Otp’s Guide to Street Art: Colombia
Photo by: mob6000
Not just about blow and implants, Colombia rips through the street art scene with it’s own loud take on what’s fit to spray. From Bogota to Medellin to Cali, Colombians aren’t a shy bunch when it comes to splattering their walls with color. While the art is sometimes a visual commentary about the country’s rough history of violent political instability, nothing is ever all that serious and Colombian street artists sometimes throw up show off pieces, for the sake of art alone. Poke your drippy nose into the nooks and crannies of OTP’s Street Art Guide to Colombia.
Photo by: Dimpleicious
Revolutionaries in Colombia have always used public walls as canvases for voicing government resistance. In the 1960s and 70s, it was common to see messages of government opposition like “Por la Guerra revolucionaria, FARC-EP” (“for the revolutionary war, FARC EP”) painted on buildings of big cities. Beginning in the 1970s in Bogota, these political statements grew into an urban art form known as lyrical or poetic graffiti.
From there, street art evolved into a complex form of social commentary and cultural expression. The designs grew crazier via stencils, spray paint, stickers and wheat-pasted posters. With a growing middle class and a drastically improved political system, modern taggers have removed some preach from the paint and continue to focus on creating artwork that showcases their skills rather than on a cause. Since graffiti isn’t technically a crime in Colombia, grafiteros have free reign to be as expressive as they please.
Photo by: DJLU
Not out to paint sunshine and rainbows, for DjLu, graffiti is more than art for art’s sake. He sees his work as a vehicle for sharing his experience of violence in Colombia, from guerrilla warfare and paramilitaries, to street crime in Bogota. Pistol-wielding soldiers, done in bold paint and fierce stencils, are DjLu’s cup of tea and these images can be found sprawled across Bogota.
Photo by: kaddischnitz
Since 2005, this Colombian street art collective has been all about coloring Bogota with vibrant graffiti and saucy stickers. At its core, Excusado Printsystem is a gang of four graphic designers who were college buds. The collective doesn’t pretend to paint with purpose. For them, graffiti is random play, aimed at sharing their talents with the rest of the world.
When he’s not painting with his band of brothers (the rest of Excusado Printsystem), this grafitero works on solo projects under the smelly pseudonym, Stinkfish. Using the gritty walls of Colombia’s urban landscape, Stinkfish finds inspiration in the faces of local kids and trips out their portraits with tribal designs, a nod to the land’s Mayan roots. Dabbling in stencils, his art serves to remind the country of it’s native heritage, one can shake at a time.
Photo by: Toxicómano
Toxicomano is an anonymous art collective, comprised of an artist, a publicist, a sociologist and an A/V producer. After a stint of making music together, they traded their guitars and drums for spraypaint and stencils. Today their anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist graphics cover the streets of Bogota, Cali, Medellin, and, oddly enough, Armenia. While we fully condone the career change, Toxic Hand (Toxicomano) makes a damn good band name.
Photo by: dug_da_bug
In the male-dominated world of Colombian street art, this bastardy lady (known as Bastardilla) has proven that it doesn’t take a man’s hand to spray some cool shit. Bastardilla refuses to reveal her identity, preferring to keep the focus on her artwork instead. Her raw talent (with the hint of mystery) have earned her a large fan base who come to Bogota, Cali, Medellin, Santa Marta, and Baranquilla from all over the world to sneak a peak in person.
Start your street art search in the Candelaria neighborhood of Bogota where almost every square inch is covered with huge murals. A great spot to kick back with a can of Aguila , listen to the best buskers this side of the equator and let your eyes roam the walls. Once you’re feeling good and tipsy, make your way over to Avenida 30 in the city center for the next street exhibition. Other neighborhoods also known for their street art are Ciudad Bolivar and Santa Fe.
In Medellin, art runs pretty rampant, but the Hospital Metro Station in particular is known for having some mind-blowing designs. If you’re seeking the best in the city, Barrio Moravia is mandatory. Bear in mind that it’s the poorest part of town and can get a little seedy. Keep one eye on your shit, let the other be all about the art.
Paris, Barcelona, Buenos Aires and New York may be the hot shots of street art, but cities like Bogota, Medellin, and Cali are bringing some Colombian graffiti muscle to the table. Get there soon so you can beat the pretentious art history majors and documentary-makers to the draw.
A sassy, spunky, and spontaneous globetrottress taking the world, one passport stamp at a time.
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I’m lovin’ this series of street art photos from around the world! Have you guys done San Francisco yet? If not, I’m your man. We have an amazing variety of pieces here.
Cheers,
Andrew
More to come, thanks Andrew!