“Os Gemeos”… WHO ???
While people all over the world appreciates the brazilian graffiti and its artists, specially Os Gemeos, here in Brazil we see the exact opposite happening… so sad but so true!
In fact we´ve got the most amazing ‘public galleries’ (the walls on the streets) in the world and I´m sure of that when I pass by one of the most trafficated avenue here everyday and see something like THIS :
BUT as I posted before, there´s a campaign going on in São Paulo called “Clean City” …or “Gray City” as we should call it…when you see THAT turned into THIS :
(The shot is awful, at night, but the only one I got of that same wall, where those graffitis used to be…now covered with gray paint! )
WHY IS THAT ??? Here is what the press said about it…
(the video and text is in portuguese, but I´ll translate it !)
” The colors and forms of the graffiti done by the twin brothers Gustavo and Otávio Pandolfo , Os Gemeos, brings life to the gray streets of São Paulo. But in the last Thursday, part of a giant mural, painted by OsGemeos, Nina Pandolfo, Nunca and Herbert Baglione, was erased. According to Mayor City Hall, there was a misunderstanding with the contractor to remove graffiti in public places.
It was “unintentionally”. At least this is the justification of the Prefecture of São Paulo to the attitude of the company hired to erase the ‘pixos’ in public places.
“It’s sad to see it. In our case and of many artists, our work is so valued outside Brazil, and here it doesn´t happen the same way, “said Gustavo Pandolfo. “We need to know what criteria they are adopting to erase a work like that, with more than 700 square meters,” completes Otávio Pandolfo.
Where there is a type of art as graffiti occupying a public space, it is generally respected by ‘pichadores’ (the guys who does the ‘pixos’), as the other part of that mural, on the other side of the avenue, is preserved.
” People only care when a work of art is stolen from a museum. I was impressed, a work of art from Sao Paulo was stolen and nobody says anything about it. “claims a psychologist Lima Robson.
A meeting will be scheduled with representatives of the company and the artists to redo the work. “
Can you believe that ?! …me neither!
I was speechless when I saw the wall covered in gray and didn´t even know about the so called “mistake” I thought they really had the intend to erase it since a lot of other amazing works has been erased lately, which has a positive side, which is the new works there are to come after the ‘cleaning’ …and they´ll keep it coming! …as they´ll keep cleaning !
…and I´ll keep on fighting ! Not against anything and anybody but in favor of art, of graffiti, of the streets with beautiful graffitis on it, of standing up for brazilian artists, speacially the street’s artists wordly, of making people see ART as one of the greater achievements that these people who do it may leave for this world. It´s timeless, priceless…not ever worthless !
Now we´re having the opportunity to dicuss about it since this ‘tragedy’ turned a lot of eyes to the graffiti scene in Brazil ! That´s what I took of most positive about this.
Because all you see is how brazilian artists are doing so great in New York, London, Melbourne, California, Chile, Spain…and how about in BRAZIL ?!
Well, that´s an example of how one of the best things we have to offer to the world is being appreciated in here!
KEEP EXPRESSING YOURSELVES !!!
WE’RE FREE TO DO THAT, isn´t that (OUR) RIGHT ?!?!
