cameras and photographers in his works. I mentioned in a previous post that I think they represent the idea “…so that we don’t forget…” and I’m sure that phrase is referring to something political, but I have yet to uncover to exactly what . Stay tuned as I go deeper and deeper into the art on Bogotá’s streets (and walls and lampposts and planters and…) – All pictures: Bogotá, Colombia 23/24SEP2012
Again, I drove by on a bus one day and had to go back and take a closer look. It was risky here and a bit dangerous. Two men walked by me and told me I shouldn’t have my camera out in this area. I got pissed off and told them I have every right. They kept walking past me, but I really wanted to ask them why people think they have a right to just take what isn’t theirs. Pissed me off. Anyway, taking a closer look at the mural: it’s a protestation against the “Tratado de Libre Comercio,” – TLC – (Free Trade Agreement) – between India and South America (Colombia). This artist is equating India with Nazis. Negocio Redondo means “Windfall.” Crisis equals TLC equals War.
