After a long pause…

As I had expected, after taking on a full-time position, along with some administrative duties, at one of the schools where I had only worked a few hours a week, has turned my old routines upside-down. Add to that a 2-week trip to New York in September (which will be the topic of my next post) The month of October was on fraught with adjustment as I juggled old responsibilities and new, into a new sort of lifestyle. This particular responsibility was one of the balls that got dropped.

It looks like I’m beginning to get my bearings, and I’m currently in a two-day lull before it comes time to start organizing final exams before the winter break. So I’ve decided to take advantage on this chilly Sunday–also the day of Spain’s 4th general election in 4 years–to post a bit of what I captured before I got really busy at the beginning of September.

Most of these shots come from my normal hunting grounds, the Tres Xemeneies Park neat Parallel, and the “free walls” near Poble Nou.

One notable exception is the pasteup work of a previously featured artist, Postman art, a portrait of Karl Lagerfeld, found in the Raval.

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July scribblings, pasteups, and a crazy rabbit

August this year turned out to be a lot busier than the last, work-wise, which means I wasn’t able to make my annual trip to the Sants Festival, which takes place just after the one here in Gràcia.

However, I did have some great shots from an outing in July, where I found, among other things, a TVBOY pasteup of the Barça star Coutinho, and a crazy stoned version of the Trix Rabbit.

Pact with me… TV Boy strikes again!

I’ll end this month with another spectacular work from TV BOY, who has once again made headlines in the local and Spanish press with his artistic take on the political gridlock which has once again paralyzed the central Spanish government. This time, it’s between Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez and Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias. Sanchez won the most votes in the election and the most seats in the Parliament, however he falls short of a majority to be named president. He would need the support of left-wing Podemos and its leader Pablo Iglesias. Iglesias’ support doesn’t come without a price, and so far it’s a price that Sanchez isn’t willing to pay. Sanchez has failed in two rounds of voting and has a final chance in September before a repeat in elections. Most polls point to important gains for Sanchez and the socialists, but a weary and bitter electorate could prove to be unpredictable. An especially dangerous situation with the ultra-right wing populist VOX party waiting to pounce. Only time will tell what happens, but I’m sure TV BOY will have something to say, whatever the result.

This work was a pasted just off the Plaça Sant Jaume, where both the Barcelona City Hall and the Catalan National Government Building are located, so it got plenty of attention.

The Postman in Barcelona

Just on the heels of my previous post, imagine my surprise when scrolling through my Instagram feed when I saw that the Postman had made a visit to Barcelona. The artist has placed (according to response to my comment) around 30 pieces around the Raval and Born neighborhoods. Because of the heat, and limited time, I was only able to find the ones below, but I’m hoping the others last long enough until my next trip down.

Freeman alley: the Postman, Sacsix, and pasteups

It’s been nearly a month since the last post, as this year I found myself bogged down between playing catch-up after a short trip to NYC, wrapping up two new university courses, and taking on some extra Cambridge examining. The images from this entry are from just that trip, which has become an annual pre- or post- Memorial day trip to New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

These pasteups all come from Freeman alley, a very easy-to-miss hidden gem, just off lower Manhattan’s Bowery.

The pasteups themselves come mostly from well-known artists The Postman (Warhol and Basquiat) and Sacsix (Danny Devito). I’m not sure of the artist of the partially-gone Kurt Cobain, but I’ll be sure to provide an update.

Next time you find yourself in lower Manhattan, I’d recommend you swing by the alley, as it’s always full of some interesting art.

Meme on the wall

One of my favorite memes from the last 10 years was one called Bad Luck Brian, which was a photo from someone’s awkward teen years accompanied by text detailing some type of instance of incredible misfortune. While it’s long past its peak, it still makes me smile (perhaps because of my name). So imagine my surprise when walking the dog one night here in my neighborhood and seeing a shutter painted with a portrait of the gawky, redhead.

Interestingly enough, I uploaded the image onto reddit, and received a message from the real bad luck Brian, asking for the name of the artist. Unfortunately, there is no signature on the painting, so I had to leave the real “Brian” disappointed.

 

First street green, an art park in the East Village

For this month’s second entry, I’ve decided to once again cross the pond, and highlight one of my favourite stops when in NYC. These photos are from the First Street Green Art Park, which as the name suggests is on East first street, near Houston (pronounced HOWS-ton), just on the border with the Lower East Side. It’s a community effort, and features new art nearly every time I visit. I enjoy this space, because many of the murals, in addition to being quite beautiful, also convey positive, optimistic messages. Something in short supply these days. There aren’t too many concentrated spots for street art in this part of the city; it is plentiful, but scattered. Here is the space’s twitter account, so you can keep up with any goings-on.

La Modelo: The transition from prison to cultural center

La Modelo was a prison located in the central Eixample neighborhood of Barcelona, and was home to many political prisoners during the Franco dictatorship, and also the site of many executions, among them the killing of anarchist Salvador Puig Antich in 1974.

I used to live just across the street and it was always an imposing structure, though usually strangely quiet, except for the occasional karaoke nights that would echo out from over the walls, which occupied an entire city block.

The prison shut down definitively in 2017, after 113 years in operation. It is now an open space, and is used for tours, civic events, and most notably its walls now serve as canvases for urban art. Below you’ll find a selection from a recent trip I made to the area, which is located here.

 

Nau Bostik: a warehouse of art and culture

I had heard and seen photos around the net of some mural work at the Nau Bostik, a cultural center which is a converted factory at the edge of the Poble Nou area, the old industrial center of Barcelona. Due to time constraints, I hadn’t been able to make it until just before Christmas. I definitely recommend the trip, as they regularly have art markets and concerts along with other special events. Below you’ll find some of the art I encountered that day, including a character from Game of Thrones by well-known Barcelona artist Axe Colours.

 

Better late than never… An extra entry and resolution

I have promised myself numerous times, and have even stated in an interview, that I would post twice a month, no more, no less. That said, I have decided that this January 2019, I will make an exception and post three times. One of the reasons for this is that I have quite an archive of worthy images that is backing up in my cloud storage, impatiently waiting like planes on a runway, to take off into the blogosphere. So, without further ado, here are some images that come from a session in early November, a mix of locations including the Poblenou neighborhood and the more central Paral·lel area. The images speak for themselves, and I’ll save lengthy commentary for the following posts, which will come from this December/January’s visit to New York City. Happy New Year!