Usually I love to discover a city by myself, this time however I went on a guided tour by Trip4Real. Our guide Alex lead us through the urban jungle of Amsterdam, telling us all about the history of street art. He actually wrote his college thesis about the "artification of street art". So he knows what he's doing!
While walking through the historical centre of Amsterdam, we learned all the right terms for the various art forms, such as stencil graffiti, sticker art, throw-ups etc., gaining some street cred at the same time.
It was great to see some of the vintage street art that has been there for ages! I must admit I hate to see historical buildings (for example from the Dutch Golden Age) being destroyed by paint and grafitti, but street art can be fun and respectful to the environment as well.
Alex pointed out some hidden gems, like the little alien mosaic by Space Invader. I also loved the lonely kid in "walking alone" by Iranian artists Icy and Sot. Another great piece of art by Icy and Sot is "rebellion", showing Iranian women protesting against oppression. They really make you think!
But when is something considered art? That's of course a very difficult and complicated question. What many people nowadays might consider a simple grafitti or even vandalism, might be considered "real art" in twenty or hundred years from now. Who knows, one of these street artists might be considered the next Leonardo da Vinci!
For more information about the street art tour, please visit:
http://www.trip4real.com
My previous articles about / including street art:
Antwerp http://tarasdolcevita.blogspot.nl/2015/02/antwerp-city-of-art.html
Havana http://tarasdolcevita.blogspot.nl/2012/10/urban-jungle-havana.html
Milan http://tarasdolcevita.blogspot.nl/2011/05/urban-jungle.html
Love the fact that you've taken picture of artworks hidden in plain view ❤️ Stunning
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