“Red Boxes” — Two red boxes on the sidewalk below a street art panel, Aberdeen.
This is another street photograph from central Aberdeen, Scotland, a bit west the Victoria Dock. There are many old and narrow streets here that twist and turn in interesting ways. Some of the streets feature a lot of street art and, unlike in some places I’ve visited and photographed, much of it stands apart for better viewing and is rarely defaced by graffiti.
“The Naked Emperor” — “The Naked Emperor,” by Edward von Lõngus, on an Aberdeen wall.
I photographed this version of “The Naked Emperor” in Aberdeen, Scotland, but I understand that the figure is found in many European cities. The artist signs his work, “Edward von Lõngus,”which I understand is a pseudonym meant to hide his real identity, in the Banksy tradition. I made the photograph along a very old, narrow street in an area of Aberdeen where there is a lot of other street art.
“Church Interior, Ghent” — Angled light falls across a wall inside a church in Ghent, Belbium.
I have a somewhat embarrassing confession to make about this photograph. I know that I made it in a church in the Belgium town of Ghent… but I failed to record which church it was! In my (weak) defense, this is a town of many churches — I don’t think I’ve seen many others with so many steeples. And after a few weeks of visiting Various European cities it is possible that I was starting to suffer from an overdose of church architecture.
“NOW” — An impromptu poster and other things on a wall in Brussels.
One thing that appeals to me about street art (and not everything about it always does!) is how it “lives” where it was made. It is created by people using a variety of media: paint, ink, paper, glue, you name it. They leave it behind on its own where it deteriorates, may be defaced, gets added to, and eventually is covered by someone else’s creation. Someone creates it, but the eventual effect is often out of their hands.
This sign, or what remained of it, was taped to a steel roll-up door along a Brussels street. The “NOW’ remains emphatic in all-upper-case and red, but what it was that was so timely is a mystery since the upper portion has been ripped. A closer look reveals a few more details that may (or may not) provide some clues.