marking my space

One additional note about Cartagena.  I saw more graffiti on its walls than I have seen anywhere.  With the possible exception of Mexico City.

Some obviously sanctioned.  Some free-lance.  Some that could fall into either camp.  In the latter category is the first set  I encountered -- illustrated at the top of this post.  A pair of jaunty Rubik's cubes.

I know we bloggers have kicked around the notion whether graffiti can be art.  I think it can -- even when it verges on vandalism.

For instance, this.  It is pure mindless ego-tagging.

The largest example I saw is painted on the back of a multi-story building.  It meets all of the formalistic expectations of art.  Not to mention its wit.

This is a detail.  Where the graffiti has become the victim of a little political graffiti.  Either that, or the pigeon is a German adviser left over from the Civil War.

The painting would obviously qualify as a mural.  And it was probably my favorite of the lot.  Even though this piece painted near the Roman theater had its own historic appeal.

Some were quite complex.

Others were whimsically simple.

Or even simpler.

Some attempted to complement the architecture -- not too successfully.  Even thiough, I had to wonder about the artist's acrobatic abilities.

Others worked better, creating their own eerie commentary on the wall where it was painted.

But not as well as this piece that appears to be one with the staircase.

And then there is the artist who seems to have an inherent sense for rhyming shapes and colors with his work.

This would have been a good post for a poll.  But internet time is precious at the moment.

However, I would appreciate your comments on graffiti in general.  Or these pieces, in particular.