Sunday, 16 June 2013

A thin line between vandalism, advertising and mural art in Istanbul

It seems that some of the graffiti in Istanbul has been sprayed illegally. The city doesn't have enough time to remove it or just doesn't bother. Examples of this can be found below the Galata Bridge. In the Cukurcuma district, the graffiti became very hard and it didn't resemble any art form. Youngsters hanging out in the streets were unpleasant. You could smell danger in the air and we returned on our steps in left this area.

We found the most interesting murals in the Old City near the Hagia Sohpia and in the Tunel and Galata district. Some shop owners use murals to advertise their products. Like the one with the giant Panda. We recommend you to be careful in areas were the graffiti becomes threatening.

Het ziet er naar uit dat sommige graffiti in Istanboel op illegale wijze is aangebracht. De stad heeft niet genoeg tijd het te verwijderen of ziet er gewoon geen graten in. Voorbeelden hiervan kunnen worden gevonden onder de Galata Brug. In de Cukurcuma wijk werd sommige graffiti zeer hard en hangjongeren creëerden een dreigende sfeer. Je kon het gevaar in de lucht aanvoelen en we kwamen op onze passen terug om zo snel mogelijk deze straat te verlaten. 

We vonden de meest interessante murals in de Oude Stad dicht bij de Hagia Sophia en ook in het Tunel en Galata district. Enkele winkeleigenaren gebruiken muurschilderwerken als reclame om hun producten aan te prijzen. Een voorbeeld hiervan is de reuze panda. We raden je echter aan voorzichtig te zijn in gebieden waar de graffiti dreigend wordt.. 
 
Graffiti Istanbul

Graffiti Istanbul

Graffiti Istanbul

Graffiti Istanbul

Graffiti Istanbul

Graffiti Istanbul

Graffiti Istanbul

Graffiti Istanbul

Graffiti Istanbul

Graffiti Istanbul

Graffiti Istanbul

Graffiti Istanbul

Previous Istanbul article: Harem of around 1.000 girls in the Topkapi Palace, Istanbul

Previous Graffiti article: London South Bank skate park and graffiti at the Wahaca complex

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18 comments:

  1. nice graffiti wall... i want to do a photo shoot with that!

    It’s a GIRL Thing

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  2. There's artistic graffiti and then there' just plain vandalism. You managed to capture both very well. xo

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  3. such a fine line between graffiti and art. we visited a town resently that had beautiful murals painted on the sides of many buildings and it was so
    colorful and beautiful. walls that would otherwise have been plain and drab!!

    i don't like graffiti, i find it to be extremely disrespectful!!

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  4. 't Kan kunstig en mooi zijn, Filip...
    Lie(f)s.

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  5. Oh my. Graffiti can be very nice if it is well done and covers an unsightly or boring building. But often it can indicate a dangerous area. The man with the bird's head does show a bit of talent, also the woman and the panda underneath. But too often these talents are undermined by their severe and unfriendly stance.

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  6. a lot of talent in these! i am sorry you did not feel safe, there, though.

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  7. the panda is sooo cool, reminds me of Kunfu-Panda:-)) happy sunday+good new week from sunny Sardinia!

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  8. Some graffitis are lovely, but not all. In your photos there are both.
    Greetings

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  9. •✰ •✰ •✰ •✰ •✰ •✰
    Hello et merci pour ces belles photos des tags !
    J'aime bien !!!!
    Je t'embrasse !!! :o)
    Bon début de semaine
    •✰ •✰ •✰ •✰ •✰ •✰

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  10. The Panda is ideal, but does look crabby. The remainder of the 'art' not impressed, but I am sure there are some budding artists in the making.

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  11. die panda is wel mijn favoriet...

    het lijkt me wel niet de moment om naar Istanboel te gaan...

    groeten

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  12. Momenteel moet je niet in Istanboel zijn! En of dat snel gaat verbeteren is nog maar de vraag. De graffiti, daar zitten toch wel knappe kunstwerkjes tussen, ik hou er van.

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  13. Yup you hit it on the head Filip, there's a very thin line between acceptable and not!

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  14. Fantastic photos, the panda is excellent:) Regards

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  15. mooie werken tussen die graffiti
    het lijkt me veiliger daar niet alleen rond te lopen

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  16. An amazing array of graffiti

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  17. als je je ergens niet op gemak voelt, kan je je beter snel verplaatsen. Je hebt ons wel een goede indruk van de graffiti gegeven. Fijne avond en groetjes Dietmut

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