Graffiti on a Amman wall
[click to enlarge]

This caught my eye! Graffiti on a wall near the exit from Wadi Saqra Street to the 3rd Circle.

Amman’s graffiti has, so far, consisted of text only statements. Usual examples include:

Expression of love and heartbreak (Min Ghadr il Bashar, 3ishigt issafar)
Political Statements (Al Haqq Awalan)
and the ubiquitous ad for fencing your damn farm! (Li tahyeek mazari3ikum)

But this graffiti is different. It has a cartoon character in it (standing beside err, something) and the typical western graffiti lettering.

I am a complete ignorant when it comes to graffiti styles and terminology (I kind of know what a ‘tag’ is, but that’s about it). Any experts out there to enlighten us?

Interesting nonetheless!


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13 responses to “Is that some real Graffiti on a Ammani wall?”

  1. Ghassan Yonis Avatar
    Ghassan Yonis

    hehehe.. what’s the “err, something”..lol
    but I’ve seen graffities with cartoon characters and colorful drawings before, not as often as the usual text statements.. but it’s there

  2. Moey Avatar
    Moey

    WOW this looks nice :)

  3. Basem Avatar
    Basem

    Not sure if this is the work of an acquaintance of mine whom I think is one of probably numbered “graffiti artists” here in Jordan, in fact; some folks from Scandinavia once shot a documentary about him entitled “Killing my art”.

    I should take you to his neighbourhood the west arm “دراع” sometime, it have a hint of Chicago graffiti scene in the midst of the normalcy of your typical Amman neighbourhood! Interesting Wallahi, I shall introduce you one time.

  4. hussein Avatar
    hussein

    just a big fan of Calimero, maybe!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ju9hIlynVZw

  5. omar Avatar
    omar

    the quote next to Calimero is italian, “Che Maniere” which translates into “That Way” – so I’m pretty sure the artist who did it is not Jordanian…

    God knows though, I’m wondering if there’s space there so I can go and doodle some shit :D

  6. omar Avatar
    omar

    although, the signature below says “Khaleel”…
    hmm, pretty confusing!

  7. Daniel Avatar
    Daniel

    Graffiti (in the modern sense as part of HipHop) started in the late 70s in American metropoles like Philadelphia and New York. I believe that it was first of all a way of making people paying attention to you, the ‘writer’. In order to achieve ‘fame’ (above all within the graffiti scene) writers tried to go out ‘bombing’ (painting your name) and ‘tagging’ (writing you signature with marker or spray paint) as much as possible. The more your name is seen, and the better your ‘style’, the more famous you get within the graffiti scene.

    Of course graffiti causes lots of damage. And that is the point. Graffiti is underground, rebellious. And that’s why generally attempts to ‘legalize’ graffiti fail. What for many citizens is chaotic, ugly, and selfish, for others is the ultimate kick. When I was 16 to 20 I ‘bombed’ myself (in my hometown Berlin). I was obsessed with writing my name and trying to come up with my own ‘style’. Every day after school I was sitting for hours at my desk drawing letters in my ‘blackbook’ (=sketchbook). I think in those days I learned a lot about proportion, though not in the typographic sense. Graffiti is much more experimental than typography, and has a totally different purpose.

    At night me and my writer friends went out to paint our names – on walls, mostly. That was in the late 90s and Berlin (which was already heavily bombed in the late 80s – Berlin’s wall was like a huge canvas) was maybe the most bombed city in Europe. Some ‘crews’ got famous by having their crew names bombed in nearly every part of the city. Some writers got famous through style, others through reckless actions like painting on rooftops, 20 cm away from death (and some died).

    I still remember the feeling when you stood somewhere on the S-Bahn premises (S-Bahn is Berlins aboveground railway), hastily painting your name: Adrenaline up to the full, listening to the night for any sound that could come from a sneaking up policeman, trying to avoid noise. Quite often we ended up running off as fast as we could.

    At that time I was a teenager who tried to earn some respect in an anonymous urban environment. I tried to improve my style as I was always interested in the art aspect of graffiti. I looked for adventure in a city that I felt to be too conservative and bourgois. I wanted to be part of my city, add something personal to it. Why were all these corporations allowed to place their ugly ads in my city, while I was deprived of creating my own urban environment?

    Today I see all that from a slightly different angle. Graffiti writers are selfish. Bombing and tagging add chaos to a city. Graffiti writers cause fear. They remind people that not everything, and definitely not their childrens’ generation, is perfect. Graffiti means: I don’t respect you (and your values). I do what I want to do, now.

    And still, graffiti can function as a valve for creativity. If you are open to it, graffiti can be inspiring. Beautyful. Exciting.

    At least as long as you are not the owner of that wall that was sprayed on last night.

  8. manal y Avatar
    manal y

    yeah i see that everymorning and every morning i wonder who drew it, why did s/he drew is it a radom graffitti or dose it hold a message in it, whats with the white rocketand and why calimero

    ahh it pisses my off,.u simply just cant egnore no matter how many times u pass by it eeeerrrrrr

    on a side note, would love to see a female painting graffitti here in amman

  9. manal y Avatar
    manal y

    would love to that myslef :D

  10. Steve Avatar
    Steve

    It’s bona-fide graffiti. Yet another form of urban blight comes to Amman.

  11. Ghadeer Avatar
    Ghadeer

    Hey CHE MANIERE means, directly translated WHAT MANNER!!
    But in this case, Calimero wants to complain about how is treated by the people.
    The cartoon of Calimero is about a little black bird who everybody treats bad because he is little and black.
    Maybe the symbol of Calimero is a protest for the people who a treated bad because of there origin or appearance.?!

  12. Rami Avatar
    Rami

    I saw that on the way to work, wanted to get a snap of it, this I believe qualifies as a real piece rather than a dub or throw up (quick piece done in two colours), because it uses four different colours and the fill is solid. I gotta say in terms of placement its a great spot (old degraded wall no one cares about) and it adds a bit of liveliness and colour to the streets! Very impressed.

  13. Humeid Avatar
    Humeid

    This graffiti is gone now. It got painted over in white..