I'm not much in favour of street art in general, grafitty in particular. Yet, lately it seems I've developed a liking for street murals due to the works, scattered throughout the city, of a Tel Aviv based painter by the name of Rami Meiri ( in the above picture - mural on a building at Nachlat Benyamin street next to the Carmel market). I have the feeling that his murals brighten up the day of the passersby (me included) and that of commuters stuck in traffic jams, improve the grey urban surroundings with colorful painted wall scenes from daily life, create an optimistic, amusing street atmosphere.
grinning man pulling his cheeks provides the drivers with some comic relief
There was an article about Rami Meiri in one of the newspapers bearing the title of "Dressing the Naked City"; I would say, naked and ugly city, but dynamic and changing. Rami Meiri uses the city as his canvass depicting on it the lighter side of life: people at the beach, in the pub, children playing, etc..
The tel-avivian painter got recognition from the local establishment as a valuable street artist; he has been designated "distinguished citizen" of Tel-Aviv for his contributions to the city landscape as exemplified by his wall painting "People Exercising" on Gordon Beach ( his first public mural).
Rami Meiri started his outdoor painting on old, neglected walls for free; that was clever, as people first turned their heads to see the mural better , then gradually began to order his works, and nowadays he' s an industry . From Tel-Aviv his reputation and his painting projects reached many other places across the country and outside it.
In the below video we see some of Rami Meiri's well-known murals.
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Murals definitely bring colour and vibrancy to the otherwise dull landscape of the city. I observed this particularly when in Belfast. A place called Derry has murals depicting several episodes from history and they are quite big, and can be seen from great distances. Every mural has a story to tell and the city's history is told in pictures and colour.
ReplyDeleteYou should check out the murals in Derry by googling it.
Thanks for another informative post, dear DUTA.
Joy always,
Susan
What a great artist he is. It always amazes me the great detail they can paint on such a large scale. I paint but nothin' as grand as the murals. Normal size paintings in oil, acrylic or watercolors. I paint on full bed sheets to add colorful backdrops to my Kids Church themes each quarter. My art classes never prepared me to paint on sheets...not the best of medias! Heeehehehe!
ReplyDeleteI so enjoyed seein' all the colorful murals addin' beauty and humor to your city. Thanks dear lady.
God bless ya and have the most incredible day!!!
Those are really cool! I especially like murals that achieve a 3D effect...
ReplyDeleteI love those murals! Very creative artist. I'm glad you shared them.
ReplyDeleteI generally like to see such murals. Often they are the beginning of bringing an aging neighborhood back to life. Interesting post.
ReplyDeleteSusan Deborah,
ReplyDeleteI googled Derry; very impressive murals indeed. But, as I understand most of them are of political, religious, historical nature. Rami Meiri's murals are of lighter stuff, no heavy message, tend to amuse people and make them smile.
Anyway, thanks for the interesting information.
Nezzy,
So, You're a painter. How exciting! I'm sure you're very good at it. You should display your paintings on your blog so that we could all enjoy your talent. God bless you too!
The Bug,
These murals do have a 3D effect. It's just as if the objects are coming out of the wall to meet you.
Janie B,
Glad you like them. No one is indifferent to these murals. People enjoy looking at them and discussing the quality of the painting.
Sue (Someone's Mom),
I totally agree with you. These murals are a good way to enliven an old neighborhood.
DUTA:
ReplyDeleteI had assumed that even Meiri's murals spoke with same overtones as that of the Derry ones. Glad to know that his stuff is light-hearted and happy. I shall have to check on this artist now.
Thanks dear DUTA.
Joy always,
Susan
P. S: I missed the 21 C bit :) Grin.
ReplyDeleteI like his loose, characature style -very engaging. We have 32 murals throughout our downtown, making it the largest outdoor art gallery in Canada..ours are historical in nature however -not satirical (which I really like). You can see them at http://pembroketourism.ca/heritagemuralsp10.php
ReplyDeleteI love the murals by Rami they make you smile and feel light hearted in a serious world. Thanks Rami for making us smile. Peace
ReplyDeleteWell, in this case, we may say that Rami Meiri's walls could speak.
ReplyDeleteI like very much the title "Dressing the Naked City" also.
Have a nice weekend!
Susan Deborah,
ReplyDeleteIt seems Meiri paints with a wink to the public. He treats his themes, taken from real life, in a light-hearted manner which appeals very much to the public.
8468,
Thanks for stopping by.
Susan,
Wow! It appears Pembroke is renowned for ts murals depicting its rich heritage. I like the Marching towards the Millenium mural, and also the tiger murals. Thanks for letting me know about Pembroke and its murals.
Ladt Di Tn,
Rami Meiri's works are very popular ,and not only in his own city and country, because his themes and light style appeal to everyone regardless of age, gender, nationality.
He has a very good sense of humor, I think! Thanks for bringing us a light heart today!
ReplyDeleterobert,
ReplyDeleteThe characters in his wall paintings are so lively that they appear to speak to us and tell us things. As for the title "Dressing the Naked city" - great title indeed.
dimple,
So it seems. Thank you for your comment.
Hi Duta :)
ReplyDeleteI love street art. I imagine his works really do brighten the city and make the people passing by smile.
We have a lot of street art in my city. It brings life and beauty and pride to the street. Thank you for sharing with us.
Good to see you here, Duta :)
Wishing you Happiness and sending you Love,
Kelly
Love this. It's amazing that there are so many talented artists in this world. I even marvel at some of the graffiti painted on railroad cars - a lot of those people are wasting their talent.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen a lot of street art, but I always appreciate it when I do. One of my favorite scenes was in Quebec City - with all the intricacies, it's like evesdropping on the artist's mind.
TheChickGeek,
ReplyDeleteGood to hear from you Kelly.
Well, your city has it all. It's one of the largest and most versatile cities in the world, so I can imagine street art being present in many parts of it, and people enjoying the sights.
Bica,
Amazing indeed, and it's something to really be appreciated. I wish I was so talented as these street artists.
wow.. his art is amazing. I am glad Mr Meiri got recognition for his contribution to the city.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
Doris
Hold my hand: a social worker's blog,
ReplyDeleteHi Doris,
Yes, he finally got recognition. The beginning of his street career, like any other beginning was not smooth. He worked for free, and even permission to paint on walls was not given automatically.
What a blessing this man is to your city!
ReplyDeleteI think murals brighten up shabby or uninteresting buildings,the ones you have shown in this post are amazing,humorous and colourful,a very talented artist indeed.
ReplyDeleteWow, what gorgeous colors in the murals. The works are very impressive and how they must light up the landscape.
ReplyDeleteVery creative indeed. I wish more places in this world have such great artists who make people forget their tensions and worries by creating such magic on the walls of the streets.
ReplyDeleteIt’s a great way of bringing a better change to the streets of our places. In fact these days many other cities of the world already started flaunting such beautiful murals, which is a good outcome. They are depicted not only to convey some msg but also to entertain the public esp children.
Dear Duta , Thanks a lot for sharing such beautiful and useful art information.
a human kind of human,
ReplyDeleteBlessing indeed. This is not the city where I live, but a nearby city which I constantly visit.Meiri himself lives in Tl Aviv, by the sea and according to what he says in interviews, loves his city tremendously.
matron,
Yes, and the painted buildings lighten up the entire neighborhood. So, this artist is doing the place a big favour.
Cheryl,
I would also use the words 'gorgeous' and 'impressive' in coming to describe the murals and the colours, and the verbs ' lighten up' ' brighen up' when describing the effect on the surroundings.
SadeRa iford 0412,
Right. One can impart knowledge but not wisdom.
Thanks for stopping by.
Asif,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad of your opinion on murals and the artists that maske them. I totally agree with it.
Thank you Asif for your kind words.
I've never found grafitti nice either, but murals like this are wonderful and certainly brighten up the place. I love the one of the man with the big grin sticking out his tongue!
ReplyDeleteIt's funny that even though I don't like grafitti I find that many of the taggers as they call them could be great artists if they turned their energy to something more positive than tagging private property.
What would the world be without painters like this to bloom up otherwise dull spaces? I'm in awe of his work, and can see why he's done so well. Thanks for sharing him with with us, Duta! You made me grin. :-)))
ReplyDeleteAlicia,
ReplyDeleteThe guy with the grin is based on a figure from the Brasilian carnival. The painter has spent some time in South America and got influenced by life and art there.
Graffiti is very controversial. Some see it as vandalism, others as art to be displayed in galleries. The truth is somewhere between.
Dorraine,
I like your expression 'to bloom up dull spaces'; that's exactly what the murals do. We should be thankful to the painters of this form of street art.
Thanks for this post Duta, I've never given much thought to this before, it is very fascinating
ReplyDeleteHope you enjoy your break from blogging!
Culture Served Raw,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you find it fascinating.
Thanks for wishing me to enjoy my break.
Wonderful art work! It's something that I admire, as I don't have any of that kind of talent!! ;)
ReplyDeleteMiss you - hope you're back soon~
Susannah,
ReplyDeleteMiss you too. Hope to be back in a week or so.
We'll be here whenever you're ready!
ReplyDeleteWonderful! I love them. They certainly brightens and lightens things up, don't they? Hope you are getting a good rest on your blogging break.
ReplyDeleteSusannah,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to know that. Thank you.
A Big Bowl Of Cherries,
Indeed so; these murals 'lighten and brighten' things up. Thank you for your kind words.
Duta, I love Rami Meiri murals. As I said in my post, murals bring colour and vibrancy to the dull landscape of a neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteI wish you a fabulous week ahead :)