Review of the Year - Graffiti Art








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It's that time of the year when our media starts their picks of the year and Veg Plotting isn't going to be the exception. Today's post is the start of several compilations to keep you entertained over the darkest days of winter. I thought it was also a good opportunity to have a play with another Slide option as it fits the subject matter so well. Besides, it covers up the fact there's only 10 pictures in the slideshow!

2008 was the first time graffiti appeared in Chippenham in its more 'artistic' guise, though of course whether it's art is still being hotly debated. Suffice to say Banksy, its most famous proponent, has seen some very lucrative sales of his work this year, plus the recent publication of a 'coffee table' style book. Sadly the stencil-style works appearing around Chippenham and Trowbridge aren't Banksy, though I do hope to show you some real examples from Bristol in the New Year.

I doubt anyone dislikes the examples I found in Bristol in September. These very colourful pictures decorate the hoardings outside the refurbishment of the dockside Industrial Museum. It was a project a group of graffiti artists held with local schoolchildren and portrays their views of what Bristol is all about. If you look carefully at the 3 pictures (new to Veg Plotting) in the slideshow you'll see a small metal grille in each of them. These provide a tiny window onto the building work going on behind.

Artistic developments have not been so dramatic in Chippenham since my previous posts on the subject, but several signature style examples have started to appear in the town. Apart from these, I'm not documenting the rest of the town's graffiti as it would take forever and isn't that interesting. Our newspaper this week suggests there will be a clampdown on this type of graffiti in the coming months, particularly where it is offensive (e.g. at St Andrew's Church).

I've been sent a timely article this week about Graffiti in the Garden, particularly the work done by a group of Brazilian artists at Kelburn Castle. Whilst I like the work used at Bristol docks to cover a temporary eyesore, I'm unsure about an entire building, particularly an historic one. Have a look here and see what you think. You'll also see there's a lively debate going on in the comments!

Previously on Veg Plotting:

Was it Banksy, Is it Art?
Chippenham's Banksy - Update
Graffiti Spread

Comments

  1. petoskystone14 December 2008 at 13:22

    wow! kelburn castle is beautiful now :)! that is certainly one way to generate interest in your public garden. the artists are some brave folk to be painting that high up on the chimney & turrets.

    ReplyDelete
  2. VP14 December 2008 at 20:09

    Hi Petoskystone - good to see you and thanks for Following too :)

    I was worried that no-one would read to the end and actually see I'd found a gardening angle to all of this! Thank you for doing so. It's an amazing transformation isn't it?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous15 December 2008 at 20:30

    I read to the end too. Sometimes I go on botanical and pick a bunch I like and then go back for a good read. Glad I came back for this one. Such a lively debate going on. I think maybe they should pick which buildings to paint. So I sorta like the idea. Cheap way to get unsightly buildings refurbished. But the castle pictured? I think it ruined it. I prefer to see the beautiful old stone and brick.

    ReplyDelete
  4. VP16 December 2008 at 12:10

    Hi Anna - glad you read to the end too. Yes, I think painting a lot of our bland 60s concrete buildings would be an improvement. In fact thinking about it, they've done that in Bristol already with some of the big blocks of flats. The residents chose the colour schemes too. However, they were huge slabs of colour rather than pictures!

    ReplyDelete

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