By Iro Kanariou

It is not a secret that paintings such as Picasso’s ones are sold for millions to individuals. This actuality in the world of art is dated back at the beginning of time, even at the medieval times. Back then, only by the kings and really rich people could afford  paintings . Even today, many galleries and organizations have gained respectful amounts of money by people who just want to make their places look even more outstanding, by adding to their personal spaces famous works of art and spending millions of money at the same time. However, what makes a work of art, such as paintings, worth that much and how well rounded is spending so much money for art?

Why a work of art (such as a sculpture or a painting) can be sold for hundreds of millions of dollars can be explained by a variety of reasons. First of all, these works have usually been made in other centuries, such as in the 18^th century . Back to these days technology was not as developed as it is nowadays. Due to this, creating an outstanding piece of art with groundbreaking techniques was not only time consuming and extraordinary, but also really expensive.

Moreover, art, such as Guernica by Picasso, reflects the beliefs, the traditions and the culture that used to exist back on those days. Because of this, it is explained how priceless a piece of art can potentially be, if it is taken into consideration that it is not just a painting or a sculpture for instance, but at the same time, a historical statement.

Lastly, paintings, sculptures, photos and so much more art works, made by famous, gifted and extremely rare artists, such as Vermeer, may worth millions of dollars, just because they were created by timeless artists. Of course, in this day and age, a respectful part of the high society would not hesitate to pay a fortune to buy something that precious and gorgeous; while other people, who are financially insecure, do not hesitate to dream the day they might end up buying their favorite painting.

All these reasons lead a lot of people to buy extremely expensive art works, in order to admire them every day, without taking into consideration the amount of money they have spent, so as to do that.

Summarizing, all these reasons can justify why a piece of art can cost millions of dollars, since it reflects other beliefs, times and may have been made by a famous artist in times when technology was not as advanced as it is today.

However, no matter what, we can all agree that we love a welldrawn painting, a wellshaped sculpture, a wellframed photo and generally, art. Because we can be reflected in it, see every day issues in it or even time travel with it.

By Orfeas Efthimiou Mouyzouras

By: Nick Gkaveras

How and where it started from.

Graffiti (known also as graffito) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, with or without permission and within public view. Usually, it is done illegally. Graffiti ranges from simple written words to elaborate wall paintings, and has existed since ancient times, in ancient Egypt, Greece and the Roman Empire.

It was discovered from a man called Jean-Michel Basquiat. He was an American person who rose to success during the 1980s as a part of the Neo-expressionism movement. Basquiat achieved fame as a part of a graffiti crew called SAMO.

Debate on whether it is or it in not art.

Nowadays when people hear about graffiti, they think of the art they see on big houses, like apartment buildings, which are made by professional artists who get paid a lot of money to do it.

This mindset leads us to a debate on whether graffiti is art or it is not.

Graffiti in some points of view is not art, because it is just a bunch of big letters drawn on a wall which with a little bit of practice can literately be done by everyone. This type of graffiti does not require any skill in painting and can be done by everyone with just a little bit of practice and that is why it in not art. Instead, in other points of view it is a real art when it is done by a professional who knows how to paint and will make something incredible. This type of graffiti, now, can only be done by professionals because it requires a lot of skills and it is very expensive.

“Types” of graffiti writers.

Basically, there two categories of graffiti artists. The street ones and the professional ones. The fact that stands out street graffiti artists from professional graffiti artists, is that the first ones do their “job-hobby” illegally which leads them in taking the risk of getting caught and ending up in prison. Professional artists do not have to worry about getting caught because they do graffiti legally. Also, professional graffiti artists not only get paid to paint but also all of the supplies they will use, get covered from the person who pays them, so they pay nothing.

Pictures of different types of graffiti art.

This picture is an example of what people think when they hear about graffiti. This painting work has been done by a professional artist who might has been paid to do this.

In the other hand that is a picture of a man painting a wall illegally. As we can see he is dressed in black clothes which gives him a layer of “privacy” from people who might not like his acts and call the police. The paint he has done, in the graffiti “language” is called a “throw up”.

The consequences of getting caught.

Important is also the fact that in most countries, marking or painting property without permission is considered vandalism, which is a punishable crime, and the person who did it can go to jail for a long period of time depending on the place he drew.

Street graffiti artist getting arrested for painting somewhere illegally who will probably end up in jail.

Links of the pictures

Infos: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graffiti

picture of the arrested person:https://www.google.com/search?q=arrested+graffiti+artists&sxsrf=ALiCzsb1n7NlnigWjohjNLQkX5z44ORJKg:1671744164870&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjKwOiolI78AhUAYPEDHcfZDq8Q_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1920&bih=912&dpr=1#imgrc=L9SJJK6_6LXh-M

picture of the character piece: https://riversofsteel.com/artist-profile-shane-pilster/

picture of the man painting: https://www.facebook.com/ThrowUpsGraffitiShop/photos/seen/488515781332512/?paipv=0&eav=AfazXrP65VtGvYq6xv9_5NGRGgklHMZgilhUMZHoCNLSwpQKaCd7yE0mAXeB2Ir2CzY&_rdr

Van Gogh Paintings Student Collages

By Maria Stefanidi & Aphridite-Hara Papachristopoulou

By Faedra Drossou

Read the comic strip below:

 By Helen Georgiou and Helen Gianakopoulou (A Class)

Do you know Vincet van Gogh? Vincent Willem van Gogh was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade he created about 2,100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings, most of them in the last two years of his life.  Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful during his lifetime, and was considered a madman and a failure. According to the legend van Gogh sold only one painting, The Red Vineyard, bought for 400 Francs by the painter and art collector Anna Boch.  His reputation began to grow in the early 20th century. Today, he is widely regarded as one of history’s greatest painters and an important contributor to the foundations of modern art.

Nowadays, in Athens there is a magnificent and unique exhibition of all the works of the great Dutch painter, which we visited last month.  This presentation is unique because it is done with a method that reveals new perspectives.  Van Gogh’s works of art, are projected on the walls, floor and ceiling of the venue and visitors are able to walk through them.  It narrates the history of his works of art, it describes the historical, social and cultural environment in which he worked. The exhibition records and analyzes his creative periods and influences and touches his thoughts and his feelings.

In our opinion, it is an interesting presentation and definitely different. We also liked it because you can learn a lot about his life in an enjoyable way. WE definitely recommend this extraordinary exhibition for everyone. You don’t want to miss it!