Subversive Art

Collage for Julien

When my son was in 5th grade (he’s now nearly 18 years old), he had to do an art project about subversive art. They students had a choice of writing a report about punk music, punk fashion, street performance, or graffiti. My son chose to do a report on Keith Haring.

He was attracted to Haring’s biography, as much as he was to his art. It was one of the first things that connected my son to New York City, even if the connection was a cerebral one. I decided to make up the NYC collage above for my son, incorporating his early interest in Haring.

When we were in Berlin last year, Julien took quite a few good photos of various graffiti covered surfaces. There is so much excellent stuff around. Sure, there is a lot of pieces that look like nothing but painted noise, but some of the other pieces really do grab me.

I realise that I am not a property owner, or even a resident of Berlin, so this admiration for the colour-filled surfaces populating this city, is purely from a visitors point-of-view.

Please watch this video in the New York Times reporting on the phenomena of Berlin being a graffiti haven.