The other day, I had a very nice walk in the Jewish Quarter, in Erzsébetváros (Elisabethtown, 7th district) concentrating on amazing street art works. I made nice photos, some of them I would like to share with you.
Budapest is also known for its fantastic street art scene which are works of Hungarian and international artists. Neopaint and Színes Város (Colourful City) were the first organizations who really supported them. The local people liked murals, they didn’t protest against them and it is the situation nowadays too.
1. One of the first art works is located on a firewall by the City Hall since 2010, thanks to the Színes Város organization. It is an, about 230 square meter big, op-art piece portraying colourful cubes. The painting is a tribute to the famous Hungarian artist, Victor Vasarely. It makes the boring and white wall happy and colourful. Do you think it too?
2. My favourites are the miniature sculptures around the city of the guerrilla sculptor, Mr. Mihály Kolodko. I was happy to find one of his masterpieces here: little Herzl Tivadar. It will be not easy to find as it is so tiny. Herzl Tivadar is with his bycicle on the sculpture which was created according to a real photo. I decided now to discover his other artworks in Budapest in the near future.
3. „Rubic’s cube” created by Neopaint organization. Probably you've already heard about Ernő Rubik who invented a very popular toy in 1974, the magic cube. This is an amazing 3D mural on the wall, if you watch closer you will recognize points, if you go far away from the wall, you will see, it is a nice, colourful cube. There are more ways to solve the cube. Don’t forget: there is always a solution and not just one.
4. Did you hear about the famous football match, the "match of the century", how we often call it in Hungary? In 1953 Hungary played an international football match against England, the result was 6:3 in favour of Hungary. Everybody celebrated this result, but telling the truth, since then Hungary has not been so succesful in this sport.
5. As it is known, Empress Elizabeth of Bavaria, known as Sissy (maybe this name is more familiar to you) was very popular in Hungary. She lived in the Gödöllő Castle, not far from Budapest. This mural is a remembrance of her. It is a work of Neopaint organization. Sissy was beautiful and had nice long hair, she spent a lot of time in front of the mirror – according to legend. She didn’t like the life in the court, but she loved the culture and the Hungarian people, she even learned Hungarian.
6. This is the street artwork of Neopaint Works in Akácfa street in honour of tailors. I like this big painting which makes people happy walking by.
7. My next photo is the cover article of a Time Magazine dated on 1956 about a Hungarian freedom fighter - as the Man of the Year. It was painted in 2017, 60 years after the issue was published. It looks unbelievably real, like a big newspaper.
8. This is a 2 dimensional painting representing the original facade and actual local residents. There is the green grocer Aunt Zsuzsa who ran the grocery next to the mural. According to local people’s stories the black dog on the right lived here nearby and always looked at the painting artist. As they became friends, the artist thought to paint the dog on the wall.
9. My next photo is made about a hidden artwork in a very short street representing a very actual topic, the homelessness. This wall is called the wall of acceptance. The text is a poem of Baranyecz János Branyó, telling us that even your home can be the street and make us thinking wether you will have friends still in this situation? You never know what will happen. Please accept me as I accept you. Read this slowly but don’t hit the wall.
10. Don’t miss visiting Király street in Budapest. It is very busy nowadays like in the 19th century when it was a main street. You can find here nice buildings, restaurants, shops and the Gozsdu udvar (Gozsdu Court) which is functioning as an amusement centre at night. At the beginning of the street, from the direction of Deák Square, you can find a mural with the name of the street. This artwork was made by Neopaint Works in 2013.
Do you agree that graffity walls are transforming the streets to a public gallery, and you may have the feeling that you are in a museum?