Elevador Arte

Greetings! Tudo bem cara, beleza? That’s a little Portuguese for you, but it is very Brazilian Portuguese, and if my continental Portuguese roommates heard me say that they would roll their eyes. Anyway, Lisbon Street Art & Street Artists Part 2! I dare say this is the better half with more art, live artists, and we have the reveal for the suspended hanging turd guy! Read on…

Galleria de Arte Urbana

We are at the Galleria de Arte Urbana, near Miradouro São Pedro de Alcantara, or what I call “the miradouro near Bairro Alto”. There is an elevator (first picture) that will take you from the miradouro to the bottom of the hill to Restauradores. It is pretty convenient if you have the Carris pass like any good Lisbonner does, if you don’t then it’s crazy expensive, like 3,50 Euros!

Street Art - Guy With Instrument

This mural is by Carlos Paredes. His last name means “walls” in English. Pretty convenient that he is a street artist. He uses “tagging” style graffiti fill in the background. In the foreground you have the man playing a guitar done in an almost impressionistic style. I think it is a commentary on how the artist feels pictorial street art is superior to tagging style graffiti.

Street Art II - Guy, Pissed

This piece is pretty life-like and a bit shocking at first. I can’t decide whether it is a zombie in blood-lust or an advertisement for Under Armor. Zombie? Ad for Zombies?

Street Art III - Trippy

I think this one’s style looks like a mix between Invader Zim, Ren & Stimpy, and Alex Grey.

Street Art IV - Old Man

Here we have an old man, a crow, and the word “crer”, which in Portuguese means “believe”. I believe that this mural depicts an old man symbolizing decay, a crow symbolizing death, with “the Word” representing faith hanging in the balance. What is he hoping for?

Street Art V - Weird

Jubbawubbashkins. That’s what I named this creature.

Onto the live street artists!

This live street artist is usually in Baixa/Chiado during the early afternoon. I appreciate this form of street art the most because it requires the most dedication. This guy paints his face and all other exposed body parts and clothing to make it look like he is a statue cast out of bronze. The effect is spectacular. If you drop a coin in his bowl he opens his eyes and moves

Living Statue - Baixa/Chiado - Inactive

Drop a coin…

Living Statue - Baixa/Chiado - Active

And the guy waves his arms around in a disturbing manner. After taking this photo I happened upon the hanging turd guy from the other day setting his sh*t up. Sorry I had to.

Floating Turd Guy Revealed - I Was Right!

Remember Part 1 of this series when I said that this guy must have some sort of rigid support structure running from his cane and into the sleeve? I was right! I’m so happy now.

America, Call Back Your Soldiers.

This guy is one of my favorites. If you put a coin in the bucket of radioactive waste he takes his death-ray rifle and shoots it into the sky! I find it amazing that he is “standing guard” outside Millenium BCP – a bank. I don’t know if he does it on purpose, but I take it to be a commentary on how modern armed forces are now solely protecting the wealth of the elite and not “the State” as they claim.

Well! I hope you enjoyed this brief series on street art and artists in Lisboa. If you’d like to see more pictures of art in Lisbon, leave a suggestion in the comments!