Whether you think it's art or trash, self-expression or a crime, beautiful or a blight, graffiti seems to be a part of urban life worldwide. Personally, while I don't like destruction of property, I do find that often graffiti, broadsheets, posters and stickers are an interesting and attractive addition to the urban landscape. I particularly like areas set aside for graffiti and flyers, because it allows the artistic aspects to flower. I've been taking photos of graffiti and posters during my travels since high school. While there are certain styles that tend to be universal and therefore of less interest to me (for instance, tagging and what I've seen called "Old School" or "New York" style); graffiti is also an interesting window into local issues, concerns and culture.
Evolution by a1one
Recently, I've discovered that I can study graffiti world wide from the comfort of my computer. One of the more interesting graffiti sites on the web is the Iran Graffiti and Urban Art Report a blog that describes itself as "Urban Art Reports From Tehran and cities of IRAN:: street Art ,Sprayed ,smashed ,scratched and stenciled souls are welcomed." Although the format of this blog has changed over time, at this point, it usually consists of photo essays featuring the work of an artist or group of artists or graffiti, stenciling, and stickering found in a particular area. There are also postings consisting of photos of the work of sidewalk artists and modern art in galleries. Some of my favorite work is photos of sketches and decorations done on the studio walls by Tehran University Art students. Some of the earlier posts in the blog consist of long passages in Persian and I have to admit that I haven't even tried to translate them because I'm much more interested in viewing the images.
Technorati reports that Iran Graffiti and Urban Art Report is authored by a graffiti artist who goes by the name of A1one or Tanha. However, A1one also has his or her own blog and from reading Iran Graffiti and Urban Art Report it appears to be a joint project of a number of artists. The artist Karan Reshad (who may or may not be A1one) is also involved in the project. Artists or photographers can also make submissions via email. You can check out Iran Graffiti and Urban Art Report at irangraffiti.blogspot.com.
Related Sites
Karan Reshad - the website of Iranian Artist Karan Reshad
A1one / Tanha - the blog of Iranian graffiti artist A1one, also known as Tanha (Persian for Alone)
