Even though not exceptional in any way against the delightfully decadent environment of the city of Łódź
the modest remains of Bar Binh-Minh caught my wandering attention.
Perhaps it was the sight of that benign, little palm tree on a day with crispy –20°C.
The outbreak of street art, graffitis, tags and visual vandalism coincides without doubt with the expansion
of advertising and branding over the public space. It is the appropriation of public space by big business that
stimulates the need to reconquer it. While outdoor media companies are looking for new spaces to invade
citizens are denied the possibility to visually and publicly communicate their needs, opinions, interests.
Even if not mature or politically aware in nature the inscriptions on these two billboards that were left empty
for a mere couple of weeks illustrate this process well enough.
Peculiar shop in downtown Warsaw nowadays selling second hand clothes. The beautifully rendered image of
a camera seems to be the leftover of the shop’s previous trade. /// Specyficzny sklep na Poznańskiej.
A couple of snapshots from Warsaw’s most colourful, lively and multicultural bazaar. Featured are Polish product
names misspelled my immigrant merchants. /// Przykłady egzotycznych produktów ze stadionu XX-lecia.
Such consistent and carefully rendered typography is not typical even for apartment block house districts.
This is a quiet neighbourhood with few passers-by which might’ve given more time to finish off the artwork.
FREE MEADOW
Don’t be mislead by the German words for this is a Polish camping ad targeted at German tourists.
This is fairly common in northern and western Poland.
This particular example is quite saturated even for local taste.
First is the memory of an ice cream from Warsaw’s dodgy neighbourhood – Praga.
Then is a sign of a neglected Vietnamese restaurant on a colourful bazaar in eastern Warsaw.
A few hand-painted numbers from different parts of Eastern Europe. Number one is the platform number from
a bus station in Riga, Latvia where I often used to stop over on my trips between Warsaw and Helsinki – quite
beautifully rendered in black-on-white and inverse. Number two is from Augustów in north-eastern Poland where
a hand-made sign had to do in lack of official street signage. Number forty-three is same story but from Nowogród
where a lovely folk party takes place once in a year.
CAR PARTS in two intriguing versions both part of the same chaotic premises.
SHOP, ANIMAL SUPPLIES, FISH FEED
It’s not often you encounter advertisements that can boast a similar variety of letterforms and dynamic
composition as this local animal supplies shop. It seems clear that both signs underwent many adjustments
in both form and content in a constant pursuit of perfection. Please note the little fishes in the second specimen.
Theme: Shocking Blue Green. Blog at WordPress.com.
