unrestricted territories.

As much as I love cities, and the urban landscape, I often need physical, tangible space to organize my thoughts, and escape from the fast paced lifestyle that takes places within the concrete jungle.

Ask any city planner, teacher, ecologist, architect, psychologist, or yogi, and they will tell you of the great benefits provided by natural outdoor space. The amount of leisure, meditation, escape, exercise, play and overall enjoyment that takes place in green spaces, not to mention the educational benefits of experiencing and learning from nature, is an important aspect part of human existence.

In addition to serving as a setting for much activity and behavior that is foreign or seldom found within man-made city blocks, the concept of ‘free,’ or public space is incredibly important to city dwellers. Metropolitan areas serve as a magnet for a great number of inhabitants, requiring things to be built close together, at a high price. Public parks give people a place to go where the space they occupy and utilize is not limited by their ability to afford certain monetary contributions, all the while providing a change in landscape and an escape from the noise, and colors of the city.

From Hyde park, to Regent’s park, the city of London has definitely recognized the benefits of public space, and does a fantastic job of providing wonderful parks throughout the city. These vast sprawls of green, public space give residents the forum to escape and play, and most importantly, feel a sense of ownership in their city.

I specifically wanted to highlight the photos I took during my visit to Richmond Park. With over 2000 acres of trees, creeks, and open space, and filled with a large variety of roaming wildlife, the landscape of Richmond Park provides the perfect example of allowing visitors to have physical space to reflect and recreate within city limits.












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believe in the spray can.

This next update is focused on the street art scene in the London neighborhood of Shoreditch. This hood was described to me as, ‘the Brooklyn of London,’ and is full of indie coffee shops, asymmetrical haircuts, and ridiculous moustaches to prove it.

Walking around here, it really seemed as though the ‘bobby’ completely turned a blind eye to what I like to call, the liberal acquisition of concrete canvasses, but what the law typically refers to as, vandalism. Suffice it to say, I really enjoyed photographing this area, and quickly focused on the surrounding public art, which seemed to serve as a bloodline and backdrop to any movement in this part of town.

Now, before going further let me say, there are many different perspectives on what classifies something as art, as well as, what the difference between graffiti and street art is. I will not even begin to tackle those arguments here, but I have posted at length on similar topics elsewhere in the blog, if you care to read further on my opinion of these topics.

For now, let us simply keep in mind, that graffiti has existed throughout history, with excellent examples found in Ancient Egypt, as well as Ancient Greece. The unique act of posting an anonymous public statement for everyone to see, seems to not only highlight many aspects of the human condition, but also seems to be a necessary act done by those who feel that the public spaces reserved for art to be inadequate, unattainable or simply separate from everyday life.

That being said, I think my personal interest in street art can be boiled down to my appreciation and amusement of the controversy, creativity, and risk that goes into accomplishing these works. I really enjoy when people take it upon themselves to incorporate a setting or environment into their artistic statement, as well as search for clever and interesting ways to reach the largest audience possible. In some ways, one could argue, that the unedited platform that is provided by a city’s bare walls is a more authentic representation of society, having been done by an everyday stranger rather than a recognized or wealthy artist, as well as being physically among the people and the streets where everyday life exists.

And now, on to the photos, hope you all enjoy.