Graffiti in and around Munich

"Boldboy, Punchbear - perhaps you'd like someone to come round with a crate of spray paint and turn your living room into a work of "art"?"

Been there, done that.

A deliberate scratch on a car is vandalism. Random crap painted on a wall badly is not art. Somebody employing the graffiti artform to express themselves in their environment, using the urban landscape as a canvas. I don't see it as destructive, rather as an embellishment. I'd be more p*ssed off with somebody putting up a McDonalds placard on the side of my building - that's visual pollution. If you don't get it, well, you're missing out on enjoying a very exciting artform.

Its been around quite a while. There was an exhibition for Dave Kinsey last summer here. He does stickering, paste-ups etc... So do lots of people. Ever hear of Shepard Fairey? If not Im sure you have seen his stuff around.
Just because its illegal, you can't discount its merit as 'art.' Just as someone posted Jeffry Eugenidies "Middlesex" and "Virgin Suicides" as the best writing of the last century (my paraphasing) when I thought it was self-indulgent blathering, does not mean it should be 'shelved' and never re-printed. (Although I find that to be an acceptable and even commendable idea...)
Pollock threw paint in stipes and streaks, but now he's considered one of the masters of the 20th century. If someone came over and sprayed "cocksure" in bad-graffitti writng on my wall, yes I'd be pissed, and paint over it. If on the other hand, someone came over and sprayed a nice piece or a quality stencil, I'd think twice about covering it.

http://www.flying-fortress.de/
http://www.obeygiant.com/
http://www.ekosystem.org/

Vandalism is also when some writes something as enlightened as 'criminal dickheads all over' as a retort during an (occasionaly) intelligent discussion on cultural artforms. Not one person who has submitted an argument here against the street art has come up with any original point of view or even phrasing.."perhaps i should come round your house and..."...or "obviously it's not common anymore to respect other people's property." ..blah blah blah ..YAWN!!!!!! GO AN SIT SOMEWHERE QUIET AND SEE IF YOU CAN COME UP WITH AN ORIGINAL THOUGHT OR POINT OF VIEW and stop re-using hand me down ready to use tabloid quotes.

I really am surprised how many Toytowners get their opinions straight out the Daily Mail and other petit bourgeois rubbish "newspapers". Thought we were above that...

what you call me!?!? Peit bourgeois... wha!??? you! outside now!!! Oil bleedin ave ya!!!! lol. Why cant dees blokes not paint a noice vase of flowers like yer man van goch, me ma has his calender from 1988...and .if oi catch any of yous sprayin me wall..oil muuuuurrrrrrrder ya!!!!!

CHILLdren, ART is having a pARTy whilst here on eARTh...

Nobody is saying all art should be confined to galleries. As Editor Bob says about the graffiti in this piece, it's "refreshingly adult and intelligent". He's right. And it does add character to a city if it's visually striking and genuinely thought provoking.

The point is it shouldn't be sprayed on people's property without permission. Simple as that. It's just basic respect.

Let the artist spray it on his own house. Or tell the owner of the property what he has in mind. You never know...maybe they'll love it and agree to have it sprayed on their shop front.

Ah!! i was just out strolling though our lovely city during my lunch break, in the sunshine, enjoying the wide and varied creative oupourings, displayed all over, like eye-candy on the city streets, mailboxes and signposts. Generously donated, free of charge by talented and often very amusing individuals. Inspiring indeedy. And what did you do Marty? Had a peak at the Sun's (have they an European edition at all?) editoral and fed that boiling rage building up inside you...tick tick Boooooooooom!!!!!
This will be my last entry on Toytown. Bye bye suckas!

Oh joy.

'Tis a really interesting debate mind. In my experience, graffiti doesn't get sprayed onto houses. Not to say that it never does or that there are a few idiots who just put crappy tags up. I think that otherwise empty and boring surfaces getting graffitied with an interesting symbol or thought provoking visual comment or a genuinely beautiful piece of work is a vital, integral and necessary part of the cultural fabric of a city.

Somebody tagging the Rathaus or the Siegestor isn't doing anyone any favours. But someone turning a flat, tedious surface that doesn't lend a building anything into an urban artspace has my respect, regards of whose property it is as the proprietor himself isn't contributing anything by leaving a space "ugly". It is his/her decision ultimately. But I don't think that much of the graffiti art around the city can be defined as vandalous per se.

I agree with punchbear- as someone who's worked with fringe arts advocacy organizations in the US, including graf artists-- most artists who are actually IN the graffiti community (read, not some punk kids trying to imitate what they don't understand) actually have quite a few not so unspoken rules of what can (and cannot) be tagged. In fact, many warehouses in areas that are usually preyed upon have given their space over to be used as a blank canvas to a couple chosen graf artists-- then they spread the word within the community that that specific business is cool and no one tags them anymore.

In my experience commuting through areas with a lot of graffiti-- some of the more skillful pieces are what help me get through the day-- providing messages that make me realize that i'm not alone in my thoughts, opinions, desires, and views of beauty.

FrankyK-- that banksy page is gorgeous!!

I should know better than to dive into an exhausted topic...but I cannot resist.

I won't attempt to fall into the argumentitive trap of "what is art?" Might as well argue whether a tomato is a fruit or vegetable. Good luck!

I have no problem with expressions of art, but at what point do we take into consideration the "editing" of art by someone else. Believe it or not, the architects that design some of the glum structures in Munich and any city on the planet, view their work as art. While I detest the McDonalds billboards polluting major cities, I know there is some 20-something kid sitting in a cubicle in a suburb of Chicago (McD's HQ)that thinks his McRib advertisemnt for Munich was amazing.

I know, blahblahblah. I like a good tag once in a while, and I especially like it when it is "sticking it to the man," but just don't destroy someone else's work.

By the way, it's OK to disagree with me, but I would appreciate it if you supplied your home adress so I can scratch into your car a lovely rendition of Che Guevera . Honestly, it will look great! Viva la Bolivia!

Spotted a new one in the Dachauerstrasse. Beside the cinema entrance near the tram stop. Click me!

look, graffiti on public or private property does nothing but add to it, unless its something intentionally offensive or stupid i beleive you shouldnt bitch about it so much, too many people out there also just sign it off as criminal and hate it, i think to an extent anti-graffiti laws are bull, if the rules went without being challenged america would still be part of england as i have to remind many dickheads

>> look, graffiti on public or private property does nothing but add to it, unless its something intentionally offensive or stupid i beleive you shouldnt bitch about it so much, too many people out there also just sign it off as criminal and hate it, i think to an extent anti-graffiti laws are bull, if the rules went without being challenged america would still be part of england as i have to remind many dickheads

Freedom implies responsibility. You can't just do what you want, without consideration for others.

One person's 'intentionally offensive' is another's 'artistic'. That's fine when there's a choice, not when someone decides to spray what they like, where they like.

True SOME grafitti is very good, most is just vandalism.

>> graffiti on public or private property does nothing but add to it

This IS a joke, right?

Cheers

>> True SOME grafitti is very good, most is just vandalism.
>> You can't just do what you want, without consideration for others.

Open your eyes please...
graffiti is a message and you can't read it

I'm looking for some nice bright artistic graffiti to take pictures of around Munich... any recommendations?

Topics merged by admin

The old bahnhof in the olympia park west side I have a whole CD taken there

awesome...now how do i find the old bahnhof?

The bridge that caries the Mittlerring over the Isar between Candidplatz and Brüdermuhlstrasse.

yay! let's celibrate Tuirkish fucks!

I'm from the US and have been to all of the big cities. I was amazed by the amount of graffiti here. I caught one of these assholes spraying my garage two weeks ago. I slammed his head in to the garage door. got his name, and now he's listed as a criminal. Yes, I'm not ashamed of doing stuff like this.

When I see 'Fuck America' spray painted in the local kid's park (I take my dog there) I get offended and mean.

Have fun with your pictures!

sorry but I think some graffiti is really neat and interesting to look at... I'm not talking about what the average 'turkish fucks' do or those that just like to write all the bad english words they know...I'm talking about a kind of art. So yea, I will have fun with my pictures.

Hey, there is an entire wall on Tumblinger Str that has really cool, bright and funky graffiti like this. It changes all the time as well.

Yep, that wall is great, there are a number of panels...just before you get to the railway bridge.

Also near the Schyrenbad there is are some nice walls on some old government electricity bunker thing.

Art or grafitti??

[img]http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c148/satman124/spain2006084.jpg[/img]

The Tumblingerstrasse graf actually gets its pic into an official guide to the area given out by the City Council.

I don´t like the tag kind of grafitti, but the art can be quite nice sometimes, especially when brightening up ugly areas of town.

yup, i totally agree Renia, there is a long wall somewhere in the city, drove passed it a few times and it just amazing, full of seasame street characters of all things!! haha. I think the goverments/councils should commision graffiti artists (serious ones, not idiots who just tag for the funk of it) to cover unused/dreary parts of the city. it would imo make driving/walking/bussing-it around this city much more interesting.

I live on Tumbliger Str. just 100 meters from the wall, and it really is great, Bert and Ernie are still there and now there are some quality He-Man images. They mostly do it on Sunday's and I sometimes just go down and watch them, they really are something special, the effort they put into them is great.