Last month, revolutionary graffiti writer and muralist Roc Blackblock brought his anti-fascist message to a massive facade in Barcelona, Spain. The artist’s latest mural, titled ‘Barcelona Antifeixista’ stands tall amongst the city’s health district, “on a dividing wall of the Kasa de la Muntanya, a busy health space,” according to local news source Beteve.
In a statement regarding the new work, Blackblock explained that ‘Barcelona Antifeixista’ depicts a woman photographed on August 28th, 1936 by Antoni Campanyà. The photographer captured this image at the behest of of the country’s National Confederation of Labor – Iberian Anarchist Federation (CNT – FAI) which “commissioned various photographers to capture what was happening on the street” at that time. Blackrock further explained that the photo he used “belongs to a series of portraits of the militiamen who conquered the “Military Headquarters of the Bruc.”
‘Barcelona Antifeixista’ meshes with the tone present throughout Blackblock’s body of work both in subject matter and execution. Stylistically, the artist’s endeavors read like propaganda due to their sepia color schemes and heavy shading, reminiscent of old printing motifs. Many of Blackblock’s pieces honor this style with their devotion to rebels, featuring freedom fighters in across the emotive spectrum. Even his works lacking in overt subversion possess an uncanny dynamism that resounds with viewers on a cellular level.
The artist’s biography states that his career began in the late 90s as a tattoo artist and an illustrator who “carried out publishing and advertising projects in the world of music and other fields.” The introduction of graffiti into Blackblock’s oeuvre proved a major shift. “As an active member of various social movements,” the biography explains, “he soon turned graffiti into a tool of vindication, a means of collective expression in public space.”
The dominating elements of contrast found throughout Blackblock’s art likely stem from his extensive work in stencil, which allowed him to discern his distinct style. “Once the unconscious pursuit of one’s own language has been resolved, it begins to make use of it, to articulate concepts and to build discourse,” the biography explains. “His work is still closely linked to social movements and new ways of understanding the city and public space, expanding but his scope of action to new proposals and commissions such as various initiatives and projects to recover the historical memory, training activities, etc. Apart from the inherent responsibility of working in the public space and his consequent communicative and cohesive will in his environment, his recent work is also an introspective and narrow process.”
In keeping with this commitment to social movements, Blackblock wrote that ‘Barcelona Antifeixista’ pays tribute to the Social Revolution’s victory in Barcelona, as it sought to bring about the collectivization of land and factories alongside the redistribution of wealth and resources for the good of the people.
“Painting an image with that history has taken a special significance,” Blackblock noted. “I painted it on ‘Kasa de la Muntanya,’ an old police headquarter that [was] a squatted house from 1989 until today. Despite the defeat, the 40 years of dictatorship … the antifascist spirit remains intact in Barcelona.” The article by Beteve wrote that Blackblock “thinks it is a reminder but also ‘a topic of current relevance.’”
As I read Beteve’s article, I did some research of my own to understand the source’s web address, which ends in ‘.cat’. In May 2015, The Washington Post published a short article on “the internet’s most radical domain,” explaining that “it’s short for Catalan, as in the much-persecuted language/culture of Eastern Spain.”
The article briefly offered an explanation as to why Barcelona, where Blackblock was trained as an artist and where his latest mural is located, proves a central point for conversations surrounding revolution. Barcelona is located in Catalonia, which was “Originally an autonomous nation-state in the east of the Iberian peninsula, with its own distinctive culture and language,” before Spain annexed it in the 18th century. The Post explains that “A series of Spanish monarchs dismantled Catalonia’s regional self-government in the 18th and 19th centuries. For much of the 20th century, under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, Catalans were only allowed to speak, say mass, and do business in Spanish — a bit of authoritarianism meant to stamp out Catalan culture.” As such, the woman that Blackblock has chosen to paint proudly smiles to viewers with her weapon firmly strapped to her back, a confident symbol of the spirit to stand up against cultural tyranny.
In his statement, Blackblock offered thanks “to all those who has made it real, and specially to Observatori de la Vida Quotidiana for sharing your history knowledge, and Montana Colors who has donated support to the intervention, as always.” Observatori de la Vida Quotidiana is a team of professionals including “anthropologists, historians, audiovisual professionals, graphic design experts and artists, with the desire that the multiplicity of views and formal approaches help us in everyday life from various fronts.” The organization intends to “analyze the ups and downs of modernity” in order to “better explain some keys of our life in society.” Together, they synthesize their findings into “the creation of editorial, exhibition, graphic, videographic and web content contents, as well as the production of monographic reports, thematic dossiers, current news, museum exhibitions, or documentaries for television,” alongside “numerous research and documentation works in the targeted lines of research.”
One can rest assured that work of Roc Blackblock will someday enter the annals of history as another revolution in its own right that will yield rich insights and emotions.
Images by Max Ira
