Rio – Wall art study

Tonight it’s all about the graffiti. Here in Rio the graffiti is world class and is on the same level as some of the most prolific street artists in the USA or around the world.

In Rio there are two different types of graffiti:

The messy tags that gangs use to mark their territory.

And the ornate and creative street art developed to beautify neighborhoods. It’s funny, the messy taggers will no doubt cover most available space on a wall to let you know they’re around, but you never see taggers messing up the good graffiti art.

In the town of Santa Teresa wall art is prevalent and viewable around most bends in the road. A slice of the good stuff is represented here.

Rio just happens to be a giant canvas so no matter what neighborhood you happen to be in you’ll more than likely see talent on every block. I spent part of the day Saturday in Lapa, a town just down the hill from Santa Teresa. Lucky for me I found some more wall art that was equally inspiring…

An electrical box and light post just outside of my hotel.

In Rio every VW bus is white, if it’s not all white, it’s white with an advertisement on the side. Walking north up Ipanema Beach I found this one. I looks like it’s from the same artist who did the electrical box above.

And last but not least, a peaceful girl meditating with the sound of the ocean nearby.