At the intersection of Flessa and Scholeiou streets, in Plaka, the oldest neighborhood of Athens, often called the "Neighborhood of the Gods", and at the location where the first ever public elementary school of Athens once stood, the talented hand of a street artist created this irreverent graffiti composition. It depicts a black bird with a red beak sitting on a tree branch, overlooking the dead-quiet graffiti-lined street that leads to nowhere worth going.
Or so it seems, at first glance. Scholeiou street, after a few meters further from where our eyes can see, curves sharply to the left and is renamed into Hill street, after a successful and historic educator who founded the renowned Hill School further away but still in Plaka. And just at the curve, at 3-5 Hill Street, are the facilities of the Institute of International Relations of the International and European Relations Department of Panteion University. They are housed in a beautiful renovated neoclassical building.
But, why bother with all this trivial information? Because, the aforementioned state university department, among its officially carried programs carries the one called "Graffiti: Vandalism or Art". The circle of studies includes the following groups: 1. Vandalism or Art; 2. Vandal Art; 3. Hip Hop and Graffiti; 4. From Bronx to Museums; 5. Graffiti and Adrenaline; 6. Seeking a Permit or Not?; 7. An alternative guide to the city; etc., etc. In a 60-page document, available on the Internet, the faculty analyzes with pride the extensive work that is being carried by the University on the subject.
Next time you find yourself complaining about the neglect of the city centers, the lack of policing, the lack of reaction by the city authorities, look no further. Graffiti is institutionalized, legalized and taught at University-level in Greece, and no historic district, no neoclassical building, no public or private architectural landmark will be safe from now on from the hands of the self-appointed artists with the huge ego and the often non-existent talent that are set lose on our streets.
Or so it seems, at first glance. Scholeiou street, after a few meters further from where our eyes can see, curves sharply to the left and is renamed into Hill street, after a successful and historic educator who founded the renowned Hill School further away but still in Plaka. And just at the curve, at 3-5 Hill Street, are the facilities of the Institute of International Relations of the International and European Relations Department of Panteion University. They are housed in a beautiful renovated neoclassical building.
But, why bother with all this trivial information? Because, the aforementioned state university department, among its officially carried programs carries the one called "Graffiti: Vandalism or Art". The circle of studies includes the following groups: 1. Vandalism or Art; 2. Vandal Art; 3. Hip Hop and Graffiti; 4. From Bronx to Museums; 5. Graffiti and Adrenaline; 6. Seeking a Permit or Not?; 7. An alternative guide to the city; etc., etc. In a 60-page document, available on the Internet, the faculty analyzes with pride the extensive work that is being carried by the University on the subject.
Next time you find yourself complaining about the neglect of the city centers, the lack of policing, the lack of reaction by the city authorities, look no further. Graffiti is institutionalized, legalized and taught at University-level in Greece, and no historic district, no neoclassical building, no public or private architectural landmark will be safe from now on from the hands of the self-appointed artists with the huge ego and the often non-existent talent that are set lose on our streets.