The long running argument and discussion that has been rumbling on since 2011 concerning murals put up secretly during the night (articles here and here ) just took a new twist and direction as the residents of Barga Vecchia woke up this morning to find once again evidence of work by graffitti artists had appeared overnight.
The walls of the historic Palazzo Pancrazi – the town hall seemed to be the preferred “canvas” for the creative work of the unknown artist or artists as most of the designs seem to be centred there but the Piazza Salvo Salvi was also covered in many of the chalk drawings and some nearby the Teatro dei Differenti
During daylight the drawings on the walls and piazza seem to have very little reason for being there but once the street lights come on at dusk, the method behind the work becomes clearer.
He, she or they have elaborated and defined in coloured chalk the shadows thrown up on the walls by the street lighting.
The medium used for the designs – coloured chalks, could well be described as “low resolution graffiti” as presumably the rain will wash away all evidence of the work fairly quickly, leaving the walls undamaged but it would appear that the declaration in August 2011 by the assesore Pietro Onesti that “this is not art but the disfigurement of a public building” and “Barga should not become a mural” has not just been ignored but whoever is responsible for the work is actually throwing down the gauntlet by using the walls of Barga Vecchia and the town hall once again.
Questa mattina gli abitanti di Barga Vecchia si sono alzati ed hanno trovato di nuovo dei murales sparsi tra piazza Salvi, Palazzo Pancrazi, via di Mezzo.
Niente a che vedere con quelli apparsi qualche mese fa consistenti in applicazioni di carta sui muri: in questo caso si tratta piuttosto di murales in “bassa risoluzione”, dato che sono realizzati con gessetti colorati. Di difficile interpretazione, almeno inizialmente i soggetti rappresentati, ma dopo una più attenta analisi si capisce che l’artista (o gli artisti) hanno semplicemente tracciato i perimetri delle ombre proiettate dai cornicioni, dai davanzali, dai vari oggetti che, anonimi, si trovano in strada.
Il risultato sono forme astratte e colorate che scaturiscono dalle protuberanza più ignorate di Barga Vecchia, costituendo una mostra temporanea che la pioggia sta lavando via.
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Graffiti (singular: graffito; the plural is used as a mass noun) is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property. Graffiti is any type of public markings that may appear in the forms of simple written words to elaborate wall paintings. Graffiti has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire.
In modern times, paint, particularly spray paint, and marker pens have become the most commonly used graffiti materials. In most countries, marking or painting property without the property owner’s consent is considered defacement and vandalism, which is a punishable crime. Sometimes graffiti expresses social and political messages and a whole genre of artistic expression is based upon spray paint graffiti styles. To some, it is an art form worthy of display in galleries and exhibitions; to others it is merely vandalism. Graffiti has evolved into a pop culture existence often related to underground hip hop music, b-boying, and a lifestyle that remains hidden from the general public. Graffiti can be used as a gang signal to mark territory or to serve as an indicator or “tag” for gang-related activity.
Controversies that surround graffiti continue to create disagreement amongst city officials/law enforcement and graffitists who wish to display and appreciate work in public locations. There are many different types and styles of graffiti and it is a rapidly developing art form whose value is highly contested, reviled by many authorities while also subject to protection, sometimes within the same jurisdiction.
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I don’t think you should call the people who do this sort of thing “artists”. Nobody asked them to daub buildings; and they have not asked whether anyone wants to see what they do. The quality or otherwise of the work is irrelevant: the point is that it’s antisocial and selfish because they’re imposing their tastes on everyone else. In my book they’re not artists but exhibitionists