Does your nose get out of joint when you see some grafitti?
Mine sure does!
....when I see ugly graffitti
marring the beauty of my adopted paradise!
Now, I will be the very first to admit
some street art can be "distinguished", if not "beautiful" LOL
graphic art by: @bitcoinist
But, come on now,
How is this anything but a desecration of civility
and the collapse of civilization?
Which would you rather live beside....
This?
or this?
This?
or this?
This?
or this?
I hope that you all have noticed
that, in preparation for the workshop that @aumsong gave
in Corinth, a couple of weeks ago now, called
Open to your Bliss
https://steemit.com/opentoyourbliss/@aumsong/open-to-your-bliss
We cleaned, landscaped, and painted this building
to hold the event (until we found an even better space).
What do you think of our efforts?
In the incredibly interesting and beautiful
Plaka district of Athens, below the Acropolis
Even the "parking lots" LOL
have been marred by graffitti!
Here is one of the heros
helping us to turn this:
into this:
A big round of applause for this gentleman please!
ouzo and out
@onceuponatime
p.s Bonus question:
Do you think that our ancestors had to deal with graffitti before the barbarian invasions?
- all photos, unless otherwise attributed, courtesy of @twiceuponatime
- once again no animals were harmed in the making of this post
If you like the work I do, please UPVOTE (and follow)!
Thank you kindly
Fun fact: The gentleman in the last photo who did all the cleaning and @onceuponatime fairly requests an applause for him (fair play, mate) is one of the nicest and most hard-working man one can ever meet!!!
Humble, respectful, good Christian, he's a Pontic-Greek who was born and raised in then USSR. He may not look it now (he's 57 now) but believe me when I say he's an ULTIMATE BADASS!!!
Served for 6 years in the Soviet Navy and spent 4 of them in the submarines many, many levels underwater. He was also a HELL OF A FIGHTER with 12 years of competitive amateur boxing on his shoulders. When he moved in Corinth back in 1998, I was a State and National High-School champ in Pankration and an absolute fighting demon/machine. When he mentioned his amateur boxing career, of course I challenged him in a friendly sparring in his backyard (he lives opposite my mom's house). My intention was to show off (an arrogant kid I was) of course and we agreed to do an only hands/boxing sparring. I am not saying I lost because I didn't really, but my ribs are still hurting to this day. The man had hands of stone and an INCREDIBLE technique and speed, despite being a humble lightweight dude. His name is Christoforos named after Jesus. A truly GOOD man!!!
Great post @onceuponatime and I agree, the whole "graffiti" in Greece is GROSS!!! AWESOME job with this building 👍👍👍
wow!!!
This was exactly how I reacted when I first saw your photo ;)
I am blushing. Btw a couple of weeks ago I dreamed that we met in Athens, maybe it's a sign.
If you decide to come in Athens and the Greek islands, I hope I can be your personal guide and photographer ;) he he
GREAT INITIATIVE @onceuponatime👍🏾👍🏾
It just takes one person with a great idea, then others will follow.
I believe that there are many people who want to do good things for their community, however they may be shy or a little intimidated. We always worry about what people think if we do this or that 🤔
So when someone like you rises up and takes the bull by the horns and make it happen that's a REAL HERO!
I ALSO GIVE MY FULL SUPPORT TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS WHO ASSISTED YOU IN THESE PROJECTS👊🏾
Thank you for your kind comment and support.
You welcome
Very impressive!
Was the work funded through Steemit?
No, I planned to sell kisses at the door to raise money.
At what point did you snap back to reality?
You call this reality?
Screw the ugly graffiti. I could understand if there was a great piece of art or your photo on the wall near my house...
But they just crap on the walls - that is all they do.
That one is something hahaha:
My some photowork
Amazing post @onceuponatime
https://steemit.com/editing/@bitcoinist/tree-name-editing-for-onceuponatime
Here is another work of mine hope you will appreciate it
The meaning of civilization is something personal. To manifest socially it would be good for everyone to understand the reason of his existence. So in order to have a culture again, we must first look ourselves individually and do not block the different roads that each one has to get there. It's a beautiful game as long as we focus on light and not into the dark.
Χίλια μπράβο! A thousand bravos for all your effort!
Barbarians will always be barbarians, but is our duty as members of this society to try educate and make people care about things other than themselves.
Oh! And just like you said, there are ugly grafittis, but there are real works of art. I spent my univerisity years in Thessaloniki and next to the ugliness and pure wish for destruction (driven by rage and disapointment) you could see quality paintings that actually turned old, deserted buildings into beautiful canvases and run down neighbourhoods into street galleries. Too bad I don't have any photos to show you...
Probably one way of judging whether it is art or desecration is if the person who puts it there has the blessings of the owner of and/or community around the site. This would be a first prerequisite IMHO.
I would agree on that, but: the final outcome could still be real art despite the "artist" having asked for permission or just took the initiative and "created" on someone else's property. What if Picasso (or any other established artist) was a graffiti artist and filled the streets with murals at will? Wouldn't his creations still be art?
What I am trying to say is that we should be trying to cultivate respect and good manners. It is an indication of how educated people are. A talent is wasted if the artist acts like an animal within the society they belong to.
I just remembered this mural by @romanie, street mural, Ibiza 2016
And this is just an example of the graffitis in Thessaloniki (I found the photo on the internet, but I have walked past this building and it is very beautiful):
Your distorted picture could be an excellent model for Salvador Dali! Of course, I agree with you in denouncing this kind of art, street art that does not take into account what it destroys (the support of the drawing). I can show that there is an alternative. I am a friend of a young artist who also makes graffiti: like a picture or on the subway in Bucharest (with the approval of the authorities)
The permission of the site owner is the first prerequisite for it to be "art" in my opinion. And yes, I have seen much street art that is incredibly beautiful. But that is not what I am talking about in this post. The barbarians in some of the towns around here are even spray painting on windows.
The same in Bucharest and I don't agree on this at all. I think these barbarians are people(probably young) without the slightest education. It's hard to fight against them.
The question one needs to ask is...
How would you feel & what would you do if your home or car was selected during the night and defaced or marked without your permission?
Would this not be considered a crime? ... a collapse of our civilization as @onceuponatime clearly indicates.
Would you like that? Is this the type of world we wish to live in?
Hats off to @onceuponatime & the "heroes" (including Christoforos) who remind us all that actions speak louder than words!
They potentially only dealt with graffiti before the invasions. Because the barbarians shouldn’t have been able to write....? But graffiti could simply be someone writing their name somewhere as opposed to a mural-like graphic defacing a wall.
Some of the current barbarians merely spray paint gang signs to desecrate the scenery. I am sure ancient barbarians were equally capable of such barbarity (using mud or shit or charcoal or something in lieu of spray paint).
Ι like graffitti those that express art and not vandalism in any wall or space !!
Congratulations on the beautiful transformation of the building for the #open to your bliss # seminar by @aumsong!!!
Yes, but much graffiti is vandalism, not art.
Υes, because the world and especially the young ones are extinguishing their anger in the wrong way. Those who actually make graffitti are artists who turn around the world, I've seen a related documentary.
You did a great job! Some graffiti really does look bad it is considered an act of vandalism in my country. And even imprisonment or a large fine can be a punishment for graffiti. But there are also stunning graffiti real works of art. Graffiti that add sophistication to the style and special charm of the city. But this is the exception rather than the rule. Most graffiti is simply absurd, obscene words, curses. In Russia where I live you can often see the writing "ХУЙ" (that means male gender body) I not understand sense this stupidity. In my opinion this is vandalism and idiocy.
Even if it is not ugly, it is vandalism and hence uncivilized if you do not first have the consent of the wall owner or community to put it there.
Yes this is so, I agree. To coordinate with the building owner is necessary if you want to create a decoration, not a crime. Look at these graffiti, I think they deserve to be called Art.
They are beautiful, and hence art, if the property owner consented to their creation. Otherwise they are vandalism.
The moment you see the last picture of this post!!!!!
You did a great job!!!
It was so tacky before.
Later edit:
Now I realized that the graffitis are a serious problem, are almost everywhere in Greece, I was skimming through my post and then I made the connection between this post and one of my latest post.
Not just Greece!
what do you think the cave paintings are?
or
or
or
graffiti or art?
That's Alien art...especially the last photo 😛
PS. Man you look so COOL btw. You look like a member of the BBQ Pit Boys. No joke!!!
dunno who the BBQ guys are..but I'll take that as a complement.
Occams razor...which is more likely
Aliens...or an ancient lost civilization?
They are civilization (of the time), NOT the desecration of civilization.
lol... I like the Greece way of parking a lot.
Great job sir @onceuponatime !!!
We are glad and very lucky to have you here in Korinth...!!!
Thank you!
What do you think of our efforts?
You and @twiceuponatime are doing great, helping this platform to grow, helping minnows like us. Your are really doing a great job.
And I don't understand why people are doing this, it sucks.
What can I say? people have chosen graffiti as a cultural thing now, once upon a time, it wasn't like that, but I think I'd rather go for the last picture where everything looks bare and clean.
never knew it was so in Greece too
@bitcoinist, really did a good job lol nice billboard with @onceuponatime,
another meet-up?
Graffiti isn't a cultural thing now. It is an anti-cultural thing now.
Everyone must respect the laws
Graffiti has become a means of expression
Really great photos posted well
"Graffiti has become a means of expression"
What, like shitting on your front porch is a means of expression?
it's so cool @onceuponatime, you do have a very high social spirit. I applaud your work, because it is very useful for all people. If we ourselves are very difficult to make this world civilized again, because it will not be achieved if others do not want to do that, but if in a country all people want to unite, I am sure, whatever we do, satisfactory result. Because of the success of a country, it depends on all the people in the country. Thanks for sharing, and hope you have a wonderful day... :)
Thank you @reynakarina
We can make world civilized by joint collaboration and association...
Yes we can.
It's nice to see the wall cleaned and well done my friend, you did the freat job. It looks new now.. :)
hahahahahahahaha, You got pretty beautiful nose sir :p
I'm 100 % agree that your nose get out of joint when you see some graffiti?
My nose is blushing at your flattery :-)
hahaha ;) you are cool man!
God bless you <3
I'm not against graffiti but also I'm not a big fan of it, some may seem beautiful but most of them we're kinda annoying and seem to bring not so good scenario. With your photos I'd rather choose the one with new painting 'coz it looks very clean and peaceful. The effort is awesome with a beautiful outcome. Congratulations to all the team for a job well done. Thanks for the share. God bless
To your question- "Do you think that our ancestors had to deal with graffitti before the barbarian invasions?"
Of course yes ! Cave paintings are the earliest graffiti :) . Graffiti are social reportage "in your face".
And that parking lot ! It blew me ! It is like the parking video game !!!! Stuck & Lost !
Great seeing a glimpse of Plaka district, @onceuponatime .
Bur the best part was the distinguishable "distinguished" street art. It is "beautiful" :). And the "Hero" is awesome.
I don't agree. Cave paintings were the culture of the time, not a desecration of culture.
Grafiitti is scrawling your gang sign on the Mona Lisa. It is barbaric, ugly, disrespectful, futile, and leads nowhere but to further degradation of the society.
Can we turn things around?
Yes, in this sense graffiti is direspectful and ugly as compared to cave paintings.
However, I was primarily talking about graffiti and cave paintings , both expressing the social sentiment of their respective times.
We are living in a social atmosphere of disrespect, chaos , crime, distortion and ugliness. Graffiti of today reflects the same.
Perhaps we can turn things around. But for things to turn around, first a cycle needs to end. The dilapidated tower needs to collapse before a new tower can come up.
We are living the tower moment as they say in Tarot.
And we do have beautifully structured street art.
This reflects that b attempt to restore the society is definitely underway .
Let us do our bit and have faith, @onceuponatime .
I don't think our ancestors had to deal with this and we shouldn't either. That was a very nice clean up you all did and I am totally impressed. This looks way better now and I totally love the clean up. You guys look all clean up and cute too.
Ah, now I'm blushing.
Haha you are one interesting man. I like you. You are really funny and kind. Thank you
yeah, unfortunately most of graffiti in Greece is suc a far cry1 from real art and in most cases just crap... Much like most modern Greek buildings which are the epitome of ugliness.
Props to you for helping clean the mess a bit :)
Thanks.
Bravo!!! I hate the beaches look though! It gets into my nerves...
Well, if I actually owned the building I would have put a lot more into the way it looks. (I certainly wouldn't want to get into your nerves lol). But we were only going to be using it for the weekend.
I will wait till you buy the beaches!
Well in that case you better talk more of your friends into upvoting me (so you will not have to wait so long)
It is a shame but white or light paints on building sometimes people interpret as an invitation "to come and draw something" using graffiti like in western countries or coal there is nothing else. It is like a canvas for artists.
In my home city there was a building that had a big light colored wall without windows and almost every week it was a horrible graffiti work was left, so the owners painted it every week. One day they decided to ask a well know among graffiti users artist to do a nice work of him on that wall, of course he left his signature under and it was really a great artistic work. You can't that wall never was spoiled again.
So that might be a decision for such buildings too.
That is a great job you, guys have done, before and after photos are really impressive. We need to involve more people in such projects.
I believe that in the past our ancestor also had to deal with such naughty young people who liked to leave their traces on walls. This is just very human.
Thanks for your educating post and wish you a nice weekend @onceuponatime
Lmfao this seems to be more chaotic than here in India 😂 what to do when you need to get the last car out? 😂
Awesome, initiative @onceuponatime! Your work is really beautiful and I agree with you the graffiti you cover up with paint looks just awful. Seriously makes me want to puke. Your work actually makes the buildings look fresh and brand new.
Some graffiti in my home town, which is usually pre-agreed with the state looks much nicer than the building itself. For example:
Bonus question:
I doubt that they had graffiti back than. So the walls should have been pretty clean :))
Amazing art work done on walls , your painting on a wall is also looking good , I know it's not real it's only photo effect .
that looks cool and fun bro @onceuponatime
@twiceuponatime has always
ways been helping you alot in creating memories.....
You have been doing alot of work...GENTLEMAN
He is helping a lot.
I really love what you guys did with the painting. I wonder why people just go around painting walls and buildings that do not belong to them . Why hasn't there been any law prohibiting this act of nuisance.
What's ilthe name of that colour you guys used in doing the painting? Peach?
Hope the even went as planned and successful?
You are right, now there are a lot of graffiti on our streets and often they are inappropriate or generally vulgar, so of course I would be pleased to live in the place where you are with the company in the photo and I think that many also would like to live! Thank you @onceuponatime
The funny thing is that some governments are actually supporting it.
A state governor in my country recently commissioned grafitti artists to place their art on public structures across the state.
A commissioned work is not what I am calling graffitti.
We all need to be united to find better solutions.
Well arranged post sir.
Great, everything was clean and nice to watch. You did a great job. It's good that there were still people who care about what the streets of the city look like.
Good morning... i prefer the photo with us! :)))
our ancestors had to deal with graffitti :PPP
look this
https://goo.gl/images/P3vhMQ
P.S. we can make the world civilized if Tsipras goes somewhere else... :ppp
Very funny the first photo :D Well this is kinda creepy, we should clean our street or houses walls.
well civilizing the world again ?
Union is strength
upvoted and resteemed.
Congratulations on the beautiful transformation of the building for the #open to your bliss # seminar by @aumsong!!!
The true indicator of civilization is not the level of wealth and education, not the size of cities, not the abundance of the harvest, but the appearance of the person being brought up by the country. And you proved it, you are civilized and very good person :)
This really sucks..
I don't understand why people have to do this.
I think they had more important things to take care of
Kind of weird stuff! But these artwork looks amazing! :)
It kinda does lol but would you do this to the walls of your own house
That's why it is weird! No one likes it to be at your home or place even if it is nice one.
This is really a great work, having to clean,scrap and paint it back to reality(sane). Ain't an easy job but there was a drive for it which was the meetup. Since you ain't using that same place. The owner will everly be grateful for shaping the building. Well done Sir