Can we make the world civilized again?
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!