Psychedelic Dragon at Spuistraat 199

This building in Spuistraat, Amsterdam had a glorious psychedelic, red-spotted green dragon painted on the yellow walls which brightened up the run-down street. I just wonder what type of local stimulant had been used by the artist prior to painting this.

Water Calligraphy

As I walked around the perimeter of the West Lake in Hangzhou I started to notice some strange markings on the tiled pathway. At first I thought it was just water marks but then recognised these as Chinese symbols. Further down the path I eventually found the source of these marks, a man with an oversized calligraphy brush and a can of water was meticulously practising his Chinese calligraphy in each square of the tiled pathway. 

Graffiti

Graffiti (singular: graffito; the plural is used as a mass noun) is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property. Graffiti is any type of public markings that may appear in the forms of simple written words to elaborate wall paintings. Graffiti has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. In modern times, spray paint, normal paint and markers have become the most commonly used materials. In most countries, defacing property with graffiti without the property owner's consent is considered vandalism, which is punishable by law. Sometimes graffiti is employed to communicate social and political messages. 

To some, it is an art form worthy of display in galleries and exhibitions; to others it is merely vandalism. Graffiti has since evolved into a pop culture existence often related to underground hip hop music and b-boying creating a lifestyle that remains hidden from the general public. Graffiti is used as a gang signal to mark territory or to serve as an indicator or "tag" for gang-related activity. The controversies that surround graffiti continue to create disagreement amongst city officials/ law enforcement and graffitists looking to display their work in public locations. There are many different types and styles of graffiti and it is a rapidly developing artform whose value is highly contested, being reviled by many authorities while also subject to protection, sometimes within the same jurisdiction.

I came across these great examples of graffiti on an old abandoned building at the bottom of Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman in Kuala Lumpur.

This art form has livened up the drab run-down walls of the buildings and created a large canvas for young artists to exhibit their creativity and artistic talents.