Alexandre Orion - Reverse Graffiti

Scraped-off-soot
Max Feffer Tunnel
Sao Paulo, Brazil

Alexandre Orion is a Brazilian street artist and muralist.  

Quote from theartstory.org.....

"This work, which took seventeen nights to complete, serves as an example of 'reverse' graffiti, in that the artist did not actually apply the material to the surface of the wall where he was working, but rather, created images of over 3,500 humans skulls in a space measuring almost 1,000 feet long, by merely wiping away the heavy layer of soot that had accumulated on the wall of this transportation tunnel from vehicle exhaust pipes.  Here, the repeated skull image, combined with the method of image creation, conveys the idea that the pollution of urban centers is a deadly problem affecting countless people.  Orion says that, 'I wanted to bring a catacomb from the near future to the present, to show people that the tragedy of pollution is happening right now.'

"Reverse graffiti poses a unique problem for law enforcement officers, who are generally conditioned to understand Street Art as a form of vandalism.  However, in the case of reverse graffiti works such as this, the artist has done little more than clean a portion of a public surface.  Orion explains, 'There is no crime in cleaning.  The crime here is against the environment, it is a crime against life.'  Authorities in Sao Paulo ultimately decided that there was nothing they could charge Orion with, and the episode even prompted city officials to order the monthly cleaning of every transportation tunnel in the City."

Today's post is exactly why I am learning about graffiti.  Never would I have thought of the idea of reversing the art form by using a canvas of grime. It's my belief that every new thought or idea can and will stretch our minds and perspectives.  Learning could be a synonym for stretching.  

Graffiti terminology:

Scribe:   A graffiti artist who etches or engraves their tag onto a surface.  A scribe uses sharp objects or a special scribing tool to create their art, often referred to as scratchitti.  Common tools include keys, knives, stones, sandpaper, or even power tools like Dremel bits.

Heaven Spot

Extinguishers:  Fire extinguishers are filled with paint and used to paint very large tags on buildings.

Heaven spot:  A highly visible, difficult-to-reach location for tagging, like a high billboard or freeway overpass.  A heaven spot is essentially a high-risk, high-reward area for graffiti artists to paint on.

Blockbuster

Rope access:  Using ropes and climbing equipment.  Artists can repel down walls, paint and then go back up to finish the piece.

Blockbuster:  A large graffiti with simple, legible letters (left).  Bates is a highly regarded European graffiti artist who has been invited to paint in over 30 countries.   

Graffiti World is an updated edition of Street Art from Five Continents by Nicholas Ganz.  With this nugget of knowledge,  my fingers took me to eBay.  There were a lot to choose from at varying prices, but I wanted the updated version.  Yippee for me......ordered a pre-read edition in very good condition for $21, postage included.  The seller hails from Michigan.   I'm pretty sure it'll be unputdownable.