Over the summer I traveled to Menorca, Spain to participate in an archeological dig and on my way home took an extended layover in Barcelona. I found that once I was able to stray away from the commercial stores and over zealous tourist spots such as La Rambla (don't get me wrong I love the strip but I was craving something a little more authenticity than Starbucks and McDonalds) I found, to my delight, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Barcelona along with other several funky boutique shops. While exploring I noticed that

the sides of building walls on street level, tops of buildings and store windows were covered in a hidden culture of cartoon characters. In the United States most cartoon characters that are not on the television, newspapers or comic books are classified as Graffiti and dismissed as vandalism rather than any sort of art form. Barcelona’s caricatures seem to be more accepted by mainstream culture and are purposefully placed on sides of business buildings in largely public areas across from esteemed art galleries(such as the one seen above which was across from the ICAB) and reputable businesses. I noticed a reoccurring theme of soft lines that are fluid and maintain a child like quality but still appeal to a young adult or mature audience.

Even the posters and stickers, which might fall closer to the ‘vandalism’ category, exhibit qualities of design such as repetition and rhythm. I have to respect Barcelona for being so open and accepting of many subcultures and behaviors that would otherwise be deemed indecent. Walking around naked, carrying only enough drugs for personal use and being drunk in public are just a few of the loosely configured laws of Barcelona. Although I would not recommend extensively taking part in these types of activities I feel that the laws are a good representation for the culture of the city and their accepting attitudes. Not only towards expressing yourself through nudity and narcotics; art, music and theatre are highly valued by all demographics. Pablo Picasso, a revolutionary for his time and still highly esteemed, studied in Barcelona during his early and medial life. It is the constant liberated energy that pulses through the city that creates a culture that allows for such unique genius to shine through. The simple tolerance and patronage of cartoons and artistic graffiti, I feel is the manifestation of the innovative and forward thinking that takes place in Barcelona.

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