28 March 2011

Random notes from the underground ch.1


Yuri Endo 2005
Dresden, the graffitiville

Here are some of my notes upon my initial brainstorming sessions for the upcoming Graffiti project:

My early memories of graffiti dates back to mid 90's in Tokyo. Whenever I got a chance, I used to spent significant amount of time hiding out in The "Backstreet of Harajuku (裏原 Urahara)" where there used be filled with crazy graffiti and highly trend-concious neo-hippies selling useless handmade accessories on the street. For about a month or two, I went trough a phase where I attempted to sell my handmade woven bracelets there. Sadly, my little business failed and I decided to concentrate on people watching, especially, amateur graffiti artists tagging their names on the walls which was the most exciting and inspiring memory of my youth in Tokyo. Unfortunately, we'll see less graffiti and artistic inspirations in that part of the city.

Some 10 years after, I still can't help myself stopping in front of nice graffiti especially while I'm traveling. I consider myself as quite a globetrotter and the graffiti paradise to me was Dresden and the former East Berlin. It seemed as though this art form was literary taking over the city and blend perfectly and tastefully in with the scenery. To my surprise, I did not find many works contained political agenda except for what I found near the former Berlin wall.

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