Bristol the street art capital of Europe

Bristol the street art capital of Europe

Epok and Smug collaboration at Upfest 2012

Break-dancing Jesus

“This piece was inspired by the break dancers who performed for Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in 2004,” said Rob Dean, a street art expert and guide in Bristol.
According to Mr. Dean, break-dancing Jesus is considered “street art,” a term used to distinguish imaginative urban art from gang-related vandalism. The term “graffiti” refers to the bubble-style borders that surround a “tag,” or the skeleton of words or letters inside.

2013 Upfest Bristol - by Graffiti Artist: C215

In Bristol during the early 1980s, graffiti arrived during a storm of cultural change. The English artists abandoned punk for hip-hop, inspired by the hip-hop scene in New York. With it came a subculture of budding graffiti artists, including the highly influential Robert Del Naja, also known as 3D. In 1982, Mr. Del Naja founded The Wild Bunch, a multimedia collective of graffiti artists, hip-hop D.J.s and sound-system spinners. Eventually Mr. Del Naja formed Massive Attack, one of the most influential and innovative bands of a generation.

A piece by Haka and 3dom.

As a dabbler in Zen Buddhism, I was humbled by Bristol’s artists, who seemed to be poster children for nonattachment and impermanence. The famous Tibetan Buddhist Pema Chodron perhaps put it best: “Impermanence is a principle of harmony. When we don’t struggle against it, we are in harmony with reality.”

The work of street artists may vanish overnight — with new works (or blank wall) taking their place. But this reality is understood. Bristol’s artists — much like Tibetan Buddhists who spend several weeks creating and then destroying elaborate sand mandalas to demonstrate the transitory nature of material life — were clearly unattached. I admired that.

Bristol’s See No Evil public street art project. Photo: Ben Merrington
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Nestled beneath one of the world’s most famous bridges

In 2008, the residents of Bristol voted on whether the City Council should remove a Banksy stencil depicting a naked man hanging from a window ledge by his fingertips. After 97 percent of voters chose to preserve the work, it was clear that Bristol’s street art had had a huge impact on its residents, many of whom were clearly tickled by the artist’s humorous, anti-establishment commentary. It wasn’t long before city officials began to support the street art movement.

Banksy

IF YOU GO
To truly enjoy all of Bristol’s green spaces, the ideal time to go is British summer time, April through September, though the street art can be seen any time of year.

Check out this brilliant pdf for the global street art seen!
www.ediblesymbolism.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/docfoc-com-world-atlas-of-street-art-and-graffiti-the-schacter-rafael.pdf