The
most famous painter from Lesvos is Theofilos Hatzimihail (1870-1934). Born in
Mytilini, as a young man he went to Smyrna (today’s Izmir in Turkey), where he
did odd jobs and improved the painting techniques that he’d already learned from
his hagiographist grandfather. When in 1897 war was declared between Greece and
Turkey, Theofilos went to Athens in order to sign up for the army, but the war
was very nearly over. He then lived and worked for some 30 years in Volos (on the
mainland near Mount Pelion) before returning to Lesvos for the last seven years
of his life. He’s the only artist of the island whose work has made it to the
prestigious Louvre in Paris.
Theofilos
loved military costumes and Greek heroes. He dressed mostly in a traditional fustanella, the large white pleated
skirt, nowadays still worn by the military honour guard, but there are also
pictures where he is seen wearing other military uniforms. One of the fine
aspects of his work is the richness of detail he depicts for clothing,
headgears and hairstyles (see: Θεοφιλος, a short movie in which particularly the details of his works are
highlighted).
Theofilos was
a man who held freedom as a main goal in life (see the documentary The Odyssey of a Great Greek
Painter). In general he worked for whoever would provide him with food and
a place to sleep and as a result he produced lots of mural paintings, many of
which have disappeared in time due to neglect of the owners. He painted in many
locations like cafes, houses and even a bakery, as well as a tavern in Karini,
close to Agiasos. On the outside of this tavern you can still find a very nearly
disappeared mural painting of by him and there still is the hollow tree, in
which it is said that Theofilos lived for some time.
It seems a
big step from the folkloric works of Theofilos to modern graffiti art. Although
this step was made last summer by the organizers of the Beach Street Festival in Vatera
(July 25-28), who wanted to confront international graffiti artists with the
paintings of this Lesvorian painter. In a way Theofilos was himself a graffiti
artist, even if only because of the bright colours he used and the walls upon
which most of his art has been painted.
Graffiti is
known to pop up in the most unexpected places, mostly in cities, where artists
leave their elaborate signatures on metro trains, empty city walls, buildings
and doors. The modern graffiti art is the aerosol art, which became ‘fashion’
at the end of the Sixties in America, but graffiti itself is much older. The
hieroglyphs of the Egyptians can be regarded as ancient graffiti as can the
Romans’ chalked political slogans on walls and likewise the announcements for
gladiatorial games.
Greece too offers
it’s part in graffiti, for example in
Athens, but what this festival on Lesvos created is unique. Vatera is in
the south of Lesvos, just below Polichnitos, one of the larger villages of the
island. I presume it has a rich history, because in this region you can find a
tower from a castle of the Gateluzzis, the remains of a temple dedicated to Dionysus
(at Agia Fokas) and the Well of Achilles (it is said that Achilles stopped at
the well when he finished fighting in Troy, to supply drink for his horse). But
there is very little to be found on the web about the history of this region.
But it is fact that many, many centuries ago prehistoric animals roamed these
parts (some of whose remains are exposed in the Natural History Museum of
Vrisa, a little town just above Vatera).
Vatera
should have been called Skala Vrisa because it is the bathing place for Vrisa,
and it consists mainly of holiday houses, hotels and guesthouses. But it has
the longest beach of the island, some 8 kilometres, mostly sandy. The southern light
makes this bathing place even more attractive and I am wondering why Vatera has
not yet been discovered by large groups of international tourists. It is mainly
the locals and Greek tourists who enjoy this beach paradise.
Although
there must have been at least one person with the same question and he started
to build an enormous hotel at the end of the beach, on the road to Stavros. The
building developed as far as a solid skeleton and some marble floors and bathtubs
in some of the rooms. It is said that somebody took off with all the money for
the project and disappeared abroad and so it never got finished. For years now
it has been wasting away at the end of the beach, closed in by green hills and
now fully part of the landscape of Vatera.
This
summer everything changed. The organizers of the Beach Street Festival recognised
that the derelict hotel was a Walhalla for art: plenty of huge blank walls.
They invited a number of graffiti artists (or they came themselves) to fill
these blank canvasses. It must have been a joyful event to see all those people
working on the walls: the result is amazing.
This
modern ruin has become a kind of open-air museum where you can cruise its empty
spaces, enjoy its cool shadows and discover beautiful graffiti works.
While outside the Aegean Sea joyfully laps at the beach, the labyrinth of
walls, staircases and room interiors offer up the visions of many artists who
have been spraying art on the walls. It is incredible to see this huge ugly
building, an unrealised dream, now transformed into an alternative museum where
you roam the spaces and enjoy a game of colours, lines, ideas and jokes.
Theofilos too is part of the main collection; more than once you can see him
‘glued’ to a wall, in his fustanella with a paint roller in his hand, in
the background his beloved azure sea. I cannot imagine a better homage to this
Lesvorian painter.
Will
there be another Beach Street Graffiti Festival in Vatera next year? I do hope
so. I hope that one day no piece of bare concrete will be left in this stylish
graffiti museum.
(with
thanks to Mary Staples)
©
2013 Smitaki
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