Global Developments
South America
There is a significant graffiti tradition in South America most especially in Brazil. Within Brazil, Sao Paulo is generally considered to be the current centre of inspiration for many graffiti artists worldwide.
Artful graffiti in Olinda, Brazil
Brazil "boasts a unique and particularly rich graffiti scene...[earning] it an international reputation as the place to go for artistic inspiration." Graffiti "flourishes in every conceivable space in Brazil's cities." Artistic parallels "are often drawn between the energy of Sao Paulo today and 1970s New York." The "sprawling metropolis," of Sao Paulo has "become the new shrine to graffiti".Manco alludes to "poverty and unemployment...[and] the epic struggles and conditions of the country's marginalised peoples," and to "Brazil's chronic poverty," as the main engines that "have fuelled a vibrant graffiti culture." In world terms, Brazil has "one of the most uneven distributions of income. Laws and taxes change frequently." Such factors, Manco argues, contribute to a very fluid society, riven with those economic divisions and social tensions that underpin and feed the "folkloric vandalism and an urban sport for the disenfranchised," that is South American graffiti art.
Middle East
Graffiti in the Middle East is slowly emerging, with pockets of taggers operating in the various 'Emirates' of the United Arab Emirates, in Israel, and in Iran. The major Iranian newspaper Hamshahri has published two articles on illegal writers in the city with photo coverage of Iranian artist A1one's works on Tehran walls. Tokyo-based design magazine PingMag has interviewed A1one and featured photos of his work. The Israeli West Bank barrier has become a site for graffiti, reminiscent in this sense of the Berlin Wall. Many graffiti artists in Israel come from other places around the globe, such as JUIF, from Los Angeles, and DEVIONE from London. The religious reference "נ נח נחמ נחמן מאומן" ("Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman") is commonly seen graffitied around Israel.
Graffiti in Tehran, Iran.
Poetry Graffiti in Tel Aviv, Israel
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