Al Capone, the notorious American gangster, would have been 111 this year. This mural is one of many murals (not all of gangsters!) that adorn a number of Belgrade walls. Is it art or defacement? You decide.
By the way, the writing around him says the following:
We change years, we change our dreams, we change pens, we change weapons,we change our minds, we change our racketeering, we change girlfriends, we change money; but never our friends!
22 comments:
Looks like great art to me. Hope it stays where it is. The message is right on.
I really like this corner
I like it! Great message.
I prefer the man on the left!!
I vote...
ART!
j'adore cette peinture murale, le grand al capone. Dans le marche de little italie (brooklyn) il y a une statue d'Al Capone fumant le cigare ;)
Wau! It took quite the time and the efort to cover such ruined wall. And judging to the person in the picture, Capone's portrait is at least 2 meters high.
I'm curious - in what street/part of the town is it? The surrounding buildings give me no clue.
BTW, do you remember this one? :)
http://fotkapofotka.blogspot.com/2009/01/street-art-robert-de-niro-in-belgrade.html
I love BGD's street art.
Al Capone was the scum of the earth! But I get a kick out of the mythologies that build around and try to romanticize the old-timey gangsters
For example, the writing is just plain wrong. The Capones of the world changed "friends" often...in fact, they could never be sure just who their friends were and thus lived ultra-paranoid lives.
And many "friends" were shot in the back of the head with a .22 because someone got the notion that maybe they weren't really "friends."
Hope you're having a great day!
Oh, to put this face on any wall is most certainly "defacement"!
Hi, Jacob!
I agree about Al and the romanticization of such infamous persons. The writing was not meant to be his, I don't think, since whoever painted this didn't put any reference to AC, although naturally it appears if they were his words. (I Googled; found nothing of the sort.)
I personally love these creative murals.
My son was in South America recently, and I got to see lots of pictures of wonderful murals.
To me, they are art - very free spirited and non academic, but art non the less.
Best to you!
I think Al's legend grows with time. I didn't realize he had crossed oceans, too.
I'm gonna go with art on this one. I like it.
So ... why is it he is afforded this honor? Was he a native of Belgrade?
Hi, Daryl! Nope, Belgrade can't claim Al Capone, but certainly has its share of the underworld.
He looks like a nice enough guy in this mural, but I think looks can be deceiving.
Judging from the wear and tear of the wall above him, I would side with "art".
Hi Biby!
Al is some sort of a mascot to the Partizan Belgrade fans, particulary Alcatraz subgroup from Dorćol.
This is their work and words.
I am Red Star fan so you probably know what I think about "Grobari" :)
Well, I would just say that these guys are the worst of the worst.
Best regards!
Wow, very talented artist. The likeness of this portrait...
Hello, Bogdan, and thank you for your explanation. I wasn't aware that Al was revered by any football clulb or anyone else nowadays. This explains a lot... :)
How about a mural of a local gangster?
Art!
Which street would I find this on?
Hello, Anonymous! Your comment to me had 'noreplyblogger.com' so I am answering you here. It's on Kralja Petra, about half-way down on the right side going toward Stahinjica Bana; right where the post office is.
Indeed, the words don't fit Capone!
«Louis» isn't sure whether he sides with this being 'art' or 'defacement'...
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