avatarKim Baker

Summary

The article discusses the vibrant street art scene in Granada, Spain, where artists like Raul Ruiz (El Niño) generously share their work with the public, enhancing the urban landscape and offering a more engaging and dynamic art experience than traditional museums.

Abstract

The author of the article expresses a preference for street art over museums, finding the former more engaging and reflective of the local culture. In Granada, Spain, renowned street artists such as El Niño leave their mark on the city, with works that interact with the environment and change over time due to natural and human influences. These artists often remain anonymous, contributing their creativity without seeking recognition or compensation. The article emphasizes the beauty of street art as a living, evolving form that invites viewers to discover and appreciate it on their own terms, without the constraints of museum hours or entrance fees.

Opinions

  • The author dislikes the confinement and formality of museums, preferring the spontaneous and accessible nature of street art.
  • Street art is seen as a gift to the community, with artists like El Niño creating works that become part of the daily lives of residents and visitors.
  • The article suggests that street art is more alive and interactive than museum art, changing with the light, weather, and surrounding environment.
  • The author appreciates the ephemeral nature of street art, which can be added to by other artists or altered by natural decay, contributing to its transient beauty.
  • Street art is not bound by the commercial or prestige-driven motivations of traditional art, allowing for a purer form of expression and sharing.
  • The article conveys a sense of connection between the artist and the observer, as both share the same urban space and experience the art in the context of their daily lives.

Traveling Spain on a Budget? Granada Street Artists Want to Give You a Gift

Some of the most generous people in the world leave their art outside for all to see

All photos by author: This small work of art was left on an old weathered door on an abandoned building in the center of Granada

I love art and I hate museums. It took me a long time to come to this realization because as a traveler, I am supposed to love museums. What is a trip to Paris without visiting the Louvre? How can you possibly say you have been to Madrid without having set foot in the Prado? A lot better trip is what I say.

When I lead tours of Spain and Portugal, I purchase tickets for the group, get them there at the appointed time, deposit them in the often lengthy line, make sure they don’t have any problems getting in, heave a sigh of relief and go search for a quiet place to park myself in the shade. Happily, the Prado is located right next to Parque Retiro, a far superior experience in my opinion.

The one and only time I actually entered the Prado, was with a friend of mine who had such a moving experience there, she actually cried, I was instantly overwhelmed. There was so much art, it was hung all over the walls, the volume was only rivaled by the number of visitors circulating among the rooms, quietly, respectfully moving from one to the next, all under the eyes of the ubiquitous security guards.

I was having a moving experience too, I was moving from painting to painting, and my feet and back hurt from standing for so long. I couldn’t enjoy the art because I was busy respecting everyone else’s space and trying not to get in the way. I felt like I couldn’t just bolt because I had paid good money to get in there and I was supposed to be absorbing the culture. After two hours of that, I would have paid good money to get out and breathe some fresh air.

I do love art though, and for me, no museum can rival what I can find on the streets. Because slow travel is my thing, I usually spend months, if not years living in a place. This gives me time to discover and live among the creations that adorn the lives of the people who live there.

I currently live near Granada in Spain. Granada is home to many street artists. The most famous is Raul Ruiz, aka El Niño, whose work can be seen on many walls around the Realejo area. He has also made it up to my small village where he hung out with my cousin who tried to talk him into painting on the huge wall above her apartment. He declined because it wasn’t visible enough to the public. Instead, he painted on the bridge down below the village near the river. If you don’t know it is there, you could easily miss it as you need to kind of illegally bushwhack your way into the river and wade across to find it.

El Niño’s work (the woman in profile) under the bridge in my little village up in the mountains. This is the work of at least 3 different artists and is easy to miss unless you know where to look. To see it you have to scramble down to a river and wade across.

Other works by El Niño play a part in my everyday life as I go about my business in Granada. Just recently I went to visit a friend in her new house. Her place is right under one of his paintings that I had passed by many times and photographed.

The El Niño painting right outside my friend’s house. It is a part of her life as it is a part of all of ours who walk past. Every time I see this paining, it is different because the light is different. The plants around it grow and are cut, the shadows move and the building weathers as the years go by. All of this makes the art alive.

Street art is not limited to those who paint huge pieces that take up whole walls. One of my favorite local artists draws all kinds of mice. Every time I stumble upon one, it makes me smile. They are simple, only using one color, black and sticking to one figure, but they are all unique.

This particular artist sticks to what they like to draw, mice. There are dozens of them around the city and they remind me that as we live in a place, we cross paths with so many people who we never meet. I am in some way connected to this artist because we walk the same streets.

Street art is a part of life, whenever I see it, it is a part of everything that is around it. That means that every time I see it, it is different. At least once a week, I take a bus down from my village to Granada and I pass a rock wall that was plastered over and painted white. An artist used the swells and dips in the wall to create faces. Here are 2 different views of this work of art, changed by what was around it that day.

Street art is there to be observed or not. There are days when I focus on it and enjoy it to its fullest and there are other days when I am absorbed in something else. It is my choice to pay attention or not. My attention is not forced by opening or closing hours or the fact that this is my one chance to see it.

Because street art is outside and there is often no indication of who the artist is, it is not treated as art with a capital A. Instead, other artists can add to a work of street art. It often appears and disappears without warning. The climatic conditions can erode it creating interesting effects. It is not so precious that it can’t be touched, and that is one of the things I love about it.

This beautiful paining of Picasso has been added to many times. He has been given what appear to be devil horns and sheep. Is he perhaps having trouble sleeping because of something weighing on his conscious?
As the cement on this wall crumbles, so does the face that stares out of it.

All of the street art shown here can be found in Granada, Spain. What I find amazing in this time of materialism and the demand for monetary compensation is that these artists have given us their time, creativity and passion and have asked for nothing in return, not even recognition. For that I thank them. Whoever they are, they make the world a better place.

Some final works you can find if you take the time to wander the streets of Granada.

Perhaps this man is trying to help me study for my upcoming driving test. The sign is telling me that I can not stop or park the the right of it.
On a warehouse wall, on the industrial side of town, an artist reminds us that even a vacant lot can be sexy.
On the outside of this building it looks like an abandoned ruin, inside is a secret gallery.

I hope you visit this city I have come to love and when you do, secret artists will have left their work for you to enjoy in between tapas and Alhambra tours.

Another city that has embraced street art it Toronto. I haven’t been there for years but Aaron Paulson has and brings us so many wonderful examples in his story. I especially love that people are using their garage doors as canvases.

Once you have wandered the streets of Granada, head east to the Costa Blanca, Elizabeth Sobieski takes us on a tour complete with some interesting statues.

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Globetrotter
Spain
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