Graffiti, Jogja Style

Most of the descriptions of Jogjakarta are (understandably) focused on its unique and abundant cultural attractions, but few provide a real feel for what navigating the city is like. One thing that strikes me about this place is the abundance of street art everywhere. The graffiti here ranges from classic NY-style pieces to the newer type of character and stencil work currently blowing up on the international scene. Naturally, there are plenty of poorly executed tags as well. Aside from graffiti, there are some really interesting murals to be seen. The already ultra-textured surfaces here make it all even more interesting. A few days back I walked around an area not far from where I stay, taking pictures of stuff I liked. I also stopped to shoot at a bridge that was blocked off from traffic and got mobbed by some crazy kids, which was pretty hilarious. There is so much more to be added to this - hopefully I'll be updating it again later. For now, enjoy.

This "love hate love" guy gets up a lot around Jogja. I like his work.

Ehhh... a graduated ND filter would make this 1000x better :(
Too bad I ordered one online but they sent me the wrong size..
Care for a swim?

These kids kept demanding that I take pictures of them.
I have one of them all doing crouching spiderman poses.
The one on the bottom was the most insane little kid ever.
It seemed life half the time he was just screaming. This is not a poem.

Haha these faces look TOO Javanese though.

This wall is opposite the one shown above.

Mind the wall, ya. It hasn't had its meal yet and is not in the best of moods.

Wathaa!!!!

Someone drew mustaches on the two faces on top. I think that added-in mustaches are very under-appreciated by the general public. I've seen some really great ones on the buses in Cincinnati.

It's all about stencils these days.

The quote bubble on the left says: "Don't have sex right away".
The one on the right says "Study! Become [don't know the last word]".
Along the pillar in the middle/right, it says "Tribute to ML".
"ML" is slang for having sex, or "making love".

This goes well with the emo music they're playing right now in this internet cafe.

One of my favs. Inside that doorway was a really nasty looking watery corridor.

(Rp = $)

Also one of my favs.

"love hate love"

That's Javanese for something like "park in the back/side" or something. I forget what my friend told me it said. Words that start with "ng" and "mb" are fun. One of my favorites is "mbak", in which the "k" is sort of a silent glottal stop. In your mouth it feels like it starts off bouncy and ends sticky. "Mbak" is a polite way to address younger women.