Happy New Year: Top five posts of 2011

Happy 2012! This past year, I’ve taken this little blog with me around the world, leaving my Berkeley home and venturing to Barcelona, my city of birth St. Petersburg and a few other destinations in between. It has been a true pleasure seeing so much art and creative energy on the street and meeting some of the people behind it. If you’re curious, here are the top 5 most popular posts of 2011. Picking my favorite artworks would be too difficult, but it’s interesting to see what people have been drawn to nonetheless. I’m going harder in 2012, just you wait.

5.

Kashink at Sauvons La Jarry, Paris

4. 

ATWA, Oakland

3. Bronik at FemGraff, Barcelona

2. 

Vigilante Vigilante, Berkeley

1. JCHM, Barcelona

hi contrast

It’s easier to for artists to avoid Barcelona’s anti-graffiti laws outside of the city, and a trip to the countryside also makes for some interesting photos. In the background of this piece by JCHM (outside of the same abandonned factory I visited), the lush green mountains create a contrast with the painting’s criticism of the excesses of civization.

More work by JCHM from the same location:

fierce competition

The monsters in this mural by JCHM inhabit the alley-way like a cave, greedily clawing at sweets while not taking their eyes off the precious diamond in the center. Each creature has the head of a different animal; the work seems to narrate its own mythology with these fantastical beasts. The flat forms and bright colors give the piece a rhythmic, harmonious quality that allows its social commentary to come through subtly.