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.

Advertisement

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.

Mid-summer round up, and a podcast interview

This morning, at 8 am sharp, a number of loud explosions marked, as they do every year, the beginning of the week-long Festa Major de Gràcia, which is the neighborhood bash in which streets are decorated and crowds come to drink, dance, and celebrate the summer. It’s a noisy departure from the quiet which usually reigns in Barcelona in August, which is traditionally the time when many Europeans take their legally-mandated month of vacation, and the Catalans are no exception.

Because my next entry (or two) will very likely be dominated by shots of the decorated streets, I’ve decided to post what I’ve taken around the city so far this summer, starting from mid-June, to now. Most of the pics are from the Poblenou area, as well as the “three chimneys” park near Paral.lel.

As the title suggests, I’m also including a link below to a podcast interview which I did earlier this spring as a part of a project called “All the Brians”, where Brian Alexander travels around the world interviewing all the Brians he can find. In my interview I talk about life in Barcelona, street art, the ongoing conflict between Catalonia and the Spanish State, as well as what it’s like to live as a Brian in Barcelona. It’s long, but I think it’s worth the listen. Here is the link.

My first video, some random shots, and another impossible kiss.

I’ve been toying with the idea of trying to make videos for quite a while, and I decided that my recent phone upgrade to a Galaxy S9 was the perfect opportunity. Perfect opportunity, but far from perfect video. I’m happy with the resolution, however I don’t think the video would be watchable for people who suffer from severe motion sensitivity. So, it looks like the next investment, should I decide to continue dabble in videos, I think my next investment will be a gimbal. However, as they seem to run for, minimum, a few hundred dollars, I may wait just a bit. In any case, here is the link to the video, in case you’re interested.

As for the shots in this post, they come from a city about 10 minutes outside Barcelona, called Mollet del Vallès. It was found on the walls of a secondary school on the Rambla de Balmes, while I was on my way to one of my rent-paying gigs, working as a Cambridge English assessor, which often takes me outside the city. If you’re interested in seeing these, here is a link to the location.

The other shot comes from none other than TV Boy, and features an impossible kiss between two arch-rivals from the world of European football, Pep Guardiola (with the yellow ribbon) and Jose Mourinho. While the two have moved on from the posts where their rivalry was most heated, as managers of Barça and Real Madrd, respectively, the memory of their entertaining jabs at one another lives on.

A sweet spot on the corner

In the heart of Gràcia, on the corner of Verdi and Asturies streets, you can find the Pastisseria Verdi, a pastry shop which is quite popular with locals, known for its red exteriors and delicious, sweet baked goods.

Recently, the Catalan artist Rice has installed a new project on the red exterior of the corner bakery. All of the work are portraits on which there is a baked good somewhere on the faces of the subjects. Interestingly, there is also a QR code which takes you to a site where each work is accompanied by a text. Here is the link, in case your QR code readers are not cooperating.

Spring shots from 3 Chimneys

Here are a few shots from the latest visit to the 3 Chimneys park near just off Paral·lel Avenue. While the work I find is sometimes hit or miss, I like the way the park itself has evolved into a sort of street art oasis in the middle of the city. It also seems to be attracting more and more tourists with increasingly professional photography gear, though much of it is being used to make skate videos.

The other shots come from the interior of the old city centre, where new work continues to become increasingly rare. I can only hope the summer will bring some surprises.

Work in progress and some larger bits around Gràcia

As the title suggests, my featured shot for this entry is a work in progress which is being painted on the doors of a street-level parking facility on Ros de Olano street just a few blocks from my home. The artist has also painted another gate on my street, but I’m including this one, as the subject is more exciting to me: the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.

The other shots are from various gates, a large mural of a baby from the Vallcarca neighbourhood, a pasteup criticizing the selfie culture, and two large pasted up murals which I think come from the same artist, and can also be found here in Gràcia.

End of year near Paral·lel and Galeria Arnau

My last set of shots for 2017 here in Barcelona came near the Three Chimneys Park just off Paral·lel, which hosts the “free walls” graffiti project. Be sure to check this article from July, via fellow blogger Barcelona Lowdown. The other photos are from just across the street at the (relatively) new Arnau Gallery, the open-air mural project which has a rotating schedule of public exhibitions. The one in this post was replaced about two weeks ago, but it’s definitely worth the trip if you’re in town. Here is a link to the facebook page with some past work, and some interesting videos.

Distractions, silence, a pasteup

There’s been a bit of radio silence on the blog lately, but between the beginning of course, having fallen down the rabbit hole of blockchain technology, and of course the current political situation, I’ve been neglecting the writing. I’m working on a piece on the Catalonia situation, which changes by the hour, as well as a recap of random shots I’ve taken over the past few months. In the meantime, I leave you with a pasteup I stumbled upon on the 1 of October, the tumultuous referendum day.

Quick shot: Mr Robot mural in Chelsea NYC

For those of you who watch the series Mr Robot, you might remember the season 1 finale in parking lot. A friend of mine and I were strolling down 6th Avenue in Chelsea while catching up and happened upon this familiar sight. I managed to get a few shots, but I thought this rare shot of myself below the mural would be a nice way to kick off the summer, when hopefully I’ll be posting a bit more regularly.