STREET ART SANTIAGO
Santiago, with its deeply evolved and extremely active underground graffiti scene, bursts at the seams with an abundance of eye-popping, jaw-dropping murals. Stencil graffiti artist Lord K2 documents 14 neighborhoods within the capital of Chile with his arresting photography and intimate conversations with local artists. Through more than 200 images and 80 interviews, learn how street art was influenced by American, European, and Brazilian graffiti and how its evolution runs parallel to the political history of the nation itself. During the Cold War, nationalist muralist brigades spread socialist idealism through symbols of power and oppression. Santiago's repressed lower classes gradually usurped the art form, and murals eventually became a weapon of resistance. This vibrant city, with its array of distinct cultural districts, now invites you to experience its fascinating and tightly knit artistic community that has flourished since the fall of Pinochet's dictatorship in 1990. A brief history
Size: 9″ x 9″ | 229 b/w & color photos | 184 pp ISBN13: 9780764349270 | Binding: hard cover | 2015
“In recent years Chilean graffiti has come into the global spotlight with many artists and enthusiasts journeying to cities such as Valparaiso and Santiagoto discover what makes this particular corner of the street art world so visually exciting. Lord K2’s new book Street Art Santiago is a wonderful piece of documentary journalism, which explores the cities rich mural art history through its strong political tradition of Latin-American Muralism to the vibrant street art movement in action today. This documentation is made particularly rewarding by the interviews given by the artists who share their lives, ideas and working methods in an intimate social and cultural record. Through the artists voices the book becomes an enlightening and often exhilarating journey that delivers an honest and powerful understanding of the processes and culture of street art. Above all the images from the barrios speak for themselves. Santiago is a city influx – ancient facades meet new developments and abandoned buildings shelter layer upon layer of murals, reflecting the life of the city in a unique way - making it an irresistible visual feast and an essential street art destination” TRISTAN MANCO
“With informative quotes from the artists and excellent contextual photos, Lord K2's Street Art Santiago exhaustively documents the Chilean scene neighborhood by neighborhood from paint illegally tossed against a wall to enormous, skillfully executed murals.” MARTHA COOPER
“With his keen eye, acute intellect and boundless passion, Lord K2 takes us on a remarkable foray into Chile’s rich street art scene. In addition to showcasing an extraordinary array of urban interventions, Street Art Santiago features interviews that provide insights into the minds of the artists, as well as into the distinct history of Chilean graffiti and the society that fosters it.” LOIS STAVSKY
“A great insight into the vibrant and extensive Santiago de Chile graffiti and mural scene” PABLO ARAVENA
"With outstanding photography and unfiltered interviews, Lord K2 documents the vibrant and colorful street art and graffiti scene in one of the worlds most richly evolved urban art Meccas." ZEWOK 1
"Graffiti in Santiago, Chile sets the stage for this book, but it's a totally engrossing read even if you’ve never been (also: you will want to go), and is way more involved—and more entertaining—than you might be prepared for. A huge range of art is combined with interviews, snippets, and quotes, all batting around thoughts on the meaning of art and the goal of social justice; wondering at roots of capitalism and poverty; distilling vocation, life, love, work. This isn’t a homogeneous portrait—it’s a spirited discussion, an exercise in compare/contrast as conflicting, evolving, fluid ideas meander across the pages.
This book would be worth a read for the art alone—or for the ideas, or for the narratives; with all three combined, it’s an easy pick." BEN N. (HARVARD BOOK STORE)