Funny how the universe works some ways. Just as I'm thinking, "spring festival is over, and the weathers getting a little warmer everyday...lets try and get familiar with the graf scene--i get slapped with the goverment cheese-yellow tape of beijing graffiti, the 拆 (chai) symbol.
Nothing to motivate your spring cleaning better than the impending demolition of your surroundings.
Luckily enough, its a fair enough reminder of the role of the process of "chai" and its importance in the graffiti and street art movement in Beijing. State-produced types of graffiti, such as this one, which means to 'tear down', and mark a building for demolition, dot the beijing cityscape, alongside a plethora of painted slogans proclaiming china's green future, olympic spirit, and the importance of being 'civilized' (讲文明) among other nationalistic topics.
Zhang Dali, the artist who is said to first bring graffiti to Beijing, drew on the process deconstruction with his "Bighead" (大人头) series in 1995. His tag, the simple expressionless outline of a human head, often targeted decrepid buildings, and buildings commissioned for deconstruction --the very same target of the 拆 symbol. However, his was a symbol with no particular meaning, and deliberately left open for interpretation. He only clear intention was to bring his art closer to reality--to the street. His works would go on to inspire a feeling of uncertainty, manifested through a symbol that would not jump out to passers-by, but when reminded, they would somehow recall. Some critics call the Big Head a reminder of everyday situations one occurs in a city; people's daily lives, the construction/deconstruction process, and urban sprawl which both excites and incites us with uneasiness... that the pure, singular head implies that the street composes the body. When the police eventually came knocking his way, he opened up completely, and after proving his legitmacy as an artist and explained his intentions...and they never asked about it again.
But don't say you heard it from me.
KFC is the Debbil!
The concept of bombing has its particularisms in Beijing, which like many modern day urban centers, it has a large amount of urban sprawl. The city is designed like a series of hubs with multiple epicenters...its almost a joke to ask about a 'downtown' Beijing, as there are several, floating 'downtowns' which are a mixture of old and new development projects: CBD and Guomao for business, Sanlitun and Workers stadium for nightlife, Beixinqiao and Dongzhimen, Dongsi, Wudaokou for students, and Dawanglu to name of few.
In the case of graffiti, despite a few pieces spread out along random underpasses, or private pieces on homes or stores, most of the city remains coated in a sticker-less, graffiti-less, dust.
However, areas such as sanlitun bar street and the 3.3 underground parking lot are filled to the brim with throw-ups, top-to-bottom burners, and scribbles. Bar walls are littered with tags, many of whom share the same "Kilroy was here" purpose of pre-hip hop american graffiti. The 798 Art District is almost a safe haven for writers, whose once decrepid factory walls are now being restored for a commercial art space. All over the city one can catch glimpses of perhaps the most numerous graffiti in China, the characters 办证 (banzheng) followed by eleven digits. Apparently, these numbers are for obtaining illegal documents: passports, housing registrations, and ID cards. This type of graffiti, usually stencilled and sprayed over, occupy underpasses, overpaasses, light posts , steps, walls, bus stops, anywhere there is due to be mass people traffic--which, in a city like Beijing, is almost everywhere. While the more elaborate pieces usually gravitate near or around one of these hubs.
A wall in 798
Amongst them are the few who employ graffiti as a way to 'bomb' in the traditional sense--that is, to 'get up' with a name or particular set of characters Nowadays, crews such as the BJPZ (beijing penzi, 北京喷子, beijing sprayers) and guanyin crew (欢音) bomb the urban scrawl of beijing.
some of Li Qiu Qiu's (BJPZ) work, 3.3 Underground Lot
Nothing to motivate your spring cleaning better than the impending demolition of your surroundings.
Luckily enough, its a fair enough reminder of the role of the process of "chai" and its importance in the graffiti and street art movement in Beijing. State-produced types of graffiti, such as this one, which means to 'tear down', and mark a building for demolition, dot the beijing cityscape, alongside a plethora of painted slogans proclaiming china's green future, olympic spirit, and the importance of being 'civilized' (讲文明) among other nationalistic topics.
Zhang Dali, the artist who is said to first bring graffiti to Beijing, drew on the process deconstruction with his "Bighead" (大人头) series in 1995. His tag, the simple expressionless outline of a human head, often targeted decrepid buildings, and buildings commissioned for deconstruction --the very same target of the 拆 symbol. However, his was a symbol with no particular meaning, and deliberately left open for interpretation. He only clear intention was to bring his art closer to reality--to the street. His works would go on to inspire a feeling of uncertainty, manifested through a symbol that would not jump out to passers-by, but when reminded, they would somehow recall. Some critics call the Big Head a reminder of everyday situations one occurs in a city; people's daily lives, the construction/deconstruction process, and urban sprawl which both excites and incites us with uneasiness... that the pure, singular head implies that the street composes the body. When the police eventually came knocking his way, he opened up completely, and after proving his legitmacy as an artist and explained his intentions...and they never asked about it again.
But don't say you heard it from me.
KFC is the Debbil!
In the case of graffiti, despite a few pieces spread out along random underpasses, or private pieces on homes or stores, most of the city remains coated in a sticker-less, graffiti-less, dust.
However, areas such as sanlitun bar street and the 3.3 underground parking lot are filled to the brim with throw-ups, top-to-bottom burners, and scribbles. Bar walls are littered with tags, many of whom share the same "Kilroy was here" purpose of pre-hip hop american graffiti. The 798 Art District is almost a safe haven for writers, whose once decrepid factory walls are now being restored for a commercial art space. All over the city one can catch glimpses of perhaps the most numerous graffiti in China, the characters 办证 (banzheng) followed by eleven digits. Apparently, these numbers are for obtaining illegal documents: passports, housing registrations, and ID cards. This type of graffiti, usually stencilled and sprayed over, occupy underpasses, overpaasses, light posts , steps, walls, bus stops, anywhere there is due to be mass people traffic--which, in a city like Beijing, is almost everywhere. While the more elaborate pieces usually gravitate near or around one of these hubs.
A wall in 798
some of Li Qiu Qiu's (BJPZ) work, 3.3 Underground Lot
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