Lodo Minelli

Gilberto Kassab is the mayor of São Paulo, his party, despite its former name “Liberal Front Party”, affiliates itself to the Christian Democrat International.
Mr. Kassab gained international fame thanks to his Lei Cidade Limpa (clean city law), which prohibits all forms of external media and visual pollution such as billboards. The law, however, is supported by the great majority of the São Paulo population.

It was great to walk around the giant city without “commercial visual pollution”. Walls are definitely better grey that defaced with advertisements.

But we have to wait to thank Mr. Kassab for his great effort. Unfortunately buffing around the city from ads and “visual pollution” can be discriminatory and requires perpetual selections. What is a “visual pollution”? Is an Os Gêmeos master-piece pollution? Are Pixaçãos pollution? Are political murales and love declarations pollution too? Well, in this great confusion the Prefeitura seems to buff anything, from tags to historic hall of fames.

By the way Kassab has guaranteed that he will promote public art around the city but after many months and stupid buffing errors the city council sponsored one and only decoration jam for the japanese community.

The city is hotly flooded by blind facades and advertisements are gone, so we will keep in tune with local cats and hope that “Vamos Grafitar São Paulo!” will turn from a political slogan to reality.

I suggest you “Brazil’s ad men face billboard ban“, a BBC’s article by Robert Plummer.

Here a video about spots in São Paulo, before and after the law.

I have also to confess my personal fashination for Pixação culture, that is everywhere in São Paulo and has become an aesthetic feature of the city worldwide.

A particular big up goes to Boleta (Daniel Medeiros), the Brasilian organizator of the exposition at MAC São Paulo opening the 16th january. I suggest his book about Pixação phenomenon: “TTSSS*… pixação*, the vastest art. São paulo, Brazil”

Buy it @ Editora do Bispo , rua Dr. Melo Alves, 278 - 01417- 010 - São Paulo SP Brazil - Tel/fax 55 11 3064 8673

I also attach some photos taken by Choquephotos flickr, I suggest to visit it for many other lovely pics.