Book-It 'o12! Book #33
The Fifty Books Challenge, year three! (Years one, two, and three just in case you're curious.) This was a secondhand find.
Title: Written On The City: Graffiti Messages Worldwide by Axel Albin and Josh Kamler
Details: Copyright 2008, HOW Books
Synopsis (By Way of Back Cover): "Someone Is Trying to Tell You Something
This book is a glimpse into a vast conversation happening illegally and in public. All over the world, people are writing messages on the walls and sidewalks of the cities in which we live. They are staying up late, breaking the law, and taking risks to say something to you.
Some of it is funny. Some of it is beautiful. Lots of it is upsetting, crazy, and brilliant at the same time. And all of it is important.
This book continues that conversation through the eyes of photographers who recognized the importance of those words on the walls and shared them with us. Enjoy."
Why I Wanted to Read It: The book has a PostSecret feel to it.
How I Liked It: While the book may not offer as much of an insight into the human condition as much as PS (or FOUND!), it's still a thought-provoking piece.
More than just pictures, the authors thoughtfully frame the collection (more or less organized by theme of message) with factoids about the history of graffiti, including the origin of the term, crime statistics, and city budgets spent on preventing and eradicating graffiti.
For those with a bent towards PostSecret, FOUND!, or any other of the art movements that examine (or present for our examination) the deeper meaning beyond the seeming quotidian, this book is no less intriguing, if seemingly not as random as the others (an odd sentiment given that PostSecret is an established movement and a very specific one, but it still rings true).
Notable: The book appears to have a slight bias towards the seemingly-pretentious. Graffiti made with stencil sets is routinely pictured defaced or "adjusted" (one photograph documents "Im [sic] not hiding my love anymore" with "love" scrawled with "PAINTSET" in handwritten letters; another announces "I have all the hope in the world" with "hope" replaced with hand-scrawled "FREE TIME").
One angrily states in handwritten letters,
"To whomever put a stencil on my daughters [sic] Art. That's not cool. Please don't disrespect her Again."
Whether this reveals the editors' bias towards what they feel is more authentic graffiti (that produced with a can or frankly anything but a stencil set) is up for debate. Some of the more poignant messages in the book (including "Art is anything you can get away with.") appear in stencil form.
Title: Written On The City: Graffiti Messages Worldwide by Axel Albin and Josh Kamler
Details: Copyright 2008, HOW Books
Synopsis (By Way of Back Cover): "Someone Is Trying to Tell You Something
This book is a glimpse into a vast conversation happening illegally and in public. All over the world, people are writing messages on the walls and sidewalks of the cities in which we live. They are staying up late, breaking the law, and taking risks to say something to you.
Some of it is funny. Some of it is beautiful. Lots of it is upsetting, crazy, and brilliant at the same time. And all of it is important.
This book continues that conversation through the eyes of photographers who recognized the importance of those words on the walls and shared them with us. Enjoy."
Why I Wanted to Read It: The book has a PostSecret feel to it.
How I Liked It: While the book may not offer as much of an insight into the human condition as much as PS (or FOUND!), it's still a thought-provoking piece.
More than just pictures, the authors thoughtfully frame the collection (more or less organized by theme of message) with factoids about the history of graffiti, including the origin of the term, crime statistics, and city budgets spent on preventing and eradicating graffiti.
For those with a bent towards PostSecret, FOUND!, or any other of the art movements that examine (or present for our examination) the deeper meaning beyond the seeming quotidian, this book is no less intriguing, if seemingly not as random as the others (an odd sentiment given that PostSecret is an established movement and a very specific one, but it still rings true).
Notable: The book appears to have a slight bias towards the seemingly-pretentious. Graffiti made with stencil sets is routinely pictured defaced or "adjusted" (one photograph documents "Im [sic] not hiding my love anymore" with "love" scrawled with "PAINTSET" in handwritten letters; another announces "I have all the hope in the world" with "hope" replaced with hand-scrawled "FREE TIME").
One angrily states in handwritten letters,
"To whomever put a stencil on my daughters [sic] Art. That's not cool. Please don't disrespect her Again."
Whether this reveals the editors' bias towards what they feel is more authentic graffiti (that produced with a can or frankly anything but a stencil set) is up for debate. Some of the more poignant messages in the book (including "Art is anything you can get away with.") appear in stencil form.