Graffiti in Buenos Aires
By Grace Carballo ‘17
(A street artist used his art to comment on gentrification after multiple families were kicked out of the building when the neighborhood started changing. A very instagramable coffee shop is next door, to give you an idea.)
When I moved into my Casa Compartida in the Palermo barrio of Buenos Aires, I knew nothing about the house or the neighborhood- my friend Katy did all the hunting and I just showed up with cash for the deposit at the address she sent me.
Of course, my parents immediately asked me about the location. “Is it safe?” I think so. “Is it clean?” I wouldn’t eat off the floor. “Are you close to campus?” Not in the traditional sense of the word…
I assured them the house locked well and we were close to the Subte and several supermarkets, as well as an overpriced winery and an even more overpriced hotel. What I neglected to mention, perhaps a lie of omission or perhaps just being a good daughter, is that most of the buildings on our street, including ours, are covered with graffiti. Our front wall has been tagged in blue spray paint, not very impressively, but as I started to branch out in the neighborhood/get lost I noted some really beautiful public displays of art.
(This artist often incorporates pop culture icons in his multi-layered stencils. Farrah’s iconic hair is beautiful in all modes of representation.)
Last weekend, through the PLAS program at Universidad de San Andrés, I had the opportunity to go on a Graffiti Tour of Buenos Aires. And wouldn’t you know it, the whole shebang was within walking distance of my poorly painted front steps.
(The guide explained this artist had recently traveled to Madrid and was interested in celebrated forms of violence, like bull fighting. He named the guys in honor of two boys from the neighborhood who were killed by police brutality, if I’m remembering correctly.)
Circa 2008, my great Aunt Frannie let my little brother and I paint her bomb shelter and since then, I have a special place in my heart for those who turn walls, buildings, or public spaces into works of art. It’s certainly no small feat. It’s a selfless form of self-expression and truth for everyone to enjoy- but in the United States, it could also be interpreted as vandalism.
With this conception of graffiti, I was naturally a little nervous about how safe my neighborhood really was given the obvious lack of legal enforcement of vandalism laws. How ignorant I can be!
The first thing I learned on the tour is that street art in Buenos Aires is NOT associated with gang activity whatsoever and that the conception of public space here is much different than back home. In the U.S., my garage door is mine (or my parents) but here, while that might technically be the case, walls on the street or in public parks are viewed more as canvases than belonging to someone in particular.
In fact, some of these street artists, most of whom sign their work (definitely not trying to lay low like Banksy might across the pond), are sometimes even contracted by building or home owners to add life and color to their properties. And your heart might skip a little beat when I tell you that this has actually INCREASED their property value.
(At the time this was painted, it was a production company. The owners saw the street artists’s work and commissioned him to paint it. He agreed to do it for free if they provided the materials because what an amazing canvas.)
(My friend Kyle and I in front of my favorite piece. If I had the means I would definitely commission this stencil artist to paint some giraffes on bikes on my garage door back home in Lisle. The neighbors would love that! This is a cool example of a collaboration because the numbers and background were there before the giraffes and represent the economy. The artist of the giraffes, who added to it, said the giraffes on the bike represent giraffes on a bike. I totally feel that.)
The “etiquette” of street art in Buenos Aires is if you work is better than mine, you paint over mine. So it’s a huge sign of respect the works that have lasted for years, like many of the ones in these photos I’ve shared from the tour. Their longevity speaks volumes about the respect these artists have earned in the street art community.
And speaking of the community, the tour group we went with, Graffiti Mundo works with artists to give them the space and opportunities to continue creating amazing art.
http://graffitimundo.com/graffiti-street-art-tours-buenos-aires/
The tour even ended in a studio, behind a restaurant, where the owners have a deal with the artists that they can use the space as a gallery and workshop if they painted the dining rooms for free. I love a collaboration like this one.
So before you allow yourself to buy into preexisting notions of graffiti, take a step back, and you just might notice you’re actually just enjoying free art- it’s like a museum on a Wednesday with your student ID but without the hassle of having to find your ID!
Keep creating and appreciating,
Grace ‘17
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