By rlubitz
I’ve never lived in a place like London and frankly never really thought I ever would. But now that I am, now that I’ve gotten to roam these streets and never gotten tired of them, I can’t think of living anywhere else. It’s a tough city where people are incredibly polite but not necessarily warm. That’s excluding very old English men because they are actually the best people that inhabit this earth. It’s been an adjustment but a fast one.
That being said, on my many walks around the city to nowhere in particular, I’ve run across a fair amount of amazing street art. Graffiti, I feel, lowers this art to mere illegal acts by people who are running from the law with bandanas around their mouths, etc. The art I’ve seen is fantastic.
They’re hidden in alleyways behind Burger Kings and under bridges. There are guides and blogs on the Internet for finding the best works in the city but I feel like the ones I’ve stumbled on are a little more special because as you’re on your way to 2am Burger King, there’s a Banksy. Next to the pub you frequent, there’s a giant mural of the Beatles. In an alley behind a great vintage store in Shoreditch, there’s a massive, realistic rat painted on a brick wall.
The art is not vulgar. The art is not obscene. The art is, for me, cooler than anything in the National Gallery or the Tate.
Because I have the technological savvy of a ninety-year-old caveman, I am unable to my post pictures of them here but….the internet does exist.
The Beatles Portrait on Museum Street
I see this massive mural on my way to my main Starbucks across town. It is sad that I have a favorite but it is the 21st century and I do. When I take a right on Museum Street, a street that eventually turns into famous Drury Lane, I look to my left and there’s John, Paul, Ringo and George with bandanas around the lower parts of their faces. Their actual faces are in black and white with each bandana being a different color: blue, red, green, yellow. It is COOL and I didn’t even plan on seeing it. It’s surprise art, really. You’re walking, listening to music, having awkward contact with strangers and then you look to your left and ART.
Above this mural is a large billboard with an old school picture of the queen. She actually looks COOL as well and completely unaware of the Beatles below her.
Banksy’s Little Girl
Could I have titled this more creepily? I have no idea the title of this Banksy because I am a mere plebian but it’s cool. Across from the Beatles mural, in probably the dankest alleyway in London, is a mural of a little girl painting the words “You’re Never Too Young to Dream Big.” It’s a Banksy therefore making it very cool. His works are all across the city and there are various guides on the interet to finding them but I enjoy the beauty of stumbling upon them.
In tourist traps around town, they sell merchandise with his most famous works printed on them. There are bags and wall stickers and iPhone cases and signs and umbrellas with his art printed all over it. I love pretty much every one but one of my favorites that I am determined to find very, very soon is the one of Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz being stopped by a cop. The cop is looking through her wicker basket as Toto, the cutest dog ever, looks on. It’s cute and political and, ya know, cool.
These are just my top two favorites so far. I will find more and maybe blog on them here. Just looking forward to stumbling on some more masterpieces.