"Pongi" Graffiti Tag Test #3

The writing is on the wall...







Related: China: The Great Wall of Graffiti

China: The Great Wall of Graffiti

These days in China the graffiti/street art scene is booming and becoming quite popular both domestically and throughout the world. In fact, The Great Wall of China itself is being heavily tagged by many of the four million visitors it sees each year. And while many people believe that this is all a relatively new art evolution, the truth is that graffiti in China has had a very significant and colorful history that started long ago before this recent boom.



According to Wikipedia's Graffiti in Asia:



"In China, graffiti began with Mao Zedong in the 1920s who used revolutionary slogans and paintings in public places to galvanise the country's communist revolution. Mao holds the record for the longest piece of graffiti, which contains 4000 characters criticizing his teachers and the state of Chinese society."



And an article from 2003 in the China Daily claims that:



"During the Cultural Revolution, pesky neighbors could be eliminated through accusations posted on a community wall. When Deng Xiaoping made his move for opening and reform, he designated a wall in Beijing where people could freely write their thoughts."



Currently, there are many very talented artists and groups that work together like Beijing's ABS-Crew and Shanghai's Oops Graffiti Crew who are generally designers and illustrators that work for advertising agencies. And the majority of their street art includes cool intricate designs and graphic tags rather than political protests. However, recently the ABS-Crew created a huge stunning mural entitled "Inflation" which clearly is a powerful statement against capitalists:









In December of 2010, many Graffiti Artists Bombed Beijing during an international event called "Meeting the Neighborhood Graffiti Week" in "The More Than + Pop Art Festival." Here is an English news video on that:







See also: King Robbo vs Banksy: "Graffiti Wars"

King Robbo vs Banksy: "Graffiti Wars"

Recently aired on British TV, here is a very interesting documentary about the original UK street artist King Robbo and the ongoing graffiti war between him and Banksy. This short also features interviews with street artists Blek le Rat, Elate, Ben Eine and others.



sE3 aLz@:

Banksy in North Korea?

Via Gawker June 29th



Adrian Chen — Anti-Kim Jong Il graffiti was found on the wall of a college in Pyongyang. Of course, the government couldn't just wash it off. They locked down the entire capital to hunt for the culprit.

The graffiti, found June 24th on a wall at Pyongyang Railroad College reportedly called Kim Jong Il "a dictator who starved people to death." Not exactly Banksy, but it gets the point across.

The easiest thing would have been to erase the graffiti, then maybe demolish the wall for traitorous behavior. But instead, authorities launched a three-day investigation, cutting off the city and erecting checkpoints for all passersby.

The graffiti apparently stated, “Park Chung Hee and Kim Jong Il are both dictators; Park Chung Hee a dictator who developed his country’s economy, Kim Jong Il a dictator who starved people to death.” One syllable was a man's head and was written on a red brick wall in white chalk, making it quite striking.

See also: Banksy: Exit Through The Gift Shop