one word - Hope

Hope is genius. It creates its own power, energy and magic.
- Toni Ciserella

And the sounds of a broken city speak riddles;
minor symphonies of secret hearts.
- Know Hope, Israeli street artist

Graffiti Brasil, Tristan Manco, Lost Art & Caleb Neelon, Thames & Hudson, 2005, 978 0 500 28574 9

From the startlingly distinctive achievements of the internationally renowned twin-brother painters Os Gemeos to the visual powers of the ubiquitous daredevil Pichadores, Brazil's graffiti captivates with entirely fresh ideas, techniques, and messages. Whether one's taste is for the extraordinary creative extremes generated amid urban deprivation or for crafted murals at their most elaborate, Graffiti Brasil offers both stunning photography and in-depth history and insight. (Amazon)

Graffiti Brasil captures artistic hope at its core for me. The street art covered here is the product of a group of artists who long and dream for the bettering of life for their families, friends and people. Cutting, revolutionary messages are present as well, but the majority of the work here is edifiying, begging the government and the governed to rise above corruption and crime.

Street art is definitely an interest for me, but I’ve never known how to incorporate it into my work. I definitely don’t want to just take pictures of it... more like capturing the defiant, grass-roots rebellious, and triumphant feeling. Street art is iconic, sometimes seemingly a “one-liner”, yet much of it is compelling enough for continued/repeated reading. These pieces are often inspiring and edifying- lifting everyday characters like “the man on the way to work” to hero-status, a declaration of encouragement to the community.

Is it possible to communicate these ideas photographically? Will pictorialism render the subject comical? Is the success of street art in it’s stylization? Even stencils and paste-up is stylized. Perhaps I should investigate icons of what i’m interested in? Will this endeavour lead me to inspirational clichés?

street art by Os Gemeos

Shepard Fairey’s Obama “Hope” campaign

Here's hoping coal miners don't eat our babies.

Hope I can capture "hope" better than this.

street art by Know Hope

street art by Banksy

Is the secret to make black and white images with red highlights?

Is she "hopeful" by red-black-white formula?

Can music be "hopeful"? Is Jonsí "hopeful"?

Is music more subjective than art? Is music art? If music is sound oraganized by time, can it be considered on the same artistic level with photo/film as light organized by time?

Should I go to the music department and tell them they're not artists?

Does this sound piece make you feel "hope"? Does the crescendo at 4:19 lift you up, or depress you?