The real art in Melbourne isn’t in the National Gallery but in the street!
A friend and I basically decided a good way to explore Melbourne was to pick a direction and get lost. After several long walks and turns we ended up in an alley directly opposite the National Gallery. The graffiti here is incredible and really worth checking out.
In the spirit of graffiti I’ll end this with some of my favourite Banksy quotes.
“Art is not like other culture because its success is not made by its audience. The public fill concert halls and cinemas every day, we read novels by the millions, and buy records by the billions. We the people, affect the making and quality of most of our culture, but not our art.”
“Writing graffiti is about the most honest way you can be an artist. It takes no money to do it, you don’t need an education to understand it and there’s no admission fee.”
“Bus stops are far more interesting and useful places to have art than in museums. Graffiti has more chance of meaning something or changing stuff than anything indoors. Graffiti has been used to start revolutions, stop wars, and generally is the voice of people who aren’t listened to. Graffiti is one of those few tools you have if you have almost nothing. And even if you don’t come up with a picture to cure world poverty you can make somebody smile while they’re having a piss.”
“Only when the last tree has been cut down and the last river has dried up will man realize that reciting red Indian proverbs makes you sound like a fucking muppet.”
cool pics of graffiti
Wow, that stuff is better than most of the New York graffiti I’ve seen. I especially liked the quotes. Thanks, Amar!
Banksy is a bit of a legend. Melbourne has loads of these hidden gems dotted around. Such a creative and arty city.
Cool pics mate, the graffiti is awesome I agree, theres a lot of it around Collingwood also. Wish I had taken some photos!
I love LOVE street art. I shot quite a bit in London when I found almost every artist I could think of. Great colors and wonderful captures! <3
Some nice shots. Every city needs an area like this. It reminds me of some of the streets in Brighton where the council support good graffiti art. Nice to see every form of art can be found in Melbourne!
I like you blog a lot!.. been visiting it on a daily basis.. keep up the good work!
good to see that
btw you need a good photographer to travel with
The ‘street art’ in Melbourne is great – there is a pub down one of the alleys that has the best graffiti ever – in the toilet cubicles. As most hidden gems in Melbourne, I can’t remember where it was. Look out for it!