Portuguese Graffiti

A couple weeks ago I went to Portugal with the notion to check out the beginning of the Portuguese Camino route as a possible future adventure. I mainly visited Lisbon, Sintra, and Evora and I took lots of pictures. What struck me most about Portugal, especially Lisbon, was how much street art and graffiti you find there. Everywhere. Not just in the places you usually find graffiti, like the backs of factories along train routes or in tunnels and bathrooms or "derelict" neighborhoods and other under-the-radar places. But even in tourist areas, on church walls and restaurant exteriors, on almost any surface you can imagine. And as varied in form and style and purpose as you've ever seen, from straightforward tagging, scrawled jokes, and clever little pop-up puns to elaborate designs, hundred-foot tall murals with 3-D effects, and bold political statements.

3-D mural (the eyes project from the wall) in Lisbon, near the river. Pretty sure this piece is by the artist Bordalo II. 

It really surprised me. I can't recall another city or country I've visited where graffiti and street art are so prevalent, including NYC. My hometown, Chicago, has a rich graffiti tradition and lots of great artists, but the city's official approach (law enforcement and City Hall) has largely been to punish street artists and erase their work. There are exceptions of course, specific neighborhoods where murals abound and space is set aside from time to time for sanctioned projects -- Pilsen is an example. But at the same time (at least, since 1992), the sale of spray cans/paint is illegal in Chicago, and a bid to overturn the ban (which doesn't stop graffiti, but only results in "accomplishments" like driving sales tax revenue from the city to suburban paint sellers) a couple years ago failed. Most cities actually take a similar approach to Chicago -- allowing sanctioned street art projects in designated areas while punishing rogue artists with high fines or even jail time and banning the sale of graffiti materials to minors or to anyone altogether.

In Lisbon.

In Sintra. "Anyone can make you smile. But not everyone can make you happy."

Lisbon is different. Although I don't know what the city's laws are regarding graffiti, its focus as a graffiti hub is evident just by a quick glance around. Other Portuguese cities also have thriving street art scenes, so the internet tells me. So along with taking an excess of snaps of historic monuments like castles and of all the wine and port I drank in Portugal, I took pics of some of the art I encountered while wandering around. I admit I found some of the excessive graffiti ugly or distracting -- sometimes it just looked dirty to me. Then again I often find people ugly or distracting in my wandering, but nobody ever talks about banning people from public spaces. (There's my dose of misanthropy for the day. I hope you enjoyed it, reader. I sure did.) Other times I'd look up or to my left or right and spot something that made me smile or even laugh out loud with delight. I was on my own in Portugal (a post about that to come soon) and surrounded by lots of coupled and group travelers, as opposed to very few other solo travelers, and occasionally I felt rather out of place and lonely -- and one thing that helped ease my loneliness among the crowds was the engaging street art.

Edith Piaf stencil in Lisbon, near the Chapito restaurant.

Look down. On the ground near Praca Rossio in Lisbon.

In Evora.

The pictures in this post are just a few of the pieces I saw and delighted in. Included are not just graffiti and street art, but also a few other wall adornments and street decoration -- human-generated or otherwise.

In Lisbon in Principe Real neighborhood.

Marking the entrance to the Chafariz do Vinho in the Principe Real neighborhood.

Entrance to the Chafariz do Vinho, a wine bar in an old water reservoir -- easy to miss with the graffiti overtaking the sign.

Stairwell outside the Chafariz do Vinho.

In Principe Real, Lisbon.

In the Alfama district in Lisbon.

This was by a tunnel with the history of Lisbon told in graffiti comics (see below) near the Alfama.

Portions of a series of graffiti comics telling the history of Lisbon.

Giant photo on the wall in Lisbon, somewhere close to the river between the Santos and Alcantara metro stations.

Fun people riding a sardine in the Alfama district. This was no doubt for the St. Anthony celebrations during June in Lisbon.

In the Alfama district. There's the silhouette on the right bordered by birds, and there's the the cut out sardines on the left above the steps.

Walking along the river.

In the Alfama.

Super Like Me! Note in the bottom pic that this piece is unfinished (edging or outline of the letters only on the first two letters).

In the Alcantara-Mar subway station in Lisbon.

Going up the steps of the Alcantara-Mar subway.

This is a piece by the artist Vhils in Alcantara. Rather than paint or cover the wall with material, Vhils scrapes or chips away at the material itself to make an image emerge from the wall or structure.

:-) This outfit is made entirely from wristwatch bands. In a store window on Rua da Madalena in Lisbon.

In the Mouraria neighborhood in Lisbon. The women in the forefront are selling pots of basil (which men give to the objects of their affection on St. Anthony's feast day in June) for the St. Anthony celebrations.

This was near the Edith Piaf stencil (above).

Hippie Fernando Pessoa in Lisbon.

'Tis art! "Original painting" of Pope Frank made from coffee liquid in Lisbon.

Mural with tagging outside the Teatro Romano in Lisbon.

In Evora.

Also in Evora.

Evora again! I thought this stain looked like a dog.

Oh, Evora you are full of surprises.

Evora.

In Evora, near Igreja de Sao Vicente.

Sunday morning in Lisbon. This car covered with kisses has some stories to tell about last night...

Graffiti with your tapas, in Lisbon.

I stumbled into a lane in the Mouraria district that had all these beautiful photos of its elderly residents on the walls, a project by Camilla Watson.

Something to see on the way down. Lisbon.

These are the nights that never die...written on temporary scaffolding by the Praca do Comercio in Lisbon.

Me and the bubble letters and the light beyond in Lisbon.