It’s time to resume with our glossary #keywordsgraffitistreetart !
Have you ever heard of HALL OF FAME?
In English hall of fameindicates the class or category of those who have distinguished themselves in a particular activity/field, or an institution that honors the achievements of certain individuals in a particular activity/field.
In graffiti specifically, this means a wall that, out of respect for the writers who painted it and their recognized skills, is not crossed except by those who have some sort of permission, for example, a fellow member of the same crew.
A hall of fame also may include several walls that can be painted legally or semi-legally.
For some Writing purists anything painted in legality does not really correspond to graffiti making, but it is also true that since these are legal or semi-legal walls, or in a sense tolerated, these allow writers to work freely and more creatively without interruption, and thus to produce very elaborate pieces and to higher quality, understood as accuracy.
Halls of fame have been around since the early days of American graffiti, such as the East Harlem hall of fame (since 1980), and have always contributed to the exchange within the scene and the development of successive generations of writers.
In some cities, halls of fame have a long history in writing culture, in some cases becoming an integral part of the urban cultural landscape and a focal point where writers from all over the world meet to paint and exchange their experiences and styles.
The most well-known example and intensely discussed in the media relatively recently has been 5Pointz in New York City, for a very long time considered the ultimate mecca for writers, and which as of 2013 no longer exists. The construction industry once again prevailed, and once again proved to be one of writing’s greatest enemies : the building was first whitewashed, then demolished to make way for a residential complex.
Today even European capitals have their own halls of fame, and so does almost every city and town in Italy.
In Sardinia, of course, there are also walls considered as such.
What about Cagliari? Even in the city of the sun there are halls of fame.
An example are the walls in the area of Sa Duchessa scattered between the departments of Humanities, Engineering and the C.U.S.
These are the walls painted by SAF CREW (Sardos Frades – Sardinian Brothers), composed of Jilos, Nero, Idea, Matz, Moth and Gibbo.
The area for long years a place of not too recommendable hangouts thanks to the interventions of the Saf Crew has begun to change its face and especially its color with their super elaborate tags designed in every detail. Often not easily readable and sometimes accompanied by illustrations dedicated to people or themes to which the crew is particularly sensitive, with its murals Saf punctually demonstrates great talent in both lettering and figurative storytelling.
I had already told you about them in one of the Urban Interviews Idea release, which you can find at this link https://www.bagamunda.com/post/urban-interviews.
Below are some shots of the pieces from the halls of Fame at Sa Duchessa in Cagliari.
Until the next article Street art and Graffiti Lovers! 😊
Melania
Photo: M. Garau
