Brazil graffiti artists seen more as Van Goghs than vandals

Graffiti’s long struggle to be seen as valid urban expression, not vandalism, is being crowned this month with an exhibition in Brazil by international artists who not only sprayed official works but also spruced up abandoned corners of Sao Paulo.

A raid on a dilapidated factory by many of the 66 artists on the eve of the event’s opening was a celebration of the roots of graffiti, which emerged four decades ago from New York’s subway system. It was also a triumphal declaration that, at last, they believe they have reached legitimacy as contemporary artists, a status enhanced by their provocative legacy.

“Maybe that’s why it’s an art form. Because after 40 years starting in New York and everything, it still gets people upset. And it is still getting people to think, and it’s still making people happy. It still makes people talk,” said one of the artists, Anders Rebentlovlarsen, a 25-year-old Dane.

He and the others – around half of them Brazilian, half foreigners from the US, Europe and Japan – are showcasing more official works in a first Biennial of Graffiti Fine Art at Sao Paulo’s Brazilian Museum of Sculpture through October 3.

The designs, which range from a car decked with seductive eyes, though to a Manga-looking girl holding court in front of sinister dolls, a Frankenstein-like head pierced with oversized nails, or an abstract bird’s nest of strokes and words, reveal the derivations and reinventions of graffiti as it has spread around the world.

The diversity and intricacy of many of the paintings reinforce the exhibition’s argument that graffiti is now a school of art to be reckoned with, perhaps even to be valued by aficionados and collectors.

“Not one work here doesn’t bring you a special emotion or something that you are like ‘Wow, this person is so talented.’ That’s art, and that’s graffiti fine art,” said Andrea Luis Carvalho, one of the exhibit’s organisers.